> 30% of Americans take the bible literally; 49% see it
> as the inspired word of God; 17% see it as a book of
> legends
For a week, I've been spending time with a vibrant group of them thumpers. I'll be here until July 16: http://holdenvillage.org/
They invited me to "teach" them my secular (Marxist, I say) version of socialism. And I'm having the most interesting discussions on socialism and politics I've had in a while. It turns out that I can learn more on socialism from them than I could ever "teach" them, since they've managed to build a very robust and functional *socialist* village in this secluded and beautiful place in the mountains of Washington.
Believing that the Bible is God's word -- distorted or straight or whatever -- is not necessarily an obstacle for people to join the struggle for a better life. Anything, even certain paralyzing, nihilistic interpretations of Marxism, can be used as an excuse for not moving or for fostering cynicism and alienation -- as if the system didn't do enough of that already. I'd rather have people willing to fight, even if they use mysticism and faith on extranatural forces to rationalize their fight.