Pope says communists are closet Christians

[Nationes Pii Redivivi]

Technically, Marx was not athiest. If his Mother was Jewish, he is Jewish.

Technically, Marx is an Atheist Jew. According to Orthodox Judaism, one is ethnically Jewish if one's mother is Jewish, that does not translate to being religiously a Jew.

[ALMF]

"Religion is the opiate of the masses." Obviously a Christian message right there.

Read the full quote (it's not incompatible):

The foundation of irreligious criticism is: Man makes religion, religion does not make man. Religion is, indeed, the self-consciousness and self-esteem of man who has either not yet won through to himself, or has already lost himself again. But man is no abstract being squatting outside the world. Man is the world of man – state, society. This state and this society produce religion, which is an inverted consciousness of the world, because they are an inverted world. Religion is the general theory of this world, its encyclopaedic compendium, its logic in popular form, its spiritual point d’honneur, its enthusiasm, its moral sanction, its solemn complement, and its universal basis of consolation and justification. It is the fantastic realization of the human essence since the human essence has not acquired any true reality. The struggle against religion is, therefore, indirectly the struggle against that world whose spiritual aroma is religion.

Religious suffering is, at one and the same time, the expression of real suffering and a protest against real suffering. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.

The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is the demand for their real happiness. To call on them to give up their illusions about their condition is to call on them to give up a condition that requires illusions. The criticism of religion is, therefore, in embryo, the criticism of that vale of tears of which religion is the halo.

[Asigna]

Soviet Union was the most Christian nation in the entire Eurasian continent.

Let's not be blind about Stalin and their godlessness.

[The New Sea Territory]

Actually, they somewhat deserve it more because they actually stick to those beliefs of helping the poor. Christians are, by and large, about being traditional rather than actually helping people. I cite gay therapy, "traditional marriage", saying transgendered people need discipline, saying that America is a Christian Nation and being against pornography as evidence.

[The New Sea Territory]

Soviet Union was the most Christian nation in the entire Eurasian continent.

Let's not be blind about Stalin and their godlessness.

Ah, yes. "Godlessness". I never got what they big deal about that was. Who gives a damn what they believe?

[Republic of Coldwater]

Karl Marx was an atheist who hated Christianity, and many Communist movements strongly oppose religion. Countries who subscribe to Communist Theories such as Mao's China, North Korea and the former USSR all have prosecuted non-Atheists, including Christians. I don't understand why Communists and closet Christians given their extreme disdain towards religion.

[Shilya]

I think communists took up the poverty flag after christianity had neglected it for too long in favour of converting the hell out of everyone they could find anywhere. That's not stealing, that's more finders keepers.

[Alosteq Diin Nastja]

Karl Marx was an atheist who hated Christianity, and many Communist movements strongly oppose religion. Countries who subscribe to Communist Theories such as Mao's China, North Korea and the former USSR all have prosecuted non-Atheists, including Christians. I don't understand why Communists and closet Christians given their extreme disdain towards religion.

North Korea is a Juche state, not Communist. The USSR, as proved with many sources that you can find a few posts back, was described by Lenin himself as a State-Capitalist state. Also not Communist.

I myself am a Marxist Communist, but I don't disdain religion. I just don't particularly like it.

[Trotskylvania]

I'd agree with him to a point. Communism is a secularized version of the Christian message of love of thy neighbor, freed from the baggage of a church that has often ignored the radical egalitarianism of its gospels.

[Republic of Coldwater]

Karl Marx was an atheist who hated Christianity, and many Communist movements strongly oppose religion. Countries who subscribe to Communist Theories such as Mao's China, North Korea and the former USSR all have prosecuted non-Atheists, including Christians. I don't understand why Communists and closet Christians given their extreme disdain towards religion.

North Korea is a Juche state, not Communist. The USSR, as proved with many sources that you can find a few posts back, was described by Lenin himself as a State-Capitalist state. Also not Communist.

I myself am a Marxist Communist, but I don't disdain religion. I just don't particularly like it.

State Capitalism makes very little sense as the dictionary defines Capitalism as this:

capitalism |ˈkapətlˌizəm|
noun
an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state.

Communism is also defined as this:

communism |ˈkämyəˌnizəm| (often Communism)
noun
a political theory derived from Karl Marx, advocating class war and leading to a society in which all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs. See also Marxism.

The government owned everything in Soviet Russia and they did pay people according to their belief of what they needed. Same it goes for North Korea, where they pay people what they "need". North Korea can call themselves Juche or whatever they want to call themselves, but by definition, it is a Communist nation.

