PR Pope admits divisiveness and contradictions (inadvertantly)

It has been roughly a week and a half since I read the Catholic News Agency piece "Let go of 'false lights' that lead down the wrong path, Pope says." No one seems to have followed up or comment on it that I can find. This is interesting since if you think about its contents critically for more than a few minutes it reveals that the Pope inadvertently admitted that Christianity is divisive and that the Pope routinely conveys contradictory messages. Consider:

“If now I were to ask you, do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God? Do you believe that he can change your heart? Do you think you can see reality as he sees it, not as we do? Do you believe that he is light, that he gives us the true light?...abandoning false lights...cold and fatuous light of prejudice against others, because prejudice distorts reality and builds hate against those who we judge without mercy and condemn without an appeal.”

If Jesus is the "true light" doesn't that at least imply that all other religions and beliefs are "false lights"? How is this compatible with previous appeals to treating all faiths equally? How does this not contradict to some degree the last part of the quotation. If you are compelled by faith to assume all other religions and beliefs are false how can you not become prejudiced against them? Logically, this notion seems to lead to and even demand prejudice and divisiveness.

Flipside Jesus: The Divider

The image of Jesus as a peaceful unifying figure doesn’t make much sense since he, according to the New Testament, routinely and actively sought to divide people. The Jesus present in the scriptures frequently displayed an “us vs. them” mentality.

These are just two such examples of his divisive manner:

“For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.” (Matthew 10:35)

“And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive one hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.” (Matthew 19:29)

It seems pretty clear that Christ is demanding believers sever all ties with non-believers. It even implies that Christians should more actively turn against non-Christians no matter what the previous relationship may have been. That is pretty divisive. Unfortunately, the “Savior” of mankind was not satisfied with creating conflicts where none need have existed.  Jesus found the need to go the extra mile.

“But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.”

Commanding his followers to round up and then slaughter anyone unwilling to submit to his rule goes well beyond simple divisiveness. This passage makes Jesus a cold blooded mass murderer. No amount of semantic gymnastics and apologetics can explain away such a blatant verse.

Rather than being viewed as the “Prince of Peace” he should be labeled a homicidal tyrant.