Some Christians will immediately bristle at what I am about to say. However, God says the Truth will set us free, so here goes.
The news that a “Christian” church in Florida intends to burn copies of the Quran on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks fills me with sadness.
Certainly, the Bible cautions Christians to reject false doctrine. But that is a very simple and personal act of turning away, in your own mind, heart and actions, from that which subverts or denies the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Nowhere in the Holy Bible, however, does it tell us that we are to control the minds of others. God gave men Free Will, because He intends for each of us to make our own choices, for which He says He will hold us accountable.
Burning books – any books – amounts to denying others the opportunity to read them. It robs them of the chance to exercise that God-given Free Will. The Nazis did it. The Communists have done it. Since I doubt very seriously that every member of this congregation in Florida actually owned a copy of the Quran, I have to assume that they purchased them deliberately to destroy them.
That is not Christianity – it is totalitarianism, and it goes against every value upon which this nation was founded.
Make no mistake: I personally regard Islam as a grave threat to the entire world. The Quran teaches that there must not, cannot, and will not be any other religion on the earth except Islam. If further authorizes the follows of Mohammed to use violence to ensure that outcome. That is as plain as it gets.
However, burning the Quran is playing by their rules. It places us on the level with the perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks, who would deny all of us access to any other ideology except Islam. It does NOT evidence faith that Almighty God can and will see the Truth prevail.
Do I believe that we must resist the Islamic ideology, to prevent it from supplanting the Judeo/Christian foundation of our Republic? Most assuredly. However, it truly saddens me to see those who call themselves the Lord’s Own using the tactics of godless heathens. Burning the Quran not only doesn’t stop Islam, it actually energizes it. And at the same time, it undermines our own nation’s values of personal Freedom of thought and religion.
Physical attack must be resisted with physical force. But an evil idea can only defeated by a better idea, and Christians already have the best of all weapons: the Gospel. For over 2,000 years, it has survived against every attempt to eradicate it.
As Christians, we don’t need to waste our time and effort trying to destroy the physical Quran. All we need is to shine the Light of Jesus upon its teachings.
Diana Clark is a Christian, grandmother, conservative Constitutionalist, a Vet, from three generations of Vets - and would rather do a good CW two-step than eat. Diana can be reached at asnglvoice@centurylink.net