And thank you for proving my point that Communists are not closet Christians because you, as a Communist dislikes religion.

[Shilya]

Communism is also defined as this:

communism |ˈkämyəˌnizəm| (often Communism)
noun
a political theory derived from Karl Marx, advocating class war and leading to a society in which all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs. See also Marxism.

The government owned everything in Soviet Russia and they did pay people according to their belief of what they needed. Same it goes for North Korea, where they pay people what they "need". North Korea can call themselves Juche or whatever they want to call themselves, but by definition, it is a Communist nation.

Please note the difference between the public and the government. As you correctly said, in soviet countries - as well as in north korea - everything (well, all means of production) was owned by the government. But when the government is totalitarian, that means the public doesn't own them. A small, ruling elite does.

Please also note the difference between actual needs and what the government believes those needs are. Those tend to differ quite a bit. Especially when, again, the government is a totalitarian government made from a small elite.

[Alosteq Diin Nastja]

North Korea is a Juche state, not Communist. The USSR, as proved with many sources that you can find a few posts back, was described by Lenin himself as a State-Capitalist state. Also not Communist.

I myself am a Marxist Communist, but I don't disdain religion. I just don't particularly like it.

State Capitalism makes very little sense as the dictionary defines Capitalism as this:

capitalism |ˈkapətlˌizəm|
noun
an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state.

Communism is also defined as this:

communism |ˈkämyəˌnizəm| (often Communism)
noun
a political theory derived from Karl Marx, advocating class war and leading to a society in which all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs. See also Marxism.

The government owned everything in Soviet Russia and they did pay people according to their belief of what they needed. Same it goes for North Korea, where they pay people what they "need". North Korea can call themselves Juche or whatever they want to call themselves, but by definition, it is a Communist nation.

And thank you for proving my point that Communists are not closet Christians because you, as a Communist dislikes religion.

North Korea cannot pay people what they need, as proved by the widespread malnourishment and death by starvation that is frequent among the people. And they do follow the Juche system.

State Capitalism, as defined by Wikipedia.State Capitalism as defined by Marxists.org

[Agritum]

I'd agree with him to a point. Communism is a secularized version of the Christian message of love of thy neighbor, freed from the baggage of a church that has often ignored the radical egalitarianism of its gospels.

And that has sometimes quashed down attempts to take the egalitarianism more seriously (Eg. Liberation Theology)

[Djadjoekstan]

A pope who doesn't know what communism is.

Do bears know what communism is?

Hmm... That doesn't quite pack the same punch...

[Gigaverse]

> Vietnamese are mostly Buddhists
> Vietnamese are stereotyped Communists

= Vietnamese are Christian Buddhists

Yus, Pope is very logical.

[Souriya Al-Assad]

Soviet Union was the most Christian nation in the entire Eurasian continent.

No, that was true. Even the Orthodox Church officially acknowledged it, with a publicising of a 2014 Calendar with Comrade Stalin on it. Plus, the Saint George ribbon, numerous songs from old Russia pre-USSR, as well as other things inherent in Russian Orthodox culture, we indeed incorporated into the Soviet one.

Furthermore, there were priests, imams, & bishops etcetera that served in the Red Army during the Second World War, moreover in numerous victory parades, attended in their religious attires & war honours. I have a Russian friend that has a number of vintage pictures of this stuff. Thou shalt also find it interesting that the Federal Republic of Novorossiya uniting the Lugansk & Donetsk People's Republics, has not only Communists in power, it has also adopted a very Orthodox Christian cultural stance. People in the Anti-Maidan rallies in Ukraine in general I hath noticed either brought portraits of Stalin with Saint George ribbons or brought out Orthodox Icons. Sometimes, I have seen both at the same time in images of these glorious rallies. There are also pictures out there of Novorossiya troops praying in Church before going to battle.

(Reuters) - Pope Francis, whose criticisms of unbridled capitalism have prompted some to label him a Marxist, said in an interview published on Sunday that communists had stolen the flag of Christianity.

The 77-year-old pontiff gave an interview to Il Messaggero, Rome's local newspaper, to mark the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, a Roman holiday.

He was asked about a blog post in the Economist magazine that said he sounded like a Leninist when he criticised capitalism and called for radical economic reform.

"I can only say that the communists have stolen our flag. The flag of the poor is Christian. Poverty is at the centre of the Gospel," he said, citing Biblical passages about the need to help the poor, the sick and the needy.

"Communists say that all this is communism. Sure, twenty centuries later. So when they speak, one can say to them: 'but then you are Christian'," he said, laughing.

