Political and Theological Foundation of Marxist Mormonism.

 

Karl Marx (5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883)

Socialist Worker

 

MANIFESTO OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY

 

WHERE WE STAND

 

*** The USSR never achieved the communist mode of production; so the system that existed in the Soviet Union can not be labeled as "communist".  It is debatable whether it can be called "socialist" since Soviet workers had no direct control over the means of production.

 

  ________________________________________

 

 Joseph Smith

>>> Christian Primitivism 

>>> Restorationism

 

>>> Mormonism

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If Caesar (The Political State) / The Monarch (The Political Government) are tyrannical, repressive or deny the exercise and/or the enjoyment of political, civil, economic, cultural and social Human Rights as defined by the 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (U.N. General Assembly Resolution 271 A), proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948 AND In cases where The Political State or its Political Government obstruct the exercise of Freedom of Religion as defined by Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights cited; the Christian has AN OBLIGATION to break with the law and engage in clandestine civil disobedience actions in order to ensure the exercise of Article 18, even if discovery and arrest means torture and execution. 

 

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The Original 8 Article Mormon Saints Creed written by Oliver Cowdery:

1. We believe in God, and his Son Jesus Christ.
2. We believe that God, from the beginning, revealed himself to man; and that whenever he has had a people on earth, he always has revealed himself to them by the Holy Ghost, the ministering of angels, or his own voice. We do not believe that he ever had a church on earth without revealing himself to that church: consequently, there were apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers, in the same.
3. We believe that God is the same in all ages; and that it requires the same holiness, purity, and religion, to save a man now, as it did anciently; and that as HE is no respecter of persons, always has, and always will reveal himself to men when they call upon him.
4. We believe that God has revealed himself to men in this age, and commenced to raise up a church preparatory to his second advent, when he will come in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
5. We believe that the popular religious theories of the day are incorrect; that they are without parallel in the revelations of God, as sanctioned by him; and that however faithfully they may be adhered to, or however zealously and warmly they may be defended, they will never stand the strict scrutiny of the word of life.
6. We believe that all men are born free and equal; that no man, combination of men, or government of men, have power or authority to compel or force others to embrace any system of religion, or religious creed, or to use force or violence to prevent others from enjoying their own opinions, or practicing the same, so long as they do not molest or disturb others in theirs, in a manner to deprive them of their privileges as free citizens-or of worshiping [worshipping] God as they choose, and that any attempt to the contrary is an assumption unwarrantable in the revelations of heaven, and strikes at the root of civil liberty, and is a subvertion [subversion] of all equitable principles between man and man.
7. We believe that God has set his hand the second time to recover the remnant of his people, Israel; and that the time is near when he will bring them from the four winds, with songs of everlasting joy, and reinstate them upon their own lands which he gave their fathers by covenant.
8. And further: We believe in embracing good wherever it may be found; of proving all things, and holding fast that which is righteous.

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9 Enduring Principles of Reform Mormonism >>>

"Our Enduring Principles define the essence, heart, and soul of our faith community. They describe the personality of our church as expressed throughout the world. God’s revelation in Jesus Christ and continuing presence through the Holy Spirit, as proclaimed by scripture, is the foundation of our faith, identity, mission, message, and beliefs. We do our best to uphold these principles (values, concepts, themes), as a faithful response to our heritage and our continuing experience with God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit."

1. Grace and Generosity
   

• God’s grace, especially as revealed in Jesus Christ, is generous and unconditional.  

• Having received God’s generous grace, we respond generously and graciously receive the generosity of others.  

• We offer all we are and have to God’s purposes as revealed in Jesus Christ.  

• We generously share our witness, resources, ministries, and sacraments according to our true capacity. 

2. Sacredness of Creation

• In the beginning, God created and called it all good.  

• Spirit and material, seen and unseen, are related.  

• Creation’s power to create or destroy reminds us of our vulnerability in this life.  

• God is still creating to fulfill divine purpose.  

• We join with God as stewards of care and hope for all creation. 

3. Continuing Revelation
   

• Scripture is an inspired and indispensable witness of human response to God’s revelation of divine nature.  

• God graciously reveals divine will today as in the past.  

• The Holy Spirit inspires and provides witness to divine truth.  

• In humility, individually and in community, we prayerfully listen to understand God’s will for our lives, the church, and creation more completely.

4. Worth of All Persons
   

• God views all people as having inestimable and equal worth.  

