Of Love and Hate

This was originally posted the Dove World Outreach website blog, and is reproduced in it's entirety here, including tags chosen by the author and date tag chosen by me to make searching by date easier, and adding the author's name as a tag:

By Dave Ingram - Posted on 08 September 2010

"You're a hateful bigot!", "You're just taking revenge!", "You're acting out of hate, not love." …Of the thousands of emails and phone calls we are receiving, these statements are fairly common. If they were true, it would most certainly invalidate what we are doing.

"What? you're agreeing that you should stop?" Well, no.

Let me start by saying I can understand why you might think we're being hateful. If you fail to stop and look at what we really say, who we are, and how we act, then a first impression can very well be just that.

But do we hate? Are we bigots? Absolutely not. Not one of us here harbors any hatred toward any person or group of people, and you can see that if you listen to and read our words carefully. Our message is about Islam and not about a people or person.
To Christians, we say "stand up for truth", to non-Christians, we say "seek the truth, and find Jesus".
Love is expressed in different ways, and if you take a moment to think about it you'll see that. A parent does not always accept and tolerate what his child does. Sometimes what he does or says is wrong and it needs correction. If a parent corrects his child does that mean it's not love? of course not. There is a need to warn, there is a need to correct, and there is a need to speak the truth.
At this time there is a real need for Christians to stand for truth. True love is expressed when we speak the truth. Consider the words of Solomon:

"Wounds from a friend can be trusted,
        but an enemy multiplies kisses." (Proverbs 27:6 NIV)

Jesus offended people, and he did it in love. His mission was not to offend, but in speaking the truth he offended people so much that they killed him. Our mission is also not to offend, but to speak the truth. When money changers were in the temple, Jesus braided a whip and drove them out. Did he hate them? No. Was he showing his love for God and for the people? Absolutely. When we sin and offend God, then we are really in a dangerous place.

"Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth." (1 Corinthians 13:6 NIV)

Another commonly quoted passage is that we should "do unto others as we would have them do unto us". Very true. If someone you love is about to walk in front of a mack truck and be killed, I would very much like them to yell and scream and be as offensive as they need to be to get me to wake up and get out of the way! Islam is dangerous. It's dangerous to Muslims because it is teaching them that Jesus Christ is not the way, yet he is. Islam is dangerous to non-Muslims because Muhammad taught and practiced violence toward non-Muslims. Islam is kind of like that mack truck.

Please also note that our actions do not spring from fear or anger. We wish to speak the truth. Because we love Muslims, Christians, Atheists and everyone else, we want them to see and find the truth. You will find that truth in the Bible, the word of God.
The threat of radical Islam will be very real, regardless of our actions. Islam is radical at its most fundamental level, the Koran. Burning or not burning the Koran will not make that go away and the whole world needs desperately to see the truth.
Thanks for reading.

5 More Reasons to Burn the Koran

This was originally posted the Dove World Outreach website blog, and is reproduced in it's entirety here, including tags chosen by the author and date tag chosen by me to make searching by date easier, and adding the author's name as a tag:

By Dave Ingram - Posted on 07 September 2010

1. Shock the world into focus

In a day and age where ideas are confined to 140 character tweets, the violence of modern films dulls our senses, and the attention of most is on the frivolous dribble of celebrity gossip, sports and weather, we all know how much it takes to grab our attention.

So, World, got your attention? Good, please read on.

2. Get people to start asking hard questions

Before World War II, nobody wanted to think that Hitler would really do what he was plotting. It was much more comfortable to think that there would never be another World War and that we had moved past that. Wouldn’t you like to go back to 1938 and issue some warnings that the man was serious?

So here are some questions I recommend you start asking:

• Is Islam really peaceful? (Hint: Surah 9 is chronologically one of the last things Muhammad said)
• What is Islam’s goal? (Hint: Look up Sahih Muslim Book 041, Number 6981)
• Is burning books really the right way to get this message out?
• immediately followed by, what is the right way? (and if you answered “just don’t say anything”, you have unfortunately answered incorrectly.)

3. Remind the world we still have freedom of speech

Amidst the capitulation of US generals, municipal fire departments, and various religious leaders, it seems appropriate to provide a reminder for those who are not too familiar with certain inalienable rights of Americans:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or Abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
    — United States Constitution, 1st amendment

Islam is incompatible with the 1st amendment. You are not allowed to leave Islam once you’re in. Suppression of free speech is standard in many Islamic countries, and even if it’s not done by law, when anyone speaks out against Islam they are immediately met with death threats, which causes most to back down. Even the Gainesville Fire Department has stepped in to aid the suppression of free speech by using an unconstitutional application of a burn permit.

4. Expose the truth

Pressure makes diamonds and fire purifies gold. Sometimes it takes undesirable means to get necessary results. Heat exposes things that are hidden:

"Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand.  When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.”  But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects." (Acts 28:3–5 NIV)

CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, likes to paint a pretty picture of Islam, hiding its evils. If you are unfamiliar with Islam, here are some suggested google search terms: “Al-taqiyyah”, “dar al-harb”, “abrogation”, “verse of the sword”. While you’re at it, you could google “Terry Jones Arrested” and find out the depths to which CAIR is willing to stoop in order to prevent our message from getting out. They published a completely false (feel free to research it) story that Dr. Jones was arrested on charges of sharing child pornography. If lying were not aloud in Islam, I would be shocked, but as it stands, it’s just another day for Islam.

We are in fact commanded by Paul in the Bible to expose the darkness, a good example of which is exposing the violence and lies of Islam.

"Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.  For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.  But everything exposed by the light becomes visible,
for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said:  
    “Wake up, O sleeper,
        rise from the dead,
    and Christ will shine on you.”"
(Ephesians 5:11–14 NIV emphasis added)

5. Force the world into action

Do you think we’re wrong about Islam? Go and study Muhammad’s life after he left Mecca.

Do you agree that Islam is dangerous but think we’re going about it the wrong way? OK, so go and find your own way, but go and do something!

Do you think Christianity is wrong? Then go and study the Bible, study History, and seek the truth.

So if you’re all worked up about us burning the Koran, then the time for action is now. We don’t make this stuff up. The truth is out there, and the truth shall set us free.

Finally

Let's just make one thing clear. A small church, in a small town, down a back road, burning copies of its own books, on its own property, is not responsible for the violent actions anyone may take in retaliation to our protest. Remember, Paul did not make the snake, the fire drove it out and he was bitten. If violence happens in reaction to this, the violence was not caused by us, it has just been exposed.