Book burning?

You know books now days are expensive.  They have always been expensive.  Try going to Barnes and Noble and buying 2 hardback books for less than $50.  I was thinking back to my undergraduate days, and next to tuition, and room/boarding, my textbooks came in at number three on the list for my college expenses. 

What the heck is the deal with this Gainesville, FL pastor Terry Jones wanting to burn the Qu'ran on September 11th?  Don't get me wrong, I am very much Christian, but where does he get off?  Maybe it's the Episcopalian in me, but to those (our brothers and sisters) that practice Islam, the Qu'ran is very sacred, as is the Holy Bible and the Book of Common Prayer is for me.  The Islamic faith community in Gainsville has tried to reach out to him on two separate occasions to reason together and hash out their differences.  For crying out loud!  The Muslims can't even enjoy the holy season of Ramadan in peace.  To me, this is the equivalancy of some Muslim priest (imam) deciding that they want to burn the New Testament of our Lord Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday.  We cannot allow ourselves to get caught up on the misdoings of some muslims and lump them in the same category.

I've actually thought about this at length.  There have been some Christians who in the name of Christianity and Christendom have done some pretty bad things.  How about the leaders of the Crusades, or Holy Wars during the Middle Ages?  Oh, remember David Koresh down in Texas?  My absolute favorite is the Not-So-Reverend Jim Jones, leader of the People's Temple in San Fransisco, who also led a mass suicide in Guyana.  Seriously, why can't we all just get along, or simply coexist?  I love the Islamic culture, as it heavily impacts the Spanish language and culture.  Just as much as I love Islamic culture, I equally love a good BBQ sandwhich.  But, none of the imams are trying to burn down Parker's or Clyde Cooper's BBQ.  Regardless of how many lunatic suicide bombers there are, or whatever goes on in the Middle East or here stateside, my charge as a child of God is to love them and respect the differences between us.  The challenge for today is, don't make assumptions about an entire group of people based on the antics and illdoings of a couple of miguided souls.

Peace,
Karsten