• God wants all people to experience wholeness of body, mind, spirit, and relationships.  

• We seek to uphold and restore the worth of all people individually and in community, challenging unjust systems that diminish human worth.  

• We join with Jesus Christ in bringing good news to the poor, sick, captive, and oppressed.

5.  All Are Called
   

• God graciously gives people gifts and opportunities to do good and to share in God’s purposes.  

• Jesus Christ invites people to follow him by becoming disciples who share his life and ministry.  

• Some disciples are called and ordained to particular priesthood responsibilities and ministries for the sake of the community, the congregation, and the world.  

• We respond faithfully, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to our best understanding of God’s call.  
  

6. Responsible Choices
   

• God gives humans the ability to make choices about whom or what they will serve. Some people experience conditions that diminish their ability to make choices.  

• Human choices contribute to good or evil in our lives and in the world.  

• Many aspects of creation need redemption because of irresponsible and sinful human choices.  

• We are called to make responsible choices within the circumstances of our lives that contribute to the purposes of God.

7. Pursuit of Peace (Shalom)
   

• God wants shalom (justice, reconciliation, well-being, wholeness, and peace) for all of creation. 

• Jesus Christ, the embodiment of God’s shalom (peace), reveals the meaning of God’s peace in all aspects of life.  

• The vision of Zion is to promote God’s reign on earth, as proclaimed by Jesus Christ, through the leavening influence of just and peaceful communities.  

• We courageously and generously share the peace of Jesus Christ with others.  

• Led by the Holy Spirit, we work with God and others to restore peace (shalom) to creation.  

• We celebrate God’s peace wherever it appears or is being pursued by people of good will.

8. Unity in Diversity
   

• Community of Christ is a diverse, international family of disciples, seekers, and congregations.  

• Local and worldwide ministries are interdependent and important to the church’s mission.  

• The church embraces diversity and unity through the power of the Holy Spirit.  

• We seek agreement or common consent in important matters. If we cannot achieve agreement, we commit to ongoing dialogue and lovingly uphold our common faith in Jesus Christ and the mission of the church.  

• We confess that our lack of agreement on certain matters is hurtful to some of God's beloved children and creation. 

     9. Blessings of Community

• The gospel of Jesus Christ is expressed best in community life where people become vulnerable to God’s grace and each other.

• True community includes compassion for and solidarity with the poor, marginalized, and oppressed.

• True community upholds the worth of persons while providing a healthy alternative to self-centeredness, isolation, and conformity.

• Sacred community provides nurture and growth opportunities for all people, especially those who cannot fully care for themselves.

• We value our connections and share a strong sense of trust in and belonging with one another—even if we never have met.

• Some disciples are called and ordained to particular priesthood responsibilities and ministries for the sake of the community, the congregation, and the world.

• We are called to create communities of Christ’s peace in our families and congregations and across villages, tribes, nations, and throughout creation. 

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Inspirational Reference for the Christian Anarchist Heretic weblog:

The Mormon Worker: Promoting Mormonism, Anarchism, and Pacifism

 

 

I would love to hear about your faith journey

My faith journey is a long one and complex. I was raised Roman Catholic (by my mother) and I was an altar boy from the age of 11 to 13. I had my first communion at age 11 and confirmation at age 15. Before both I attended the respective level 1 and level 2 Catechism classes. This was in South Florida (Dade-Broward), United States. 

 (https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM). 

2011

At age 17 I left Roman Catholicism and became functionally Atheist until age 33. When I was 19 and 20 I was involved with the Animal Liberation Front. On a more pointilistic basis I had some political experiences after moving to Europe in April of 1999: I once attended a Reclaim The Streets outdoor rave in Amsterdam in 2000, an Anti-Globalization demonstration in Copenhaguen in 2002 and the February 15, 2003 massive global day of anti-war demonstrations in Stockholm (The Day The World Said No To War) to protest the imminent war against Iraq.

Between the ages of 18 an 22 I was involved in the gay club kid and rave scene in South Florida. I was also anarchistic.

At the age of 29 in 2004 I attended narcotic anonymous for one year. Narcotics anonymous (https://na.org/) not only helped me recover from the effects of "recreational" narcotics use, I also rediscovered spirituality, prayer and faith in a higher power. 

