[A-List] Evangelical Spirit

[Omahkohkiaayo_ipoyi]

--- Yoshie Furuhashi <critical.montages at gmail.com> wrote:

In contrast, secular leftists in the USA seldom try to encourage
someone to believe in socialism or anarchism, or to accept either or
any other way as the way to go, aside from anachronistic ML groups
perfunctorily selling (or giving away) their papers at this or that
demonstration, sometimes to the annoyance of other demonstrators and
clean-up workers.  The evangelical spirit is lacking on the Left.  Or
perhaps we on the Left are unsure of our faith to begin with, so we
don't recommend it to others, or we fear rejections, repercussions,
etc., still victims of the legacy of the Red Purge.  For most on the
Left, our secular religion is a "private matter" in much of our lives.


Response Jim C:

1) There is no crime in NOT being a communist, only a crime to call oneself
one and not really be one and/or to attack communists because one is not
one.

2) What is "our faith"? The is no one standard doctrine or dogma (just like
the 467 some denominations of "Christianity" in the U.S. eachsaying they
and only they are for real and the others, perhaps well-meaning, are
totally misguided)that we could agree upon to "evangelize";

3) In my classes I give (and it really pisses off the evangelical
Christians, Muslims etc) what I call "The Paradox of Diversity". It goes
like this: Those who evangelize (approaching people solely on the basis
that those people who are not of the same group and dogma as the
Evangelizers and thus MUST THEREFORE be in need of being saved, for no
other reason than in being different from the Evangelizers who have"the
Truth", MUST NOT have "the Truth" and in need of it to be "saved.") are not
"doing unto others what they would have done unto them, and, like the nazis
who used nominal "democraacy" and rights like free speech in or destroy the
very rights that protected them, so it is that those who evangelize are
using "respect for diversity" and "tolerance" in order to evangelize,
homogenize and destroy the very "respect for diversity" and "tolerance"
thast keeps them from getting killed by others equally convinced only THEY
have the truth and are destined to try to "save" all those not like them.

4) I would rather stand next to a person of faith who believes that her/his
faith demandeds that she/he oppose fascism, imperialism, racism, sexism,
capitalism etc than to stand near a self-rpclaimed communist that in fact
is a fake, opportunist, interloper, liability, blackmail bait etc.

5) Evangelism and trying to convert often works opposite as communists
believe that the ultimate cause ands source of "conversion" is reality and
praxis; but it takes unity of broad united fronts to have effective praxis
and struggle, and sectarian evangelism, theoretical nitpicking, endles
debates on why only socialism and communism will save the human race and
how and why religion is abut another opiate designed to reduce not promote
praxis and struggle is divisive and rpevents building the kinds of unity
and praxis that best convert the "unbelivers" in the end. That is partly
why Marx suggested not attacking religion directly to attachj both religion
and capitalism but rather to attack capitalism directly in order to later
attack both capitalism and religion effectively.

6) I do believe in studying and attacking some religious dogma directly
when that dogma clearly has a secular tinge, focus, intent or applications
in secular struggles; I do this with Mormons (study and attack their sick
dogma, recruiting practices, inner documents and rituals etc) and some
forms of Christianity, the Catholic Church and some Islam etc.

7) I find Evangelizing can often lead to using people--seing people in
terms of their value as converts and adding to "the flock" Also, the older
I get, the less and less sure I am about many things and thus the less and
less likkely I am to automatically conclude that those not lioke me and/or
who do not believe as I do are in some kind of need for being "saved" by me
and some kind of source of ultimate enlightenment.

Jim C.



 
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