If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, you know that I’m staunchly conservative, some might say even to the point of being a raving loon.  But two events currently making headlines have made me realize that conservatives don’t always come down on the right side of an issue.  That’s not to say that liberals came down on the right side of the issue either, or if they did, that they did so for the right reasons.

The two issues are the response to the proposed mosque at Ground Zero in New York City and the response to the propose Koran burning by some religious group in Florida.  Conservatives have derided the response of the White House and the Left regarding the mosque and have for the most part, with the exception of Sarah Palin, been silent on the Koran burning.  And for the most part, conservatives have been wrong, especially if you are a conservative with religious faith, and especially, especially, especially if that faith is Christian.

Obama created a firestorm around the mosque issue by trying to take the moral high-ground and claim that in a free country, the Muslims have a right to build a mosque wherever they want, even at a site that might be deemed as offensive by some or even all.  The conservative response has mainly been that, yes, they have the right, but it’s not right.  Some have even gone as far as to say that “Ground Zero” is sacred ground.  Obama is right, they do have the right and conservatives are right that it is not appropriate.  But what should the response be of a person who is both conservative AND Christian?  I don’t think blasting Islam and the Left for their “support” for building the mosque is the answer.  Wouldn’t a better approach be to build a small Christian chapel or some other edifice where those that go to Ground Zero could contemplate the horror of that event in peace and solitude?  Or, since so many are convinced that Ground Zero is now sacred ground, build a church there.   Many are claiming that building a mosque there signifies Islam’s triumphant, much as the Cordoban mosque signified their conquering of Spain.  If a church is built at the same location, it would be hard for them to make that claim.  And building a chapel or church there could also potentially expose the hypocrisy of the left if they opposed it.  After all, if they support the building of a mosque there, they have to support building a church as well, right?

The second issue is more perplexing because it is centered on not just conservatives, but supposed Christians.  I personally can’t believe that this pastor has thought this through.  As Palin put it, doing this is “unnecessary provocation”.  It seems this guy is in it more for the attention, than he is for following his faith because his faith would not allow him to do something this insensitive.  Romans 12:8 states “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.”  Burning books that others consider sacred, even if you don’t, isn’t living peaceably.  And Jesus himself said, in Matthew 5, “But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.”  Following that command can be hard, and at times even seems impossible, but for a man of faith, charged with leading others, this is no righteous example he is setting.  In this specific case, those who are attempting to draw attention to themselves with this blatant display of hostility are not acting as representatives of the Christian faith.  Rather, they have more in common with the Islamic religious zealots they are attempting to mock than any true Christian.

Unlike those in Islam who only tepidly disassociate themselves from their more radical members, conservatives, and especially Christians, need to stand up for what is right in this situation and call this man out for his hateful, provocative actions.  Doing so will minimize the impact of his actions and be more of an example of true faith and morality than silently standing by while he makes a mockery of faith and puts all believers in a bad light.