by shimmerReligion creates a conflicted hash of thought processes and and benefits none but the bible thumpers and fear mongers. Utopia does not and never has nor will exist.
I agree with you, in a strict Marxist atheist. utopia in its most pure and literal sense will never exist, you will always have some unconventional and therefore Morally wrong act Being committed. But that doesn't stop us from working towards one and establishing A system like communism.
If you choose to remain within a a particular system and dislike it, then good luck, but not much will happen. The machine is too huge and designed to cover its ass. Check Canadian health care and the pension plans in parliament. Cuts to care, increases in pensions simultaneously. Choose to pay your taxes or slip out of supporting that? Which is the better and easier option. Which is most likely to to directly benefit you, both long and short term.
scrap religion, philosophy and the plethora of bs controls that are slid in side ways and consider reality. Much more elegant and effective.
Much like Slajov Žižek uses his knowledge of film theory to articulate comprehensive analogies to real world issues, I shall attempt to do the same with theology.
Ernst Bloch was a Marxist theoretician and atheist theologian who I quote now: "the Bolshevist fulfillment of Communism [is part of] the age-old fight for God."
God being used as an allegory for what I call the 'Universal mind.' That is, a system of superstructural thought in society which by its nature corresponds and accounts for the maintaining of its base, it's 'system' in this sense. (Image below related)
In this I outline part of my philosophy.
I feel somewhat compelled to speak of Ernst's 'The philosophy of hope' which leads me to speak about Utopianism. Utopianism is present in all ideology, wether you be an oligarch or a post industrial proletariat. The oligarchs ideal society is that of labour being subordinate and submissive to his benefit and will. The proletariat communism. Everybody has some type of subjective utopia, it's one of the driving forces of the utopian principe. We must remember that anything can be dismissed as utopian, the far rights ideal of Neoliberalism and the utopian by nature authoritarianism. But we must also remember that "believing what currently exists must necessarily exist is the acid that corrodes all visionary thinking," Murray Bookchin said that.
Philip II of Macedon, probably better known for being the father of Alexander the Great, Composed an idea called 'Divine and conquer' and it's the founding strategy of modern class warfare. The concept is about gaining and maintaining power by breaking up larger concentrations of power into pieces that individually have less power than the one implementing the strategy.
By doing this you marginalise power, I'm using the term 'Peoples power' which refers to what it implies: The crude power that a population hold, not bestowed upon any "Representative" it's what I like to call 'Crude power.' Because it's not yet refined in the sense that it has yet to be bequeathed upon another. Because all power originally lies in those that can give it to somebody, and when you trace that back enough you get the population, not everybody prescribes to one ideology but the majority win power and the representative is, or should be, obliged to try and meet the needs of all the population... This in itself is a utopian idea on two fronts: on the "Representatives" for having power, that's if it's his ideal and he's a megalomaniac, like many modern politicians are, and a majority population who believe you can construct a functioning and just system by this transfer of power.
Politics is not founded on reason, there is no objectivity. As we see today when people are inculcated by the media to dislike the vulnerable, to condemn the vulnerable as "scrounges" this is the clearest demonstration of authoritarianism.
Because by doing this you forcefully refine the peoples power and manipulate it to your own ideal form of governance. You begin to chop away and create units of power, not a whole power but simple units representing different ideologies. Utopianism drives politics. Thus is the situation today, and the only way to unify that power again is through the power of labour... Through the beauty of the communist revolution. ALL POWER TO THE WORKERS!
Now onto theology.
Christian communism is a form of religious communism based on Christianity. It is a theological and political theory based upon the view that the teachings of Jesus Christ compel Christians to support communism as the ideal social system. Although there is no universal agreement on the exact date when Christian communism was founded, many Christian communists assert that evidence from the Bible suggests that the first Christians, including the Apostles, established their own small communist society in the years following Jesus' death and resurrection. As such, many advocates of Christian communism argue that it was taught by Jesus and practiced by the Apostles themselves.
Christian communism can be seen as a radical form of Christian socialism. Christian communists may or may not agree with various parts of Marxism. They generally do not agree with the antireligious views held by secular Marxists like myself, but do agree with many of the economic and existential aspects of Marxist theory, such as the idea that capitalism exploits the working class by extracting surplus value from the workers in the form of profits and that wage-labor is a tool of human alienation that promotes arbitrary and unjust authority. Christian communism, like Marxism, also holds that capitalism encourages the negative aspects of human nature, supplanting values such as mercy, kindness, justice and compassion in favor of greed, selfishness and blind ambition.
Christian communists hold the Biblical verses in Acts 2 and 4 as evidence that the first Christians lived in a communist society. Thomas Wharton Collens' Preaching is a good description of biblical sources being used with the goal of a common-property society; Prof. José P. Miranda, ""Comunismo en la Biblia"" (1981), translated as, ""Communism in the Bible"" (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1982).
But, in addition, they also cite numerous other Biblical passages which, in their view, support the idea that communism is the most ethical social system and that it is inescapably constitutive of the kingdom of God on earth. The most often quoted of these Biblical citations are taken from the three synoptic Gospels, which describe the life and ministry of Jesus.
In the Gospel of Luke (1:49–53), Mary delivered the following description of the works of God:
49 For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name. 50 And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. 51 He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. 52 He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. 53 He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.
One of Jesus' most famous remarks regarding the wealthy can be found in Matthew 19:16–24 (the same event is also described in Mark 10:17–25 and Luke 18:18–25, and the metaphor of a camel going through the eye of a needle is common to both Matthew and Luke).
