Place the Blame Where It Belongs

Rev. Terry Jones, the Florida pastor of a tiny church of “let’s burn a Koran” fame, finally decided to do it. He burned one Koran. Word somehow got out to Afghanistan where the natural response of an Islamic mob was to attack the UN headquarters and begin killing people. It was not just a one-day affair; it might be continuing still. At least two of the people killed were beheaded.

Somehow, because of that pastor, the United States has become their enemy, as you can see in this photo:

Forget for now that we freed them from the Taliban and allowed them to set up their own government [yes, I know fraud runs rampant in that government, but that’s not our doing]. Simply because one man on the opposite side of the world took it upon himself to destroy what they consider their holy book, they felt they had the right to go on a killing spree of innocent people.

As this photo indicates, they’re having a grand time wreaking havoc.

Some want to blame this all on Jones. Let’s analyze that for a minute. First, I believe he is primarily a glory hound with little sense of how to communicate the message of the gospel. Do you really think this picture is a proper representation of what Christ offers?

Jones, I believe, has acted foolishly. He is accountable to God for the manner in which he presents the Christian message to the world. I sincerely hope he repents and gets his heart right.

That doesn’t mean, though, that he is accountable for what occurred in Afghanistan. Each person is accountable for his own actions. The individuals in that mob made their own decisions to rampage and murder. They will answer to God for their decisions.

We’ve become far too adept at heaping blame on others rather than looking at ourselves. Yes, someone like Jones may do something to inflame a situation, but no one is forcing anyone else to respond with acts of murder.

Blame Jones for committing a foolish act; blame the individuals in that mob for what they did.

By the way, do you think it’s possible that in Muslim countries, Bibles have been destroyed? What about all those strictures against Christians who would want to share their faith with Muslims in those lands? Did you know that someone can be put to death for trying to convert a Muslim to Christianity? And when’s the last time you’ve seen a mob of “Christians” killing Muslims because a Bible was burned?

There is no legitimate excuse for what occurred in Afghanistan, no matter how far down the road of political correctness we have traveled.