A Marxist IQ for the Holidays by Norman Markowitz

by: Friday 21 December 2012

I thought we might feature holiday themes in this week's Marxist IQ

 

1. The Jewish Holiday of Hannukah celebrates

    a. The establishment of the Kingdom of Israel under kings Saul and  David

    b. The Jewish  revolt for independence  against  The Syrian based Selucid Empire and the Restoriaton of the Jerusalem Temple

    c. The Jewish alliance with Pharonic Egypt against the Philistines

    d.  A deal with worshippers of the Greek God Zeus to prevent falling off the "Sinai Cliff"

 

2.  Christianity was seen by the Romans and others in its early years as 

    a. a radical sect or faction within Judiaism

     b. A religion that the Romans liked because of its pacificism

     c. A religion that the Romans liked because their emperors were Gods

     d. a religion that the Romans saw as benefitting the wealthy and privileged among them

 

3.  The Romans regarded the early Christians as a subversive force and persecuted them because

    a. The Christians' appeal to slaves, women, and other oppressed groups threatened the  slave tribute Roman empire

    b. The Christians' definition of Jesus as a "Prince of Peace" challenged the military dominated Roman slave tribute empire

   c. The Christians repudiation of wealth and luxury challenged the ruling groups of the Roman

       Empire

   d. all of the above

 

4. Marxists have generally seen religion and religious movements as double edged because

a. they are two faced

b. they through history have been the centers for movements against exploitation and oppresion and also through history  powerful institutions used by ruling classes to  sustain exploitation and oppression

c. they have offer people who are good  a better life  in an afterlife

d.  they offer people  who are good a good reincarnation

 

5. Marxists see the "Protestant Reformation" of the 16th and 17th century as

   a. creating the "Protestant Ethic" which created  capitalism

   b. A political revolution within the Catholic Church which dialectically  strengthened a developing capitalist system and its  merchant capitalist/gentry class

   c. a political revolution which prefigured the rise of Communism

d. the result of Martin Luther's pyschological problems

 

Answers to last week's Marxist IQ

1.d

2.c

3.c

4 d

5.c

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Comments

  • 1)a
    2)a
    3)d
    4)a
    5)c

    I am atheist and frankly saying tired of religion talks! But as a human being, I have my own point of view and I share it if there is a chance for.
    In addition I have watched this movie recently to help me a bit to answer these questions.

    Posted by William Miller, 02/19/2013 9:46am (12 years ago)

  • 1.b
    2.a
    3.d
    4.b
    5.b

    In line with the seasonally repeated wonderful article by brother Tim Yeager, this season, it is no coincidence that both M L King Jr.(mentored by the great Communist W. E. B. Du Bois) along with our Communist Frederic Engels, often extolled the Early Christians for their revolutionary role in world history.
    The often misunderstood, taken out of context and misused, "..opium of the people" statement by the great Karl Marx, can be clearly focused here.
    Given the direction of history, a spiraling series of thesis, anti-thesis, and synthesis, religion being an opiate of peoples, it would have to have an essentially positive feature(never denying its use by rulers as a reactionary and negative tool).
    The self liberating and objectively liberating working class, in historical materialism, cannot be reactionary, no matter what their will may be. This is the science, beauty and art of Marxism-Leninism-it is, as the great Marxist Du Bois has written- "..the soul of the soul toil kills."

    Posted by E.E.W. Clay, 12/26/2012 4:44pm (12 years ago)

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