|
Background: Based
on the teachings of one
man, Karl Marx.
Sacred Book: The
Communist Manifesto. The
writings of Lenin and Mao
also form a basis for many
of the major tenets of Communism.
The Nature of God:
Marxist philosophy is based
upon the thought of "historical
materialism": it teaches
the denial of anything spiritual.
All that exists is the material,
physical universe. There
is no God.
Human Condition:
Man is an animal, no different
than any others except in
his intellect. He is not
good or bad, but is shaped
by his society. Capitalist
societies bring out the
basest nature of man, while
the pure communist society
will bring out the best
of man.
Eternity: Man is
only an animal. At death,
his bodily functions cease
and he is no more.
What is Salvation?
Salvation is only societal.
Mankind is progressing to
the eventual rule of the
proletariat (the workers)
and the communist state,
where all property is owned
by the people as a collective
whole. Then marriage will
be obsolete, children will
be raised by the state,
and all people will work
toward the mutual good of
the common society.
How is a person saved?
With the philosophy of historical
materialism, there is, of
course, no personal "salvation."
A person can only try to
rise in the communist hierarchy
and hope to find some physical
comfort in this life.
Notes: I. T. Ramsey
on Marxism as a religion:
Based on the socio-economic
philosophical thought of
the 19th-century thinker
Karl Marx, Marxism can be
said to be a quasi-religion
on two counts. First, Marxism
had connections with the
metaphysics of G.W.F. Hegel,
an 18th-19th-century German
philosopher who interpreted
reality in terms of a spiritual
Absolute. Furthermore, the
thinking of Marx had religious
overtones, whether from
his own Jewish background
or from a Christian atmosphere,
not least in Britain where
he lived from 1849 to 1883.
Second, Marxism can be called
a quasi-religion insofar
as it calls from its followers
a devotion and a commitment
that in their empirical
character greatly resemble
the commitment and devotion
that characterize religious
people. Marxism has undoubtedly
fired the spirit of man
and given to revolutions,
whether in Russia or China,
a powerful direction that
has maintained stability
and avoided anarchy. Furthermore,
like a religion, it has
provided themes of fulfillment
and hope - a revolution
interpreted as the initiation
of a Communist world society
that would be a final consummation.
There are many logical similarities
between the doctrine of
the Marxist millennium and
the Christian doctrine of
Christ's Second Coming.
Marxism has also stressed
the significance of cooperating
with the immanent spirit
of the times - something
comparable to the providence
of God - in economic and
military struggles that
are viewed as the travail
by which society would be
reborn. The main difference
between Marxism and Christianity
in the 19th and early 20th
centuries, according to
some scholars, was that
for many the Christian vision
encouraged men to endure
tyranny, while the Marxist
view inspired men to rebel.
Source: The Encyclopedia
Britannica
^
back to top
|