16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? 17 And he said unto him, Why do you ask me about what is good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. 18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, 19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? 21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. 22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. 23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. 24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
From this Christian communists understand that the nature of the kingdom of God is such that to be able to enter it a rich man must cease to be rich. However, Jesus Christ goes on to say that what is impossible with men is not impossible with God, implying that the grace of God can save a rich man, for instance by enabling rich people to willingly surrender the riches which should otherwise exclude them from grace. See Matthew 19:25–26, Mark 10:26–27 and Luke 18:26–27. For example, Matthew 19:25–26 says:
25 When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?" 26 But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men it is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
Jesus also described "money changers" (i.e. those engaged in currency exchange) as "thieves" and chased them out of the Temple in Jerusalem. This is described in Matthew 21:12–14, Mark 11:15, and John 2:14–16. The text in Matthew reads as follows:
12 And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, 13 And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves. 14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them.
Christian communists interpret this passage as not having a figurative meaning alluding to imagined weakness of piety of the Sadducees. According to the left-inclined reading, what Jesus is referring to is the overturning of the economic provisioning of the tribes of Israel in the Law of Moses. According to Exodus, The Levites are apportioned no land in Canaan from which to subsist, but are instead granted the sacrificed animals and grain from all the other tribes for consumption or sale after ritual slaughter and burning. Thus every tribe was assured economic security of living. In the Temple system by Jesus' day, senior priests had accumulated large land-holdings from the profits on sale of animals for sacrifice, which they farmed at profit using hired labour and slaves to produce animals for sale, and from profit on sale of Temple money with which to make those purchases. Thereby in effect the Levites had dispossessed the non-priestly of Judah of swathes of their alloted patrimony by making a threefold profit out of the sacrificial system, and were daily accumulating more of the patrimony given by God to others, in addition to their proper income.
The phrase "love thy neighbor", repeatedly spoken by Jesus, is rather well known. Christian communists point out that Jesus considered this to be the second most important of all moral obligations, after loving God. Thus, they argue, a Christian society should be based first and foremost on these two commandments, and it should uphold them even more than it upholds such things as family values. The relevant Biblical verses are Mark 12:28–31:
28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? 29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord; 30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. 31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
Finally, Jesus gave an account of the Last Judgment in Matthew 25:31–46, in which he identifies himself with the hungry, the poor and the sick, and states that good or evil done upon "the least of [God's] brethren" will be counted as good or evil done upon God himself. It is argued that Jesus is saying not only that individuals would be judged by their treatment of the needy but also that nations would be judged according to the characteristics of their societies. If that is the case, this would imply that political and economic systems were being heavily critiqued as well:
31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory; 32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats; 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 For I was hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in; 36 Naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink; 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and ye clothed me not; sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment; but the righteous into life eternal.
In addition, communistic attitudes and implications can be found in Leviticus 25:35–38: "If one becomes poor help him so he can continue to live among you. Do not take interest of any kind from him, but fear your God You must not lend him money at interest or sell him food at a profit. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God." and Acts 4:32–35, "All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had there were no needy persons among them the money was distributed to anyone as he had need." As well as Acts 2:42–47, "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching to the breaking of bread everyone was filled with awe all the believers were together and had everything in common [...] they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they ate together with glad and sincere hearts" Most significantly, this is part of the Law of Moses, and as such is commandment rather than exhortation or airing of opinion. This fact bears heavily upon subsequent discussion of the question of compulsory or voluntary relinquishing of riches, either as a possible entry requirement to Christian grace or as a means of achieving divine intentions for human social order.
But what's undoubtedly true is that the modern right wing are not Christians.
And the correlation between Christianity and Marxism is clear, I used these examples to demonstrate this correlation before I proceed in my next work.
Universal healthcare, empowerment of the downtrodden, these are central and vital tenets of Marxism and Jesus is an advocate.
"And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to his own city. 2 And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.†3 And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.†4 But Jesus, knowing[a] their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? 5 For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? 6 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sinsâ€â€”he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.†7 And he rose and went home. 8 When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men."
21 And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about him, and he was beside the sea. 22 Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet 23 and implored him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.†24 And he went with him.
And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him. 25 And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, 26 and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. 27 She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. 28 For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.†29 And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. 30 And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?†31 And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’†32 And he looked around to see who had done it. 33 But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. 34 And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.â€
35 While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler's house some who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?†36 But overhearing[a] what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.†37 And he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John the brother of James. 38 They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus[b] saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. 39 And when he had entered, he said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping.†40 And they laughed at him. But he put them all outside and took the child's father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was. 41 Taking her by the hand he said to her, “Talitha cumi,†which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.†42 And immediately the girl got up and began walking (for she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement. 43 And he strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.
You're an idiot, there's just no nice way of saying it. I wang a revolution. I'm not willing to pick the lesser of two evils, I want real change and I see that theres an alternative. No system is kept forever. Scientific socialism shall come, direct democracy and democratic centralism... Nobody should be forced to live under this terrible and corrupt system. I'm not going to leave it, I'm trying to change it from the bottom up.
lol ...^^ agreed.
corruption has and will always exist. it allows for creative individuals to turn a profit despite the government.
your NPD is showing...may want to check that at the door...
Jack C4 = Crystal Richardson with more screws loose .... brain consists of cats in a bag for logic and reason.
Jack, can I ask you something???
Let's say you became a very successful and powerful leader and you had the opportunity to change everything. Would you do it because you sincerely want to help humanity or just because you want to tear the system down and re-build it for your own benefit ???
The reason why I ask this question is because I was watching a documentary about Ted Kaczynsky and some psychiatrist said that he only wanted power and not a real change. That's why he wrote his manifesto and started a crusade to free humanity from its own evils.