why burning the Koran is wrong for Christians

"Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will bless you for it.  For the Scriptures say,

            'If you want to enjoy life and see many happy days, keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies.  Turn away from evil and do good.  Search for peace, and work to maintain it.  The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right, and his ears are open to their prayers.  But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil.'

"Now, who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good?  But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats.  Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way.  Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ.  Remember, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong!

^"Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit." 

1 Peter 3:9-18 (NLT)

Christians started from the position of being persecuted, and were never told to fight for political control or change.  They were told to respect their leaders, submit to authority, and live quiet lives.  This is still the clear teaching of the New Testament, to those who read it without their own agenda superimposed upon it.

What Terry Jones and Dove World "Outreach", along with Westboro "Baptist Church" do not seem to grasp, and which makes me doubt their true understanding of the gospel, is that Christians were always to be known for their LOVE, for what they stand FOR, not for their hate nor primarily for what they are against.

The time that Jesus got publically angry was over the desecration of the Temple by those who should have known better because they had the Law and the Scriptures.  Jesus never attacked the false gods of the Romans or Greeks; he actually healed Gentiles when Gentiles came to him asking for help, and praised their individual faith.  Jesus dealt with people on personal levels, and didn't get involved with politics, nor even with false belief-systems outside of aberrations of the Scriptures.  He was too busy teaching the truth to engage with falsehood except to correct false beliefs in love.

Picture from the first time, when he changed his mind.

So for any group of people to call themselves Christians and yet be known for their hate rather than for any love at all, makes no sense.  What I am asking myself, is what does Terry Jones think he can achieve by threatening to burn the Koran (again)?  Those militants who kill people in response to his hate are no less guilty than he is, but what he doesn't understand is that there are many beautiful image-bearers of God all over the world who adhere to the Islamic religion.  That doesn't make the religion right or wrong, but it certainly is a challenge to those who know they are no better than anyone else, yet trust that Jesus forgives them of their wrong-doing! 

Instead of treating with contempt a book that some revere so much they raise it above their heads and treat it with the utmost respect as containing the words of God; instead of showing total cultural disdain plus ignorance and thereby insulting a whole community of people created in the image of God, why isn't Terry Jones praying for and speaking God's love and grace to that community?  I believe the answer is that he has judged them as wrong, feels superior to them because he thinks he has the truth, and doesn't realize how decieved he is.

God is not threatened by Islam or any other form of religion.  God is love, and his grace is available to all who believe Him and trust in Him instead of in themselves.  It is simply sinful pride to denigrate people created in his image, and hatred is not the way to heal or change hearts.  Christians are not called to speak out in bitter hatred or show disrespect to other religions, whatever individual Christians may think or teach. 

Christians are called to love each other and the people of the world as image-bearers of God himself.  They believe they have the truth, and they may even state that their truth makes other views untrue, but they must have humility, because God has saved them in love from the lies, and they are responsible to share that love and the truth.  Christians should be so free in the truth that they are not threatened by other religions, but instead, prepared to dialogue respectfully and live humbly with other human beings.

By burning the Koran, Terry Jones simply enables other evil people to have an excuse for violent behavior.  If the Koran is untrue, then he need not fear it.  I am concerned he has so little regard for the true truth, that he is afraid of other views to his own.  That is truely sad at best and evil at worst.