If the Pope doesn’t grasp the concept of “turn the other cheek”, something’s wrong.
My first thought too.
Terrorism was committed, people were violently murdered and the pope is condemning free speech. He sounds like Obama and Clinton, blaming the Benghazi attack on a video.
Why not, if it’s wrong? Christ did, to the beliefs of both Sadducees and Pharisees. But I guess saying “you err and know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God” must be less than making fun, as far as the pope is concerned.
I don’t think Muslims have such a concept. Which added to their definition of “insult to religion” means quite a few noses are going to get punched by them. So we just better shut up I guess. (That last was Sarcasm writ large).
Here is my big problem with what the Pope said. Yes it is wrong to go beyond satire into the scatological when discussing or lampooning or debating a religion. It is wrong because civilized people who want there to be free and open faith in their society should be civil. We should be able to weigh pros and cons truthfully and have answers to those who throw objections at us. This is adult behavior. When you sink to the level of bandying gross insults at each other the listening stops.
This is true even if it does not provoke a reaction. If we are supposed to determine the rightness of a behavior by whether it makes people angry, we Christians should plan on shutting up right now. You see the Gospel lays out some hard truths that people just plain don’t want to hear. It might be because the whole idea of needing salvation does not sit well. It might be because the idea of Christ being divine is blasphemy to them. It might be because the very thought of there being a Holy Trinity smacks of polytheism. It might be because the moral behavior demanded by Scripture interferes with the altar of personal pleasure they worship at. It is often just too much to ponder.
Doesn’t really matter. What matters is ever since Jesus gave so many their comeuppance Christianity has been stirring up reactions. Reactions which were often not very favorable to the faithful. Whippings, burnings, beheadings, imprisonments, the list is long. It is still long. Every age of Christian must ask “What price am I willing to pay to declare the Gospel?”
That the Pope does not see how his remark could mean for us to hush up about it already, really worries me.
“”You cannot insult the faith of others. You cannot make fun of the faith of others.””
His definition of “faith” has to be a lot different from our definition. Their faith is to slay, slaughter, crucify, behead, shoot everyone who doesn’t behave as they do. No thanks!