Two years later, at age 31 (2006), I met LDS Christian Missionaries and was exposed to the Book of Mormon, but I was not ready for the LDS Truth yet because I had other more basic issues to take care of. In the summer of 2007 I was living in Göteborg and there I was introduced to an Orthodox Lutheran Bible & Theology studies program sponsored by Missionsprovinsen (https://missionsprovinsen.se/). They are a Swedish Orthodox Lutheran split from Svenska Kyrkan, premised upon the revival of the type of fundamentalist Lutheranism that existed in Sweden in the period between 1530 and 1640. They consider Svenska Kyrkan was taken over by Satan as in "the synagogue of Satan" because Svenska Kyrkan is liberal post-Lutheran. Anyways, they taught me Luther and Lutheranism and convinced me of its basic correctness. When they meet people with a Catholic background they are very friendly, so they took me under their wing. And I am glad, because they are correct that Roman Catholicism is apostate. Meeting them was the first step in the right direction theologically. I was involved with Missionsprovinsen until 2009. 

Between 2010 and 2013 my focus shifted to radical left politics; at first with the non-Left free internet movement and the Pirate Party; then after the February 2011 Egyptian Revolution (Tahrir Square, Cairo) I was inspired by what became known as the "Movement of The Squares": the Indignados Movement in Spain at Plaza del Sol in Madrid, the Syntagma Square anti-government protest movement in Athens and finally Occupy which erupted globally. Between 2011 and 2013 I was involved as a non-member sympatizer with a Swedish radical left group called Revolutionära Fronten.  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1MYMVfyHi0). 

In late 2013 I suffered a traumatic event that led me to collapse into a deep depression. At that dark moment, I remembered God; but did not look carefully as to where to find Him. In April 2014 I met the Jehovah Witnesses and soon after begun to study The Bible with them. I also became involved with an evangelical Ex-Gay Ministry. Parallel to this, between April 2014 and summer 2018, I was organized with a clandestine Christian volunteer activist network that resisted and obstructed detention and deportation of vulnerable asylum seekers in danger of refoulement. In the course of four years, we effectively negated Swedish Granspolisen (Border Police), efforts to deport one Ugandan, one Congolese, two Moroccan's, four Afghans and one Georgian. I believe that we made a difference in nine people's lives. I believe we resisted. In retrospect, the involvement with the ex-gay ministry was the negative side of my activity in 2014-18, my involvement with anti-deportation work was the positive side.

 

From April 2014 to April 2019 I was a study with Jehovah Witnesses (an interested one who is "making changes"), but I was not committed to them. It was not until summer 2018 that I decided to commit to Jehovah Witnesses after I became disillusioned with conversion therapy.  From April 2019 to September 2019 I served as an unbaptized publisher. And on September 22, 2019 I was baptized a Jehovah Witness at the Circuit Assembly in Karlstad. My conversion was genuine. The theology of the Jehovah Witnesses made sense to me. The five basic principles of Charles Taze Russell: (1) God is ONE and not a Trinity; (2) Jesus is The Son of God but not God Himself (The Father is Greater than The Son, as it says in John 14:28); (3) There is no hellfire; (4) There is no immortal soul, Hezekiel 18:20-24; (5) Christians are required to maintain neutrality in politics and war (Jehovah Witnesses cannot serve in the military, vote or run for office). At present (April 2023), I continue to agree with points 1, 2 and 3 but reject 5.  I am agnostic on point 4. Jehovah Witnesses are also required to live according to "Jehovah's Standards", that means no smoking, no drunkenness, no sex outside marriage, no active homosexuality, no abortions, no celebration of birthdays or apostate holidays like Christmas or Easter, etc... The congregation elders enforce the rules in a totalistic manner. They are the same as Islamic religious police. The congregation is an organic community that must be kept spiritually clean at all costs, that means disfellowshipping and shunning of those who fail to live up to Jehovah's standards as defined by the Shepherd The Flock of God elders manual and the Silver Sword (2013 Edition of The New World Translation of The Holy Scriptures). The Jehovah Witnesses believe that their translation of The Bible is the only true translation. They believe that both The Koran and The Book of Mormon were written by Satan.

