soilride
6th September 2002, 06:48
After reading some of the last comments concerning my last post "Christian Revolutionaries" I thought it would be necessary to make aware the 'prejudice' amongst both Christians and Marxists against each other. One of the key elements of Marxism is the scientific analysis of society in the way that is self-critical and constant self-observing through objective and subjective means.
Someone mentioned in their reply in quoting Marx has seeing religion as "the opium of the people." However that is taking this statement out of context to what Marx has really said and to what he really means concerning religion. In an early work of Marx critical of hegel and Feuerbach [on the subject of religion] Marx writes in "Toward the Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right":
"Religious suffering is the expression of real suffering and at the same time the protest against real suffering. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, as it is the soul of soul-less conditions. It is the opium of the people."
In this context, religion has a purpose in capitalist society and that is to escape from it. Religion also serves another purpose in [almost a dual role] in that it has been used as a tool of oppression. What concerned Marx in this observation is a society that has any need of religion, if it only served this one purpose. Yet, Marx concludes that religion must be abolished to dispel all the dissillusions that come with them. Marx wrote this piece around 1843, surrounded by events already happening in Europe that influenced his thought. From where marx stood how could he possibly see into the future of one the most oppressive societies in the world today of religion helping to liberate man from his oppression? Considerably in the Civil Rights Movement and liberation theologies to emerge from countries and nations in desperation and constant need of emancipation from capitalist and imperialist foreigners and dependencies. Marx couldn't.
And as Hegel and Marx both agreed that all things in the world evolves through a series of self-critical examinations of itself, religion serves an entirely different and liberating purpose than the one it served throughout its entire development in a capitalist and imperialist society of oppression and slavery.
And each of us are subject to this change. In fact Marx leaves nothing out. Everything is related and everything will be changed when reality demands it to be so. In fact, this demand is made upon religion in general and when religion succumbs to this self-critical examination of itself and engages in the discourse with the world about its true role, then and only then can religions become a unifying force to liberate mankind.
For those of you who feel uncomfortable with the term "Christian Revolutionaries" and feel that they must criticize this because it is "oxymoron" or 'ironic" [it is only because we have never imagined a society in which religion can be a force that has ever liberated man from capitalism and oppression], I must consider that they are not so much interested in creating the revolution than engaging in political "debates" on personal opinions that do not matter. In fact I have much more respect for the Christian Revolutionaries who fought and died alongside Communist Guerrillas to liberate the workers, the poor and the oppressed from exploitation and death, than i do about someone who can equally quote Marx and yet still have the ability to think that personal opinions matter because one does not fight for reality.
Do your duty, create the revolution, all opinions aside.
Yours for the revolution,
soilride
Someone mentioned in their reply in quoting Marx has seeing religion as "the opium of the people." However that is taking this statement out of context to what Marx has really said and to what he really means concerning religion. In an early work of Marx critical of hegel and Feuerbach [on the subject of religion] Marx writes in "Toward the Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right":
"Religious suffering is the expression of real suffering and at the same time the protest against real suffering. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, as it is the soul of soul-less conditions. It is the opium of the people."
In this context, religion has a purpose in capitalist society and that is to escape from it. Religion also serves another purpose in [almost a dual role] in that it has been used as a tool of oppression. What concerned Marx in this observation is a society that has any need of religion, if it only served this one purpose. Yet, Marx concludes that religion must be abolished to dispel all the dissillusions that come with them. Marx wrote this piece around 1843, surrounded by events already happening in Europe that influenced his thought. From where marx stood how could he possibly see into the future of one the most oppressive societies in the world today of religion helping to liberate man from his oppression? Considerably in the Civil Rights Movement and liberation theologies to emerge from countries and nations in desperation and constant need of emancipation from capitalist and imperialist foreigners and dependencies. Marx couldn't.
And as Hegel and Marx both agreed that all things in the world evolves through a series of self-critical examinations of itself, religion serves an entirely different and liberating purpose than the one it served throughout its entire development in a capitalist and imperialist society of oppression and slavery.
And each of us are subject to this change. In fact Marx leaves nothing out. Everything is related and everything will be changed when reality demands it to be so. In fact, this demand is made upon religion in general and when religion succumbs to this self-critical examination of itself and engages in the discourse with the world about its true role, then and only then can religions become a unifying force to liberate mankind.
For those of you who feel uncomfortable with the term "Christian Revolutionaries" and feel that they must criticize this because it is "oxymoron" or 'ironic" [it is only because we have never imagined a society in which religion can be a force that has ever liberated man from capitalism and oppression], I must consider that they are not so much interested in creating the revolution than engaging in political "debates" on personal opinions that do not matter. In fact I have much more respect for the Christian Revolutionaries who fought and died alongside Communist Guerrillas to liberate the workers, the poor and the oppressed from exploitation and death, than i do about someone who can equally quote Marx and yet still have the ability to think that personal opinions matter because one does not fight for reality.
Do your duty, create the revolution, all opinions aside.
Yours for the revolution,
soilride