I wondered how many people were shocked, as I was, at the irony of some of the world's Muslims burning images of Pope Benedict XVI because he had apparently implied (by quoting someone else) in a Sept. 12 speech that Islam had spread its message historically through violent means, "by the sword."

The reason I could not tell if everyone had perceived the obvious hypocrisy was because, I think, so many of us were unsure of whether or not we were allowed to laugh.

So I have a plea for my Muslim friends around the world. In that we are readers of the same literature and both profess to follow the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, I appeal to you through the central event of the Hebrew Scriptures. When Moses stood before the Pharaoh, he did not have to desecrate the emperor's image. He did not threaten. He did not even raise his voice. His method was to walk away and let God deal with anyone who wanted to chase.

Martin Luther King, Jr. preached the Exodus more effectively than anyone because, rather than analyzing the text, he lived it. In 1957, at the release of The Gold Coast from British control, he spoke from the heart of the Exodus. He said in his sermon, "The Birth of a Nation," that wherever people are oppressed, their hearts cry out for freedom, for the Promised Land. Like Moses, he did not threaten. He walked away and let God deal with those who wanted to chase.

I would have been convinced that Islam had no intentions of spreading by violence had my Muslim friends around the world staged a peace march on the Vatican, a sit-in: Berkeley meets Mecca. I would have been convinced by Muslims who made Rome the focus of their evangelistic efforts or who set out to outdo the Catholic services to the poor or who invited the pope to a long, public dialogue about the Inquisition, or who boycotted something. These would have spoken to me of peaceful intentions. These, to me, would have said we are going to walk away from name calling and accusations and let God deal with those who want to chase.

As it stands, the burnt effigies only made me give the pope a second hearing. The most sure way to make ideas acidic is to try to control who gets to talk about them. Good ideas, when discussed, grow. Bad ideas, when discussed, tend to be dismissed. Laying down a blanket of anger any- time someone protests, critiques, or draws an offensive cartoon is a sure way to make the conversation vitriolic. As offensive as they may be, airing bad ideas may be all it takes to help them pass away.

The Rev. James W. Miller is the author of "God Scent" and serves on the pastoral team at First Presbyterian Church.