[lbo-talk] Karl Kautsky on Christianity

Robert Wrubel bobwrubel at yahoo.com
Thu Aug 2 12:59:16 PDT 2007


to John: I'm not sure I understand the aversion to the "historical Jesus" school. If you strip away all the non-contemporary language (probably 90% of the Gospels)and all the theology, you come up with one of the great social radicals in western history, a frighteningly charismatic figure. British writer AN Wilson's "biography" of Jesus gives you some of this flavor. BobW --- joanna <123hop at comcast.net> wrote:


> John Thornton wrote:
>
> >Can anyone here give me their opinion of Kautsky's
> "Foundations of
> >Christianity"?
> >
> >
> I read Kautsky's book and I thought it was
> excellent. Very level headed
> and very interesting.
>
> He mostly focuses on explaining how late Roman
> culture helps explain a
> lot of early Xtianity -- which turns out to be more
> of a reaction to
> that culture than something in itself.
>
> For example, he explains how the asceticism was less
> a religious feature
> than a reaction to the extreme overindulgence
> (vomitariums, colliseum
> blood baths) of the late empire. By placing it in a
> historical setting
> (from a Marxist perspective) it helps you understand
> a lot of stuff
> about it that you might otherwise think was
> "religious."
>
> Clearly written. Easy to read.
>
> It's a mistake to assume that an old book is not
> necessarily a good book.
>
> The notion that something newer is better is a
> modern prejudice, not in
> any way a fact.
>
> Joanna
>
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