A strange thing happened as I attempted to close my browser this evening. I am using my husband's laptop tonight and I couldn't get the Sprint connection to "disconnect!" I tried it nine times!
Hmmm....I thought. Is the Lord trying to give me a little message here?
I had just read a blog post over at On The Right Side of Life about the pastor who is planning to do a Koran book burning on 9/11/10.
There is a particular nagging question that each Christian believer must ask himself or herself. That is, with which position do you side?
Do you want to answer in the flesh and say in a revengeful tone "burn baby burn" or answer in the spirit? Which will you choose? Just as Phil asks within his blog post - think about this question: Koran burning? What would Jesus do?
Well, I was tired and just wanted to think about that post for a while. But when my browser refused to disconnect, I went back to my blog list and found that my friend Steve had also posted about the Koran burning debacle on his blog.
While reading his post, the answer came to me.
Mercy is God withholding what we all deserve. Grace is God giving us what we all don't deserve. As born-again, Bible believing, Christ honoring sinners in desperate need of the Savior, how should we apply such thoughts in response to the Koran burning?
Could be quite the teachable moment...
Hat Tips:
On The Right Side of Life
Stevex09
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More good reads on the controversy:
Michele Malkin: The Koran - Don't burn it - read it.
Sharp Right Turn: The Koran, General Petraeus, Dhimmitude and American Values
Sarah Palin's Facebook Page
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Update:
Apparently, Pastor Jones has listened to the voices of wisdom and reason and announced that he is not going to follow through on the burning of the Koran.
But can this debacle get any crazier? Answer: YES!
The loony-bin Westboro "church" plans to carry out the Koran burning since Pastor Jones will not do it.
Westboro Baptist Church will Burn Korans if Florida Church Does Not
posted by (Maggie Thornton) at Maggie's Notebook - 1 hour ago
The vile Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka says if Florida's Dove World Outreach Center calls off the Koran burnings, they will pick up [the] slack and do it themselves. Dove's Pastor Terry Jones has just an...
But of course, the mosque developers won't change THEIR minds [as has been announced on several news programs today] about the location too close to Ground Zero, despite the fact that Donald Trump has announced that he would pay 25% more than the terrorists er...imams and their supporters...paid for the location.
Koran Burning Halted: Mosque Stays at Park 51
posted by (Maggie Thornton) at Maggie's Notebook - 1 hour ago
Florida Pastor Jones will halt the burning of Korans on Saturday and the Pastor says he will fly to New York City instead, to meet with the mosque developers. Jones seems to believe the mosque will not b...
Good luck Pastor Jones. It doesn't appear that the muslims are likely to show any tolerance towards the 70% of Americans who are pleading that they move the mosque away from the Ground Zero site. Apparently, tolerance is a one-way street for them...and that street is named Islam/Sharia law...or else!
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Update 2:
I am making the rounds to several Christian blogs in my blogroll and I am finding some absolutely awesome essays out there! Be sure to visit:
Stevex09: The Threats Begin … Ground Zero Mosque … Burning The Koran
CultureWatch: Christianity, Other Religions, Islam and Terrorism
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For some unknown reason, my post editor isn't working right now. Therefore, I decided to post this link here in the comment section.
American Thinker: The Political Violence of the Bible and the Koran
Excerpt:
One of the most frequently used arguments in the defense of Islam is that the Bible is just as violent as the Koran. The logic goes like this. If the Koran is no more violent than the Bible, then why should we worry about Islam? This argument suggests that Islam is the same as Christianity and Judaism. This is false, but the analogy is very popular since it allows someone who knows nothing about the actual doctrine of Islam to talk about it. "See, Islam is like Christianity; Christians are just as violent as Muslims." If this is true, then you don't have to learn anything about the actual Islamic doctrine.
However, this is not a theological argument. It is a political one. This argument is not about what goes on in a house of worship, but what goes on the in the marketplace of ideas.
Now, is the doctrine of Islam more violent than the Koran? There is only one way to prove or disprove the comparison, and that is to measure the differences in violence in the Koran and the Bible.
[continue reading at link above]
The first chart of a comparison between the Islamic trilogy, the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament is quite the eye opener!
I think it will help draw the lines and cause a fight.
