Religion Run Amok: Old Hatreds, New Hatreds, Uniquely Florida Religious Right Hatreds

If burning or otherwise desecrating and destroying other individuals religious texts accomplished something, anything constructive, this would have worked in the past.
It never has.
It was bad then, it is bad now, and that it is done by people who claim religious authority is less excusable.
This old picture, from 1855, is courtesy of Fightingreligiousintolerance.org; Portraits of Hate, Lessons of Hope, from their anti-Catholicism section.

Bibliographic Information: Edward Beecher, The Papal Conspiracy Exposed, and Protestantism Defended, 1855

From their text under the artwork on this excellent site:

Catholic Bible Burning

This image shows Catholic priests burning a stack of Bibles. Who would accuse Catholics of Bible burning? Why? The crowd looks on with expressions of worry and fear on their faces. In the picture, the various priests and their helpers burn the Holy Books despite the pleas of the crowd, many of whom kneel in a penitent position. This juxtaposition implies that the crowd surrounding the priests rejects the burning of the Bible, a situation that further undermines the credibility of the priests in the picture. By bringing a superstition and misunderstanding to life—that Catholics do not believe in or use the Bible—this picture legitimizes Protestant derisions of Catholics as “un-Christian” due to their perceived failure to treat the Christian Bible properly. What makes the Catholic Church open to this kind of attack from Protestants? This image focuses on the widely held Protestant belief that Catholics shun the Bible and only recognize the authority of their tradition. The misconception that Catholics would engage in such an action stems from Martin Luther and his use of Scripture as the sole source of authority (a belief adopted by the Protestant Tradition). The image stimulates discussion over the position given extra-Biblical authority by striking at the heart of the Catholic Church and their view of authority, which includes scripture and tradition. To Protestants, this image emphasizes their dependence on the Bible for authority, while demonstrating their misunderstandings of Catholicism.

If the name Edward Beecher sounds familiar from American history, it is because he was the brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe, who wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin.  The Beechers were part of a very religious clan of noted preachers and abolitionists.  Here is an excerpt of Beecher's bio from Wikipedia (also source for the portrait)

Edward Beecher (August 27, 1803 – July 28, 1895) was a noted theologian, the son of Lyman Beecher and the brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe and Henry Ward Beecher.

He was born August 27, 1803 in East Hampton, New York. He graduated from Yale College in 1822. After this he studied theology at Andover.
In 1826, he became the pastor of Park Street Church in Boston, Massachusetts. He married Isabella Jones in 1829 and together they had eleven children. In 1830, he became the first president of Illinois College at Jacksonville, Illinois, where he remained president for 14 years. He was a close friend of Elijah P. Lovejoy and helped organize the first anti-slavery society in Illinois.
He returned to Boston in 1844, where he was the pastor of Salem Street Church until 1855, when he returned to Illinois and became the pastor of the First Congregational Church of Galesburg. In 1871 he settled in Brooklyn, New York, where from 1885 to 1889 he was pastor of the Parkville church and he died there on July 28, 1895.
He was senior editor of The Congregationalist (1849—1855), and an associate editor of the Christian Union from 1870.

The Papal Conspiracy Exposed is one of Edward Beecher's ten books.

It should be noted that of course, the book for which the above picture appears to be an illustration, was not factually accurate, and was in fact horribly bigoted and intolerant.  In those regards it is no different from Terry Jones in Florida, except that Beecher was better educated, more successful, and clearly a more legitimate member of the clergy.  Beecher didn't actually burn books, but rather he inaccurately disseminated the notion that Roman Catholics did so to create anger, outrage and rejection of Roman Catholicism in the mid-19th century.  For all I know, Edward Beecher may have genuinely believed this occurred as part of his efforts.  It doesn't matter if he believed it; it was wrong, and Beecher was wrong.  This was hateful, this was disrespectful of religion, and it represents the terrible harm that is done when self-righteous people believe they are the only source of what is right and true, and that anyone who differs is any way large or small is not only wrong, but going to hell.

When the  idiot bigot, yet one more fanatic religious fringie who is not legitimately a member of any real clergy burns Korans, he is not genuinely representing Christianity.  All he does is to perpetuate the same hatreds, intolerance, factual misinformation that is the antithesis to genuine spirituality and religion.  It is Un-American, and it should be condemned; and after condemnation we should turn our backs on the man and his group.  We DO need to recognize that facts matter, that religious freedom matters, including the right to practice whatever religion - or no religion - we choose as an act of conscience.  Equally, it is our right to disagree with factual errors or omissions or to be critical and analytical in determining our own conscience. What is NOT an American right is to lie, or to commit hate crimes in the name of religion.

When you read the news report below, ask yourself how effective burning Bibles would be.  Would it get anyone else to stop burning Korans?   I would posit here the wording of the Bible passage from Matthew 7:12 (New International Version)   So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.  and Luke 6:31  Do to others as you would have them do to you and the related New Testament verses, Romans 12:10 and Galatians 5:14 respectively :  Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.   and, in reference to Leviticus 19:18, For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

 Looking at the two images - left is a photo of Jones from Reuters - there is an unpleasant similarity in appearance of the two factually inaccurate 'experts' on religious book burning.  I think there can be no doubt that Jones seeks to harm people by burning copies of the text they hold sacred.  Just as there can be no doubt that Jones is not doing unto others as he would have them do, and there can be no doubt that what Jones does is harmful, given the outraged reaction he sparked last time he burned something.  Jones should not be ticketed for burning improperly; he should be hauled into court for committing a series of hate crimes.

