Over the years, my husband has become more Baptist than I am (No, not the seeker-friendly Baptist, but the hardcore-Spurgeon kind of Baptist).
The issue on the table for couple evenings now, of course, is the Gainesville Dove Outreach Center's plan to burn the Qur'an on the anniversary of September 11.
I am not totally sure about this myself, but I think about Paul's statement that "All things are lawful for [a Christian], but not all things are beneficial." Although he said it in the context that we should not be enslaved to our fleshly appetites, I think it can apply more broadly here as a general principle of Christian freedom. On one hand, it is perfectly permissible for a Christian to burn books of other religions. But in this day and age, I think it will do more harm than good.
As you might have guessed, David thought this was too utilitarian of me. And there _are_ benefits that can come from this, he argued, such as discussions that will arise between moderate Christians and Muslims, and perhaps opportunities to spread the gospel also.
I suppose at the end of the day, we have to consider the question, "What would Jesus do?" in order to get his sanction for our actions. He certainly was not a compromising, wimpy kind of a guy. This is the guy who said that he "did not come to bring peace, but to bring a sword" (Matt 10:34), who speaks much more about the coming Judgment of God than about love and peace. He was not afraid to openly provoke the religious leaders of his day. We can recall quite a few instances in the gospels where he practically asks the Pharisees, "Would this offend you?" and then proceeds with offending them (Matt 12:9-14, Luke 14:1-6).
On the other hand, Jesus is the same guy who rebukes James and John for wanting to call down fire from heaven on the Samaritans for rejecting Jesus (Luke 9:54-55).
I am glad that Terry Jones and his congregation are prayerfully considering the words of the General Petraeus and are concerned for the safety of American soldiers. But ultimately, they might be convicted to proceed with their plan to insult many with words such as "We must obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29).
So, what is the rest of the Christendom to think? Shall we just follow the rest of the world in denouncing them because tolerance is a popular cultural notion? Or is there more to Terry Jones than meets the eye?
Ooooh, this is an excellent topic for believers to discuss! I don't think burning the books of other religions is any way loving nor is treating others how you would like to be treated, ESPECIALLY if the book burning person has never even spoken to a Muslim. I have no clue if Mr. Jones has ever done that, but I think a public forum or some individual conversation would do WAY more good than just burning the books. I have too much to write here; I should just call you. :o)
ReplyDelete"I have too much to write here; I should just call you."
ReplyDeleteBut I want to hear, too!
I'm still undecided about this, myself, but I can definitely understand where DWOC is coming from. I think they're a bit reactionary because the rest of us American Christians are so wimpy these days... we don't want to offend anybody.
Which is worse? A Christian afraid to call Islam evil? Or a Christian who burns Korans?
I agree with you, Deanna, that forums and discussions would do more practical good. But is practical good all that is required to approve or disapprove an act? I am pretty sure Rev. Jones was not doing the smartest thing, but I still find it hard to outright condemn him because his act shows a kind of courage that has been long silenced in American evangelical Christianity.
ReplyDeleteWith that said, I think the issue here is less of a practical concern than a theoretical one. Many things that we do can appear unloving or just dumb, but I don't think those compose a sufficient ground for judging whether someone's doing right or wrong.
I guess at this point I'm just happy to be not in Rev. Jones' shoes.