Pope Benedict XVI invited a delegation of senior Muslim personalities, who signed an appeal for greater dialogue between religions, to a meeting at the Vatican, according to a letter released Thursday.Is that spirit "positive" in the sense we would use the word, or is it positive in the sense of, "whatever aids Islam"?
The pope praised the "positive spirit" behind the October 11 message signed by 138 top Muslims from around the world and sent to Christian leaders, said Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone in the letter sent in Pope Benedict's name.
The pope wanted to meet a representative group of the signatories at the Vatican, he added in the letter sent to Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad bin Talal, head of the Institute for Islamic Thought in Amman.
"The Pope has asked me to convey his gratitude to Your Royal Highness and to all who signed the letter," Bertone wrote.
"He also wishes to express his deep appreciation for this gesture, for the positive spirit which inspired the text and for the call for a common commitment to promoting peace in the world.
"Without ignoring or downplaying our differences as Christians and Muslims, we can and therefore should look to what unites us, namely, belief in the one God, the provident Creator and universal Judge who at the end of time will deal with each person according to his or her actions. We are all called to commit ourselves totally to him and to obey his sacred will."What a grave theological error. Is this the thinking of Benedict? Of his secretary? How in the world can one equate the God of, "Love your enemies," with the spawner of, "kill the unbelievers wherever you find them"?
How can the Christ Who died for His confession that He is the I AM, the Son of YHWH be the same deity as the one who condemns as a blasphemer all who say Allah has a son?
The letter said the pope "was particularly impressed by the attention given in the letter to the twofold commandment to love God and one's neighbour."One's Muslim neighbor, that is. Per the command of Allah and the example of Mohammed, Infidels get only submission and slavery or death.
It recalled Pope Benedict's statement in August 2005 soon after he took office that "we must not yield to the negative pressures in our midst, but must affirm the values of mutual respect, solidarity and peace. "The life of every human being is sacred, both for Christians and for Muslims. There is plenty of scope for us to act together in the service of fundamental moral values."Considering that Allah requires the torture, rape, enslavement, and slaughter of non-Muslims and the fact that "Allah's Apostle . . . said: No Muslim would die but Allah would admit in his stead a Jew or a Christian in Hell-Fire . . ." (Muslim Book 37, Number 6666), neither "sacred" nor "both . . . Christian" seem true.
When did Mohammed's core values -- rape, slavery, slaughter, greed, blasphemy, and pedophilia -- become fundamental to Christianity?
None of this is mutual.