Somehow we have gotten to a point where a seemingly intelligent, grown man can study Jesus his entire life and come to the conclusion that Jesus would, in fact, burn books in protest of a building as an insult to a worldwide religious community.
Somehow this man can convince his few followers and random strangers that his message is one that Jesus would approve of, and even preach were He still preaching.
I, for one, do not understand how this message is in any way biblical, much less Christian.
I am reminded of something I was taught when I was a DJ.
In the early and mid-aughts, I was at the top of my game as a DJ. I was winning awards and gaining recognition within my company, as well as the Grand Rapids wedding community. Vendors knew me. Reception halls knew me and would recommend me to their clientele. The sky was the limit, and the only thing that kept me from it was the amount of time I was willing to invest in the effort.
It is during those times that we are at the greatest risk of temptation by laziness, or by resting on our laurels. We're doing fine, we think, there's no need to work as hard or put as much effort into it.
The danger is that we will slack off.
Once a DJ starts to slack, his performance suffers, and it doesn't take long at all. I was off for a month stretch during that period, and my next three shows bombed. It only took four weeks and I was off my game. It took about a month and a half for me to get back into my groove.
My boss always used to tell us that we're only as good as our next show.
It doesn't matter what you did last week.
Your performance of a lifetime last month doesn't matter to tonight's bride and groom.
You are only as good as your next show.
I think the lesson can apply to our walk with Christ as well.
You are only as Christian as your next act of Christ.
In Luke 6:43-45 Jesus is very clear about good and bad, and how people will know Christians.
Paul tells us in Philippians 2:11-13 that we should continue to work out our salvation.
We will be known in the image of Christ by the fruit we bear. Is book burning good fruit?
Is carrying a weapon because of death threats good fruit?
Are those that threaten death bearing good fruit?
I don't want to point fingers and claim that this Mr. Jones is not a Christian. It seems he is giving us all the proof we need.
jj
2 comments:
As usual you make some good points. However I propose to offer a counter point or two if you can see fit to allow my comments through the moderation process.
I dont take any issue with the premise that we should all bear fruit and that further we are judged in essence by our next fruit on many occasions.
However perhaps you should consider a few things before trashing someone based on their actions. The Koran is a heathen book. Make no mistake the Koran is no better than a book of witch craft or any other book of Satanic rituals and understand that burning such a book is justifiable.
Its clear that this particular pastor's actions are in bad taste but we should consider the fact that in Acts Paul has our fellow Christians burn books of witch craft and magic. By doing so he sets an example for us to follow.
It is clear to me and it should be to you, that burning the Devil's books is not only a good idea but it is something we are called to do.
jdh
Jeff,
Of course I'm going to publish your comments. Your voice is welcomed here, as is any reasoned, intelligent voice.
Thank you for taking the time to comment.
We seem to agree that it is in bad taste for us as Christians to burn books of other religions, even books we do not hold as sacred.
The Quran is a good example. As Christians, we do not view the Quran as sacred or inspired by God. It therefore has no bearing on our theology, much the same as the Bible has no bearing on the theology of a Muslim. Our New Testament has no bearing on Judaism, ecetera...
In the Book of Acts, we read where newcomers to the Christian faith did, in fact, burn their books of sorcery and witchcraft.
It is imortant to note, however, that this burning was not demanded by Paul, nor enacted against the sorcerers by Paul or his followers.
Thus, the story in Acts is that of willing people coming to Christ and renouncing their former lives, and bringing with them the physical and monetary representations of that life to be burned.
If Muslims want to come to Christ and then burn their own Qurans, then we could see a parallel in Acts.
But the desecration by Christians of another man's sacred book, whether we hold it to be sacred or not, is nothing more than an act of aggression and violence against that faith.
We can and should hold ourselves to a higher standard than that.
jj
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