Brother Torres in November 2020

Between April 2019 and October 2020 I was a JW fanatic. My life revolved around meeting attendance (two times per week) and field service (minimum 10 hours per week, but I usually completed between 35 to 40 hours; 45 when I was Auxiliary Pioneer). I did auxiliary pioneering three times from November 2019 to April 2020), I made prepared comments for both mid-week and Sunday meetings, and read the scripture at the mid week meetings (I always got assigned to read Old Testament texts, because the elders said they wanted me to become knowledgeable about the old testament ; this was good in the sense that I am very well versed in The Pentateuch / The Law of the Tanakh as a result). Every morning and evening I did my hourly prayer and Bible Study. For Jehovah Witnesses Bible Study and prayer focus on training your conscience, which they see as a compass. i.e how to best arrange everyday life routines to fit Jehovah's strict standards. You read The Bible to extrapolate "principles" (understanding the mind of Jehovah) and you rely on congregation elders and ministerial servants to help you implement them. "Principles are NOT Law", because Jesus freed us from The Law; however to please Jehovah and remain in good standing with the congregation elders one must live up to the standards derived from principles (as explained in The Watchtower Magazine, which is the "spiritual food"). The most important changes that I made as a Jehovah Witness were that I quit smoking and became alcohol free. Jehovah Witnesses are allowed to drink in moderation, because Jesus drank wine; but individual JW's can choose to be alcohol free if they want. I left Jehovah Witnesses for good just one year and five months ago in November 2021, and sometimes I miss the congregation. That modern day Noah's Ark that was the only safe place a person could be at if they hoped to survive the imminent apocalyptic destruction of Satan's system and all those who refused Jehovah's message when we preached door to door. I miss the sense of security that I obtained from being part of an organic entity. I also miss the certainty that my religious beliefs were THE TRUTH. I was IN THE TRUTH. It was a false sense of security and certainty, the six years that I influenced by THE TRUTH seem in retrospect like I dropped out into an alternate reality or a parallel universe.

After Field Service

Between October 2020 and November 2021, I was a P.I.M.O. (Physically In, Mentally Out) Jehovah Witness. That is, I faked it out of fear of the consequences of disfellowshipping. By 2020 my entire and only social network (outside work) was the JW congregation. Had I quit then I would have ended up socially destitute. So, I made an effort to create a social network outside the congregation. The first step was to return to social media. I revisited my abandoned Facebook account (Jehovah Witnesses are discouraged from utilizing social media) and joined a group called LGBTQ Ex-Jehovah Witnesses (https://www.facebook.com/groups/glbtxjw/) anonymously. I set up on Instagram. I also began to secretly watch ex-JW content on You Tube (https://www.youtube.com/@LloydEvans), which is a disfellowshipping offense because contact with "apostate propaganda" (ex-JW viewpoints) is strictly prohibited. In the year between October 2020 and November 2021 I was part of the P.I.M.O. underground inside Jehovah Witnesses. Members who fake it until they are able to jump out. My main reasons for leaving Jehovah Witnesses: (1) Shunning is cruel and has resulted in people committing suicide (specially those with a history of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder), because of the loneliness that results from drastic social ostracism, family members are required to shun their disfellowshipped loved ones, thus shunning breaks up families. Jesus never shunned anyone, in fact He attended banquets with tax collectors and sinners. (2) The blood teaching is wrong. Eating blood pudding is not the same as a blood transfusion. I learned of the case of an 11 year old boy in the United States called Jerod Septer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHyYQStj_qg) who was killed as a result of his parents refusing permission for a doctor to perform a blood transfusion. I have a son who is now 22 years old (April 2023), so when I learned about this story I was saddened. I prayed and reflected upon the issue and I concluded that honestly, I would not have been able to place "Jehovah first" and taken a decision that would have led to the death of my son Diego. Theology is not worth the life of a child. That was the moment of my moral break with Jehovah Witnesses. (3) eschatological and historiography issues surrounding the alleged 607 BCE date for the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians, (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yc3GaW8BvhA) and how Carl Olof Johnsson (a Swedish witness) was cancelled for proving this doctrine wrong. (4) I made contact with legitimate followers of Charles Taze Russell (Bible Students: https://www.biblestudents.com/) and attended one of their assemblies on zoom. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEW1fgelW1w). That pretty much convinced me that Jehovah Witnesses are actually a sectarian split from the movement founded by Pastor Russell.

P.I.M.O. Underground

In October 2021 I made contact with the LDS missionaries again, after 15 years. We met on zoom for about a month and they introduced me to the Articles of Faith. My original intention was to explore. I had already investigated The Bible Students, so I decided to investigate the other major Christian Restorationist Movement (The Mormons). In November 2021 I moved to Halmstad (in part to get away from the JW congregation). I had help from the RSFL (https://www.rfsl.se/en/) in getting away. It was an RFSL crisis support worker who helped me plan and make my escape. I had been in touch with RFSL crisis counselors since November 2020 (one month after I "woke up") and they basically helped me deprogram myself from the cult mentality. They reminded me that I must make my own choices and take responsibility for my own life. It was like Narcotic Anonymous all over again in a way, except that this time instead of an addiction to a substance I was under the influence of a high control religion mindset. It took a year for the RFSL crisis support workers to help me deprogram from the indoctrination. 

