“Christians are not called to burn the books of other religions. We are not called to publicity stunts that put lives at risk and subvert the preaching of the Gospel of Christ. Such actions deserve only the most severe condemnation. But even the condemnation serves its purpose — to gain publicity.” Read the rest here.

Cal Thomas writes about the pastor who burned the Qur’an: “Terry Jones is a cipher. Like those clowns who makeup the family-only Westboro ‘Baptist’ Church in Kansas, Jones does not represent the example of Jesus, but is a grand stander who seeks attention for himself. More than two [dozen] people died in Afghanistan. The murderers said Jones’ burning of the Koran was the reason. Again, those killers might well have found another excuse for their acts, but Americans — and especially ministers who claim to be acting in God’s name — ought not to be providing more fuel to an already incendiary situation.”

John Piper has some valuable reflections about the Florida pastor who burned the Qur’an and the violent response in the Middle East. He writes: “The burning of the Qur’an and the murder of human beings are not morally equivalent. That’s true. And it is, frankly, outrageous the way some commentators speak with more moral indignation about the burning of holy books than the butchery of human bodies. In the western media this seems to me to be sheer fear.”