Quran Burning and the Emerging Christophobia

Publicity is raising record-high awareness and interest in Islam and a growing acceptance amongst “humanist” masses who - at least by default - increasingly present the Bible as odious. I recall the prophetic observation of my friend Mark Lipdo in Jos, during recent genocides against Christians in Nigeria ... “Christians are perplexed by what now appears to be an apparent collusion between the media and the Muslims. Grumblings persist that media reporting often favour Muslims, no matter the situation.” Lipdo remarked.

The local Nigerian Newspapers feature the proposed September 11th Quran burning even as new fears spread with a special Ramadan holiday “deliverance” when over 100 members of an Islamic extremist group escaped incarceration on Tuesday following a violent raid of their prison in Bauchi, Northern Nigeria.

United calls (as Catholics, evangelicals and atheists agree) ... to stop the burning either to avert violent recrimination and protect loss of innocent lives or to appeal to love our enemies...only seem to position the gospel in worse light. May the word of God continue to grow. Amen

Incidentally, the converts in the Acts of Apostles brought out their strange books and burned them ... but this is like ex Muslim converts themselves risking their lives by burning the Koran ... sparking a revival and growth in the word of God...or more like an ex porn addict burning openly all the literature/DVDs and computers that sparked up and energized his addictions ... to the chagrin of patrons of the industry.

Acts 19 [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.

The witness of the early martyrs reminds us that we cannot use protection of human life as an excuse to disobey God nor can we use populist sentiment to weigh actions. The question to ask is ... “Will this please God? Has God asked for it? Will it grow the word of God” or “will it grow the popularity of the church...making the Pastor the latest CNN or TBN discovery? “

There is also a different Christophobia that is emerging. This is a fear of the spiritual – the repulsion for what is on the heart of God who proclaims He is a spirit to be worshipped in spirit and in truth? Like all fears this fear must always be masked in bravado and self-justified actions. Spiritual actions cannot be assessed with civil indicators ... and it is unlikely that divine commands win the popular vote or appear wise or to be the smart thing to cursory onlookers. It is also mischievous untruth to portray the Old Testament as a book of hate while the New speaks of grace. The entire Bible is a message of love for God is love ...but God is also a spirit (incomprehensibly timeless, eternal, limitless in all regards, accountable to only Himself). Why is the fear of the spiritual so inimical to our walk? Consider three lessons from the popular story of David and Goliath.

1. Christians can never defeat goliaths with the carnal weapons of Saul. The enlightenment of a Christian that puts down the spiritual is a trap.
2. Inability to seek God, hear Him, please and obey Him fully leaves us in perpetual fear of one thing or the other - like the armies of Israel before the Philistines...only little David was an exception.
3. Political, economic and military might can be worthless in spiritual battles – Americans beware.

People fear the spiritual because they do not want to be lured into “cults” praying with strange languages not seeing that the carnal is at best programmed to be so by the trio that stands to gain from his weakness...the flesh, the devil and the world.

The “carnal” Christian is the enemy within. The “convert” that does not need to be disturbed or tempted to backslide ... the agenda of hell is to make him more comfortable till he is ripe to be used against himself.

Someone commented and asked if I was “cryptomuslim” ...I guess because my blog posts did not demonstrate enough venom for Islam. I have learnt to fear God and Him alone. But left with no alternative but to live with adherents of other faiths, I learn quickly they are not at the top of all the things I need to deal with as I live for Christ.

The spiritual Christian is an endangered species ... Even today – do not be deceived - as endangered as in the days of Apostle Paul and the first martyr Stephen. The spiritual Christian is equally endangered in Saudi Arabia, America, Nigeria, North Korea, China...everywhere. He must be always resisted. More accurately Christophobia emerged after Pentecost and has since taken different guises.

Who is the spiritual man who hears God and pleases Him? Watchman Nee wrote in “The Spiritual Man”

“New Birth – receiving God’s own life – is the starting point of all spiritual life. How useless it is if the end result of all our exhortation, persuasion, argument, explanation and study is but to induce some understanding in the mind, some determination in the will, some feeling in the emotion. It has not assisted people to receive God’s life into their spirit “

I Cor.2 [15] But the spiritual man tries all things [he examines, investigates, inquires into, questions, and discerns all things], yet is himself to be put on trial and judged by no one [he can read the meaning of everything, but no one can properly discern or appraise or get an insight into him]. NIV

I Peter 2 [5] Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. KJV.

Should the Quran be burnt as planned? I can only join everyone else to agree it is not the smart thing to do.

But I am more certain to declare how the story eventually ends. In Jesus Christ we are more than conquerors – irrespective of tribe, color or race. Give your life to Jesus Christ – today.

God bless you. Please also read related posts below.

The Demographic Bomb – The problem is not Islam II ,   The Problem is not Islam, Obama, Muslim rights and Carnal Wisdom, The Complexity of Islamic Persecution. Maza, Jos Nigeria Attack on 17th July 2010 and Politics .

(Author's blog)