TyG - 10/31 Poppies, Poppies, Poppies...

Our discussion on "The Joys of Marx" the other night included an interesting concept, attributed to Karl: He who has the gold, rules!

There were some noises of approbation, and when asked if everyone agreed with that, no one volunteered anything in opposition; this may have been general agreement, but in my case, it was that I couldn't quite develop the thought tickling my brain: what about deeper beliefs?

What came to mind was the first century Christian church, meeting in homes, often clandestinely, living an almost "ideal communism" lifestyle, with common property and the greater good held above the individual (though practice was less than perfect).

Marx's view is that the church is a force created to control the populace:

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.

How does this relate today? Has the "People's Party" become the new church in Communist China? Are the secret churches, meeting in hiding, the New Revolutionaries? Are small capitalists selling goods outside the system working "for the good of the people?"
In America, is the "Church Industry" a force for social control, or has it become just another hawker in the marketplace, trying to draw their share of dollars from the common man's purse?

I believe that faith transcends Marx's ideas; in fact, a faith experience can lead to a person embracing Marxian beliefs, as seen in Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle." When Jurgis has finished listening to The Comrade's words:

He had never been so stirred in his life--it was a miracle that had been
wrought in him. He could not think at all, he was stunned; yet he knew
that in the mighty upheaval that had taken place in his soul, a new man
had been born. He had been torn out of the jaws of destruction, he had
been delivered from the thraldom of despair; the whole world had been
changed for him--he was free, he was free! Even if he were to suffer as
he had before, even if he were to beg and starve, nothing would be the
same to him; he would understand it, and bear it. He would no longer
be the sport of circumstances, he would be a man, with a will and a
purpose; he would have something to fight for, something to die for,
if need be! Here were men who would show him and help him; and he would have friends and allies, he would dwell in the sight of justice, and
walk arm in arm with power.

What is this besides a religious conversion experience? And what is Marx besides another preacher, pushing his personal version of salvation?