Anyhow, in Halmstad I made contact with the LDS congregation there. I met the missionary sisters. They introduced me to The Book of Mormon and to the LDS Restoration booklet (I had been interested in Restorationist Christianity for many years). I begun to attend meetings at the congregation in Halmstad. After the third Sunday I recieved the sacrament. (Jehovah Witnesses only perform The Memorial of The Death of Christ Jesus once a year and they are forbidden to take the emblems unless they are one of the 144,000 anointed). In March 2022 I returned to Karlstad. There I resumed contact with the missionaries (young men this time), and I was introduced to the Word of Wisdom and the Gospel of Jesus Christ booklet. On April 6, 2022 I was baptized. In June I received the Aaronic priesthood and I begun to help with distributing the Sacrament. I started studying the Bible Principles book on the LDS app with a view to prepare for visiting The Temple. Unfortunately, In August I had to move out of Karlstad at first to Torsby and in September to Uppsala. I met the missionaries by video-chat on FB messenger to continue studying the Bible Principles book. Sadly, in February 2023 I was detained by the Border Police in Malmö as I was preparing to leave Sweden and was interned at the Åstorp immigration detention. At Åstorp I met a deacon from Svenska Kyrkan who arranged for me to have contact with the LDS congregation in Helsingborg, this deacon also gave ma a facsimile of the 1611 King James Bible to read until I could get LDS scriptures. One of the missionaries whom I met in Karlstad arranged for a Book of Mormon to be mailed to me by post. The LDS Bishop visited twice. From him I also obtained copies of The Pearl of Great Price, Doctrine and Covenents and the LDS King James. 

In May of 2023 I was made a full member of Sveriges Kommunistiska Parti. I had to make a choice between the LDS Church and membership in a Communist organization. This because Article of Faith 12 states that: “We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.” This is in conflict with the aims of Marxist workers led revolution (as defined in the Communist Manifesto) which calls for the overthrow of the Capitalist State. So I decided to opt for Marxism and move away from the LDS Church. I gravitated instead towards Community of Christ; a version of Mormonism that prepresents an interpetation of Mormonism congruent with Social Justice. I also begun to follow the work of Metropolitan Community Church (an LGBTQi+ Christian denomination that believes in radical inclusivity and social justice). Obviously, these organizations express utopian idealism; however they are not political but religious organizations. In those contexts I advocate support for Fair Trade (non-political utopia) and leave it at that. That is as radical as one can get in a congregational context. I do not bring politics into the congregation just like I do not bring theology into political work. Since neither Community of Christ nor Metropolitan Community Church exist in Sweden, I attend their services online on Facebook. 

November 9, 2021

After almost seven years of political inactivity, I decided to return to action. I broke with the Jehovah Witness Christian Neutrality doctrine; in spirit on October 9, 2020 and in action on February 16, 2021. The reasons I broke with Christian Neutrality are that (1) Not taking political action against tyrannical government only enables the said government to continue engaging in repression and abuses of Human Rights. The Jehovah Witnes Neutrality doctrine is form of collective masochism that in practise (when applied) empowers tyrants. By tyranny I mean: the exercising of political power in a cruel, abusive or arbitrary way or in a way that obstructs the exercise of freedom of religion or the exercise of freedom of political association and the right to dissent. (2) Ceasar / The Monarch cannot be granted impunity if it engages in tyranny, if Ceasar is a tyrant; then political action must be taken to obstruct, opposse, resist and ultimately depose Ceasar / The Monarch ("Ceasar" being the generic name of The Political State in Christian tradition). (3) Examples of opposition to the tyranny of Ceasar / The Monarch (The Political State): (a) John The Baptizer denouncing the tyrant Herod Antipas (Matthew 14:1-13). (b) Girolamo Savonarola; who denounced clerical corruption, despotic rule, and the exploitation of the poor in Renaissance Florence and who also maintained that The Roman Catholic Church had become the Whore of Babylon; (c) the radical theology of Thomas Müntzer; (d) the theological politics of the Huguenot Monarchomaques; French protestants who opposed monarchy in the 16th century, and who also justified tyrannicide; the physical elimination of tyrants. Tyranny was defined by the Monarchomaques as a form of power idolatry, specially if the tyrant in question was opposed to True Religion; by which they meant Calvinism. The Huguenots (French Protestans) were massacred and martyred on August 1572. (e) The Liberation Theology of Leonardo Boff (I read his book Jesus Christ Liberator) and Camilo Torres Restrepo (f) Finally, I studied The Mormon Worker (a version of Liberation Theology and Christian Anarchism derived from exegesis of The Book of Mormon).

