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Thursday, September 9, 2010

Book Burning

Why should we not burn someone else's books? Because that strikes at the heart of the values that make this country work. It is an insult to Muslims! But, it is a more serious insult to our own values. The worst of western civilization has been the times of eradication of things we disagree with. From the slaughter of the Crusades to the slaughter of the Inquisition, we haven't always done the will of Jesus.

From the early Christians who followed the path of the Egyptians, who wiped out monuments and libraries of religions they did not follow, to the book-burnings in every century, to the re-writing of history in modern times, this is a threat to our own values. You can't build up truth by destroying evidence!

Asking the old slogan: "What Would Jesus Do" is revealing here. Is there any instance in which Jesus, incarnate in a religiously complex world, took on a mission of being competitive with other religions? He did cleanse the Temple, but that was a matter of authenticating honorable following of the law, and done within the boundaries of Judaism. It was an accountability issue, not opposition. (Of course, raising accountability issues usually irritates like crazy!!)

Take one example of a strong religious argument going on around Jesus. He extended a hand to the Samaritans, both in the story of the Good Samaritan, and the meeting with the Samaritan woman at the well.

A second example: When Jesus said "render to Caesar what belongs to Caesar" he was laying down a clear guideline: the enemy is not Caesar - the enemy is IN-authentic faith.

In every instance I can recall, Jesus' concern is for people to celebrate the kingdom by personal faithful authenticity and obedience. And that never did manage to include ridicule of others, or destruction of whatever might be of value to them.

And what did he say about our enemies: pray for enemies and for all who despitefully use us. Human nature always wants to enlist God in the destruction of our enemies; God always wants to enlist redeemed human nature in a process of reconciling with our enemies in such a way as to win them for the kingdom. High hopes? the highest!

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