A lot of news coverage has been given to a church in Gainsville, Florida, that plans to publicly burn copies of the Qur’an on September 11th. The church’s leader, Pastor Terry Jones (Dove World Outreach Center), continues to defend this action against widespread criticism, saying that it will “send a message to radical Islam”.
Let’s put this in perspective for a moment, it was falsely reported that this is a “megachurch” when in reality Sunday morning attendance seems to be somewhere around 30 members. The truth is it’s a small independent church. 30 people should not be seen as being in any way reflecting the voice of 650 million Evangelical Christians worldwide. Again one has to question the media’s choices as to what is newsworthy.
Before I suggest why burning copies of the Qur’an is such a bad idea, let me make clear that this is not about Christians recognizing, or giving credence to, the Qur’an.
The Qur’an is just a book. We do not accept it as being divinely inspired nor authoritative. It cannot contain the truth, because it’s message flatly contradicts the teaching of the Bible, and both cannot be correct. In fact it is a book of deception that is responsible for leading multiplied millions of people away from the Savior Jesus Christ, and therefore to hell. This may not be a politically correct statement, but it is one that all consistent, Bible-believing Christians must believe.
Neither is the Qur’an a noble book. Over 100 times it commands faithful muslims to kill “infidels” (if you’re not a muslim, that means you). Contrast that with the Bible which teaches Christians to love even those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44).
However, having said all of that, Pastor Jones’s actions are wrong because they fly in the face of the teaching of the Christian Scriptures. 2 Corinthians 10:4 says, “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal (‘fleshly’, ‘of this world’) but they are mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds.”
Jones and his congregation (presuming they support him) are clearly trying to fight a spiritual battle with a display of human retaliation. It’s nothing but “carnal” means.
He says he wants to “send a message”, but what IS that message? That the Christian gospel is weak and pathetic like that of other philosophies or religions? That the Church of Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, has to resort to getting down in the dirt and mudslinging with those who hold up banners saying “death to the infidels” and burn Bibles in the streets?
I have far more confidence in the power of the Christian gospel than that. My Bible tells me that one day very soon EVERY knee, without exception, shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:10). The prophet Isaiah declared that “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9). The Lord Jesus will reign forever and ever, and He will bring every terrorist, and every murderer and all their violence, along with all liars and immoral people, to account for their deeds.
Muslims should not be the target of our rage and retaliation, but of our compassion and love that urgently proclaims to them the saving gospel, which is their only hope as it is ours.
Christians may be grieved over actions like 9/11, but we ought not to be beside ourselves with perplexity and frustration. The world may reel, but Christians must demonstrate the poise that comes from knowing God is in sovereign control. He saw fit to allow 9/11. We denounce it as evil and cowardly, just as He does. But such actions do not affect the outcome of God’s predestined eternal plan for one moment or by one degree.
Pastor Jones, I charge you to heed the words of James 1:20, “The wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” No matter how sincere or justified you feel your actions are, they are NOT the godly way.
Christians need to get ourselves back to our true weaponry: (1) Prayer and (2) preaching the whole gospel of Jesus Christ to the whole world. No other religion of man, no other book, not even the devils of hell can stop the Lord building His Church and fulfilling all His purposes.
Soli Deo Gloria,
Phil
Thank-you Pastor Phil. It scares me to think that a church can take into their own hands such a miss guided mission. I hope that your msg will be well received by people who have yet to find their faith.
Thanks Vanessa!
All these night shootings come because of not having enough knowledge about other religions.
I think we try to recognize Islam from muslims but we have to increase our knowledges about them by Islam Concept.
For example:
I’m sure most of christians don’t know that we (muslims) believe in Christ & Mosee. Therefore any muslim is a christian as well as a Judism at the same time.
According to Islam trainings, we respoect to Christ & Chrstians as well as Mosee & Judisms.
Do you know that mother of our last Imam (Mahdi) was a Romanian?!!!
Do you know that in Islam we can’t harm even a small insect easily? In Islam it says to fight with Moshreks not with other religions. Do you know what’s the meanining of Moshrek? Who covers presence of the God & nothing else, while all you believe in God (even you right it in your Dollars) thereofe you are not Moshreks.
Let’s come together, love each other & feel each other.
Ali, first of all, thank you for taking the time to leave a comment and I want to assure you that true Christians DO love muslims.
You wrote: “Therefore any muslim is a christian as well as a Judism at the same time.” But you need to understand that the Bible says this cannot be so.
Jesus said very clearly … “I am the way, the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father except through Me.”
The Bible says: “There is no other Name given under heaven by which we must be saved.”
