Had an interesting (and good) talk with Peter about Pastor Terry Jones' plan to burn Qurans tomorrow in protest against the evil of Islam and, more specifically, the calculated construction of a mosque near Ground Zero scheduled to open on the ninth anniversary of 9-11. While I do believe that Islam is a perversion of the true faith perpetuated by the Enemy, and I do value free speech granted by the 1st Amendment (also the Amendment that guarantees freedom of religion, interestingly), and I am offended at the insensitivity of a mosque built at the site of radical Islamic terrorism, I do not see anywhere Jesus teaching that we as Christians should respond to an insult with an insult (see Matthew 5:39). Nor do I believe that burning what another person esteems as holy to be an act of loving your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 5:44).Ultimately, I believe that God has given men a choice to make, and I will espouse another person's right to choose a false religion if it means I also have the right to follow my faith and share my understanding of Christ's forgiveness without fear. God never told the Israelites to try to convert the Philistines (though I do believe He would want them to love the Philistines and live a life that reflected the righteousness of God) just to make sure that they didn't follow in their idolatrous practices.
No comments:
Post a Comment