My Jesus Christ vs Larry Atencio's Jesus Christ
"I wish I could do away with poverty. Our Lord Jesus Christ worked on that problem. He couldn't solve it. Didn't he say, 'there will always be the poor'?" ~Pueblo City Councilman Larry Atencio, taking Jesus Christ out of context, April 21, 2018
I could have intentionally & sarcastically quoted Larry like this:
"Without the poor, who is going to pick up our garbage, sweep our halls, & wipe our asses?" ~Councilman Larry Atencio
But I did not.
Larry Atencio made the point that since Jesus Christ wasn't able to eradicate poverty 2,000 years ago during the Bronze Age in the Middle East, specifically, in Jerusalem - before the radio, automobile, the Internet, & Johnathan Masters was invented -, that we shouldn't try to eradicate poverty in the Postmodern Age. Sure, Larry, Jesus tried to cure poverty 2,000 years ago, but Jesus didn't live in Amerika. And he was up against the Romans. & Pontius Pilate. Shit was different back then, for fucks sake.
Larry Atencio uses Jesus Christ's name in vain only in order to not give a damn about the poor. That's everything Jesus Christ was against.
Instead of saying "there's always going to be poor", Larry Atencio quoted Jesus when that Biblical character said that "there will always be the poor". Larry Atencio used Jesus Christ's name in vain to rhetorically shrug his shoulders towards one of the largest & vulnerable people in our community: the poor. For Pueblo City Councilman Larry Atencio, we Puebloans will always have 25% of our children mired in poverty; we Puebloans will always have a houseless epidemic, & working class Puebloans won't ever stand a chance. For Larry Atencio, at the problem of Poverty, he demurely shrugs his shoulders, insists he's trying, and that's it. With his talk about the culture & climate of the East Side... like, it's good for business? How can blighted buildings from absentee landlords be good for business? Larry could serve his community better if he went around picking up all of the Heroin needles.
xxx
"The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me." ~Matthew 26:11
So then, let Mary pour a lil' bit of perfumed oil on Jesus's head for god's sake, if that's his thing, which apparently it was.
This "same" story is repeated differently in Matthew, Mark, & John. Matthew & Mark say that the story happened in Simon the Leper's house. John’s Gospel, however, says it happened in the home of Mary, Martha, & Lazarus.
But all 3 Gospels - excluding Luke - agreed that Jesus Christ said it in Bethany, in the house of the poor.
7 Chapters earlier, Jesus said that only the poor can make it to heaven & that the rich will burn in the fire & brimstone pits of hell, forever & ever, Amen.
"Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." ~Matthew 19:24
The Bible is chock full of bullshit & contradictory passages. If Christianity really focused on solving poverty, I think 2,000 years is plenty of time to solve it. LBJ had a war on poverty in the 60s. Amerika hasn't had one since. If we focus on it, we'll have it solved in no time, just like the drug problem.
Larry Atencio's Jesus Christ & my Jesus Christ are different. My Jesus Christ was a long-haired hippie, like Tommy Chong. My Jesus Christ is a socialist, a communist, who cared about everybody. My Jesus Christ hung out with the alienated, the poor, the children, the tax-collectors, the prostitutes, the lepers, the outcasts. My Jesus Christ is just walking around, just living life, being an existentialist, talking about peace, love, & freedom, man, just like "The Dude", opposing the militaristic Empire, being that 1 man in a million who actually speaks out about the injustices & crimes of the Empire.
My Jesus Christ says that he who is w/o sin, cast the first stone; that what you do to the least of my brethren, you do unto me; that you do unto others as you'd have them do unto you; a pacifist, who turns the other cheek; the rich can't get into heaven, unless a camel can get thru the eye of a needle; the first will be last, and the last will be first; My Jesus Christ cared about the poor. He wanted them fed & clothed & sheltered. My Jesus Christ produced bread & fish for the multitude. My Jesus Christ threw out the bankers & money changers out of the temple.
Larry Atencio's Jesus Christ nonchalantly shrugs at the struggles & sufferings of the poor. & why would Larry Atencio blame Jesus Christ for not being able to eradicate poverty? Isn't all things possible with the Lord? Plus Jesus was crucified, so he didn't really have a chance to see his policies implemented into society. Perhaps he could have done something about the poor during his lifetime, he tried, but at 33 years of age, Jesus Christ was nailed to a cross.
Both Rick Perry & Larry Atencio quote that one anti-poor quote out of context to draw far-fetched conclusions that Jesus himself would never subscribe to. Larry & Rick are both wrong, anti-biblically, sinfully, hellishly wrong.
"There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land." ~Deuteronomy 15:11
At least Larry Atencio is trying. Neither Lori "I hate the homeless" Winner, nor Steve "I used to be President" Nawrocki, nor newcomer Russell Martinez decided to show up.
xxx
After she told me she didn't like pot, I had to smoke the whole day afterwards just to get over her. :(
xxx
I will give Larry Atencio some credit. He was the only City Councilman to approach me after I showed up for my 1st Pueblo City Council meeting, over a year ago. I was talking to some guys afterwards, & Larry introduced himself, and asked what I wanted. I said I wanted an end to homelessness. I told him that there's 22 empty houses for every homeless person, and Larry listened.
