Don't Burn Books!

Don’t Burn Books!

Dr. Jay Worth Allen

I’ll go on record as being totally against burning the Qur’an! And I’m not alone. Countless major Christian organizations spoke against torching the Qur’an - the Catholic Church, the Southern Baptist, etc. But there’s a big difference between arguing against burning Qur’ans and actually promoting Islam itself.

Last week a bunch on the Religious Left came out defending and even advocating the spread of Islam. And I have to admit that the, up-in-arms, book-burning scene did remind me of Ray Bradbury’s, Fahrenheit 451 - a frightening vision of the future, where firemen don’t put out fires . . . they start them in order to burn books. Which is scary in itself, but somehow these so-called Christian lightweights have decided Islamic evangelism is the right response.

The Massachusetts Bible Society declared they would hand out two Qur’an’s for every one burned. Yes, an organization supposedly committed to Christianity is now committed to spread Islam.

A South Carolina church gave a bunch of Qur’ans to a mosque in Charleston. In Raleigh, N.C., one Christian church put together an interfaith gathering to read excerpts of the Qur’an in their church building. Yep, right in the heart of the Bible-belt - Christians spreading Islam. Do they see the likelihood of it one day being the Qur’an-belt? Do they think giving out and reading passages from a false-religion book is part of the Great Commission? I’m not sure how you can make that argument theologically.

“Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20).

That commission is for Christians to spread the gospel: Christ was crucified and resurrected for our sins that we might have eternal life. When the Lord’s disciples entered other nations who venerated pagan gods, they didn’t promote those gods. Instead, they let those nations know that they were missing the truth of the One, true God. To spread any other religion is to deny the gospel and Jesus Christ Himself!

No matter how ashamed we might be of Christians going bananas and burning books, our response should never to be ashamed of the gospel. By promoting Islam instead of the Christianity, those religious loonies are showing nothing more than shame and self-loathing of themselves and Christ Jesus and His people!

There are other examples of Christians all but giving up their faith to promote Islam in our nation these days. However, it is possible to be against a false religion and still stand up for Christ! Because, if we do not stand for Christ Jesus and His Church, we might eventually become a nation of people bowing toward Mecca.

Don’t Burn Books!
Written: 13 September 2010 / *not yet published on Freed In Christ! blogsite.
Published: 16 September 2010 in the FAITH Column of The County Journal.
(in conjunction with the author's ISLAM SERIES)

Link goes to A Brief History of Redemption

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