NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--A Florida pastor's plan to hold a large-scale burning of the Quran is "appalling" and does not represent the teachings of Christ, Southern Baptist ethicist Richard Land says.
The president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission made the comments Sept. 7 in reference to a Florida pastor's plans to hold "International Burn a Koran Day" Sept. 11, the ninth anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks. The pastor, Terry Jones, leads Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Fla., a nondenominational church that reportedly runs approximately 30-50 people each Sunday.
Jones said the event -- which has garnered worldwide attention and already led to at least one large overseas protest -- is an "act of warning radical Islam."
"The behavior of this church is not Christian," Land said during an online chat on The Washington Post's website. "I cannot imagine Christ burning any religious texts. This behavior is unfortunately one of the prices we pay for living in a free society with freedom of speech and freedom of expression, even when it is odious and reprehensible. I believe it is incumbent upon Christians across the country to denounce this action by this local church and its pastor to make it as clear as possible that they do not speak for any sizable portion of the Christian faith community in any way, shape or form."
Land previously said the church's planed actions are "appalling, disgusting and brainless" and that they "besmirch the reputation of our Savior, and that makes it blasphemy."
The planned Quran burning has sparked a worldwide controversy, and hundreds of Muslims gathered in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sept. 6 to burn a cardboard image of Jones in effigy while chanting, "Long live Islam" and "Death to America" ... Read More
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