From the North Carolina News & Observer, with thanks to disillusioned german.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The pastor of a small Baptist church has refused calls to take down a sign posted in front of his church reading “The Koran needs to be flushed,” saying Tuesday he has nothing to apologize for.
“My creed is the Bible, which tells me I am supposed to stand up and defend my faith,” said the Rev. Creighton Lovelace, pastor of the 55-member Danieltown Baptist Church in Forest City. “I don’t hate Muslims, I just hate their false doctrines.”
But the Council on American-Islamic Relations, based in Washington, D.C., called on Americans of all faiths to demand the message displayed outside the church be removed.
“Christians often ask themselves, ‘What would Jesus do?'” said the group’s spokesman, Ibrahim Hooper. “I don’t think Jesus, who is loved by Muslims and mentioned frequently in the Quran, would use such hate-filled and divisive rhetoric.”…
Lovelace said he knew before he put up the sign that some people would disagree with its message.
“I expected some people would be offended, just as if someone put up a sign that said the Bible should be flushed,” he said. “That would offend me as a Christian.
“This is America and we have the freedom of the press, so I have the right to put up this sign.”…
Lovelace said he does not believe he is being intolerant.
“We are all told to be tolerant,” he said. “You can be tolerant of other people, but that doesn’t mean you have to accept anything that teaches against what is in the Bible.”