Kristni og Kommúnismi
Í bókinni Why I am not a Christian sem er samansafn ritgerđa eftir Bertrand Russell er međal annars grein sem heitir Can religion cure our troubles. Í henni er eftirfarandi klásúla um kommúnisma og kristni. Mér ţykir hún sérstaklega viđeigandi í ljósi ţeirra ranghugmynda sem trúmennirnar á annálum virđast hafa um áhrif Kristni á vestrćn samfélög. Ég hćtti mér ekki út í ţađ ađ setja inn athugasemdir á ţeim vettvangi og í raun lítill tilgangur í ţví, ég nenni ekki ađ drullumalla.
Hef veriđ ađ fylgjast međ ţessum samrćđum og er alltaf meira og meira gáttađur á ţessu liđi. Fyrir ekki mjög löngu sýndist mér ţetta vera hógvćrir trúmenn sem voru tilbúnir í samrćđur en í dag sé ég ekki betur en ađ ţarna séu trúarnöttarar sem gera allt til ađ verja hina heilögu kú
Ég pikkađi ţetta inn fyrir framan sjónvarpiđ rétt áđan ţannig ađ eflaust eru einhverjar innsláttarvillur.
Greinin birtist upphaflega í Sćnska blađinu Dagens Nyheter í nóvember 1954.
It is customary among Christian apologists to regard Communism as something very different from Christianity and to contrast its evils with the supposed blessings enjoyed by Christian nations. This seems to me a profound mistake. The evils of Communism are the same as those that existed in Christianity during the Ages of Faith. The Ogpu differs only quantitatively from the Inquisition. Its cruelties are of the same sort, and the damage that it does to the intellectual and moral life of Russians is of the same sort as that which was done by the Inquisitors whenever they prevailed. The Communists falsify history, and the Church did the same until the Renaissance. If the Church is not now as bad as the Soviet Government, that is due to the influence of those who attacked the Church: from the Council of Trent to the present day whatever improvements it has effected have been due to its enemies. There are many who object to the Soviet Government because they dislike the Communist economic doctrine, but this the Kremlin shares with the early Christians, the Franciscans, and the majority of mediaeval Christian heretics. Nor was the Communist doctrine confined to heretics: Sir Thomas More, an orthodox martyr, speaks of Christianity as Communistic and says that this was the only aspect of the Christian religion which commended it to the Utopians. It is not the Soviet doctrine in itself that can be justly regarded as a danger. It is the way in which the doctrine is held. It is held as sacred and inviolable truth, to doubt which is sin and deserving of the severest punishment. The Communist, like the Christian, believes that his doctrine is essential to salvation, and it is this belief which makes salvation possible for him. It is the similarities between Christianity and Communism that makes them incompatible with each other. When two men of science disagree, they do not invoke the secular arm; they wait for further evidence to decide the issue, because, as men of science, the know that neither is infallible. But when two theologians differ, since there are no criteria to which either can appeal, there is nothing for it but mutual hatred and an open or covert appeal to force. Christianity, I will admit, does less harm than it used to do; but this is because it is less fervently believed. Perhaps, in time, the same change will come over Communism; and, if it does, that creed will lose much of what now makes it obnoxious. But if in the West the view prevails that Christianity is essential to virtue and social stability, Christianity will once again acquire the vices which it had in the Middle ages; and in becoming more and more like Communism, will become more and more difficult to reconcile with it. It is not along this road that the world can be saved from disaster.