Earlier this month, Pope Francis decreed that priests were free to bless same sex couples, in much needed support of the LGBTQ community, and the loving teachings of Jesus in general.[6]
In John 13:35, John paraphrased the teachings of the Roman Imperial Cult's Jesus Christ, "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”[2][3]
This quote embraces the very core teachings of Jesus -- as an altruist and lover of all people, encouraging all people to love one another -- but eventually resulted in the son of God being nailed to lumber by haters, hoisted in the air, where he was left to rot to death, and shortly after Octavius Gaius (also known as August Caesar) and the Roman Congress declared that Julius Caesar was God, and Augustus, the nephew and adopted son of Caesar, was the son of God.[3][4]
Interestingly, here Jesus specified that only those who love others can truly be a disciple of Jesus, or a true Christian, reiterated by the Pope earlier this year, who called out American Republicans for their "backwardness" Christianity, which embraces the opposite or backwards teachings of Jesus -- hate, revenge, murder, harm to others, exploitation, and hoarding -- instead of the love, forgiveness, and charity towards others.[5]
As the Beetles once sung in alignment with the teachings of Jesus Christ, "all you need is love".[7]
[1] Photo: https://unsplash.com/@avasol
[2] https://www.openbible.info/topics/love_thy_brother
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_imperial_cult
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustus
[6] https://www.npr.org/2023/12/18/1220077102/pope-francis-blessings-same-sex-couples
[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_You_Need_Is_Love