As you likely know, a small church in Florida will in a couple days burn the Koran to protest its errors. What you might not know is that in response, several Christian churches are reading the Koran in worship.
I personally would like to go to the church in Florida, take the Korans away before they can burn them and read,
Luke 9:54-55 And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” But he turned and rebuked them.
Then I would like to go to the churches reading the Koran, take those Korans and burn them, not an a message to the Muslims, but a reminder to the Christians that such idolatry is not proper.
God name is not hallowed by misplaced vengeance. It is not hallowed by idolatry performed in the houses of the Lord. Let us confess that the Koran in false and misleading, that it calls for worship of a God that does not exist and violence towards those who worship the true God. And let us respond to these beliefs through prayer and preaching and teaching, holding out the truth with two hands, one marked boldness and the other gentleness.
The First Petition
Hallowed be Thy name.What does this mean?
God’s name is certainly holy in itself, but we pray in this petition that it may be kept holy among us also.How is God’s name kept holy?
God’s name is kept holy when the Word of God is taught in its truth and purity, and we, as the children of God, also lead holy lives according to it. Help us to do this, dear Father in heaven! But anyone who teaches or lives contrary to God’s Word profanes the name of God among us. Protect us from this, heavenly Father!
From what I understand of the Qur’an, I don’t believe there is any violence towards Christians inscribed in its passages. While there may be specific denominations of Islam that believe such and interpret certain passages to suit their anger, I don’t think the Qur’an itself is to blame for that. From what I do understand, the religion itself has as one of its core beliefs that Mohammed is simply the last (or most recent) of the holy prophets, and it even specifies the Torah and Bible as coming from God:
“ALLAH is HE besides Whom there is none worthy of worship, the Living, the Self-Subsisting and All-Sustaining. HE has sent down to thee the Book containing the truth and fulfilling that which precedes it; and HE has sent down the Torah (Law of Moses) and the Gospel (of Jesus) before this, as a guidance to the people; and HE has sent down the Discrimination (judgement between right and wrong).”
—Qur’an, Surah 3:3-4
Mohammed (or Gabriel, depending on your belief) also goes on to mention Jesus specifically:
“Thereupon she pointed to him. They said, ‘How can we talk to one who is a child in the cradle?’ Jesus said, ‘I am a servant of ALLAH. HE has given me the Book, and has made me a Prophet; ‘And HE has made me blessed wheresoever I may be, and has enjoined upon me Prayer and almsgiving so long as I live; ‘And HE has made me dutiful towards my mother, and has not made me arrogant and graceless; ‘And peace was on me the day I was born, and peace will be on me the day I shall die, and the day I shall be raised up to life again.’ That was Jesus, son of Mary. This is a statement of the truth concerning which they entertain doubt.”
—Qur’an, Surah 19:30-35
I think Islam and Christianity are about as different as Judaism and Christianity – in fact, they can be seen as simply different time frames with similar messages – first came the Torah, then the New Testament, then the Qur’an. And let’s not forget that Christianity and Islam both laud Abraham as one of the wisest of men:
“Abraham was indeed a paragon of virtue, obedient to ALLAH, ever inclined to HIM, and he was not of those who set up equals with ALLAH; Ever grateful for HIS favours: HE chose him and guided him to a straight path. And WE bestowed on him good in this world, and in the Hereafter he will surely be among the righteous. And now WE have sent revelation to thee, enjoining, ‘Follow the way of Abraham who was ever inclined to ALLAH and was not of those who set up equals to HIM.'”
—Qur’an, Surah 16:121-124
In fact, it can be said that Isaac and Ishmael were the beginning of the split between Islam and Christianity.
My point is that Islam is not the enemy, and by extension, the Qur’an is not the enemy. The Qur’an, like the Bible, is simply a symbol of the faith that resides in its adherents. Without the text, the faith would still exist (although those crazy Jews and their oral traditions weren’t always reliable).
The Scriptures say:
Galatians 1:8-9 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.
Ask any Muslim if the way to heaven is through Jesus death and resurrection (the gospel Paul preached). Here is the answer from their scriptures:
And [for] their saying, “Indeed, we have killed the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, the messenger of Allah .” And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them. And indeed, those who differ over it are in doubt about it. They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption. And they did not kill him, for certain. (4:157)
Here the Koran calls the cross foolishness. This is the greatest strike anyone could take at the Christian faith. To deny the center of the faith is certainly to be an enemy to it.
The fact that we both claim certain men of faith does not make us one. If you read the Koran and the bible for instance, what each believe about Abraham Isaac and Ishmael, the two stories are as far from one as you can get.
Also Wes,
Read this verse from the Koran:
5:51O You who have believed, do not take the Jews and the Christians as allies.
Phil, I’m no biblical scholar, but that quote from Galatians doesn’t make sense to me. I sure hope there is something lost in the translation, or perhaps I am not understanding the context? How can you consider what someone says as reliable when they themselves say not to listen to it if they say to the contrary the next day? Or an angel, even? A mortal is saying don’t listen to an angel if they say to the contrary? That’s some pretty big brass balls. Let’s take that same situation and apply it to present day. Would you really consider someone trustworthy if they said to you, “This apple is the freshest I have ever picked from my orchard, and if I say different tomorrow, I should lose my business”. And then a week from now he says, “That apple last week? I was wrong. This one today is actually the freshest. And just forget what I said about the losing the business thing”. You would think that guy was not only a slimeball salesman, but steer anyone you cared about far from him and his business.
As for your quote from the Qur’an, you did not quote the entire passage:
“And (We cursed them) for their disbelief and their saying against Mary a great slander. And (for) their saying, ‘Indeed, we have killed the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, the messenger of God.’ And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but (another) was made to resemble him to them. And indeed, those who differ over it are in doubt about it. They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption. And they did not kill him, for certain. Rather, God raised him to Himself. And ever is God Exalted in Might and Wise.†(Quran 4:156-158)
And as for Islam not believing that Jesus actually died and suffered on the cross (instead of being spared like Enoch), how is that any different than Jewish belief? Are you going to go and burn the first five books of the Old Testament in churches now, too?
Let me start at the end. You did read that I am against burning the Koran to make a point to Muslims, right? And as far as Jews, and their religion, yes they are in the same boat. No Jesus in either. I believe according the the word of Christ that only through Jesus does one come to the Father. Burn their text for a show no. But if there was a christian church that said, we will only read the Pentateuch and never mention Jesus to as to keep the Jews in our neighborhood happy, would I have an issue? Yes.
The quote from the Koran. They believe, and you can check me further on this one,that God raised Jesus before the crucifixion. So he did not die and rise. He simply got beamed aboard by the Father. That is what the context I left out says.
As far as Galatians, the point is that the gospel by grace through Jesus is the only gospel. Paul knew that. He says that if anyone else or he later (perhaps through coercion or confusion) said you could be saved another way, cling to the gospel he first taught. Let that second message be thrown away along with the messenger.
I live in Gainesville and attend an LCMS church. While I disagree with what Dove outreach was planning to do I want you all to know the MEDIA is partly to blame for all this. They have really blown this out of proportion. This small in mumbers group is frequenty in our local news doing something that does NOT show Christ’s love to the community. Last year their kids wore shirts to school that said “Islam is of the Devil” so now this school year our County school district has a strict dress code. The media needs to ignore this group rather than give them more atttention!