“I do not know the history of this church. I also want to be slow to condemn the actions of a fellow Christian if they are following the will of God.”
No where does Scripture command book-burning; however, Scripture does make clear that we must be willing to even give up our own rights for the sake of the furtherance of the gospel. (1 Corinthians 9) That should be the degree of our fervor for the lost.
Do they have the legal right to burn any books they own? Yes. Does 1 Corinthians 9 make it clear that Paul did not claim certain of his own rights for the sake of furtherance of the gospel? Yes.
I think it is clear that the pastor and church are not concerned with converting the Muslims, and I believe that God will judge them for having hardened their hearts against an unregenerate people.
Since their current public stance is one that is against a clear teaching of Scripture, it is my hope that they will stop the church’s promotion of this act, repent, and witness to Muslims to bring them into the body of Christ.
At present, their actions reflect very badly on their church, the Church, and Christ Himself. Their actions do not show love for their enemies, nor a willingness to pray for them even if they are being persecuted by Muslims.
This is an interesting discussion. Thank you for participating with me.
I do think we should point out that to be literal about our application of this verse to this situation, Paul said, “to the Jew I became a Jew..to those not having the law, I became as one not having the law..”
I cannot imagine conceding to Sharia law in order to win over the Muslims to Christ.
Regarding the motives of this church...anything not of the Spirit is of Satan. I will be very slow to attribute something that could be of the Spirit to Satan. This constitutes blasphemy of the Spirit and I will refrain from that unless we know without a doubt that it is so.
If their actions were expressly forbidden, I would be more comfortable agreeing with your assessment.
One last thing to consider- if the Muslim extremist react violently, perhaps that will affect the conscience of the Muslims that may be open to Christ. They realize the true intent of their religion and choose Christ. It could happen.