"It's relatively easy to burn a Quran in rural Florida, Pastor Jones. Next time you feel the need to "stand up for the truth" consider traveling to the Middle East first. Then you can own the consequences rather than expect someone else to."

Yep...I agree with this statement, totally.

I have friends in other parts of the world where there is a strong Muslim presence and influence. What is missed is that in India, Indonesia and many of these places, Pastor Jones not only puts innocents at risk, he puts Christian brothers and sisters at risk. Entire churches were shut down in Kashmir India as a result of the backlash.

This guy was heading for this ever since he realized that he could get more press for his actions. He absolutely has the right to burn whatever religious book he wants. I'm just not sure he has the New Testament liberty to do so.

Of course the media hypocrisy is so clear I'm not sure why it's not mentioned. Burn a Bible and you're okay, burn another faith's book then you're a bigot. I don't buy that.

Let's not burn any books...we (Christians) have the best book anyways.

@Robert--John Piper has an interesting take on the "hypocrisy" question you raise over at the Desiring God blog: http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/burning-the-quran-and-crucifying-christ

Uri, I totally agree with your take. This is no way to "stand up for the truth!" Did Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life stand up for Himself this way? Did the Apostles stand up for the truth this way? Did the early martyrs and confessors of Christ's Church stand up for the truth this way? How I grieve for our poor brothers and sisters in vulnerable parts of the world who will suffer for this man's myopic and arrogant posturing.

Yeah!

And while you're at it, just mention that Jesus in the only true God in any Muslim country.

See if your head is still attached when you leave.

A Christian "pastor" burning a Quran is stupid and offensive. Muslim reactionaries killing uninvolved people is evil.

I find the uproar of this Quran burning ironic - I checked on the proper way to dispose of a copy of a Quran that you do not want any more and this Islamic website stated that it was permissable to burn the Quran, here is the link:

http://www.islam-qa.com/en/ref/114932/dispose%20quran

Linda, a certain irony for sure. But that just goes to show that context is everything. The action is the same in either case. But the meaning and symbolism of the action is quite different!

@Jarrod, I think there is a certain participation of what you describe as merely "stupid and offensive" in what you correctly point out is an obvious evil. Is it not also evil of Terry Jones not to have considered or cared how his actions would place vulnerable others in danger without their consent and also without accepting the same danger for himself? I don't think it is only "stupid and offensive" for him to have done so. I think it is a participation (perhaps all the more truly evil in its effects because of its subtlety) in the very evil we all decry. It smacks of Cain's response to God about his brother's spilled blood, "Am I my brother's keeper?"

Istm, just because we are not directly the physical agent of violence does not diminish our responsibility to accommodate, insofar as we can, the vulnerability of fellow human beings to be goaded by demonic forces to the same, by endeavoring to not unnecessarily be a trigger to such. I think this would fall into the same category as not allowing our own freedom to become a stumbling block to a weaker brother (even though the context is very different here).

Where would we be if God, through Christ, had not chosen to accommodate our human weakness, blindness, and bondage to sin by humbling Himself to the point of becoming incarnate as a mortal human being with all the vulnerabilities that implies in this fallen world? His attitude of solidarity with us all in our sin was 180 degrees from that of Cain, and, I believe, that of Terry Jones manifested in a much subtler form.