The Quran is quite useful in witnessing to Muslims.
It is a shame that they would purchase Qurans from Amazon but not send Bibles to people in countries that don't have any.
This pastor doesn't have anything going for him so this burning is just a method of lifting him up out of obscurity.
Churches are to burn the Quran or preach the gospel? Too bad he is being known for the opposite of what he is supposed to do.
The real church will pay the bills for this sad pastor.
Muslims will never be helped by this pastor because they will think, "You might hurt me."
What about love your enemies?
Sothenes
Arrggghhh! I'm having trouble with blogger today. I keep getting the "Service Unavailable" message. Does anyone know what "error 503" means?
Hi Christine,
I've got no love of burning books of any type, so from that stand point, I would advise the pastor to cancel the burning. (My understanding is that he has, however, like so many other things in the news, this has taken on a life of its own, and the controversy will continue for some time I imagine).
I also doubt that Christ would be on board with a useless provocation. No one will gain anything profitable by the action, and harm could result, so from a strictly Christian viewpoint, again, I would argue against the burning.
All of that said, one of the few things that I find offensive on a par with book burning and senless religious provocation is the spineless cowardly attitude that we must submit to the sensibilities of barbarians for purposes of avoiding offense or attack. This is the attitude that Britain has adopted, and now has geographical areas in London where it is no longer safe for non-Muslims to go and Sharia law is well under way to be adopted in fact if not in actual law.
The Florida pastor is acting like an idiot. Say that, and move on. Frankly, I have no desire to respect the sensibilities, religious or otherwise, of people who are more likely to stone a woman for being raped than the person who raped her,and using claims such as "these actions may endanger Americans" amounts to little more than a tacet admission by our government that they are unwilling to do what is required to protect Americans.
Thanks Sothenes. Did you want me to post that last comment or was it just an FYI meant for me?
Well said, Gary. You are correct. Pastor Jones did announce that he has cancelled the Koran burning. But now we have that vile group - the Westboro "church" lunatics threatening to carry out the act. See my update.
You wrote:
"...using claims such as "these actions may endanger Americans" amounts to little more than a tacet admission by our government that they are unwilling to do what is required to protect Americans."
SO TRUE! The continual groveling and weakness exhibited by the Obama Administration is really embarrassing - and dangerous!
As a Christian, this appalls me that a pastor would be the driving force behind this Qu'ran burning episode. It is nothing more than inciteful, period. As believers we are called to bring people to the Cross and to have faith in Christ. We are not called to be the religious police or to argue the truth, just to tell the truth. Nothing more, nothing less.
Check 2 Corinthians 10:3, 4 and Ephesians 6:12, just to name a couple.
GBY all.
Thanks James! Well said and I appreciate the Bible verses you recommended:
2Cr 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
2Cr 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare [are] not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places].
And, as Eph. 6:13 instructs, we are to stand with God and His Word:
Eph 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
In fact, Eph.6:14-20 all apply!
Eph 6:14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
Eph 6:15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
Eph 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Eph 6:18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
Eph 6:19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,
Eph 6:20 For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak
God's wisdom beats human wisdom every time!
God bless you James, and thanks so much for stopping by and commenting.
Last night on the news I saw someone yelling out that "this is a hate crime!"
First, setting aside my feelings on "hate crimes" ideas, it's not even a crime, so how can it be a hate crime?
Is holding a Koran burning...
hateful? Yes
stupid? Yes
without any value? Yes
deliberately provocative? Yes
a hate crime? No
On Kevin Deyoung's blog he made a good point that if this happens and violence from Muslims erupts around the world you are going to hear pundits saying things like, "well, you really can't blame them..." but as he says, "No, we can still blame them. Killing people or threatening to kill people is not one of the acceptable responses to your holy book being burned. It’s like telling your little brother, “Touch me again and I’ll clobber you.” The little brother is stupid to touch him, but the older brother is still wrong to punch him. I’m afraid this will be lost on most people who will see pictures of a church burning Korans and ignore the fact that some Muslims may see this an excuse to kill."
Yup Matt - well said. They inevitably WILL use it as an excuse to kill. It's been done before - as I'm sure you are well aware.
So...what was the excuse for the attack on 9/11?
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