On October 9, 2020 I saw a poster in Karlstad adversiting the Marxism 2020 online conference sponsored by the Swedish Marxist Students (marxist.se). Because of the Covid 19 pandemic the event was held online via Zoom. I broke with Jehovah Witness rules prohibiting participation in political meetings and attended. After the conference I decided that I would become involved with the International Marxist Tendency on a clandestine basis. I read The Communist Manifesto. From reading that I concluded that the systematic economic exploitation of workers was also a form of tyranny and a valid  reason to take action against The Political State (Ceasar / The Monarch). On February 16, 2020 I was made a candidate member (on a clandestine basis, because I was still a Jehovah Witness P.I.M.O.) of the Swedish Marxist Students. On June 22, 2021 I was voted a full member. At that point I was no longer a believer in Jehovah Witness theology and was actively seeking a safe exit from the organization (I was helped with this by the RFSL, as I explained before). Between February and November 2021 I underwent a period of intensive political study: I read The Revolution Betrayed by Leon Trotsky, What is Marxism by Alan Woods, The Transitional Program of The Fourth International and finally Revolution and Counter-Revolution in Spain by Felix Morrow. 

I was politically involved with the International Marxist Tendency until March of 2022. I had to resign from activity because I had to focus on survival issues. By then I had already left the Jehovah Witnesses. I have since become involved (mid June 2022) with another Swedish radical left political organization and actively promote their pamphlet on Ecological issues. 

In September of 2022 I attended Karlstad Pride. The last time I had attended Karlstad Pride was in July of 2010. In returning to Karlstad Pride I reaffirmed my liberation from and rejection of the theology of hate. In 2024; I have come to reject post-structuralist Identity Politics and Transectionality theory in favour of Dissident Marxism as methodology for liberation. 

*** postscript: As of Summer 2024 I am  post-Christian and Ex-WOKE. The Harsh and Heartless world of Late Capitalist Empire is a difficult environment to navigate. I seek to know the Historical Jesus. The Primitive Congregation is Here and Now. It is made up of Dissident, primitive Marxists and originalist Syndicalistes.  July 2023. Proud member of Sveriges Kommunistiska Parti. SKP.SE/

A collaborative project of Order of, Jude Members: Miguel Angel Torres. Manuel Mendoza. Jaime Varela. 

Ref. 

https://abrahamaicsynthesis.blogspot.com/

https://exjwmarxist.wordpress.com/

https://www.marxist.se/statslos-papperslos-och-rattslos-sverige-mitt-liv-som-flykting

 

 ***

Inspirational Reference:

The Mormon Worker: Promoting Mormonism, Anarchism, and Pacifism

 

Attempt at a Marxist Critique of the Jehovah Witnesses

This post was originally intended as a comment for the political activism against cults Facebook page. A link to this blog posting has been shared on the PAAC Facebook page. Discussion follows. 

- Written by J.G. Autumn 2020. 

 

blogger version.

wordpress version: https://exjwmarxist.wordpress.com

“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... 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." - Karl Marx

 

The Jehovah Witnesses are a fundamentalist Christian restorationist denomination with anti-trinitarian doctrines distinct from Nicene Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million members in 2020. Jehovah's Witnesses are directed by the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses, a group of anointed elders located in Warwick, New York, United States. This body establishes all of the religion's theology and doctrines based on their interpretation of the Bible. The Jehovah Witnesses utilize their own version of the scriptures called New World Translation (2013 Edition). They believe that the destruction of the present world system (its political, religious and commercial subsets) at the battle of Armageddon is imminent, and that the subsequent establishment of God's Kingdom over the earth is the only solution for all the social and economic problems faced by humanity. The Jehovah Witness organization (The Watchtower) emerged from the International Bible Student Movement founded in the late 1870s by Charles Taze Russell, who also co-founded Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society in 1881 to publish and distribute the movement's publications. 

