As a nation last weekend should have been a time to remember those lost on September 11, 2001 (including many who gave their lives to save others)...but instead we were stuck in a worldwide game of "will he or won’t he" with a handlebar-mustached pastor of a small congregation in Florida. Although he posted plenty of other thoughts that might cause offense, the international incident all started with a single tweet: "9/11/2010 Int Burn a Koran Day."¹

Before it was over (and he decided not to burn a Qur'an), many (but not all) Muslims around the globe were freaking–and politicians and bureaucrats stateside, right up through the President himself, were apoplectic. It became the consummate case of how to get a call from the Defense Secretary in 140 characters or less. (And, of course, even though this minister relented from torching a "holy" book...others quickly filled in the vacuum to try to obtain the spotlight he relinquished.)

In fairness to everyone in America who showed great concern–yes, once the event became publicly visible it was guaranteed to result in havoc right up through potential loss of human life. Regardless of whether the media and our government actually exacerbated the situation, there was ample reason to have wanted to dissuade the pyromaniac preacher from his plans.

The question for the remainder of this article, however, is whether it is actually wrong to burn a Qur’an.

It’s not as easy a question to answer as it might seem. First, as citizens of a country with the right to free speech immortalized in our Constitution–the answer (legally) seems a slam-dunk: "Of course he has a right to burn the Qur’an!" (Having said this, a sitting supreme court judge suggested torching the Qur’an might be equivalent to yelling, "Fire!" in a crowded movie theater, and thus not protected.²)

So...the normal gut American reaction would be that no matter how repulsive an opinion is, people should be allowed to express it in words or action.

Additionally, as Christians, it can be a bit difficult to watch myriad adults go bezerk over a potential incident like this considering the perpetual disrespect we see toward the symbols of our faith or country. "You think burning a cheap copy of the Qur’an is bad, try putting up with a photograph of a cross in a glass of urine as art!"³ (The name of that piece alone is blasphemous–and yes, I am intentionally not printing the title in the body of this article, but...warning...it is in the footnote below.) For every slight (real or imagined) that Islam gets, Christianity receives it ten times over. It is easy to want to respond, "Cry me a river."

But...

As Christians it does not only matter to us whether something is legal–we respect a higher authority that requires us to also ask, "Is it moral?" Additionally, from our earliest childhood memories we can remember the phrase, "Two wrongs don’t make a right." So, neither "it’s protected by the Constitution" nor "we are treated worse" are valid reasons to approve the pastor’s actions.

Multiple arguments from Scripture could be made that the answer to, "Is it wrong to burn a Qur’an?" is "Yes"...but perhaps the best one is a very succinct verse in Paul’s letter to the Roman church. It simply and clearly says, "If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all" (Romans 12:18, ESV). Obviously, that could be carried too far (some people are so sensitive you might not be able to breath without offending them), but incontrovertibly the minister from Florida was not following that inspired commandment...nor the wise advice directly preceding it:

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all (Romans 12:14-17).

No...a Christian cannot, in good conscience, burn the Qur’an...or support someone else doing so. We are to be peacemakers, not riot starters...

¹ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/10/AR2010091007033.html

² http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/75333

³ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piss_Christ

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