The hypocrasy is infuriating, I agree. The human (sinful) side of me wants to support the Qur'an burning simply out of revenge. Yet, I know Christ would not view such an act as representative of His desire for us the Church. As Christians, we know we will face difficulties in this life. These are the times that test our faith and demand we either follow Christ completely or not. Much easier said than done.

Just because sinners do foolish and ungodly acts, we should not expect or demand that gives us the right to do similarly stupid or ungodly acts. I just don't recall where Jesus was too concerned about whether He and His followers were treated fairly, but instead was focused on the purpose to "seek and save the lost." I don't see how standing up for Christian rights contributes in any way to reaching the lost. Is a sinner going to say, 'O Christian, you are right, you are subject to an unfair double standard. Please forgive me, and by the way your actions have shown me my need for a Savior, so please tell me how I might be saved." See Paul's words in II Tim 2:24-26.

Steve,

I hear what you are saying and I've asked myself some of the same questions today. However, a brother shared a verse with me today concerning this whole matter I like to share it with you and your listeners and get your thoughts.

"Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." - Romans 12:17-18 NIV

Blessings,

Jerry Kinard, Pastor
Growth Ministries

There is no international movement to protect all things Islam. It is more of a common opinion being expressed against stupid actions.

In the U.S., the First Amendment guarantees the Florida pastor the right to burn anything he owns, assuming he has a local burning permit. Most people from other countries do not understand this concept. This form of freedom of expression, i.e., speech, is an abstraction unfamiliar to them. They tend to think that since the U.S. Gov't doesn't arrest and stop this pastor, then it follows that our gov't must agree with him. Again... the Evil Satan!

If everyone expressed themselves in kindly, warm, and agreeable terms, there would be no need for a law guaranteeing freedom of speech.

It is the "disagreeable" person needing this protection.

As a Christian, I am used to the double standard being used against me. However 1 Peter 2:9 shows that we are a unique people. Jesus had a double standard used against him (Matthew 11:16-20).
Is the pastor a terrible person? No more than those of us debating his wisdom. Are those who wish to do harm going to use his actions as an excuse to do so? Yes. However, they would look to anything to commit such acts. Were the actions well thought and prayed out? Not sure, but does not seem so. Are Christians going to find it harder to spread the Gospel of Jesus? Yes, because others are going to paint Christians with the assumed hatred this pastor had (real or imagined). I do see this administration and major media sources using even the theat as a reason to stifle ANY Christian. Please remember, the Christian's natural evironment is persecution and not ease as we have had in this great nation.
The ground zero mosque would be like Japanise-Americans putting up an anti-nuclear weapons memorial next to the USS Arizona memorial.
If the ACLU does not "neuter" the imam's prayers, then we should have ammunition to attack the ACLU based on bias. However, we should always remember that the world loves it's own.
If you take a good long look at Christianity, it is tollerant of other religions. We believe that anyone that does not have a relatinship with Jesus Christ is going to hell, going to church or not. We do not put people to death for not beliving in Jesus (Roman Catholic church not withstanding). We may speak against certain things, but that is because we see that such actions are either self-destructive or socially damaging. It is the "liberal" world that has to learn how to be "tollerant" of Christianity.

A Christian burning books. There’s a blast from the past huh? I shouldn’t have to point out that for most of its existence Christianity has been an intolerant, violent, bloodthirsty religion. It is only because of the rise of secular humanism in the last couple centuries that Christianity has had to tone down the violence against unbelievers. It is from secular humanism that Christianity has adopted its more modern ethics and morals, not the other way around as most Christians falsely claim.

Islam and Christianity both have a sex fixation: Practitioners can’t get enough of it, even as they despise the thought of it. Their self-inflicted contradictions drive them crazy, and so they drive us non-believers nuts trying to take away our dirty pictures and evil Web sites… And the stuff they believe makes your ordinary witchdoctor look like Louis Pasteur or Jonas Salk. Submicroscopic homunculi running around in a single cell, dinosaurs in the Garden of Eden…” – Nicholas von Hoffman

Every faith has its share of literalists… But only within Islam is literalism fast becoming mainstream. We Muslims, even here in the West, are routinely raised to believe that the Koran is the final and therefore perfect manifesto of God’s will… This is dangerous, because when abuse happens under the banner of my faith as it is today, most Muslims have no clue how to debate, dissent, revise or reform… because we have never been introduced to the possibility, let alone the virtue of asking questions…” – Irshad Manji

I don’t know any conservative Christians who can debate, dissent, revise or reform either.

Folks, as Christians our only purpose in life is to Glorify God in everything we do. That means to mirror Christ in the way we live. I fall short of that often, but God in His Sovereignty is working on me and sanctifying me. We are called "...to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27 “...Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me." Mat 25:31-46 This the work we are to do for the Lord. We are to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We do that by the way we live and by sharing our testimonies. We are to focus our eyes on the prize...namely eternal life with our Lord. This other stuff...burning books fighting double-standard...that's not for us. I'm not saying we don't defend the truth. Rebuke the false prophets, but "Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord." Romans 12:19

Irshad, I would submit to you "Man" since his existence has been intolerant, violent and blood thirsty. Christianity, as most who are Christian will define it, is not a religion. Being a Christian does not mean being a part of a group, its about believing that you are a sinner, that the only way that you can escape and be saved from God's imminent wrath is through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Man, not Christianity, is depraved, violent and blood thirsty. Read Romans Chapter 3. Man has taken Christianity and in some circumstances used it for the wrong. Take this quran burning pastor. Who knows what personal gain he thought he was going to get out of it. I'm sure there was pride and hate that motivated the book burning. That's not Jesus...that's not Christianity...that's man's sinful flesh. I suspect that he backed out of it because somebody rebuked him and pointed him to God's word which told him he wasn't walking in the Spirit.

Praise God He has provided us with His Holy Spirit to convict us and teach us. Praise God he