ATHEISTIC COMMUNISM.

Evening Star, Issue 22632, 26 April 1937, Page 11

ATHEISTIC COMMUNISM.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir,—Let rile tell “ Anti-Humbug ” the Soviet Government does not answer for'-■■me. at all, as I am intelligent enough to form my own opinions. What I want is an answer from “ Anti-Hum-bug ” to my questions. Lord Birkenhead was a professing Christian. In his rectorial address to the students in .Glasgow University he said, “ Self interest, not only is, but must and ought to be. the dominating interest in a man’s, life.” Will “ Anti-Humbug ” say that is the opinion of all Christians? Again Viscount Brentford, a professing Christian, said in the House of Commons: “ It is cant and hypocrisy to say we conquered India for India’s good; we conquered India bv the sword, and by the sword we will hold it. Wo conquered India for a market for our goods and mainly Lancashire goods!” Evidently words and not actions count with “ Anti-Hum-bug.” - He seems to be more awnrb of Lenin’s sayings than the teaching of Christ, who said, “The scribes arid Pharisees sit in Mosep’ scat. All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe ; and do; but do ye not after their works; for they say and do not. For ,they bind heavy burdens and grevious to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders: but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.” Did the fact of John Newton, the author of many of our hymns, naming his slave ship “ Jesus ” make his iniquity any the less? For my part I should say it was only adding hypocrisy to humbug. Your correspondent should read ‘ Christianity and Communism,’ by Bishop Montgomery Brown, also * Church and the Social Revolution,’ bv various ministers of world repute. I can assure “ Anti-Humbug that I don’t profess to be good enough for the'title of either Christian or Communist. as I am not prepared to nay the self-sacrifice demanded by either. I admire the historical-Christ as much as nnvbody, but honestly admit, as one writer said, “ The Galilean asked too much,” and yet I am not humbug enough to pray “ Forgive us our debts ” till I am willing to forgive my

debtors. Under capitalism we pursue our debtors with the utmost rigour of tho law, evicting women and children because machines are doing the work of the fathers. Your correspondent has a treihendoua imagination to state that either Mr J3erring or myself is trying to uphold terrorism; We leave that to militarists and Fascists. It was not an atheist but the capitalist Judas that betrayed Christ, and to quote Jennings Aryan’s phrase, the capitalist system with its gold standard has crucified mankind on “ a cross of gold.” In the church of f the social revolution Upton Sinclair says: They have taken the tomb of our comrade Christ,

Infidel hordes who believe not in man; Stable and std.ll for his birth sufficed, But his tomb js built on a kingly plan, They have hedged it round with pomp and parade, They have buried deep under steel and stone, But we come leading the new crusade To give our comrade back to his own. . —I am, etc., PororrsKi. April 24.