Acts 19:14-20 ~ "14- And there were seven sons of [one] Sceva, a Jew, [and] chief of the priests, which did so. 15- And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? 16- And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. 17- And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. 18- And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds. 19- Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all [men]: and they counted the price of them, and found [it] fifty thousand [pieces] of silver. 20- So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.
Pastor Terry Jones of Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, FL. has called for a Quran burning service to take place this Saturday Sept. 11th 2010 and has come under fire by everyone from the Pope to the President himself.
The top General in the war on terror in Afghanistan, Gen. David Patraeus, believes that the actions of the Pastor will incite an Islamic uprising against the soldiers on the ground. Still, others such as conservative Sean Hannity further believe that this effort will not only endanger the troops, but will also be a waste of effort, lumping the "good" Muslims in together with "radical" Muslims, insulting all, and creating larger problems and anti-Islamic hysteria.
Pastor Jones, not having any regard for the Quran as being a "holy book", or at least a book inspired by the true and living God, concludes that the Quran, at best, is simply good fuel for a bonfire and seems is using his proposed actions as tool and negotiating piece and wedge to offset a planned Mosque proposed to be built close to the World Trade Center site or what we call "Ground Zero".
One thing that has been consistent is that the media suggests that since the Pastor only has "fewer than 50 members" in his congregation that his voice is not worth listening to, but yet they listen. FYI the number of followers of a pastor or leader has has NOTHING to do with their authenticity and use of and by God. God does not speak or use leaders "more" because they amass a crowd. Neither is a greater or more sizeable crowd an indicator that the leader has more dynamic insights than others. Some of America's most dynamic and powerful leaders have had small congregations. In addition, not every leader resides in areas where they can attract large followings; are these leaders less significant, less profound or less important because of where they live? It was the heretic gnostic Cerenthus who was able to amass a large crowd and congregation while preaching a false gospel and a false Christ during the apostolic age. Apostle John confronted Cerenthus regarding his heresy and knew of it, but that did not dissuade followers. The number of followers in no way validates nether does it invalidate the voice of the servant of God nor the message.
Should the book be burned?
(See the end of the article for updates)
(See the end of the article for updates)
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