Jesus claimed to be God Himself in human form – not merely a prophet or teacher as you would be taught in Islam. And He ruled out any other way to God – including the religion of Islam. You simply cannot follow Jesus Christ and another religion at the same time.
Allah is NOT the God of the Bible who Christians worship. He is NOT the God who spoke to Mosee. We know this because in your Quran the Prophet says things about this god Allah that contradict what the Bible says about the one true and living God who made all things.
Ali, all men and women were born in sin. We are cut off from God, and we break his law every day. Have you lied? Have you ever stolen? Have you looked on a woman with sexual desire? Have you hated someone? Every time you have done these things you have broken God’s law again, and proved what the Bible says is true.
As lawbreakers, God who is perfectly holy is going to have to punish us when we come to the judgment. The punishment for sin is eternal death. The Bible describes it as hell – the lake of fire – forever.
BUT the Bible tells us: “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son (Jesus) that whosoever believes on Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Ali, Jesus died in agony on the Cross to pay the death penalty for all your sin and my sin. HE ALONE can bring us back to God. Nothing we can ever do will ever make up for our rebellion – but Jesus paid the price FOR us.
He didn’t die to give you a religion where you would have to work every day to be good enough to be saved by God. None of us could EVER be good enough. He died to give you salvation as a free gift.
After He died for our sins Jesus rose from the dead. It was witnessed by over 500 people who saw Him alive. No other has done this. Not even the Prophet. And this almighty Jesus who rose from the dead is the one who says there is no other way to God but to believe in Jesus.
You must confess your sins to God (not Allah, but Jesus) once and for all – including the sin of following a false god through Islam – and you must cling to Jesus Christ ALONE as your Savior. And he WILL save you. You can KNOW that you are forgiven and ready to stand before God.
Ali, I hope to see you in heaven. You will only get there through the Lord Jesus. If you have any questions about what I have written here, or want to know more about Jesus, or if you would like the places to look in the Bible where it says the things I have said above, please leave another comment or email me.
Christians all over the world are praying for Muslims every day. Before we trusted in Jesus we also were cut off from God. My sins were just as condemning as yours. But I praise God that He forgave me through what Jesus did for me. And He will do the same for you if you call on Him.
Phil
@Ali, it is not true that “Therefore any muslim is a christian as well as a Judism at the same time.”
We should understand another’s religion but not be bent to it. To live in peace we have to understand the differences.
@Phil, it is untrue that Islam advocates war. I think you do not have the right to speak about something you do not have much knowledge about. In any religion you will have convictions but how it is being demonstrated can be misleading. The extremists are not the representatives of their religions (either the extremist in muslim communities or in christian communities such as the Florida church which can be seen as an act of immaturity.) You can’t be fighting fire and fire. We need more thinking leaders.
@Lisa, I did not suggest anywhere, either in my post or in my comment, anything about all Muslims being extremists, or agreeing with extremists.
What I DID say was that their book, the Qur’an, over 100 times tells followers of Islam to kill infidels. And it defines “infidels” as “unbelievers”. i.e. non-muslims. The only way, Lisa, to make the Qur’an NOT say that is to start tearing pages out of it – and I don’t think that Muslim people would appreciate you doing that.
If you read my post you will know I am against the ridiculous idea of Christians burning copies of the Qur’an.
Pastor Phil, respectfully I have to thank you for paying your time to write notes which I’m sure leads to better knowing each other.
We have a phrase that says: “Neglect war of 72 different socities, since they couldn’t find the thruth, they have walked through myth stories”. If we come back to the origin of all people we will reach to Adam, so we can call each other as cousin & then we can ask ourselves: “Is it true to fight with our families?”
Dear Phil, In my opinion, it is far from the mind that another person can pay for clearing sins of the others. All we know that each man has responsibility of his acts & normally must be punished accordingly. Please reply me by referring to your mind no to Bible. Is this correct that we do bad things & another person pays for washing of our sins?!!!
Quran says that Isiah was burn by the power of the God from Maryam without any father (when the God brough out Adam from the soil, it’s so easier to bring a son from body of a woman).
Dear Phil, we are living in 21st. century & we have to compare all of our religious believes with our logical mind. You know that Galileo got killed by Church because of telling that the Earth is not center of the world so we can’t accept all written texts even are named to Isiah ir Mohammad.
Dear Phil, in Quran it is not written that Mosee talked with God, it says that he talked with God through a fire which has been made by power of the God.
If you say that there is no way to God except Christ, why you respect Judes while they believe in God through Mosee instead of Christ???
Dear Phil, do you know that Quran says “Isiah is not died & one day he comes back to distribute peace all around the world”? Also in Quran is written: “Finally the earth will be under control of Good people” (we believe Isiah is one of the them).
