The Zen of Speaking the Truth in Love

Nine years ago a great crime was perpetrated on more than 3000 people when 3 planes were flown into 3 separate buildings. Without question the people involved in committing those crimes were of the Muslim faith.

At the time there were those, and there still are those, who wish to condemn all people of Muslim faith for the act of these few. The big issue with me, and many others is that while there were many dancing in the street and celebrating, there were almost no voices from “moderate” Muslims condemning same action as being wrong in their sight or the sight of Allah.

I am of the Christian faith. Specifically, I guess what you would call an Evangelical Protestant. It is my firm belief that when I see something evil being done I have to speak out on the issue. For as it says in James, and I paraphrase, if you know the good you aught to do, and don’t do it that in and of itself is a sin.

So today I, and I pray many others will follow, would like to say that the planned Koran burning on Sept 11 by the church in Florida is an evil act meant only to insight and insult. I do not believe either of those intentions is acceptable to a Jesus who ate with sinners and tax collectors, and sat with a Samaritan adulteress without condemning her. I believe the emotions and intentions behind the burning of the Koran are no different than the emotions and intentions of those who brought a woman caught in adultery before Jesus and wanted to see if he would agree for her to be stoned, under the law. But his response was “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.” There have been bastardizations of Christianity that have committed some VERY evil acts, just as there are bastardizations of Islam that have committed some VERY evil acts. So, no one can cast the first stone on this matter.

Now please don’t think I believe that we must lie down and accept defeat at the hands of an enemy bent on our annihilation. But we must never change who we are in our own defense. For if we do, we become the ones to bastardize everything we believe in. We must “take the high road,” for if we do not act righteously, even by our own standards, due to fear or otherwise, we become a greater evil than we are attempting to avoid. We become hypocrites who do not live by our own standards, but expect others to live by them.

So let me be clear. I as a Christian of Evangelical Protestant faith speak out clearly and without reservation against the burning of the Koran planned for this Sept 11th in Florida. I pray that the Reverend’s heart will be touched and he will not go through with that uncalled for act. For the simple “do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” I would not appreciate anyone burning a Holy Bible, so I will act in accordance with what I would have them do. That is not to say that they won’t, but that is not the standard. The statement is not “do unto others as you would have them do unto you, unless they do otherwise.”

Retro