"It will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain." ~Isaiah 4:6
"There will, however, be no one in need among you, because the Lord is sure to bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you as a possession to occupy, if only you will obey the Lord your God by diligently observing this entire commandment that I command you today." ~Deuteronomy 15:4-5
I could have intentionally & sarcastically quoted Larry like this:
"Without the poor, who is going to pick up our garbage, sweep our halls, & wipe our asses?" ~Councilman Larry Atencio
But I did not.
Larry Atencio made the point that since Jesus Christ wasn't able to eradicate poverty 2,000 years ago during the Bronze Age in the Middle East, specifically, in Jerusalem - before the radio, automobile, the Internet, & Johnathan Masters was invented -, that we shouldn't try to eradicate poverty in the Postmodern Age. Sure, Larry, Jesus tried to cure poverty 2,000 years ago, but Jesus didn't live in Amerika. And he was up against the Romans. & Pontius Pilate. Shit was different back then, for fucks sake.
Larry Atencio uses Jesus Christ's name in vain only in order to not give a damn about the poor. That's everything Jesus Christ was against.
Instead of saying "there's always going to be poor", Larry Atencio quoted Jesus when that Biblical character said that "there will always be the poor". Larry Atencio used Jesus Christ's name in vain to rhetorically shrug his shoulders towards one of the largest & vulnerable people in our community: the poor. For Pueblo City Councilman Larry Atencio, we Puebloans will always have 25% of our children mired in poverty; we Puebloans will always have a houseless epidemic, & working class Puebloans won't ever stand a chance. For Larry Atencio, at the problem of Poverty, he demurely shrugs his shoulders, insists he's trying, and that's it. With his talk about the culture & climate of the East Side... like, it's good for business? How can blighted buildings from absentee landlords be good for business? Larry could serve his community better if he went around picking up all of the Heroin needles.
"Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God." ~RFK quoting Aeschylus on MLK's assassination
xxx
"The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me." ~Matthew 26:11
So then, let Mary pour a lil' bit of perfumed oil on Jesus's head for god's sake, if that's his thing, which apparently it was.
This "same" story is repeated differently in Matthew, Mark, & John. Matthew & Mark say that the story happened in Simon the Leper's house. John’s Gospel, however, says it happened in the home of Mary, Martha, & Lazarus.
But all 3 Gospels - excluding Luke - agreed that Jesus Christ said it in Bethany, in the house of the poor.
7 Chapters earlier, Jesus said that only the poor can make it to heaven & that the rich will burn in the fire & brimstone pits of hell, forever & ever, Amen.
"Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." ~Matthew 19:24
The Bible is chock full of bullshit & contradictory passages. If Christianity really focused on solving poverty, I think 2,000 years is plenty of time to solve it. LBJ had a war on poverty in the 60s. Amerika hasn't had one since. If we focus on it, we'll have it solved in no time, just like the drug problem.
Larry Atencio's Jesus Christ & my Jesus Christ are different. My Jesus Christ was a long-haired hippie, like Tommy Chong. My Jesus Christ is a socialist, a communist, who cared about everybody. My Jesus Christ hung out with the alienated, the poor, the children, the tax-collectors, the prostitutes, the lepers, the outcasts. My Jesus Christ is just walking around, just living life, being an existentialist, talking about peace, love, & freedom, man, just like "The Dude", opposing the militaristic Empire, being that 1 man in a million who actually speaks out about the injustices & crimes of the Empire.
My Jesus Christ says that he who is w/o sin, cast the first stone; that what you do to the least of my brethren, you do unto me; that you do unto others as you'd have them do unto you; a pacifist, who turns the other cheek; the rich can't get into heaven, unless a camel can get thru the eye of a needle; the first will be last, and the last will be first; My Jesus Christ cared about the poor. He wanted them fed & clothed & sheltered. My Jesus Christ produced bread & fish for the multitude. My Jesus Christ threw out the bankers & money changers out of the temple.
Larry Atencio's Jesus Christ nonchalantly shrugs at the struggles & sufferings of the poor. & why would Larry Atencio blame Jesus Christ for not being able to eradicate poverty? Isn't all things possible with the Lord? Plus Jesus was crucified, so he didn't really have a chance to see his policies implemented into society. Perhaps he could have done something about the poor during his lifetime, he tried, but at 33 years of age, Jesus Christ was nailed to a cross.
Both Rick Perry & Larry Atencio quote that one anti-poor quote out of context to draw far-fetched conclusions that Jesus himself would never subscribe to. Larry & Rick are both wrong, anti-biblically, sinfully, hellishly wrong.
"There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land." ~Deuteronomy 15:11
At least Larry Atencio is trying. Neither Lori "I hate the homeless" Winner, nor Steve "I used to be President" Nawrocki, nor newcomer Russell Martinez decided to show up.
xxx
After she told me she didn't like pot, I had to smoke the whole day afterwards just to get over her. :(
xxx
I will give Larry Atencio some credit. He was the only City Councilman to approach me after I showed up for my 1st Pueblo City Council meeting, over a year ago. I was talking to some guys afterwards, & Larry introduced himself, and asked what I wanted. I said I wanted an end to homelessness. I told him that there's 22 empty houses for every homeless person, and Larry listened.
"It will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain." ~Isaiah 4:6
"There will, however, be no one in need among you, because the Lord is sure to bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you as a possession to occupy, if only you will obey the Lord your God by diligently observing this entire commandment that I command you today." ~Deuteronomy 15:4-5
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