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Thoughts on Burning The Koran A few weeks ago "Pastor Terry Jones" of the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida make news. He stated that copies of the Koran will be burned at his church on Saturday, 9/11. This created quite a reaction. The President acknowledged the right of this group to burn the Koran, but criticized the action as being irresponsible. General Petraeus said it could make life more dangerous for our soldiers. Members of the national and international media ran stories on this topic. A group of Black Panthers with media in tow stood in front of the church and said that something would happen if they tried to burn the Koran. Terry Jones received death threats and started packing heat (a gun). So what is my take on this? After thinking about this for a while, here's what I think. Terry Jones wanted to get attention for himself and his church. He wanted the free advertisement and he got it. Some people believe any publicity is good publicity and he got a lot. I don't know if he really thought it would go International, but it did. I noticed those who were advocating the Mosque near ground zero in New York City want our tolerance and open-mindedness but they want it one way. Many Islamist claim their religion is one of peace. Yet, we talk about "Islamist Terrorist". If it was not so serious it would be comical to have a group of Black Panthers defending their religion of peace by threatening this church in Gainesville, Florida. Not all Islamist are terrorist and not all terrorist are Islamist, but there is a connection between the two. We can see the peaceful, (said tongue in check), nature of many Islamist in other countries. For instance, here's what one article said, "Religious leaders warned that Muslims overseas would interpret extremists like Jones as reflecting mainstream American attitudes toward Muslims. In Afghanistan on Monday, protesters made a point of wrapping an effigy of Jones in an American flag before burning both the effigy and the flag." Reaction to Proposed Koran Burning Doesn't Phase Florida Church, Sept. 8, 2010, by David Zucchino, Los Angeles Times. Don't talk to me about your peaceful religion while threatening violence to those who disagree with you. If you want to prove your peaceful nature, then show it. Instead of "Pastor Terry Jones" burning the Koran he should be preaching the Gospel. The Gospel was spread in the first century not by force but by preaching. The fact that people are being converted to Islam is due to a number of factors, but one of those is their commitment to spreading their religion. They are committed to teaching their children and their neighbors. The Koran should be exposed as false teaching. The most basic premise of Islam is that Mohammad was a prophet of God. One must ask the following question, What proofs did Mohammad exhibit to being a prophet of God? As far as I know Mohammad did not perform one miracle or any other act which would substantiate the claim of being a prophet. Mohammad himself was illiterate and claimed no special powers. Also, much of the teaching of the Koran contradicts the Bible. We are told to "test the spirits" in 1 John 4.1. This is done today by examining the teachings of men with the Bible. There are many contradictions between the Koran and the Bible. One can either accept the Koran or the Bible, but not both as the word of God. David McPherson made a couple important points in the following article: Burning the Quran When the gospel went to Ephesus, much good was accomplished. Luke tells us, "And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds. {19} Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver. {20} So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed." (Acts 19:18-20). Notice that a fruit of their repentance was the burning of certain books. These books had earthly value, but were filled with wickedness and practices contrary to the will of God. I think it important to consider WHO burned the books. It was the very ones who had previously held dear to them. It was those whose hearts had been touched by the gospel. That is key. We may go out here and gather up copies of the Quran and burn them into a heap of ash and perhaps feel we’ve accomplished something great. But until the hearts of men and women are turned by the good news of Jesus Christ, not one soul will be saved. Why not seek to reason with those who are not practicing truth by teaching them truth? Then, if they be good soil, the doing away with their erroneous volumes will be something they’ll want to do on their own. Instead of burning the Koran we need to focus on changing the inner person. Mr. Terry Jones can burn all the Korans he wants, but more will be printed. The only way to stop the influence of Islam is by teaching against it and changing the inner person. Afterward, those who formerly believed in the religion of Islam will be free of its false teachings just as those at Ephesus were free of their idolatry. Thus the only time we read of books being burned in the Bible were those burned by Christians who came out of idolatry. As you probably know by now, Terry Jones canceled the Koran burning ceremony. In the Messenger-Inquirer article dated September 12, 2010 "'We think about you...every day” the following quote was found: "We feel that God is telling us to stop," he said. “'Not today, not ever. We're not going to go back and do it. It is totally cancelled. This begs the questions: How did God tell him to stop? Better yet, how did God tell him to burn the Koran to start with? You see, I have a problem with this man's statement that God told him to stop, for this means that either God had changed His mind or this man had spoken presumptuously. The only way God communicates to us today is through His word. The Holy Spirit came and revealed all truth to mankind, John 14.26; 15.26; 16.13. God did not tell this man to have a Koran burning ceremony and He did not tell this man to not burn the Koran. God was not a part of this at all. Because of this man, many have criticized all so called Christians. He has given the enemies of the cross reason to scoff. This is what happens when people are not content to speak as the Bible speaks, 1 Peter 4.11. On a more personal point let me say that I do fear the spread of Islam in our country. In numerous European countries Muslims are taking over. As they grow in number and power they start to impose their religion on those societies. They want to have their own courts and enact Sharia Law. Among other things Sharia Law allows a man to have numerous wives, treat women as less beings, allow honor killings for various reasons, stoning for various violations such as a woman being in a room alone with a man not her husband, demand women wear the covering, and more. I do not say all Muslims adhere to Sharia Law but fundamental Muslims do. -- Dennis Tucker
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