The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1931-04-02
&4:..A,
Let's Clear 1t Up
BY JORGE
Gallon, Ohio.

sending you copy of the booklet of mine
to which you refer in one of your Red Sparks
articles My excuse for troubling you with it is
that 1 want to make it easy for you to refer
to the page containing the paragraph to which
your Boston correspondent Objects on page 1874
Will you kindly read the next paragraph and
if you think with me that you ana ne mad
vertently have cast an unjunst reflection upon
my work. am sure you will draw attention to
the mistake, otherwise feelings will be hurt
All the pieces of my propagandism are in close
alignment with the doctrinal statement on the
page fronting the title page of the book. Thank
ing you for your interesting and helpful Red
Sparks, I am, with every good wish for all to
whom we are indebted to the Daily Worker,
Very cordially yours
VIM M BROWN"
We are glad to get the above letter from
Comrade VIM. Montgomery Brown because we
recognize the fact that the work he has done
has brought thousands of workers and poor
farmers nearer to and into the revolutionary
struggle. We do not forget that good work
merely because we take issue with him over
some expression which we feel represents con-
cession to the substance of thing we both
despiSe.
The booklet referred to is 1.-THE Bankruptcy
of Christian Supernaturalism," about which a
comrade wrote us letter printed in this column
March 18th. We added the comment that it did
seem that Comrade Brown had Leaned over
backward" in stating that do not say the
conflict of science with religion, because there
is none and never has been. Science and religion
have always walked hand in hand on the way
of life and neither could proceed step with
out the other"
The next paragraph (Which we are asked to
read) says:
Science is the study of nature for the purpose
of learning how to make the most of terrestrial
life. The desire and effort to live with refer
ence to what can be learned from nature in Or
der to the attainment of the most abundant.
life on earth is all there is, or can be- of true
religion"
The ''doctrinal statement" has, as It's OPEN
ing and chief statements the following:
"Marxism is correct in its opposition to religion
if it be regarded as belief in a supernatural
Stic God, Bible, Church, Heaven. or Hell. But
none of these beliefs have anything to do with
religion and politics. !
Well the bishop plainly states that he Is not
Marxist For Marxism does not admit any
"ifs." The facts of life do not permit this eff"
because cannot be shunted away from the
fact to the masses religion" means God and
the rest of superstitions. We cannot trade off
realization Of this fact just to be amiable
in allowing individuals to make their own def
initions.
Why? Because it weakenS the revolutio lary
will of the masses to struggle. Convinced as
they may be of the benefits to them of Com
munism, the religion that they have and not
the religion Comrade Brown speaks Of acts as
a brake upon action, for instead of expecting
God to give them happiness in another world,
they tend to expect God to bring it about in
this world-without any special effort of their
own.
Hence Comrade Brown is mistaken when he
says, in his doctrinal statement: Can people
be both Marxian-Leninian, or Bolshevk- Com
munists, and Jesuine- Christians? Yes" And
mistaken in the inference that the Soviet Rus
slams" religious. Devotion to cause has
nothing to do with religion The capitalists are
devoted to exploiting the workers, ready to die
for it. 1t is their "desire and effort to live
with reference to what can be learned from
nature in order to the attainment of the most
abundant life on earth"
Thus, the religion" of Comrade Brown is
broad enough to take in both the workers and
the capitalists. So to talk about "true" reli-
gion, implying something else that Ia "false'
religion, is merely getting lost in words and
definitions. Another comrade from Iowa after
reading Bishop Brown. writes us triumphanty
pointing out that religion is not the church"
yet leaving the door wide open for God.
No, comrades religion is what it is, in life, to
the masses; as Marx correctly said. their
opium" To temporze in the midst of class
struggle, is to make theological concession
to the enemy To shamefacedly place weaponf
in the hands of the enemy AS Lenin put i'll
"to rebel on Bonded knees"
| Science is based upon materialism, and IN
emitting this basic thing in his definition the
Bishop erred just as in ommitting to say that
religion is based upon superstition; and the
two are in head-on conflict-in life and action,
which no comforting philosophy can cover up.
This all does not deny that Bishop Brown
has done-and is still doing-a great deal Of
good in the main line of his earnest endeavor
to advance the ideal of Communism That he
makes mistakes, and serious ones, is but natural
| Who doesn't? And we would be doing him. and
certainly the movement to which he is un-
doubleday devoted an i'll service in not pointing
them out and cautioning the workers that Marx
and Lenn cannot be revised without injury to
| their class