Last night after hearing another news report about how a Florida pastor (with my same last name) planned to burn a Quran, and then hearing General David Petraeus say this was deplorable and could put U.S. troops in Afghanistan in danger, I put the following on our church sign:
To Burn Another’s
Revered Book is Wrong
See Jesus at Matt. 7:12
I wanted to choose my words carefully, but the word limits of the sign were very frustrating!
Also I realized that the issue of the planned book burning could get mixed up in some peoples’ minds with the issue of the proposed mosque near Ground Zero at the World Trade Center site. (I am one who believes that while the planners apparently have a legal right to build there, given the sensitivities of many people about the place, building right there [instead of a few blocks away] is probably not a good idea because it undermines the stated purpose of creating peace and understanding.) But this has absolutely nothing to do with burning the Quran. The same sensitivity to other peoples’ hearts, which might cause the mosque planners not to build right there, should cause any who call themselves Christians not to burn the Quran! I put Matthew 7:12 on the sign because it is a New Testament passage where the Lord Jesus Christ says, So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
As I thought about what to put on our church sign, I did not want to create confusion by referring to the Quran as a “holy” book, because for Christians our holy books are uniquely the Old and New Testaments. I did not want to give the wrong impression that Christians consider another book to be holy. But I also did want to indicate the Quran’s importance for Muslims, so I referred to it as a “Revered Book.”
One main reason for putting this on our sign: I noticed that those who are putting their lives on the line — American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan and still others who wish to share the love and teaching of Jesus in far away lands — were the ones most bothered by this threatened burning of the Quran because they felt it needlessly burned bridges to Muslim people. The Christian church (but not our secular army!) has been commanded to share Jesus with the whole world, and we know that sharing the good news of Jesus is always relational and involves loving people deeply and unconditionally. It is most effective when done in a context of love and mutual respect, where deep relationships with those of other faiths provide opportunities to bear witness to our faith in Christ.
As to the Quran, we can definitely affirm some things it teaches: that God created everything, that God is merciful and beneficent, and that God will judge all people. We can also agree with Quranic affirmations that the Old Testament (torah) and New Testament (ingil) are inspired by God, that Jesus is the Word of God and the Spirit of God, that he was born of a virgin, and that he performed many miracles, including raising the dead. There are other things the Quran appears to affirm (some of these may be questions of interpretation) which disagree with the witness of our holy book. The Bible affirms Jesus is God’s Son (though of course his conception happened through the Holy Spirit and not through intercourse) and that Jesus died on the cross for the sins of the world and was raised the third day from the dead.
Finally as Kenneth Cragg, formerly at Hartford Seminary and a pioneer of Muslim-Christian dialogue, put it in more than one book, there are important differences between Jesus, the founder of Christianity, and Muhammad, the founder of Islam. As Cragg put it, Muhammad was, among other things, a conquering general, whereas when his disciples started to violently resist those who were arresting him, Jesus said, Put your sword back in its place…for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? Matthew 26:52-3.
Christians would love to have respectful conversations with Muslims about such things, and we know that burning the Quran will never open the door to such conversations but rather will slam it shut. Hopefully Muslims understand that for every Christian who wants to burn the Quran, there are a thousand who are appalled.
In closing, as a minister in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), I would like to quote from one of our eleven creeds, catechisms, and confessions which, though very fallible, we feel help us interpret Scripture, which is God’s infallible Word. The Confession of 1967 at section 9.42 says,
“The Christian finds parallels between other religions and his own and must approach all religions with openness and respect. Repeatedly God has used the insight of non-Christians to challenge the church to renewal. But the reconciling word of the gospel is God’s judgment upon all forms of religion, including the Christian. The gift of God in Christ is for all men. The church, therefore, is commissioned to carry the gospel to all men whatever their religion may be and even when they profess none.”
Building bridges to people God loves is good. “Speaking the truth in love” (see Ephesians 4:15) is always good. Burning books, especially ones revered by people whom God loves and for whom Christ died, is definitely harmful, unkind, and foolish.
WINFIELD CASEY JONES is pastor of First Church of Pearland, Texas, and may be reached at wrjones2002@yahoo.com.
