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De la Paz speaks Monday on Christianity, communism

by André Cotton

Reconciling Christianity with communism was the central topic of discussion when the very Reverend Juan Ramon de la Paz spoke at Oberlin Monday night.

De la Paz, a Cuban Anglican Chaplain and professor of religion, spoke before an audience of 50 students, faculty and other audience members.

Campus chaplain Fred Lassen worked with professor of speech Dean Wolfe to bring de la Paz to campus. Lassen said, "Christianity and communism working together is an overlooked issue at Oberlin. We saw bringing de la Paz to campus as a perfect opportunity to bring Christian and communist students together on a common topic."

De la Paz began the discussion by describing the background of Christianity and communism in Cuba, and saying that the two had much more in common with each other than one might think.

To support his point, de la Paz read passages from the Bible which he believes advocate communist life. For example, De la Paz Preaching a messagecited the story of the exodus from Egypt, the refugees' discovery of land and their decision to share it among themselves

De la Paz also stressed the importance of uniting Cuban society. He said that Christianity and communism, working together, would accomplish that task. The two ideologies "must be engrafted in the great tree of Cuban culture," de la Paz said.

The audience posed questions to De la Paz for the remainder of the discussion. Some questions had to do with the Cuban medical system and cultural facilities, yet most dealt with how and why Christianity and communism should be reconciled in Cuba.

One question concerned how Christianity could be compatible with Marxist communism, in terms of their differing philosophies regarding material ownership.

De la Paz said such discrepancies are a problem of philosophy. He said he recognizes that in other cultures Christianity has been used to justify slavery and capitalist expansion. But Christianity has also been used in support of Marxism, de la Paz said, and as an example cited Vladimir Lenin's criticism of the practice of land being held in the "hands of the few."

Another question concerned how Christianity and communism could reconcile their means of seeking social justice. De la Paz said having different beliefs on how to accomplish things didn't matter in the long run if both shared the same goal of social justice.

"When we are working for the same purpose, we have hope things will change," de la Paz said. He said division will accomplish nothing, stressing the necessity for social unity.

De la Paz also talked about a spiritual revival in Cuban Christianity that he said has not occurred in other communist nations.

Cuban communism is unique, de la Paz said, because it allowed for the development of transcendental Christian values, and enabled the individual to fill "the emptiness of the soul."

De la Paz concluded the discussion by saying he hopes for continued open and free communication between Cuba and the United States. Cuba and the United States "were never really enemies," de la Paz said.

Reading from the Bible, de la Paz said, "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth have passed away ... They saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God." He compared the discovery of a new earth in the Bible to the communists' hope for a new world emerging out of the old one.

De la Paz's wife, Nierva, also spoke to the audience with assistance from an interpreter. She responded to questions about the importance of women in the unification of Christianity and communism.

One question addressed how women became important in the social history of Cuba. In response, Nierva de la Paz said women have discovered that they held important social roles by reading the Bible and Cuban social history.

"We began to search, we began to read the Bible and it opened a new world to us," Nierva de la Paz said.

The discussion was sponsored by the Office of Chaplains, LaUnion, the Oberlin Socialist Student Union, and the Episcopal Peace Fellowship in the Diocese of Ohio.


Photo:
Preaching a message: The very Reverend Juan de la Paz spoke on the power Christianity and communism have to unite Cuban society. (photo by Nicole Wright)


Oberlin

Copyright © 1996, The Oberlin Review.
Volume 124, Number 23; May 3, 1996

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