The parable of the “faithful and discreet slave”  (Matthew 24:45-47; Luke 12:42-44 New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures) is used by the Watchtower organization’s Governing Body to back the claim that their predecessors where appointed by Jesus Christ in 1919 to lead his people. Jehovah Witnesses claim that in doing so, Jesus Christ liberated his people from captivity in “Baylon the Great” (false religion) and created the conditions for the restoration of the first century Christian congregation. The modern Governing Body inherits the authority of the “faithful and discreet slave” in a manner similar to that of Apostolic succession in the Catholic Church.

There is no divine direction from “Jehovah” (a caricature of the Abrahamic deity). In reality, the Watchtower religious corporation is a man made and man managed entity. Its theology was and continues to be formulated by men. The “Holy Spirit” is not involved in the organization’s management or in the process of formulating theological teachings. The International Bible Student Movement founded by Charless Taze Russell in the 1870’s advocated a version of restorationism (or Christian primitivism); the belief that Christianity should be restored along the lines of what is known about the apostolic early church, which restorationists see as the search for a purer and more ancient form of the Christian religion. Fundamentally, “this vision seeks to correct faults or deficiencies (in the church) by appealing to the primitive church as a normative model.” (Anthony L. Dunnavant, 2004). Russell sought to restore the Christianity of the first century by grounding his theology on Bible exegesis. In this sense he based his methodology on the principles established by the Reformation, notably Martin Luther. The context for the emergence of Russell’s restorationism was the period following the Great Awakening beginning in the late eighteenth century and lasting until the middle of the nineteenth century in the United States. The trend was a Christian fundamentalist reaction to the secularization of society resulting from the political and cultural influence of liberalism and had an economic basis as a reaction to the negative societal effects of industrialization. 

“Marxist materialism, reduced to its essentials, involves commitment to the following propositions: 1. The material world exists independently of human (or any other) consciousness. 2. Real, if not total or absolute, knowledge of the world is possible and has, indeed, been attained. 3. Human beings are part of nature, but a distinct part. 4. The material world does not derive, in the first instance, from human thought; human thought derives from the material world.” - John Molyneux, “Marxism and Religion” (2008)

Jehovah Witnesses call their belief system “The Truth”. They contrast their viewpoint with what they call in derisory terms “Human Thinking”. They assume that their theology is derived from divine revelation through the Bible and that it does not originate with man. This is the fundamental fallacy of Jehovah Witness thinking. The material basis for religious faith is alienation. Alienation results from the experience of oppression, exploitation, poverty and social inequality in capitalist society. Alienated people seek security, a sense of identity and belonging in context of a religious congregation and its beliefs. The Jehovah Witness congregation provides a sense of identity and security to its members, but on a conditional basis. The Jehovah Witnesses maintain congregational cohesion through the enforcement of harsh discipline, shunning and peer pressure to conform to the organizational culture. They also enforce strict sectarian adherence to their teachings by means of systematic propaganda in their website, on videos and in the Watchtower Magazine. There is no freedom of thought, criticism or inquiry among Jehovah Witnesses. Their hostility towards Science and Higher Education derives from an attempt to shield members from being exposed to information that contradicts the Watchtower Organization teachings and interpretation of the Bible. On an individual basis, indoctrinated Jehovah Witnesses tend to experience cognitive dissonance when exposed to information that challenges the ideology of the organization. The ideological discomfort is triggered by the Witness belief system clashing with new, contradictory information (usually Scientific fact, as in the case of evolution; or historical fact as in the date for the fall of Jerusalem to Babylonian forces in 587 B.C.E.). Adherence to the doctrinal system is maintained through systematic confirmation bias. The effort to search for, interpret, and recall information in a way that confirms or supports their prior organizationally mandated beliefs and values.

References: Religious fundamentalism – why is it growing and what is the alternative?