Since his election in March 2013, Francis has often attacked the global economic system as being insensitive to the poor and not doing enough to share wealth with those who need it most.

Earlier this month, he criticised the wealth made from financial speculation as intolerable and said speculation on commodities was a scandal that compromised the poor's access to food.

yeah. thats tright. so do you think the communists have stolen the christian flag? is the pope a communist? i dont think the communists have stole cthe cirstian flag because karl marsx wasn an atheist. but i think rancis is a communist sympathizer (he's from argentina. that's in south america).

what do you think about this article? on reuters

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/06/2 ... KC20140629

Christian Communism has existed in the world in some governments too by the way. Such as Benin's, or that Melanesian Socialism ideologue. Islamic-Communists also exist & still do exist (see people like Shahid Doctor Mohammed Najibullah).

Furthermore, religions are not that different from Communists in terms of how we should treat each other economically speaking. Karl Marx may have been atheist, however it was mostly due to his scrutinising of the corrupted elements of the clerics. However this can be solved with a simple expedient, have anti-corruption religious boards making sure the clergy remains incorruptible. Furthermore, I believe Communism has long ago moved to more agnostic stances.

[Nationes Pii Redivivi]

I'd agree with him to a point. Communism is a secularized version of the Christian message of love of thy neighbor, freed from the baggage of a church that has often ignored the radical egalitarianism of its gospels.

Only, Love Thy Neighbor as Thyself isn't the central Christian message, the central message being that Christ's powers are enough to save our souls. Love thy neighbor is just a bit of rabbinic judaism that carried over to Christianity.

[European Socialist Republic]

So the whole State Atheism, Dialectical Materialism, and "Opium of the people" Rhetoric was just for shits and giggles?

Is it too late to say "April Fools"?

[Nervium]

Papa di Ecclessia is wrong.

And people who say "he's a communist/socialist/waaah cry", are even more wrong.

[Socialist States of the 4th Reich]

(Reuters) - Pope Francis, whose criticisms of unbridled capitalism have prompted some to label him a Marxist, said in an interview published on Sunday that communists had stolen the flag of Christianity.

The 77-year-old pontiff gave an interview to Il Messaggero, Rome's local newspaper, to mark the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, a Roman holiday.

He was asked about a blog post in the Economist magazine that said he sounded like a Leninist when he criticised capitalism and called for radical economic reform.

"I can only say that the communists have stolen our flag. The flag of the poor is Christian. Poverty is at the centre of the Gospel," he said, citing Biblical passages about the need to help the poor, the sick and the needy.

"Communists say that all this is communism. Sure, twenty centuries later. So when they speak, one can say to them: 'but then you are Christian'," he said, laughing.

Since his election in March 2013, Francis has often attacked the global economic system as being insensitive to the poor and not doing enough to share wealth with those who need it most.

Earlier this month, he criticised the wealth made from financial speculation as intolerable and said speculation on commodities was a scandal that compromised the poor's access to food.

yeah. thats tright. so do you think the communists have stolen the christian flag? is the pope a communist? i dont think the communists have stolen the christian flag because karl marx was an atheist. But i think Francis is a communist sympathizer (he's from Argentina, that's in South America).

what do you think about this article? on Reuters

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/06/2 ... KC20140629

There fixed the spelling errors.

[Nervium]

I'd agree with him to a point. Communism is a secularized version of the Christian message of love of thy neighbor, freed from the baggage of a church that has often ignored the radical egalitarianism of its gospels.

And that has sometimes quashed down attempts to take the egalitarianism more seriously (Eg. Liberation Theology)

Because Liberation Theology stands opposite of distributionism.

[Socialist States of the 4th Reich]

> Vietnamese are mostly Buddhists
> Vietnamese are stereotyped Communists

= Vietnamese are Christian Buddhists

Yus, Pope is very logical.

*likes*

[Agritum]

And that has sometimes quashed down attempts to take the egalitarianism more seriously (Eg. Liberation Theology)

Because Liberation Theology stands opposite of distributionism.

Ah, Distributionism.

Was it even ever realized?

[Nervium]

Because Liberation Theology stands opposite of distributionism.

Ah, Distributionism.

Was it even ever realized?

Eh... Let's say that erm... "Third Position", or solidarism was largely influenced by distributionist ideas.

[Degenerate Heart of HetRio]

"Religion is the opiate of the masses." Obviously a Christian message right there.

Plot twist: Christianity is religion parodying itself in order to convince people how fucking warped it is.