So, I was reading the New York Times for this week,(We get a free copy on campus) and something very interesting caught my eye.
In a full page add space was this:
The ad was put on by the American Bible Society. As most of you know, there has been an ongoing conflict because of a threat made by a Florida pastor to burn a Qur'an on the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.
The pastor is Terry Jones from Gainesville, Florida.
On September 8, Jones told the Early Show:
"As of right now, we feel that this message is that important. We are still determined to do it, yes,"
This of course has been splattered across the news stations because of its controversial issue. And, of course when I find something interesting across the news, I research it quite a bit.
What I found interesting was the reason for Jones' proposition to have a day devoted to burning the holy book of the Muslim religion.
For one, Jones and his wife claimed to learn about the laws of the muslim religion, by watching videos on YouTube. I don't know about you, but I am sure that is not a credible source of information!
Here's a section from an article: "Despite admitting to CBS in an interview a day earlier that his actions would almost certainly offend all the world's Muslims, Jones insisted Wednesday morning that his "warning" was "geared towards radical Islam," See the news article here
Another article: "The plan to burn Qurans has already generated protests in Afghanistan, where hundreds chanted "Long live Islam" and "Death to America" at a rally over the weekend. Thousands rallied in Jakarta, Indonesia and other cities two days earlier over the planned Quran burnings" See that article
The Pastor, has now agreed to cancel the burnings because there has been a bargain that the Mosque near Ground Zero will be moved.
Here is a video of the cancellation announcment from Jones: Video Announcment
Okay, all news articles, interviews, and media aside, here is my take on the whole thing:
The American Bible Society said it best "Burning the Qur'an does not illuminate the Bible."
To quote their press release: "The true Biblical response to those of other faiths is respect and civility in religious discussions, disagreements and debates. Acts of hatred in the name of Christianity are antithetical to the good news of the Gospel so intrinsically expressed in the Bible."
How in the world would burning the Qu'ran be furthering the kingdom of Heaven? Are we not taught by Jesus to love your neighbor as yourself?
The burning of the Qu'ran is a misrepresentation of Jesus, and the love of Jesus to millions worldwide.
Jones says the burnings are intended agains radical Islams who practive 'violence and hatred' which oddly enough is exacly what he himself is practicing. The Dean of Duke Divinity School, Richard Hays, compared Jones' plan to the burnign ceremony in 1933 by the Nazi regime of more than 20,000 jewish books.
Jones claims that instead his planned act is like that of the 1st Century Christians who brought their scrolls of witchcraft to burn following their conversion (Acts 19:11-20).
Sadly, Jones has that senario awefully wrong: those new converts (speaking about the 1st Century Christians) brought their own books to burn as a symbol of their repentance. They were not burning others' books, as Jones is doing, in order to radically communicate a political message and send a warning.
Jones has a post of his church's blog titled: Ten Reasons to Burn a Qu'ran. I could go down and address each one individually, but instead I give you this:
One Reason Not to Burn the Quran: The Love of Jesus Christ.
That's enough.
The burning of a Qu'ran would only exacerbate tensions towards the Christian faith by non-believers. And above all, it's disrespectfull, and not of the teachings of the bible.
Matthew 5:43-44 says,
"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,"
That is the character of a true radical Christian.
No comments:
Post a Comment