“In the social production of their life, men enter into definite relations that are indispensable and independent of their will, relations of production which correspond to a definite stage of development of their material productive forces. The sum total of these relations of production constitutes the economic structure of society, the real foundation, on which rises a legal and political superstructure and to which correspond definite forms of social consciousness. The mode of production of material life conditions the social, political and intellectual life process in general. It is not the consciousness of men that determines their being, but, on the contrary, their social being that determines their consciousness.” - Karl Marx

Jehovah Witness teachings stress an extreme form of Objective idealism. According to Wikipedia:  "Objective idealism posits the existence of an objective consciousness which exists before and, in some sense, independently of human consciousness, thereby bringing about the existence of objects independently of human minds.”  Jehovah Witnesses affirm in a fundamentalist manner that Jehovah God exists before man and the universe, “causes to become” and constitutes an autonomous consciousness. Jehovah is creator, omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent. He has no beginning and no end. Their faith in the existence of Jehovah is absolute and implicit. Their belief that He manifests materially is also absolute. They point to scriptures such as Luke 12:22 “Then he [Jesus] said to his disciples: “That is why I say to you, stop being anxious about your lives as to what you will eat or about your bodies as to what you will wear…” to encourage an anti-materialist reliance on divine action to meet human needs. It is said that absolute adherence to the ideology of the organization determines a state of authentic Christian being, and assures salvation into the “New System” to be established after Armageddon. Implicitly, the Jehovah Witness mindset denies the agency of human action. All of this constitutes a denial and inversion of objective reality, because there is no “Jehovah” to determine being or provide for material needs. The Jehovah Witness radical denial of materialist reality constitutes a dangerous form of false consciousness. Tragically, as is the case with the blood teaching (which bans members from obtaining blood transfusions), members of the religion have sacrificed their lives upholding falsity. 

“...Mankind must first of all eat, drink, have shelter and clothing, before it can pursue politics, science, art, religion, etc...” - Karl Marx

 

Jehovah Witnesses are told by the organization, that they must trust in Jehovah’s promise to care for their material needs if they seek His Kingdom first. In the Bible, this requirement is based on the words of Jesus as recorded in Matthew 6:31-33. The Jehovah Witness position implies that there is a “Jehovah” to care for the said material needs. The anti-materialist position of the Watchtower organization is harmful in that it is based on a denial of reality. Material needs are fulfilled through the collective labor of workers in context of an organized economic system, and not by divine intervention. “Jehovah” is only an idea. An idea requires a human brain to formulate it. Ideas can not exist independently of matter. As Alex Grant of the Canadian section of the International Marxist Tendency explained: “A human brain requires a body. A body requires food. Food production requires the existence of an organized economy and the application of human labor”. Material needs can only be met by action in the material world, not by the intervention of ideas.

 

“Marxists take as their point of departure not the religious beliefs of the movement’s leaders or of its supporters, or the doctrines and theology of the religion concerned, but the political role of the movement, based on the social forces and interests which it represents.” - John Molyneux.

Jehovah Witnesses are forbidden to involve themselves with patriotic ceremonies, serve in the armed forces, join a political party, hold or express political opinions, run for a political office, or exercise the right to vote. The Watchtower organization cites John 15:19, John 17:16, John 6:15 and James. 4:4 to support its ban on Jehovah Witnesses participation in politics including voting or joining a labor union. This doctrine is called "Christian Neutrality". The organization maintains that the solution to social and economic problems is not to be found in political or union action; but rather in the earthly establishment of  Kingdom rule by Jesus. The Jehovah Witness position in effect demobilizes its working class followers politically and serves the interests of the preservation of capitalist injustice, violence and exploitation insofar as it prevents its eight and a half million followers from taking organized action against capitalism. The majority of Jehovah Witnesses are working class and poor Latin Americans and Africans living in underdeveloped, neo-colonial societies. The political role of the Watchtower movement is that of neutralizer of working class collective action towards its own emancipation. The organization bans its members from expressing political opinions in the congregation or in public, but it endorses, in context of its defense of creationism and denial of natural selection; an attack on Marxism. It is said by organization representatives from the Kingdom Hall podium that Marxism and “Hitlerism” are both subsets of “Social Darwinism”, which is in turn a variable of the natural selection “teaching” formulated by Charles Darwin. The man is considered to be an “agent of Satan”. In the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin, Jehovah’s people where persecuted and deported to Siberian gulags under the influence of “Marxist-Leninist ideology”. In Nazi Germany, during the Holocaust, Hitler interned Jehovah’s people in concentration camps in the interests of Nazism. This confused and circular position conflating Darwin, Marx, Stalin and Hitler is based on a caricature of evolutionary theory and historical falsification. For example, it ignores the fact that there was a Marxist opposition to Stalin in the Soviet Union led by Leon Trotsky. The conflation of Karl Marx with Stalinist persecution serves to prevent working class Jehovah Witnesses from investigating for themselves the perspectives of authentic Marxism or the history of the Fourth International.

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