Socialism leads to Atheism?

[jem]

In short Christianity is seen as valuing individuals who were made by the Creator whose purpose is to become more good or godlike

Socialism is seen as the valuing the collective over individuals in a society in which individuals bow to govt works... which in biblical terms means humans without God create towers of towers of Babel.

--- context ---

1. the protestant revolution - came about because Luther said individuals were to be valued and they had rights to read the bible themselves, enter into a relationship with God without the help of an institution....

These ideas directly led to individual rights over current govts, monarchy and Catholic church.

The protestant revolution was part of the old liberal enlightenment ideal of individual rights granted by a creator who recognized the worth of individuals.

2. Socialism is about the worth of the collective and big powerful govt.

3. Dostoyevsky was imprisioned for being an old style liberal. t...

when he got out he became more orthodox catholic, more tradational russian and anti powerful govt and anti socialism.

 

[Free Thinker]

Quote from nitro:

I am reading Brothers Karamazov. There is a line from it that I don't follow, and maybe one of you can explain it to me. This passage:

"As soon as he reflected seriously and was struck by the conviction that immortality and God exist, he naturally said at once to himself: 'I want to live for immortality, and I reject any half way compromise'. In just the same way, if he had decided that immortality and God do not exist, he would immediately have joined the atheists and socialists (for socialism is not only the labor question or the question of the so called fourth estate, but first of all the question of atheism, the question of the Tower of Babel built precisely without God...)"

I don't understand how Dostoevsky reaches the conclusion that "socialism is not only the labor question or the question of the so called fourth estate, but first of all the question of atheism" ??? Does that mean that the statements negation, that Capitalism would then lead to Theism??!!

that would be interesting considering that anyone who has studied the life of jesus, as described in the book, would know that he was a socialist at heart.

 

[Ricter]

Quote from Maverick74:

What's a spirit?

Lol, touche.

 

[Ricter]

Quote from bigarrow:

In America today the atheist is the quintessential individualist.

Everyone does not worship a higher power.

Everyone has some kind of "immortality project", as Ernest Becker called it, as their higher power. Without one it would be impossible for a man to get out of bed. No one pulls themselves up "by the bootstraps".

 

[bigarrow]

I sure don't know what an immortality project is.

 

[shortie]

Quote from bigarrow:

I sure don't know what an immortality project is.

you must be staying in bed the whole day

 

[bigarrow]

" The Immortality Project " would be a damn good title for a movie.

 

[Maverick74]

Quote from bigarrow:

" The Immortality Project " would be a damn good title for a movie.

You seriously don't know what the immortality project is?

 

[RCG Trader]

Quote from Kassz007:

I have not read the book, but think logically for a second. How on Earth do you correlate socialism to atheism, and capitalism to theism?

simple, one requires faith, the other does not.

 

[Martinghoul]

Quote from nitro:
I am reading Brothers Karamazov. There is a line from it that I don't follow, and maybe one of you can explain it to me. This passage:

"As soon as he reflected seriously and was struck by the conviction that immortality and God exist, he naturally said at once to himself: 'I want to live for immortality, and I reject any half way compromise'. In just the same way, if he had decided that immortality and God do not exist, he would immediately have joined the atheists and socialists (for socialism is not only the labor question or the question of the so called fourth estate, but first of all the question of atheism, the question of the Tower of Babel built precisely without God...)"

I don't understand how Dostoevsky reaches the conclusion that "socialism is not only the labor question or the question of the so called fourth estate, but first of all the question of atheism" ??? Does that mean that the statements negation, that Capitalism would then lead to Theism??!!

You have to understand the context... Dostoyevsky was writing during the time when Russia was going through some turbulent times. It was natural for him to juxtapose the his understanding of the world to that of the "nihilists". This theme is even more stark in other Russian literature of the time, such as Turgenev's "Fathers and Sons".