Who Burned the Books?
A Gainesville, Florida preacher was in the news recently because he had been planning to make 9/11/10 International Burn a Koran Day. He decided to stifle his plans after receiving widespread criticism from the US government, concerned citizens, religious neighbors, and Muslims around the world. All kinds of opinion have been offered on the matter. Some suggest the freedom to burn the Koran was enough reason to go ahead with the event. Others say burning the Koran, though legal, would have been an unnecessary provocation in today’s already hostile religious climate. I am glad the preacher and his church backed down. It was a good decision for the nation, but the issue is much bigger than the nation. What the preacher thought was a good thing was the most counterproductive action to a Christian’s desire to live peaceably with Muslims and create opportunities to teach them about Christ (cf. Ro. 12:18; Mt. 16:15).
To arrive at the best conclusion about the propriety of non-Muslims or, more applicably, Christians conducting public Koran burnings, let’s ask the following questions based on Bible scenarios.
(1) Who burned the calf? While Moses was receiving the law on Mt. Sinai the Israelites foolishly forsook God and, with Aaron’s guidance, made a golden calf to worship (Ex. 32:1-8). God told Moses to get down from the mount and address the stiff-hearted Israelites. When Moses heard them rejoicing and saw the calf, he was upset and burned the calf which they had made. So, Moses burned the calf. The significance of this is great. Had a non-Israelite entered their camp and burned it, the impression would not have been the same. Moses was their leader, and he was one of them.
(2) Who removed the idols? Asa, the son of Abijah, was one of Judah’s good kings. Like many of the kings, Asa was dealt the choice of either condoning the people’s preference for idolatry or doing what he could to remove it. Although Asa was not entirely successful (1 Ki. 15:14), he “removed all the idols that his father had made” (1 Ki. 15:12). So, Asa removed the idols. Although the people might have been surprised by his bold decision, they never questioned Asa’s right to do so. He was their king. They lived in a nation which had a theocratic form of government. God had given them the Law of Moses; the kings were expected to be extensions of God’s authority in society. Asa the Jewish king removed the idols of his Jewish people. Had an outsider been the one to remove their idols the impact upon them might not have been so great.
(3) Who burned the books? In Ephesus, Paul’s works and preaching prompted a positive stir (Ac. 19). There were a number of people who witnessed Paul cast out an evil spirit. There were some enchanters among them–people who with their incantations and charms would attempt magical feats. After seeing what Paul had done, and being compelled to obey Paul’s God, they took all their books of incantations and “burned them before all men” (Ac. 19:19). Inspiration tells us the books were valued at 50,000 pieces of silver, which is the equivalent to thousands or tens of thousands of dollars today. Who burned the Ephesians’ books? Did Paul do it? Was it one of Paul’s companions? The books were not burned by Paul or one of them. Christians did not burn the Ephesians’ books. The Ephesians themselves burned them. Had Paul burned them before they were convinced of the truth, they probably would have been incensed instead of interested. He allowed God’s Word and God’s works to influence the Ephesians, giving them time to realize the vanity of their books and the value of God’s holy Word.
Should a Christian burn a Koran? What good would it do? It would hurt, not help. Christians should teach the truth and allow Muslims to make their own decisions as to whether or not they should dispose or keep their book. If anyone thinks the Bible teaches people to go and offensively burn, ravage, and scathingly mock others’ religions, he or she should read the above Bible scenarios. Who burned the calf? Who removed the idols? Who burned the books? Christians will not compromise the truth. There is one God and one way (Jn. 14:6). If we adopt the practical and tactful didactic methods of our Master Teacher, Jesus Christ, we will have an endless influence, but if our tactics and rhetoric become inconsiderate, unsympathetic, prideful, and derogatory, our propensity to influence for good will become less and less.