Dear Phil, regarding 9/11, if you review this political story, you see that such this bug disaster can’t be created by some terrorists, in my opinion it was a very wide & deeply planned program to make a big valley between Muslims & Christians (you know most of Judes were evacuated of those buildings at that time), therefore we have to be careful where are we going (or we are getting to be gone!).
@Ali, I agree that we should not fight. The Bible teaches Christians to love even those who may call us their enemies. You have to admit that your Qur’an teaches not to kill in some places, but in other places to make Jihad. I believe that you want to live in peace with Christians, Ali, and we can have good and respectful conversations.
But what is most important is the truth. If you say that the world is a sphere and I say that it is flat, we cannot both be right. We do not have to be violent with each other, but we cannot be silly and say “OK, both of these views are true in some way.” No, they contradict each other, so at least one of these views must be wrong.
Islam and Christianity say very different things, and they cannot both be right.
You say that we should put aside the Bible and just apply our minds. Well, first I agree that we should reason together. BUT, when it comes to thoughts about God how can man logically come to ANY conclusions? When people try to “imagine” God without reference to what He has said about Himself, what do they come up with? Statues of wood and stone. Idols that have no power. The only way we can know any truth about God is if He reveals Himself to us. That is what the Bible is – God revealing Himself.
You say that in your mind another person cannot pay for clearing sins of others. Well, if I only apply my mind to that question, I disagree. If you are in court before a judge and he finds you guilty and tells you to pay a fine of 1,000,000 Rial. You cannot afford this fine, but someone else comes in to the court and says they will pay the fine for you. The judge will let you go, because justice has been satisfied.
But even though this is logical, it doesn’t really matter in the case of God. God is the One who is offended by our sins. What HE decides will satisfy His divine justice is all that matters. He has declared that He accepts the sacrifice of His own Son Jesus on the cross as the penalty paid in our place.
About Moses. The Bible says that God spoke to Him face to face as a man speaks with His friend. So here is another example where the Qur’an and the Bible say different things. They cannot both be right. The Qur’an is a secondary source here, because it’s information is based on the Jewish Old Testament. They had the original accounts of Moses. The Qur’an was written many centuries later. So which is going to be correct? Think about it? What Moses recorded, or the retelling of it by Mohammed? If the Qur’an is wrong about this thing, it could be wrong in many things.
You asked if we respect Judes (Jews). God revealed Himself to the Jewish people. He gave them the revelation of the Old Testament. Jesus was born to that race. We respect them as God’s people, and all that God revealed through them. HOWEVER, Judaism is not the whole revelation of God. The New Testament completes the story of God’s plan to save man from our sins. Judaism is not sufficient to save anyone. The Jewish people also must come to faith in Jesus Christ. There is no other way.
Your final paragraph about 9/11 I do not agree with. There have been lots of conspiracy theories, but all of the evidence points to a well-planned terrorist attack. Al quaeda claimed reponsibility and rejoiced in the evil done. I accept that is what happened. To suggest something about Jews being evacuated is only another attempt by people to try and put the blame on Israel. These ideas are rooted in anti-semitism.
Ali, Jesus loves you so much that He was willing to die in your place on the cross. He is the only true God who made the world and all that is. He is full of mercy and compassion. Pray to Him, and ask Him to show you the truth.
Phil
Dear Phil,
1- Your pastors, based on their religious sources declared that Earth is flat, therefore we can say your religious sources weren’t 100% correct.
2- We know more than you about Al-Qaida, because we were living near them for many years. Do you know they were been created & supported by US? Therefore is Al-Qaida had done this terroritic mission it was coming from its origin. We have fighted with Iraq for many years. Who had supported Saddam? US. And who had executed him as well? again its origin US. Have you ever thought that if there was not happened 9/11 who has bought torrent of weapons in Middle East? Unfortunately religious is got employed of politics for a long time.
3- All of us must refer to our minds to make any decision, in Islam we have three main references, first: Wisdom, Second: Quaran & 3rd: What Mohammad had done. As you can see the first reference is Wisdom. And I think it’s not wise to bring down level of God to level of a man. So indirect Speaking of God with Mosee can be wiser.
Always we pray God & repsect all the Prophets including Jesus. Do you we have many praying text which ask God to forgive us in the name of Jesus.
Finally I appreciate you to read a portion of our Quran about Mary & Jesus as below, I’m sure that all of us feel a light in our heart which is burning by weeling of God & that leads us to clearness & goodness. Quran says God is closer to you even more than vessel of your neck, just we have to remove covers to see the God!
