[Marxism] Yoruba gods protect Fidel Castro: priest

[Walter Lippmann]

Marxists know when to argue and what to argue about, and arguing
about religion in the abstract, priests, demons, and so on is
something which is a diversion from the actual things which are
needed for clarification in the real world of today's struggle.

For some literalistic and dogmatistic people, atheism is simply
another form of religion. It's an anti-religious religion, and a
diversion from clarifying what should be done in the real world of
the present time. The statistics which are cited, which show that
most people believe in some form of afterlife of whatever, should
help us to understand that arguing in the abstract about such things
is a waste of time for Marxists.

Just because one declares that there is no God, that can't convince
anyone who thinks there is change their mine. Arguing abstractly is
simply the wrong plane to engage such beliefs. Such abstract
conceptions should, for the most part, be IGNORED. The only thing
which those atheists who prioritize, emphasize and obsess about
atheism does is to set them apart from the majority as a kind of
self-selected group, a "self-chosen people" as it were. We're
smarter. We're more scientific. We're more intelligent than you. You
are nothing but a savage, a fool and an idiot, we would say to such
people.

Cuba's babalawao member of the National Assembly, and its other
prominent religious members of the National Assembly, such as Raul
Arce (He's the head of Cuba's Council of Churches) and Rev. Raul
Suarez, who heads the non-governmental Martin Luther King, Jr. Center
in Havana, are revolutionary-minded people, and their religious
beliefs are ones serious people would not waste their time arguing
about.

It's what you believe about the here and now which matters, 
not what you think about the spirit world after this one.

Using atheism as a religion is to make the same mistake as the
religious do, but simply in an inverted form. Just because the
religious people take their religious beliefs to be factually true,
doesn't mean we should argue with that. It's a very wide human
tendency to seek magical solutions to human problems. That's
basically what religion represents, a search for the magical.



Walter Lippmann
Disneylandia, California
"I am an Atheist and, God willing, I always will be."


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LOUIS PROYECT writes:
Marxism and religion are two different ways of looking at the world. 
Marxism is a materialist philosophy. The world is made up of atoms. 
There are no angels. There is no afterlife. There are no angels. There 
are no miracles. If you think that Marxism can be strengthened by 
accommodating such beliefs, being my guest. It wouldn't be the first 
silly idea I have heard from you. As far as Chavez's religious beliefs 
are concerned, no Marxist in his right mind would pass out leaflets on 
the street demanding that he renounce his views. Nor would the SWP have 
been very smart if it demanded that Malcolm X stay away from Mecca. We 
are political people.

But to return to the question of what Marxism is about. It is pretty 
incompatible with angels, ghosts, spirits, reincarnation, miracles, 
heaven and all that other bullshit.
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I am afraid that you don't understand my point, or--understanding 
it--evade it. Religious people *do* think that the bible is factual. 
If you don't think so, you must be less familiar with your country 
than I thought you were.

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Walter Lippmann
Editor-in-Chief, CubaNews
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CubaNews/
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