You may have seen this on the news but there is a pastor in Gainesville, Florida who is promoting his intentions to publicly burn the Koran (actually as many as he can get his hands on) this coming Saturday September 11th on the front lawn of his church building. He has a large container parked there full of wood with a big sign on it saying ‘International Burn A Koran Day’. Not surprisingly, his intentions have caught the attention of the media and he is being solidly condemned by just about everyone. So far he isn’t backing down.
His name is Terry Jones. He wears a hand gun strapped to his waist which may not be that scandalous in Florida, I don’t know. His congregation consists of about 30 people. He may not have a lot of ‘followers’ but he is certainly gaining notoriety! I watched an interview he did (I think with ABC?) and he seems pretty sincere. He calls the Koran the devil’s book and says that if Jesus were here in body today he would tell us to burn it.
The top general in Afghanistan has even gotten involved as there is a lot of concern that if Terry Jones goes ahead and actually burns those books there will be an unbelievable backlash in the form of violence as a retaliatory response from militant Muslim groups world wide.
I can’t quite figure out what he hopes to accomplish really. He says he wants to send a message but what message is he sending? There is still a chance he may recant because he does say they are still “praying about it”. I sure hope he does, but he has kind of ‘painted himself into a corner’ as they say.
Now, this is an extreme situation with dire consequences but the same scenario plays out millions of times a day in lesser forms as sincere Christians mistakenly think that we can say anything we want, just because we believe it is true, without taking any responsibility for the repercussions of our words. In this way, our words become reckless rather than pointed. They become careless rather than purposeful. And people get hurt rather than helped.
The Bible says we are to speak the truth in love. I guess Terry forgot the love part. And it was Jesus who also said that we are to be as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves. This plan of Terry Jones' would be disqualified on both counts don’t you think?!
Totally agree with you Pastor Steve.
ReplyDeleteWe are all God's children and it is not for us to condemn / deny / or point fingers and say its wrong, GOD WILL DECIDE not mere men praying for advice from God, which means, he is doing it on his own and as stated " they are still praying about it" So he has his answer " GOD HAS NOT SPOKEN TO HIS HEART. Its just wrong and not what Jesus would do. This is not the act of a godly man, but a bitter man full of anger and hatred, he needs prayer to soften his heart too see the wisdom needed too fulfill Gods word here on earth and not open the door for more hate which is the total 180 degree turn from God's word.
ReplyDeletePatrick Ryan.
Islam is of the devil.Burning a Quran is akin to burning pornography or hate literature.That being said "Pastor" Jones is doing a very,very stupid thing.This is NOT the way to show muslims the truth.
ReplyDeleteit's really to bad.!..the whole situation !! It is aclassic example of how "christians" get into trouble ....leaving the LOVE part out of the equation in their actions and their way of reasoning...If we spent more time at the feet of jesus really getting to know him and less on our own worldly agenda spinning around like whiriligigs in the wind claiming to know the truth and defensively forcing it on our friends and neighbors.... then i think situations like these would be few and far between!!..God sure has his hands full with us...a world full of adolesence and reluctance..in our way of thinking.. but our God rocks and is always 10 steps ahead of the game...I trust in him completely to see all of us through our immature mistakes.... and comfort us when we are fully immersed in their consenquences.... just my very humble opinion....peace and love ..andrea
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