Have you ever done something stupid? Have you ever done or said some stupid thing that hurt someone else by accident? How about on purpose? I'll bet if you think hard enough you can probably come up with an idea of sometime when you did. I know I can.
I have two older brothers, one about 2 years older and one about 4 years older. Because we grew up as three boys, and because we basically grew up in an area where there were no other children until I was 8, we did stupid things that got each other hurt. I remember one time emptying out a 2 liter bottle of some kind of soda, then I held it up to my eye and acted like I could see something really cool in it. When one of my brothers took it and looked into it I hit it. Now, I meant to knock it so he would be surprised, but I didn't think about the fact that bottles have little openings, so instead of just hitting around his eyes, I basically hit the bottle right into his eye. As you can imagine, he didn't think it was funny, and it ended up hurting him a bit more than I thought it would. (As you can also imagine, I got into trouble for it. Lesson to all you kids out there: stupid actions do not make you immune to the consequences.)
My point? Well, apparently even adult Christians are not immune from doing stupid things. I came across an AP News Article that reports that a church in Gainesville, FL plans on burning copies of the Quran on September 11. Now, I'll grant you that I'm not entirely up to date on exactly why they plan on burning copies of the Quran, I have an idea but I haven't actually talked to anyone from the church about it, but I'm going to state that this is a categorically stupid idea. Not only is it stupid, it is unchristian.
Why is it unchristian? Well, what does it accomplish? Does it present the gospel to a lost and dying world? Does burning copies of the Quran engage with Muslims in the area or abroad and present to them the reality of their sins and their need for redemption? Basically, this move in no way exalts God, because all it does is burn pieces of paper.
Okay, it isn't just pieces of paper, its copies of the religious holy book of another religion. So what? Will burning those copies of the Quran prevent the spread of Islam? Will burning copies of the Quran have any effect on Islam in any way, shape or form? Of course not. Burn ten copies, burn a thousand copies, burn a million copies of the Quran, it won't change a thing, because more can be printed and will be printed. Unless everyone who is enslaved by Islam around the world embraces the freedom that is offered to them in Jesus Christ, destroying copies of the Qur'an is a meaningless event at best. At worst this event will simply harden the hearts of people who desperately need to know about Jesus, and thus this church will be helping Satan lead these people to hell.
Maybe this church figures that because bibles are routinely destroyed in Muslim countries they are simply doing what Muslims have been doing for years. But that isn't what Christ commanded us to do. He told us to do to others what we would have them do to us. That means despite the fact that we are insulted, we do not insult back Despite the fact that Christians are wronged, our Scripture is insulted and our people are murdered, we do not respond in kind, because we are called to love those who hate us, and to bless those who curse us.
I had a whole rant prepared for how we are God's Israel, and how our battle is against spiritual powers and a sinful system that enslaves and oppresses those who do not know Christ. But I don't really need to do that rant. I don't need to provide an argument for what we are called not to do, because there is a simple statement that tells us what we should do in situations like this: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. (Matthew 5:9)
If we are called to be peacemakers, is this church being obedient to the Word of God? Is burning the Qur'an going to help spread the gospel of Christ so that his peace will reign in the hearts and souls of men? Anyone who honestly looks at this can only say, "No". Instead of being peacemakers this church is quite intentionally stirring up controversy.
I'm not saying that we should not confront Islam. I think we should. But I think we need to do it in the same way Christians are commanded to confront any false religion, any sin: through biblical, personal outreach. We need to demonstrate that what we are doing is being done from love, and that we want to rescue the hurting. Speaking gently, confronting with compassion, and standing on the authority of God's Word are the means of confronting any sin, not burning effigies and screaming at people.
I wonder if this church realizes how much harder they might be making things for Christian missionaries in Muslim countries. I had a friend who was going to go and be a missionary in Indonesia, he told me that he sometimes had people come to him and say they wanted to know what it would take for them to go with them. He told me that his response was that they shouldn't bother to pack suitcases, but instead, buy a plain pine coffin, pack their clothes in it, and have it sent with them as their luggage because most likely they would need it if they came with him. He went knowing that it was entirely possible, if not probable, that he would die sharing the gospel with a lost and dying people who were at war with God.
That is what being a peacemaker means. Being willing to accept that the gospel of Christ is of more importance than material possessions, your own life, or even your own anger and venom. I do not doubt that this church that wants to burn Qur'ans believes that Islam is evil and dangerous. I believe Islam is evil and dangerous. But what if, instead of burning Qur'ans, this church did a joyful, peaceful servant project to a local community that had a high population of Muslims, and tried to develop personal relationships that would allow them to speak truth into the lives of those enslaved by lies? What if on 9/11, and every day, instead of throwing fuel on the fires of hatred and resentment, we reached out to a dying world with love?
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