Reply #72: Wow, is that convoluted thinking [View All]

[NickB79]

First, you admit communism fails your first tenant of religion: it doesn't have a belief in a supernatural power or powers. For most people, that is THE definition of religion, so you lose a lot of support and credibility right there with your inability to support that position.

Your second tenant is a circular argument: communism puts the life and conditions of a person in a religious order because communism is a religion, and communism is a religion because it puts the life and conditions of a person in a religious order. The argument loops around itself, using itself to support its own argument.

Third, who was the spiritual leader of Communism? Was he/she worldwide like the Pope, or were there seperate spiritual leaders in different countries? Who were they in Russia? In China? In Cuba? All their leaders have been political, not religious, in nature. In the USSR they elected new leaders through general elections, something you rarely do in a religion. They never lead their countrymen in prayer; in fact conventional religious beliefs were widely denounced in the USSR. Churches and synagogues were widely banned in many areas.

Four can be applied to almost anyone committed to a cause or belief they care about. For example, I am a self-proclaimed gun nut. I am sure that if you asked a few of my friends how I feel about guns and gun control, they would describe my beliefs as "a cause, principle or activity pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion." That hardly means I worship my firearms, does it? Well, ok sometimes pretty close to it, but still.

Your "evidence" is weak at best.