I'm Curious...What Do Christians Think About This!

Please see the url below and let others know what you think...especially Christians!!! Please read the whole article and not just comment on the picture. Right or wrong?

www.thedigitalcourier.com...

[edit on 24-5-2005 by lapi7]

I don't think anything of it. Obviously the pastor is frustrated with
the Muslims in the Middle East going nutz over a falsified report
that their Koran was flushed. The Muslims think they can do that
to the bible; they can kill 'infidels', they can kill other Muslims that
don't worship exactly like they do; they can blow up hindu statues;
(or was it buddhist statues that were hundreds of years old?) but
if someone allegedly flushed a Koran .. the wing nuts go bonkers
and riot and cause the deaths of more than a dozen people.

The pastor was frustrated ... so are a lot of Americans.

BTW ... I like your signature ... spiritual beings having a human
experience. Interesting.

I have very 'mixed' feelings. Some of the most sincere professions of faith I've ever heard have been from Muslims. Muhammed Ali, the former boxer' on an old episode of "Donahue' said that there had to be a God, because there has to be something better than this - "20 yrs, wine, women, and song, all over just like that!". Malcolm X stated that the mistakes were his, and the glory was God's. The former Cat Stevens, Yusef Islam also says some very sincere things.

Yet the Muslims deny not only the divinity of Jesus, but his death and resurection. The divinity of Jesus may be debateable. Was he 'divine' in the sense that man is made in the likeness of God? He was the 1st of many breathern, and the 2nd Adam. "You are my son, today I have begotten thee." the voice of God says at Jesus batism. However the death and resurection sre the whole point of Christianity, and that's what the Koran denies. SO we have some pretty crucial differences, pardon the pun.

My thoughts:

Intolerance begets intolerance.
Love begets love.

Several things came to mind when I read that article. First, a comment I made earlier today came to mind. Oy, now I'm quoting myself. Anyway, I said something to the effect that Islamic nations are intollerant to other religions, but expect the western world to be totally tollerant of them. Another thing that came to mind was that the preacher was looking for shock value and press, and he got it.

NPR's idea that the image of Jesus is handled by Christians the same way the Koran is by muslims is...Well, I'm not sure where that comes from. The only possible picture we have of Christ would be the Shroud of Turin, and there is debate as to its authenticity. So, I suppose the statement could be considered true, as every time I've handled an actual picture of Jesus Christ, I didn't not go through a ritual clensing.

In short, I would say everyone overreacted. The woman feeling threatened by the sign was really grasping for straws, but the pastor was being rather extreme and trying to stir up controversy to make a point. I'll admit, however, that I have been guilty of both in the past.

Now, as to the contents of the sign its self, I disagree with the idea. As I have come to say quite often these days, you can't argue someone into the Kingdom. If we were to take a stance of Koran flushing, we'll have said, essensially, that there is no hope for salvation for those who practice the Muslim religion, and instead declare all out war. You're not going to win someone over to a religion of love through offending them, angering them, or fighting with them. History has proven that, both in Christianity's past and Islam's past.

Originally posted by junglejake
Several things came to mind when I read that article. First, a comment I made earlier today came to mind. Oy, now I'm quoting myself. Anyway, I said something to the effect that Islamic nations are intollerant to other religions

We are not talking about offence caused to "Islamic nations". The people offended by this sign were American muslims. I should imagine these muslims chose to live in America because it is, as we all know, such a tolerant, egalitarian society.