Date: Wed, 2 Aug 1995 02:17:35 +0200
From: win0096-AT-innet.be (han)
Subject: Re: Yugoslavia- despair?




>
>> If Moslims have a place in the global human race?
>> This is a pretty strange question.  I ame neither a Moslim a Jew a
>> Christian, I cinsider myself being an Athe=EFst.
>> My girlfriend's mother is Jewich, but my girlfriend does not consider
>> herseld being an Jew.  being a Jew is being a member of religious comunity.
>> We should have respect for all religions and we should fight all relegions. 
>> In the name of god we wher fighting against Irak.  In the name of god wher
>> fighting German soldiers.  In the name of god are fighting zionist
>> soldier's, in the name of god are fighting Serbes,...
>> Marx once said :"Relegion is a drug (Opium) for the poeple.
>
>I very much disagree with the above formulation.  Although I am an
>atheist, I am also Jewish.  Jews are a people and not merely followers of
>a religion -- Judaism.  There is a long tradition of secular thought
>amongst Jewish people in the modern era  (from the 19th thru the 20th
>Centuries).  Jewish people themselves do not consider religious belief to
>be the defining characteristic in terms of whether one is considered
>Jewish.  I have always been told that, whether I am an atheist or an
>Orthodox Jew, I will be forever counted as being Jewish.
>


han

I did not want to denie your identity or your cultural roots.
In my country Belgium poeple want want me to be a "Vlaming", and I ame a
"Vlaming" as far this means that my native language is Dutch and not French.
If this is what you mean by being a member of the Jewich comunity I
understand.  But I renounce to be called a Vlaming becolse I live in a
country wich is called Belgium and don't want it to be devide becolse of
some tribe war between Vlamingen (dutch speaking) and Walen (French speaking).
I feel myself related to the culture in wich I live, and this culture is
influenced by Seatle rock bands, African pop music, Begium New beat, Afro
American Hip Hop,...
So my identitie is han, not "Vlaming" or cristian,....


>
>The expression "we should fight against all religions", is a formulation
>that I disagree with.  I agree, as an atheist, that religion is "the
>opiate of the masses."  Yet, there are other opiates as well such as
>television and sports.  How should we fight against those opiates?

Yes we should.
If i said  "fight religion" i did not mean destroy (the chuches, they are
far to pretty to do so.
I would give an neuw destination to the churches.  In the Netherlands I sow
a churche wich was transformed to a party hall, another church was
trasformed into a cultural center.
We should not fight television, we should fight the way it is used.  The
programes who are onthis televisioN  Television also can be weapon against
the ruling class. (I thought Vietnam was a good axample)
So can spots be an opiate but the also can be instrument for developpment.
(Cuba is a good example)


>
>Yes, many wars are waged by religious forces, although, frequently there
>are larger economic and social forces that give rise to these conflicts. 
>We have to understand all of the forces that cause these wars if we are
>to understand the wars themselves.
>

I think you are right.
By wich i mean, that religion is not teh first enemy of a Marxist, the first
oponent is capatlism.  I did not not mean that Gulf war was an religion war,
neither is the war in yugoslavia, neither is ...
But relgion is used as an opiate to trow the poeple in the war.



han>



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