Jesus as Metaphor

In the New York Sun today, John Merriman reviews a new book on Napoleon. It’s a nice review, but this line caught my eye: “Napoleon modestly portrayed himself as ‘the savior,’ and, although not a religious person, encouraged comparisons with Jesus Christ.”

Isn’t there something a little off about that “although”? Encouraging people to think of you as Jesus is something you can do because you’re not religious, isn’t it?