Problems with Burning the Koran

Florida pastor Rev. Terry Jones is a global news sensation after announcing he’d burn the Koran. So significant is such an inflammatory action that the U.S. State Department has been in touch, President Obama made reference to it, and the famed Ground Zero mosque proponent imam appeared on Larry King Live to warn of widespread violence in Muslim lands if a single copy of the Koran is burned.

I have no use for radical book burning—the Koran or otherwise—unless it is the voluntary torching of occult books as found in Acts 19:18-20. “Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds. A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas. In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.”

The burning of rejected or suspicious materials is best left to volunteerism. I have seen it done at many youth campfires over the years. Occult gadgets such as “Dungeons & Dragons” or harmful music records (yes, I’m that old), tapes and CDs were publicly pitched into the flames, and scores of ensnared youth got personal victory over their various bondages. These actions were the result of education and conviction of the Holy Spirit through the preaching of biblical principles.

Book burning is not the answer to literary problems or theological errors. The best path is education, not eradication. Book burning makes people angry, not informed. In a case such as the Florida pastor or anyone burning the Koran, a kind of martyrdom or rage by Muslims results, seemingly proving their position that they are being persecuted. It stirs irrational rage such as the warnings by imams and others who may subscribe to doctrinaire violence to spread their brand of outreach or punish their adversaries.

When I ran for our local school board some years ago, some who knew my biblical stand were inclined to link me with book burnings, especially since I objected to some of the textbooks and library books. I carefully declared that we are not to burn books but read them. I did that, and, in one instance, took my case before the school board officials who accepted my reasoned argument, removed the book, and complimented me for my careful approach to the issue. In fact, I leaned the routine for complaint by carefully reading the school district’s Policy Book, which apparently few even knew about and almost nobody read.

The best advice for quizzical people is to read the Koran in order to determine whether objections are merely personal preferences or profound horror over its actual teaching. Another worthy avenue would be a careful study of Islam’s origin and history. When facts are clouded by supposition and obscured by hearsay, we risk a dangerous rush to judgement.

Stating that all religions are created equal and that they all outline different roads to the same Heaven reveals deep ignorance of both the Bible and the Koran. Even Christian President George W. Bush tragically declared at one several Islam-honoring White House events that the Koran was a “God-given” book. I have concluded that the present spiritual ignorance results from the majority of Americans knowing no more about the Bible than they know about the Koran.

Paul enjoined Timothy, his spiritual son in the faith, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). “Be diligent” is the translation of the Greek word “spudadzo,” which actually means “speed it up” or “make a real project out of it.”

Years ago, before all of our amazing technology, I heard of a banker who trained a new employee regarding counterfeit bills. He made him sit down for hours and study authentic bills so he could tell at once when bills were the real item.

The real issue is whether believers have a burning desire to study God’s Word. When it becomes part of us as Christ is exalted, the change will produce a curiosity in others as 1 Peter 3:15 says. “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear…”

Dave Virkler