Avakian's 'God Doesn't Exist'

 

I listened to Bob Avakian's talk entitled 'God Doesn't Exist' today, and found it quite an interesting and refreshing perspective on the role of religion within today's capitalistic society. The talks are located at Avakian's site and you can listen to them in MP3 format here: http://www.bobavakian.net/more.html#god

He raised a few interesting points, focusing primarily on the Judeo-Christian traditions. Of course, as you can tell from my other writings, I consider myself a very spiritual person but not following any particular religion or dogma. However, I do find myself very critical of existing religious institutions and do agree with many of the points that Avakian pointed out regarding Christianity in particular.

  We find ourselves in a society dominated by Christian fascists who perverse the 'Word of God' in order to institute their own personal agenda. This perversion of the teachings of Christ enables the oppressive society that Avakian describes in his talk to take control. One of the major problems I have encountered and Avakian spends a good deal delving into deals with the way Christians pick and choose the parts of the Bible that suit their own ideology. The amount of contradiction found in the Bible regarding the philosophy it teaches is astounding, and it is something that I find many Christians avoid and many religious leaders refuse to talk about.

   What I find myself struggling with is the reconciliation with spirituality in general and the ideas that Avakian puts out regarding religion and spirituality. As an Atheist, he believes God does not exist. I have no problem with that, at times I do find myself leaning towards an agnostic stand point regarding the existence of any sort of Creator. While still not an atheistic belief, I can see where he is coming from and I recognize the need for a logical and rational society in order to enable the oppressed to rise up and take control of society and their lives. It is also essential for the continual development of mankind to constantly be seeking to improve themselves and the accumulation of knowledge.

     However the point is, and I do believe Avakian supports this view, is not to outlaw religion, but rather the shifting the focus of power from the religious institutions to the people. The separation of Church and State was an important step in the right direction, but it wasn't enforced as it should have been and the religious right were able to gain in power. Hence, we find ourselves in the situation we face today where the Christian fundamentalists have a strong hold on the political system, and fundamentalists within other religions such as Islamic fundamentalists voice their beliefs and often in a violent manner.

     I'll conclude with an interesting reference that Avakian pointed out involving the crucifixion of Sparticus after the up-rising of the slaves. The image of the crucifixion of Sparticus isn't as important as the crucifixion as Christ. Of course Christ is viewed as the son of God, and hence a bit more attention is paid to it, but another reason is because of the suppression of the working class by the elite. An image of a revolutionary would be detrimental to the security of power possessed by the ruling class, and therefore the image isn't made into the powerful symbol that Christ on the crucifix has become. It is these sort of symbols and images, and the differences between them, that shape the viewpoints of so many people and yet when examined closely make so much sense to explain the current situation.

     I look forward to reading more of Avakian's work as well as listening to more of his speeches. While I have yet to commit myself to the ideals he supports, since I consider myself more of an anarchist then a socialist, I do believe that his work merits serious attention. This is especially true in the sociopolitical and economical climate we live in today. It is essential that the oppressed and underprivileged be educated and learn to take the responsibility of their lives into their own hands. Since if we continue to allow the elite, whether political or religious, to step all over us then true liberty and freedom will forever be abstract concepts that we're never make into reality.