Are we burning the Koran or the Cross?

The news media has been heating up over a proposed Koran burning. It is planned to be held on 9/11 at the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Fl. In a Foxnews.com article published on August 19th Pastor Terry Jones talked about the threats they have received and the reasons that they continue to move forward with the event. He cites things "like 9/11, Fort Hood, and the honor killings" as a reason for them to continue with their plans. The following is a quote from the article:

"We have thought about it, about the danger in holding the controversial event, and we realize that whenever we made this step, that this kind of thing could happen," he said. "But we feel it's that important, and the times call for some kind of radical measure in standing up."

New York Mayor Bloomberg made a statement today defending the right of the church to hold the burning. His reasoning is based on the first amendment right to freedom of speech. He compares this to the freedom of the Muslim community to build a mosque near ground zero. He said:

If you want to be able to say what you want to say when the time comes that you want to say it, you have to defend others, no matter how, how much you disagree with them.

While on the one hand I agree with the freedom of speech position, I must look at this from the perspective of how someone leading a God focused life should look at this. To begin with Pastor Terry's position strikes me as being clearly focused on making a stand. But a stand for what? The kingdom of God or the kingdoms of this world. Jesus told Pilate that His Kingdom was not of this world (John 18:36). That if His kingdom was of this world His servants would fight for Him. Should we fight for anything? You could make the case that we should be the defender of the defenseless and the helper of the helpless. But is the church called to be the defender of freedom of speech or personal rights? This seems to be the God given responsibility of the state, not the church (Rom. 13:1-4).

We should ask ourselves this question:

• Will this action cause Muslims to be more open to the gospel?

If it does not advance the kingdom of God in the hearts and minds of other people is it really an activity we should pursue or support? I think not. In reality Jesus said to love your enemies and pray for your persecutors (Matt. 5:43-44). How is Dove World Outreach Center doing this? Looking at another interview posted on Foxnews.com Pastor Jones seems intent on pointing out the wrongs that he would like to see righted. While I think we all would like to see Muslim women treated better, it seems a far cry from the calling of the church, to demand Christian actions from Non-Christians. Jesus told his followers to deny themselves take up their cross and follow Him (Mark 8:34). Jesus essentially told us to forget about our personal rights.

“For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” Mark 8:35-36

Is the existence of the Koran a real threat to the gospel? NO! The very gates of hell cannot prevail against the rock of the church (Matt. 16:18). What will make the biggest difference in the life of muslims around the world is grace filled God focused lives. When Muslims see Christians really embracing and living the love of God and demonstrating God's grace toward them then we will see hearts change. When we burn Koran's are we really burning our Christian witness to the grace we have received? Are we laying down the cross in that fire and picking up our rights instead? If we would see Muslim women treated better it must begin with changed hearts and that begins with a gospel presentation, given by a grace filled vessel.

Islam, Grace and Southpark

Comedy central apparently aired an episode of Southpark in which they depicted the prophet Mohamed dressed up in a bear costume. I am not endorsing or recommending you see this episode or any episode. The issue here is that a group called revolution muslim opposed the episode. They were adamant that depictions of Mohammed not be shown. They posted on their website graphic pictures of the death of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh, who was murdered in 2004 by Muslim extremists for making a movie about Muslim women. The caption under the images read: “Have Matt Stone and Trey Parker Forgotten This?” The threat was seen as very real and comedy central censored the episode. What strikes me about this is the lake of grace that exists in the religion of Islam. While I am sure that Revolution Muslim does not represent all muslims, Islam is rigid and there are reasons that countries controlled by Muslim leadership are so repressive. The main thing that stands out to me is the appalling lack of grace. I have witnessed to Muslims in this country and it always strikes me how they are working to balance the scales. They talk about repenting and seeking to do good. Lets take a step back and think about the seriousness of sin and its offense to God. If I lied to my children I will not get in a great deal of trouble. If I lie to my wife I will certainly face consequences. If I lie to a police officer or a judge I could go to jail. If I lie to the federal government I could lose my life for treason. The difference in each of these situations is the stature of the person or entity I lied to affected the consequences of telling a lie. God is greater than any government and He is holy. How much of an offense is one lie to God? Could anyone ever do enough good to offset just one lie? The tragedy for my muslim neighbors is that they live under a religious experience that offers no grace and so they offer no grace. I count myself privileged that God called my in grace to Himself. He paid the penalty for my sin and made me His child. I repented and now seek to follow Him as my Lord. Repentance for me was recognizing that I have sinned against God and cannot hope to pay the penalty on my own. I called on God in my brokenness to save me and Jesus took my penalty and paid my price. I am counting on grace and this gives me the ability through the Holy Spirit to offer more grace to others. May God grant my Muslim neighbors the grace they need to meet Jesus repent and receive His grace so that they too can come to live God focused lives in Jesus my God.