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Why The Quran Should Not Be Burned
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However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for me and for yourself.” – Matthew 17:27
In the passage above lies a small phrase that is often overlooked.
Jesus says, “However, not to give offense to them…”.
In context, the passage has to do with the payment of the Temple tax. Our beloved Peter has just finished a conversation with the tax-collector who has asked Peter, “Does your teacher not pay the tax?” (v. 24) to which Peter replies “yes” (v.25).
There are many amazing things in this passage. One being that our Lord was obviously aware of the conversation. In verse 25 we read that after Peter came into the house our Lord and His disciples were staying in, Jesus spoke to Peter first concerning the subject of paying the Temple tax! Our Lord knows all things!
In the news lately, much ado has been made concerning a Florida church which plans to burn the Quran on September 11, 2010. I’ve heard the reasoning’s of the fellowship’s pastor and associate pastor on the news, and I believe their reasons for burning the Quran are, in the end, more an act of intentional offense than anything closely resembling Christian motives. Burning the Quran is not spiritually beneficial for anyone; not in outreach to the Muslim community, not to Christians or their churches. It may be viewed as ‘patriotic’ by some, yet how patriotic is it to purposefully make others angry? More importantly, how Christian is it? How will burning the Quran proclaim the Gospel witness?
It won’t. It will simply inflame the anger of a lost people.
In the passage quoted from Matthew above, our Lord Jesus is willing to pay the Temple tax. The reason He gives is specifically “not to give offense to them.”
Not to give offense. There is a thought we would do well to heed daily. As Christians, we are to further the Gospel of Jesus Christ, not hinder it in any way. We are to be Christ-like in our behavior and indeed, in our thoughts. When it comes to our witness to the world, ‘patriotism’ and anything else must not supersede the furthering of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Burning the Quran will offend Muslims. It will offend them greatly. Now what is the wise thing to do here? What will be the most beneficial, for the Christian Church and for Muslims? What would be most Christ-like?
Don’t burn it.
It’s not necessary, doesn’t help, will bring more harm than good, and according to this passage in Matthew, is not Christ-like at all. It is quite the opposite of Christ-likeness.
You may have strong resentment towards the Islamic community; you may still be angry about 9-11. Yet brethren, burning the Quran is not a Christian act, it is carnal in the worst way. Let us search our hearts in light of the Scriptures and check our motives in this matter so that we, as representatives of the true Church of Jesus Christ, do not give unnecessary offense to those who need the Gospel so desperately.
5 Pt. Salt 
Amen and amen! I was talking with a sister in Christ at work about this yesterday. There is NO good reason for Christians to provoke people who are enemies of God – except by the proclamation of the cross. The man and wife “pastor team” at the church pulling this stunt are deceived about a few things and appear to be doing this for publicity. Bad form all around.
Excellent presentation here of a sound argument. Press on!
Just wondering if this church is rooted in the form of Pentacostalism call the New Apostolic Reformation and Joel’s Army. Check these out on Lighthouse Trails Research.
On their “About Us” page, the Dove people clearly reveal that they are an “apostolic five-fold ministry”. And more. http://www.doveworld.org/about-us
While the Quran, Koran, Who-ran or whatever it my be called is a work of the devil being a false religious work, I say that public burnings are rarely a good idea (and probably never a good idea). The fire and the crowd is what gets the attention. Never does the message you are trying to send get noticed. It is always the fire and the furor that gets the attention. Burn it, throw it out, shred it up to mulch your garden but do it privately. What we do not need today is more melodramatic sensationalism! Spread the Gospel because it is the power of God unto salvation.
There is an old story of Omar Caliph ordering the destruction of all the books of the great library at Alexandria. His reasoning – if they contradict the Koran they must be burned, if they confirm the Koran they are superfluous. Islam has always been dependent on ignorance to thrive. As Christians, we ought to find some other way of combating our spiritual adversaries than by following their examples and employing their strategies.
That much seems pretty obvious. But I tell you what bugs me. How is it that a little nobody pastor of a tiny congregation on the back side of nowhere can get so much attention for the message he is proclaiming simply because he is offensive to Muslims? Every Sunday of the world, I preach that Jesus is God manifest in the flesh, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity revealed as the One True and Living God. That message is utterly offensive and repugnant to all Muslims – moderates and extremists alike. How come General Petraeus, or the MSM have no interest in my offensiveness to the Muslim community?
I’ll tell you why Harpie, because maybe you don’t have a video feed to the world, like this guy. This man went out of his way to make publicity for himself and his church. It may cost him dearly in the end.
Harpie,
If you preach , “that Jesus is God manifest in the flesh, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity revealed as the One True and Living God” then your message is offensive and repugnant to much of ‘evangelical Christianity’ in America… Just sayin’ …
I would start looking for a visit from Hillary Clinton-Rodham very soon. Posting on 5ptsalt is better than being on MSNBC, CNN, and CBS combined. JT has more viewers… 🙂
Peace out,
Truthy
If we’re dealing with “should not’s” then let’s add one:
The government “should not” allow mosques to operate within our country as our ruling officials “should” be leading this country according to biblical principles…and pluralism is not one of those principles.
If we don’t want to deal with “should not’s” then we should deal with “what is” and the bottom line is that in our pluralistic country multiple religions are allowed to exist side-by-side as if they had the same level of truth as each other. At the same time we have freedom of speech, which includes burning flags, books, etc. to show our disapproval of political agendas, religions, etc.
To take away the right to protest other religions while still remaining a pluralistic society would be a huge mistake.
Mosques should not be allowed in this country, but for completely different reasons.
Islam is not a religion. It is a hostile political system wrapped in pagan religious clothes. It is as much a political system as is communism, which is as much a religion as is Islam.
Si.
Reminds me of that Church last year that burned non KJV Bibles along with some John MacArthur and John Piper books.
Stupid.
Jesus would not be burning Koran’s and His followers should not be either. It is not about what we are against, but what we are for: Christ Jesus and the gospel. If I offend, Lord, let it not be because of my pride and sin, but if the gospel brings offense, then so be it.
Great article Joel. Thanks for standing up and speaking the truth.
I think the main reason that this spread so fast was the liberal media. My guess is that this guy is not an isolated case. True he put it out there like gasoline waiting for a match, but I am almost certain that there are a lot of gas cans that were just waiting for 911 so that they would have something to empty their guts on the GZM issue.
As a side note, the Koran in any other language than Arabic is not considered the Koran. In fact, unless it is an “authorized” Arabic translation, it is not. So where’s the beef? I am quite sure that Jones is not fluent in Arabic, so his copy is probably not the Koran, by Islamic standards, anyway.
The Islamic community is as guilty as the MSM in this regard. They are making a mountain out of a moe hill.
Then again, no Christian should be trying to choke the mole.
While out getting a bite of dinner with my wife, we heard on the radio that this “pastor” claimed to have reached agreement with the imam to move the mosque and he would halt the burning of Korans. Imam denies agreement. Time will which deceived person is telling the truth.