As a concept, I don't believe in "book burning". The eradication of evil or even merely dangerous ideas is not possible in this way. It is an infantile attempt by hubristic authoritarians to end the uncomfortable opposition of their own ideology. It is usually the equivalent of yelling STFU as loudly as possible, knowing that as long as you are louder and more persistent than your interlocutor, you won't actually be forced to confront their opposition. Attempts to burn, ban, or otherwise banish all existing expressions of a concept or scheme is offensive to my Anglo-American blood, steeped as it is in such things as the Common Law and the American Constitution.
So far, most commentators have been trading on the ambiguity in motivations for burning. A magisterium banning an idea and destroying all written expressions thereof is entirely different from an ecclesium rejecting contrary ideas. Compare, by way of example, the Roman church banning and prohibiting the printing of Luther's works, and Luther casting into the fire the Papal Bull declaring his ideas and himself anathema.
All this to dispel the confusion between book burning a la Fahrenheit 451 and symbolic burning.
As to the response, I wish someone would clearly articulate the "provocation" position so as to draw out the cultural suicide aspect. It is indeed provocative because it draws to light important features of Islamic society that are important. It is they who harbor the sort of ideological intolerance that results in the truly abhorrent form of book burning. (If I have to stop here to explain that I don't mean that all practicing Muslims are violent, just... no, just go read something else.)
I will say what I have not heard from this pastor in Florida: Islam is a false religion that contradicts the revealed Word of God and denies the person and work of Christ. Therefore, I find whatever their prophet and holy writings teach to be absolute heresy, blasphemous, and indeed anathema. Islam is a cult that leads to destruction.
If an event were to feature Koran burning as part of a larger critique of the anti-Western and anti-Christian message of Islam, I would probably endorse the spectacle. As it stands, I see it as a spectacle qua spectacle that avoids serious criticism of the theological and doctrinal differences between these two major world religions.
As a final note, a small Florida church burning some Korans is probably less a provocation than building an Islamic worship center named after a provocative Muslim figure on the grounds of the greatest success of Islamist action against the West. When that was all abuzz, we were told it was a simply matter of constitutional rights and nothing more. Where is that insistence now?
The double standard is laughable, and it is promulgated in a self-destructive way by cultural lightweights that we elect to office and elevate to prominence on our national media platforms. Given the latest rumor in the news, Imam Rauf may have recognized that he was in "intellectual check", and has consequently appeared to moved his king out of this precarious position.