From Yahoo News and the AFP:

US pastor burns Korans to urge Iran clergyman release

A controversial Florida pastor has burned copies of the Koran and a depiction of the prophet Mohammed to protest the imprisonment in Iran of a Christian clergyman Youcef Nadarkhani.

The burning, attended by 20 people and streamed live over the Internet, was carried out by pastor Terry Jones' church in Gainesville, Florida on Saturday, The Gainesville Sun said, and video of the burning was uploaded to YouTube by the pastor's supporting group "Stand Up America Now."

The Pentagon had urged Jones to reconsider, expressing concern that American soldiers in Afghanistan and elsewhere could be put at greater risk because of the act, according to the newspaper, but Jones insisted to go ahead with the protest in the name of the release of the Christian pastor in Iran.

Nadarkhani was arrested in October 2009 and condemned to death under Islamic sharia law for converting to Christianity when he was 19.
Now 34, he is a pastor of a small evangelical community called the Church of Iran. Iran's supreme court in July 2011 overturned the death sentence and sent the case back to the court in Nadarkhani's hometown of Rasht, in Gilan province.
His retrial took place at the end of September 2011 with no verdict made public.

Several Western countries, including the United States, Britain, Germany and France, condemned the death sentence and said they feared it could be carried out soon.

In March 2011, the US pastor's assistant burned a copy of the Koran and broadcast the ceremony on the Internet, with the images inciting violence in northern Afghanistan, in which at least 12 people were killed.

Moments after the burning on Saturday, the Gainesville fire department issued the church a citation for violating the city's fire ordinances, the report said.
Jones is an idiot; and he is no legitimate man of God --- not any God.  I rather imagine God is wanting Mr. Jones to get off his side, so to speak (and not for the first time, or for the first person behaving badly).  I have no doubt that if he is still alive, the last thing that a former Muslim would wish is for the Koran to be burned.  I have no doubt that if he is still alive, that Nadarkhani wishes nothing whatsoever to do with Jones, and repudiates him.  It is more likely that if Nadarkhani is still alive, the actions of Jones could get him killed in Iran, as well as being a catalyst for the deaths of more Americans  and allies in foreign countries.

Also in the news today was the discovery of the mutilated body of a man who demonstrated tremendous courage, and who demonstrated a greater conformity to the core teachings and values held in common by the great religions of the world, including the three Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.  The life of the victim of kidnapping, murder and mutilation was that of a more godly man than Mr. Jones in Florida.  Dr. Dale was reported by the UK news source the Guardian as having been a Muslim convert for more than 30 years.  Dale was murdered by the Taliban, the Islamic equivalent in Afghanistan of Jones in Florida.

From the Guardian:

Kidnapped British doctor found beheaded in Pakistan

Body of Red Cross worker Khalil Dale found dumped by roadside in region afflicted by separatist and Taliban violence

The beheaded corpse of a British aid worker has been discovered in the Pakistani city of Quetta, almost four months after he was kidnapped.
The body of Khalil Rasjed Dale was left on a road outside the city, in southern Baluchistan province, with a note attachedwhich said he had been killed because a ransom had not been paid to his captors.
Dale, who had been working for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), was kidnapped in January while driving near the organisation's Quetta office.
He was abducted by gunmen as he made his way home in a clearly-marked ICRC vehicle on 5 January. His assailants are said to have bundled him into a car about 200M from an ICRC residence.
At the time, police in Quetta said Dale was abducted by unknown assailants driving a Landcruiser following a visit to a local school. He was travelling with a Pakistani doctor and a driver, who were not seized.
Quetta police chief Ahsan Mahboob said the killers' note read: "This is the body of Khalil who we have slaughtered for not paying a ransom amount."
Dale had been a Muslim convert for more than 30 years.
William Hague, the foreign secretary, said "tireless efforts" had been made to secure Dale's release and the British government had worked closely with the Red Cross.
"I utterly condemn the kidnapping and killing of Mr Dale and send my deepest condolences to his family and loved ones as they come to terms with their tragic and distressing loss," he said.
"We are devastated," said ICRC director general Yves Daccord. "Khalil was a trusted and very experienced Red Cross staff member who significantly contributed to the humanitarian cause.
"All of us at the ICRC and at the British Red Cross share the grief and outrage of Khalil's family and friends."
Separatist militants and the Taliban are extremely active in Quetta, which is just a couple of hours' drive to the border with Afghanistan's Kandahar province, where the Taliban is battling US forces.
The ICRC has working relations with movements such as the Taliban, but its staff remain vulnerable to criminals and kidnappers.
Retired nurse Sheila Howat, a former colleague of Dale's at Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary, said: "It's dreadful what has happened to him, really awful. The world has lost someone who really cared for others."