Wish you the bests
Ali
Surah 19 – Maryam MARY
019.001 Kaf, Ha, Ya, ‘Ain, Sad.
019.002 (This is) a recital of the Mercy of thy Lord to His servant Zakariya.
019.003 Behold! he cried to his Lord in secret,
019.004 Praying: “O my Lord! infirm indeed are my bones, and the hair of my head doth glisten with grey: but never am I unblest, O my Lord, in my prayer to Thee!
019.005 “Now I fear (what) my relatives (and colleagues) (will do) after me: but my wife is barren: so give me an heir as from Thyself,-
019.006 “(One that) will (truly) represent me, and represent the posterity of Jacob; and make him, O my Lord! one with whom Thou art well-pleased!”
019.007 (His prayer was answered): “O Zakariya! We give thee good news of a son: His name shall be Yahya: on none by that name have We conferred distinction before.”
019.008 He said: “O my Lord! How shall I have a son, when my wife is barren and I have grown quite decrepit from old age?”
019.009 He said: “So (it will be) thy Lord saith, ‘that is easy for Me: I did indeed create thee before, when thou hadst been nothing!’”
019.010 (Zakariya) said: “O my Lord! give me a Sign.” “Thy Sign,” was the answer, “Shall be that thou shalt speak to no man for three nights, although thou art not dumb.”
019.011 So Zakariya came out to his people from his chamber: He told them by signs to celebrate God’s praises in the morning and in the evening.
019.012 (To his son came the command): “O Yahya! take hold of the Book with might”: and We gave him Wisdom even as a youth,
019.013 And pity (for all creatures) as from Us, and purity: He was devout,
019.014 And kind to his parents, and he was not overbearing or rebellious.
019.015 So Peace on him the day he was born, the day that he dies, and the day that he will be raised up to life (again)!
019.016 Relate in the Book (the story of) Mary, when she withdrew from her family to a place in the East.
019.017 She placed a screen (to screen herself) from them; then We sent to her our angel, and he appeared before her as a man in all respects.
019.018 She said: “I seek refuge from thee to (God) Most Gracious: (come not near) if thou dost fear God.”
019.019 He said: “Nay, I am only a messenger from thy Lord, (to announce) to thee the gift of a holy son.
019.020 She said: “How shall I have a son, seeing that no man has touched me, and I am not unchaste?”
019.021 He said: “So (it will be): Thy Lord saith, ‘that is easy for Me: and (We wish) to appoint him as a Sign unto men and a Mercy from Us’:It is a matter (so) decreed.”
019.022 So she conceived him, and she retired with him to a remote place.
019.023 And the pains of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a palm-tree: She cried (in her anguish): “Ah! would that I had died before this! would that I had been a thing forgotten and out of sight!”
019.024 But (a voice) cried to her from beneath the (palm-tree): “Grieve not! for thy Lord hath provided a rivulet beneath thee;
019.025 “And shake towards thyself the trunk of the palm-tree: It will let fall fresh ripe dates upon thee.
019.026 “So eat and drink and cool (thine) eye. And if thou dost see any man, say, ‘I have vowed a fast to (God) Most Gracious, and this day will I enter into not talk with any human being’”
019.027 At length she brought the (babe) to her people, carrying him (in her arms). They said: “O Mary! truly an amazing thing hast thou brought!
019.028 “O sister of Aaron! Thy father was not a man of evil, nor thy mother a woman unchaste!”
019.029 But she pointed to the babe. They said: “How can we talk to one who is a child in the cradle?”
019.030 He said: “I am indeed a servant of God: He hath given me revelation and made me a prophet;
019.031 “And He hath made me blessed wheresoever I be, and hath enjoined on me Prayer and Charity as long as I live;
019.032 “(He) hath made me kind to my mother, and not overbearing or miserable;
019.033 “So peace is on me the day I was born, the day that I die, and the day that I shall be raised up to life (again)”!
019.034 Such (was) Jesus the son of Mary: (it is) a statement of truth, about which they (vainly) dispute.
019.035 It is not befitting to (the majesty of) God that He should beget a son. Glory be to Him! when He determines a matter, He only says to it, “Be”, and it is.
019.036 Verily God is my Lord and your Lord: Him therefore serve ye: this is a Way that is straight
Ali, nobody is saying the world is flat. I was using it as an example only. Nobody has believed that for centuries. In fact the Bible declared the world was not flat thousands of years ago (Isaiah 40:22). Another proof it is the reliable Word of God. Religious leaders may say anything, that is why we are not to trust our own wisdom – we are humans and are frequently wrong. But the Word of God is perfect – the Bible is trustworthy.
The best to you also Ali.
Phil