What if it had been the Bible?

Just picking up on my reference in my previous post to the Newsweek article, someone asked me yesterday, “What if it had been the Bible?  Would/should you protest?”  (This discussion was based on the hypothetical supposition that the initial reports of the Qur’an being flushed were true.)

I thought this was a good question, because I have come to appreciate a lot of things about my own faith by comparing it with other faiths, particularly with Islam.  Christians need to understand that Muslims do not perceive the Qur’an in the same way that we Christians, at least most of us, perceive the Bible.  Yes, both of us consider our sacred books to be the Word of God.  But for Christians, there is the Incarnate Word, Jesus Christ, which the book points to.  The book is not an end in itself; without Jesus, it cannot save.  Defacing the book can never destroy the Word.

For Muslims, on the other hand, the book is all they have.  To them, it is their salvation.  Muslims regard the Qur’an in much the same way that Christians regard Jesus.  For us, the Word of God is incarnate in a person.  For them, it’s in a book.  The paper and ink hold sacred significance.

So perhaps a more parallel question would be, “What if Jesus was flushed down the toilet?”  Would/should we protest?

Well, in a sense, he was.  “He was despised and rejected,” spat upon, tortured – you can’t get much worse treatment than that.  And yet the instrument of torture has become the universal symbol of our faith.  We wear it with pride.  What a scandal!  Jesus even willingly accepted such treatment.  “He could have called ten thousand angels.”

This points to another contrast with Islam.  Because of the way that Jesus embraced suffering and because of the lifestyle he taught, we expect mistreatment.  That’s the norm.  “All who live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”  We do not expect to be in control of the structures of society.  If we can have a voice, that’s great.  If we don’t, well, that’s normal.

Muslims, on the other hand, expect to dominate.  That is the norm for them.  Muhammad never taught his followers to “bless those who persecute you.”  They are incensed by any perceived insult because, to them, it violates the way things ought to be.

So before we get all indignant the next time someone insults our faith or threatens our values, let’s remember what the norm is and ask a big “WWJD?”  “Father, forgive them ….”