In chapter six, with his father gone, Asher is more free to travel to the local museums to quench his thirst for artistic knowledge. And his mother, who has begun to support Asher more and more with his art (which has begun to drive a wedge between her and her husband), has been going with him to see what her son has involved himself in. What these trips have brought about, aside from a learning experience for Asher, is controversy. The controversy has been created within the book as the two are looking at pictures of nudes and of Jesus (which are both considered unholy by the Hasidic Jews). However, more importantly, these trips have brought about a problem (or what I see as a problem) in that Chaim Potok is beginning to make criticisms on different religions. Specifically, he remarks on the Catholic faith in a conversation between Asher and his mother on page 163:
"Why did the Romans kill Jesus?"
"He said he was the moshiach. They thought he would make a revolution against them."
"Was he the Moshiach, Mama?"
"No. He was not the moshiach. The moshiach has not yet come, Asher. Look how much suffering there is in the world. Would there be so much suffering if the moshiach had really come?"
"Why are there so many paintings about him if he wasn't the moshiach? "
"The goyim believe he was the moshiach. The goyim believe he was the son of the Ribbono Shel Olom. They make paintings of him because he is holy to them."
Personally, I have a large problem with Potok making these remarks. Through Rivkeh, it seems as if he is criticizing the whole Catholic faith by basically saying that Catholics base their whole religious belief system on something that never happened (the coming of the "moshiach" in the form of Jesus). While I understand that Potok and all Jews believe that the messiah never came, I do not understand why he must make it sound as if Catholics are ignorant for believing what they do. I also find it offensive how Potok uses the Jewish word for Catholic (goyim) when referring to an act that is wrong and unholy. That is something that I have a hard time respecting and so at times it is difficult to see Potok as a credible author.