Quran-burning idiots

With news of this guy in Florida who will lead his "church" in a Quran-burning event, this got my mind to thinking on how to respond to such people. It reminds me that some people who get into this profession (or as it should be, 'calling) are just a bit crazy. As one of my clergy friends reminds me, the church seems to draw quite a few neurotics (and sometimes psychotics). My primal inclination is to want to fly to Florida (I could use the miles!) and deck him. I've seen pictures of him and I'm pretty sure I could take him down easily. But I know this would only be a temporary fix and inappropriate. So how do we respond?

One way is to talk to people. I will bring this up in small groups where I live. I will apologize to my Muslim acquaintance in the locker room at the Y. And I will write about it in venues like this blog. I couldn't get on to this guy's church website but, (it kept responding with 'server not found' . . . maybe he forgot to pay his internet fees) my suspicion is that he is an end-times, fundamentalist, dispensationalist, right-wing, uneducated preacher. Now mind you, I don't lump all of these categories as all-encompassing. One could be any one of those and not be a crazy, right-winger like Terry Jones. But he is obviously uneducated. He is ignorant--or in denial--about Christianity's own texts that are laced with violent language and imagery (Psalm 137:9 comes to mind . . . "Happy shall they be who take your little ones and dash them against the rock!"). And what is more problematic, this language assumes that it is Yahweh-endorsed. Not to mention, Christian history continues to try and live down its own violent, imperialistic, oppressive past (at certain points, Christians did more than burn sacred texts, they burned people!).

If this guy follows through with his show of ignorance, the ripple effect will likely be wide. International attention will be detrimental. One thing to remember is that Terry Jones does not represent all of Christianity. In fact, I would say he is not even Christian. Likewise, we know that extremists of any ilk do not represent a consensus of any one group. Herein lies our hope: Maybe people of all faiths can remember that we each have our own lunatic fringe. In the meantime, perhaps we can do a better job of getting together and talking and learning from each other so we can always offer alternative voices. Also in the meantime, I wish Terry Jones would contract food poisoning or diarrhea (the two are often closely related) so that by Saturday he will be too weak and too sick to follow through with this insane act. I usually do not wish diarrhea on anyone, but in this case I will make an exception.