We despise all reverences and all the objects of reverence which are outside the pale of our own list of sacred things. And yet, with strange inconsistency, we are shocked when other people despise and defile the things which are holy to us.
- Mark Twain from Following the Equator
This whole nonsense with burning the Quran (Koran) - the holy Muslim scriptures - and all the political hoohah and international fervor has made me think, "If Mark Twain was still alive, what new a pithy quote would he have?" Many have commented in chat rooms, tweets, and online boards about the gentleman pastor from Gainesville, FL who is so diligently attempting to grab notoriety and fame for an act so unlike Jesus, in my opinion. Terms like idiot, knuckle head, seeker of his own 15 minutes of fame have all been used outside the media. The press has actually wasted time talking to him.
For one, he purports to be anti-Islam. His church he shepherds has heard him call Islam the devil's religion. I scratch my head in amazement that he really believes that. If Jesus had felt that way, we never would have His words in John 4, when he talks to the woman at Jacob's well. Peter had that same attitude about Gentiles until God put the vision in his head - the story from Acts 10. Is the answer truly to exterminate a religion because it's basic tenants are diametrically opposed to his own? Has the 28th chapter of the gospel of Matthew been omitted from his Bible? I am not attempting to be Rodney King here, because I know we all can't get along. My problem is why wear a Christian name tag and act about as UN-Christ-like as possible. That is why I miss Twain and how he would revile this pastor.
