The Church that Christ founded on Earth comes in all sorts of flavors these days. There is the Roman Catholic, there are the Orthodox branches, there are several "mainstream" Protestant denominations. And then there are... others.
Dove World Outreach Church, in Gainsville, Florida is an example of the "other". The "church" plans to publicly burn over 3,000 copies of the Qur'an in retaliation for the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center and Pentegon destruction. The church claims that it is a "total concept church", whatever that may mean, and that its purpose is to "stand up for righteousness and the truth of the Bible". The leader of this church, Terry Jones, has apparently forgotten to read that very Bible that he supposedly holds so dear.
In a CNN interview, Mr. Jones was asked about the Christian principle of turning the other cheek. To which he replied, "I think in deed that most of the time, we as Christians are indeed called to turn the other cheek. I believe that most of the time, talk and diplomacy is the correct way. But I always think that once in a while, I think you see that in the Bible, there are incidents where enough is enough and you stand up". (Emphasis supplied) Oh, really? I truly wish I could have been there to ask Mr. Jones to show me where Christ said that. I would dearly love to know where Christ said that Christianity was a "part time" faith, or that we can pick and choose which parts we don't like. I have searched, and I can't find that passage. His interpretation of the Bible amounts to heresy. Alas, this type of hypocrisy isn't rare in Christianity, and unfortunately, neither is the ugliness of Mr. Jones' message.
In my research to determine whether I could find where Christ condoned messages of hate and intolerance such as that of Mr. Jones and his "church", I DID, however, see several passages with which Mr. Jones and his church should be familiar, but have apparently chosen not to heed:
Luke 6: 27-28: "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you."
Luke 6: 37: "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven."
This "church", and others like it, are not spreading God's love. Their message to Islam is not a message of love and peace, the message that God commanded. Their message is one of hate and disrespect. This is the ugly side to Christianity, and Christians who truly believe Christ's word should publicly repudiate this "church", and the brand of hate they spew masquerading as Christianity.
Our Constitution grants Mr. Jones and his followers the right to believe as they choose. It does not, however, require us to stand silent when a church takes actions which betrays the Christian faith, which effectively ignores the Word of God, and which also will cause untold potential harm to come to the very troops that this church may cheer on in the "fight against the infidel". Gen. David Petreus, the US Forces commander in Afghanistan, has said that the burning of the Qur'an will give the Taliban a recruiting weapon, and will deeply offend those upon we depend for information as our allies.
All Christians, of whatever persuasion, should recognize that Christianity is not a religion of hate, nor is it a religion which encourages retribution. Nay, as demonstrated above, it commands love, and forbids retribution. We should pray for those who endanger their very souls when they listen to false prophets such as Mr. Jones, with his message of hate, as it is written, "Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble." 1 John 2:9-10. The people of the earth are the Children of God. It is time to put hate aside, to rebuke those who spread these messages of heresy, and to walk in the path of peace.
Dove World Outreach Church, in Gainsville, Florida is an example of the "other". The "church" plans to publicly burn over 3,000 copies of the Qur'an in retaliation for the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center and Pentegon destruction. The church claims that it is a "total concept church", whatever that may mean, and that its purpose is to "stand up for righteousness and the truth of the Bible". The leader of this church, Terry Jones, has apparently forgotten to read that very Bible that he supposedly holds so dear.
In a CNN interview, Mr. Jones was asked about the Christian principle of turning the other cheek. To which he replied, "I think in deed that most of the time, we as Christians are indeed called to turn the other cheek. I believe that most of the time, talk and diplomacy is the correct way. But I always think that once in a while, I think you see that in the Bible, there are incidents where enough is enough and you stand up". (Emphasis supplied) Oh, really? I truly wish I could have been there to ask Mr. Jones to show me where Christ said that. I would dearly love to know where Christ said that Christianity was a "part time" faith, or that we can pick and choose which parts we don't like. I have searched, and I can't find that passage. His interpretation of the Bible amounts to heresy. Alas, this type of hypocrisy isn't rare in Christianity, and unfortunately, neither is the ugliness of Mr. Jones' message.
In my research to determine whether I could find where Christ condoned messages of hate and intolerance such as that of Mr. Jones and his "church", I DID, however, see several passages with which Mr. Jones and his church should be familiar, but have apparently chosen not to heed:
Luke 6: 27-28: "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you."
Luke 6: 37: "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven."
This "church", and others like it, are not spreading God's love. Their message to Islam is not a message of love and peace, the message that God commanded. Their message is one of hate and disrespect. This is the ugly side to Christianity, and Christians who truly believe Christ's word should publicly repudiate this "church", and the brand of hate they spew masquerading as Christianity.
Our Constitution grants Mr. Jones and his followers the right to believe as they choose. It does not, however, require us to stand silent when a church takes actions which betrays the Christian faith, which effectively ignores the Word of God, and which also will cause untold potential harm to come to the very troops that this church may cheer on in the "fight against the infidel". Gen. David Petreus, the US Forces commander in Afghanistan, has said that the burning of the Qur'an will give the Taliban a recruiting weapon, and will deeply offend those upon we depend for information as our allies.
All Christians, of whatever persuasion, should recognize that Christianity is not a religion of hate, nor is it a religion which encourages retribution. Nay, as demonstrated above, it commands love, and forbids retribution. We should pray for those who endanger their very souls when they listen to false prophets such as Mr. Jones, with his message of hate, as it is written, "Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble." 1 John 2:9-10. The people of the earth are the Children of God. It is time to put hate aside, to rebuke those who spread these messages of heresy, and to walk in the path of peace.
The 'Dove Church and Used Furniture Store' (that's what it is) has co-opted and corrupted the word Christian.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to reading this post by my esteemed colleague ToE, I would refer our readers to our blog roll, to the link to Juan Cole's Informed Comment blog.
But in case you don't get to the whole 'read' over there, I found this quoation from Koran in his blog post today to wonderfully echo and elaborate on the foundation of ToE's post when Cole addresses the very foundation of Islam and the Koran:
When speaking of the 7th-century situation in the Muslim city-state of Medina, which was at war with pagan Mecca, the Quran notes that the polytheists and many Arabian Jewish tribes were opposed to Islam, but then goes on to say:
5:82. ” . . . and you will find the nearest in love to the believers (Muslims) those who say: ‘We are Christians.’ That is because amongst them are priests and monks, and they are not proud.”
I'm not sure why this is coming up as being from Penigma - it's me, DG! We're still working out the bugs from the new Echo software.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to add to my earlier comment - I just found the Dove Church website, and left a comment pointing out that their gesture attacks all of Islam, not the radicals they claim to be targeting for their message. I then gave them a few thoughts to the effect that book burning never has reflected well on those who are doing the burning in history, and that they were a shame and embarrassment to Americans, and that they were dishonouring not only those who died on 9/11, but all Americans who had died for freedom and respect for religion.
As an update to the unfolding saga, the blasphemous and heretical Mr. Jones has apparently decided to "conditionally" give in if the planned Islamic Community Center in New York is moved to a different site. Its a horrifying thought that this bigoted man and his idiotic followers would dare to try to determine such as this. Moreover, the act that the Islamic Center is an issue at all results from the bigoted and intolerant actions of people such as Glen Beck, Sarah Palin and others who care nothing for anything except to see their names in the press.
ReplyDeleteIts more clear than ever that Mr. Jones and his "church" had nothing more in mind than getting a great deal of publicity out of this, and using that publicity to show their disdain for the entire Christian faith. To call them christians is an insult to the very Christian faith they profess. I pray for them, as they are clearly troubled souls.