FOIA

==Marx the Christian==

==Marx the Christian==

Marx was confirmed at age 15. As a student at the Royal Frederick William III gymnasium, he was to all appearances a Christian. When Marx graduated that September, his diploma read, under the category “Religious knowledge”: “His knowledge of the Christian faith and morals is fairly clear and well grounded; he knows also to some extent the history of the Christian Church.”<ref>[http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/letters/misc/1835-mat.htm Certificate of Maturity for Pupil of the Gymnasium in Trier], Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, ''[http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/cw/ Collected Works]'' (Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1975), [http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/cw/volume01/index.htm Vol. I] (Trans. Robert Dixon), p. 643</ref>

Marx was confirmed at age 15. As a student at the Royal Frederick William III gymnasium, he was to all appearances a Christian. When Marx graduated that September, his diploma read, under the category “Religious knowledge”: “His knowledge of the Christian faith and morals is fairly clear and well grounded; he knows also to some extent the history of the Christian Church.”<ref>[http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/letters/misc/1835-mat.htm Certificate of Maturity for Pupil of the Gymnasium in Trier], Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, ''[http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/cw/ Collected Works]'' (Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1975), [http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/cw/volume01/index.htm Vol. I] (Trans. Robert Dixon), p. 643</ref> Yet even then Marx betrayed a tendency to substitute man for God as the object of Christian love and sacrifice. In an 1835 senior thesis, the 17-year-old Marx wrote that in union with Christ, "we turn our hearts to our brothers whom He has closely bound to us, and for whom also He sacrificed Himself... Therefore union with Christ bestows... a heart which is open to love of mankind..."<ref>Karl Marx, “[http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1837-pre/marx/1835chris.htm The Union of Believers With Christ According to John 15: 1-14, Showing its Basis and Essence, its Absolute Necessity, and its Effects],” in Robert Payne, ed.,''The Unknown Karl Marx'' (New York University Press, 1971), ISBN 0340093935, pp. 39-43, reprinted in Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, ''[http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/cw/ Collected Works]'' (Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1975), [http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/cw/volume01/index.htm Vol. I] (Trans. Robert Dixon), pp. 636–639</ref>}} Likewise, in another senior thesis written at the same time,  Marx wrote that "religion itself teaches us that the ideal being whom all strive to copy sacrificed himself for the sake of mankind, and who would dare to set at nought such judgments?<ref>Karl Marx, “[http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1837-pre/marx/1835-ref.htm Reflections of a Young Man on The Choice of a Profession],” ''Archiv für die Geschichte des Sozialismus und der Arbeiterbewegung'' (1925), reprinted in Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, ''[http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/cw/ Collected Works]'' (Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1975), [http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/cw/volume01/index.htm Vol. I] (Trans. Robert Dixon), pp. 3-9</ref>}}

 

In an 1835 senior thesis, the 17-year-old Marx wrote:

{{cquote|[U]nion with Christ consists in the most intimate, most vital communion with Him, in having Him before our eyes and in our hearts, and being so imbued with the highest love for Him, at the same time we turn our hearts to our brothers whom He has closely bound to us, and for whom also He sacrificed Himself... Therefore union with Christ bestows inner exaltation, consolation in suffering, calm assurance, and a heart which is open to love of mankind, to all that is noble, to all that is great, not out of ambition, not through a desire for fame, but only because of Christ.<ref>Karl Marx, “[http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1837-pre/marx/1835chris.htm The Union of Believers With Christ According to John 15: 1-14, Showing its Basis and Essence, its Absolute Necessity, and its Effects],” in Robert Payne, ed.,''The Unknown Karl Marx'' (New York University Press, 1971), ISBN 0340093935, pp. 39-43, reprinted in Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, ''[http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/cw/ Collected Works]'' (Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1975), [http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/cw/volume01/index.htm Vol. I] (Trans. Robert Dixon), pp. 636–639</ref>}}

In another senior thesis written at the same time,  Marx wrote:

{{cquote|[R]eligion itself teaches us that the ideal being whom all strive to copy sacrificed himself for the sake of mankind, and who would dare to set at nought such judgments?<ref>Karl Marx, “[http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1837-pre/marx/1835-ref.htm Reflections of a Young Man on The Choice of a Profession],” ''Archiv für die Geschichte des Sozialismus und der Arbeiterbewegung'' (1925), reprinted in Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, ''[http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/cw/ Collected Works]'' (Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1975), [http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/cw/volume01/index.htm Vol. I] (Trans. Robert Dixon), pp. 3-9</ref>}}

==Bonn University==

==Bonn University==