A professor at UCLA (meaning, “one who should know better”) perceives Che Guevara as evolving positively in the minds of students while Jesus is evolving negatively (which may actually be the truth) by saying, “Che Guevara, once the epitome of armed struggle, has evolved to an avatar of justice, peace, and love, as Jesus always was but no longer is exclusively.” The title of the lecture, bordering on blasphemy, was “Chesucristo: The Fusion in Image and Word of Che Guevara and Jesus Christ.” (see also https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=12078)
At least one quote from his lecture goes off the historic rails by claiming Jesus was the “leader of an armed guerilla struggle against Rome.”
The attendees appeared to approve of the depiction of Jesus and Guevara. “The author examines Jesus as a historical figure and illuminates the convergence with Che. Kunzel weaves together the Gospel texts and events with Che-Christic texts, accompanied by a continuous display of Che-Christic art.” Such drivel can only have impact on a generation lacking in and devoid of biblical teaching and knowledge.
Granted, we live in a country where freedom of speech is a reality, so anyone can say anything they want. Secondly, if the professor is merely showing a connection some people are making, I get that. But in the process, in a room full of biblically-illiterate students, the effect will lead many to a distortion of Jesus, His words, and ministry.
Nigel Jones wisely wrote in The Telegraph: “It is a sad reflection of the warped moral mirror of our time that it is Guevara, the squalid killer and totalitarian tyrant, who remains, more than 40 years after his death, the iconic emblem of ignorant idealists the world over,” and that Jesus, a person of love, ethics, and healing, is an individual subject to increasing scorn by a growing demographic of students.