I’m not religious though I was Christian for a few years in the past. Not that fond of Christianity either now, but from reading the bible, a lot of the teachings of Jesus seem pretty similar to communism or at least socialism. For example, equality for all humans, giving everything you own to help those less fortunate, etc.
Yet, probably because of western propaganda, most Christians seem to think communism is literally invented by Satan and absolutely refuse to look into it beyond what their propaganda has told them. I know there are some Christian communists, but at least in English speaking countries, they’re extremely rare. A lot of Cubans are Christians though, for example.
Has anyone had any luck debating communism with Christians? Any success? Are there any Christian communists you personally know?
Yes, actually. I mainly cite two passages when talking to Christians:
Do not assume that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but the sword. (Mt 10:34)
I contextualize this passage to Jesus’ time in the Roman Empire, where slavery and extreme exploitation were the norm. I use that to say you cannot end human exploitation through peaceful means, and class struggle is necessary. The full passage mentions neglecting your friends and family in the name of God, but since most Christians actually do not read the bible, I of course omit that lmao
Then Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those selling doves. And He declared to them, “It is written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer.’ But you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’” (Mt 21:12-13)
I use that passage to mention how, like in Jesus’ time, faith is used up to this day to preserve exploitation, and many bad deeds are done in the name of God, so you always need to be skeptical of the Church as an institution, and you should not accept at face value what they say about God. Faith will only be free, the worship of God will only be true outside of our exploitative society, and before that happens we will always hear the name of God being used against the people.
That first passage is worth quoting in full:
Jesus said to his Apostles: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one’s enemies will be those of his household.”- Matthew 10:34-42, Luke 12:49-53
This is an oft-cited passage by Žižek, partly in reference to his Christian Atheism, but also as a link between that position and his radical position. There is a sense in which all emancipatory projects must always begin through the priority of the greater community (global, in the case of a world religion) over those of, say, kinship or its psychological baggage.
