Christianism versus Communism.

I am Chinese; and a Communist; and secretly, I am also a Christian. So how do I reconcile the two? Well, on Christmas day, when people around the world celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, in my prayers I remember the 1st. of July: the birth date of the Chinese Communist Party. On the 1st. of July, a national holiday in China, I say a Christmas prayer… But that’s only the beginning of it.

Human beings are social animals. We gather in groups, with each individual choosing a group that best suits his/her needs. Two of the larger groups are the Christians and the Communists.

Christanism is a religious organization. Communism is a political organization. Both have millions of members. Although they have totally different ideologies, they have many things in common, and it is interesting to compare them because, from the following comparisons, I can reconcile my religious and political affiliations.

1. As far as the number of people in one organization is concerned, Christianity is the biggest religion in the world. The Communist Party is the largest political party on earth.
2. Both organizations are international; members come from all walks of life and from every strata of society. Theoretically, in both organizations, a King can rub shoulders with a beggar. In fact, it has not, and probably never will, happen.
3. Both organizations declare that they have the right, and the duty, to save the people and reform society.
4. Both organizations have attractive slogans to strongly draw the attention of the people; saying, in one way or another: ‘Join us. We will lead you to Paradise.’
5. The creator of Christianism was Jesus Christ. The creator of Communism was Karl Marx. Both organizations command its members to worship their creator.
6. Both have their authoritative reading: The Bible for Christianists: The Communist Manifesto for Communists. Both must-reads have been translated into all languages of the world and have crossed all borders. (Chairman Mao’s ‘Little Red Book’ is an irrelevance. He did not write most of it; and his so-called ‘thoughts’ were plagiarized from other works; with most being paraphrased to suit his own warped views.)
7. The organizational form of Catholic Christianism is: Pope, Cardinal, Bishop, Priest, disciple. In the breakaway groups such as Protestantism, the organizational make-up is much the same as the Catholic but with title-changes.
8. The Communist hierarchy is: Chairman, Political Bureau, Central Party Committee, Party Branch, Ordinary Member.
9. Both organizations have a very strict ranking system. The higher the rank, the more power - with the Leader having absolute power over all other members.
10. Christianity teaches that all people are born with sin: the only way to be saved is to believe in God and confess to Him. God is the absolute truth and you must obey Him in all your actions – then you can go to Heaven.
11. Communism says all people are selfish by nature. This is the root of the uneven class-ridden society, with the richer person oppressing the poorer person. The only way to eliminate these class divisions and create a fair society is to be guided by the Communist Party and launch class struggle; take from the rich and distribute the wealth fairly among all the people. When that is achieved, everyone will enter Communist Heaven. The words of the Communist Party are the only truth.
12. Christians go to church every Sunday. Communists attend Political Study every Wednesday.
13. Christians are expected to confess their sins. Communists must write their self-criticism.
14. Christians donate money to the church. Communists pay a monthly membership fee.
15. The essence of both organizations is exactly the same: control the people by cheating them. Both are man-made faiths that rely on lies and propaganda to recruit members. Both ask for absolute obedience and blind faith. Both organizations, to suit their own purposes, will suppress or bend true facts when the truth conflicts with their own ideology.
16. In these more enlightened days, fewer and fewer people believe in Christianism and Communism. For a simple example, Christians, instead of saying ‘Merry Christmas’ say ‘Season’s Greetings’ or ‘Happy Holiday.’ Communists now say ‘Good Health to you’ instead of ‘Long live the Communist Party.’
17. The only real difference between the two organizations is that one says ‘God governs us’ and the other says ‘There is no God. We are our own God.’

As for me, I do not believe in Communism. I joined the Party purely for selfish purposes. In China, only Party Members are promoted to positions of power and prosperity, so I became a Communist.
Nor do I believe in Christianity, or any other man-made religion. But, to hedge my bets and play safe… well, there might be a God and a Heaven, I secretly go to Church; incognito of course; say my prayers and confess my sins.

Anon. January 2008.
Translated from Chinese to English by Anhua and Harry Gao-Bennett.