You Want True REVOLUTION?

Anarchist
Belated thanks to Tarjei Straume for allowing us to reproduce his thoughts below:

Christianity has no structure, no doctrines, no catechism. It is described solely by the individuals who work it out for themselves. The emblem is a skull, inspired by Golgotha, i.e. The Place of the Skull, where Christ was executed. The church chose the the cross, an instrument of torture of the worst kind, and really a symbol of shame. The skull, however, is a reminder that all human beings meet at Golgotha on their hour of death. Christ is one with the mystery of death, and for this very reason he is man´s destiny. At this point one may have any choice of opinion what Christianity or other religions are concerned. The skull is still there as a one hundred percent guaranteed promise of death for every single human being, and it is precisely the fear of death that makes this symbol so unpopular in privileged bourgeois circles. They prefer the cross, because that´s how Jesus died, but that does not concern our own destinies at all. They claim we don´t have to die, because Jesus died for us on the cross and is now coming back very soon on his UFO to make us all forever physically young. Christian Anarchists, on the other hand, recognize their mortality though this symbol.

The symbol of the skull is often associated with terrorist groups and regimes, death squads, the Nazis, etc. - those who use this symbol to exploit the fear of death in their fellow man for their own power because that´s what they deliver. But if we approach this emblem more in the spirit of William Shakespeare´s Prince Hamlet when he holds the skull of the beloved court jester from his childhood, Yorick, in the famous graveyard scene, and we add to Hamlet´s ruminations the Mystery of Golgotha, i.e. the Mystery of the Place of the Skull, the emblem becomes holy. If we don't add the Christ-Mystery, we remain shuddering with Prince Hamlet:

"I knew him, Horatio; a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy; he hath borne me on his back a thousand times; and now, how abhorr´d in my imagination it is! my gorge rises at it. Here hung those lips that I have kiss´d I know not how oft. Where be your gibes now? your gambols? your songs? your flashes of merriment, that were wont to set the table on a roar? Not one now, to mock your own grinning? quite chop-fall´n?"

Hamlet apparently believes at this moment that the skull he holds in his hands is all that remains of Yorick´s soul and spirit. When we add to this the Mystery of the Place of the Skull, the Resurrection of the Son of Man, this does not remove the grief and loss caused by the separation through death, because without this grief we would become cold and indifferent, we would yield to the temptation inherent in spiritual cognition. On the contrary, it´s the grief from the loss of a dear friend that unite athesists and believers; this grief is also a gift from the Christ; it´s what makes us truly human.

As a symbol for Golgotha, the skull is a Christian sign. And then we may say with the apostle Paul: " O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory?" (from his first letter to the Corinthians, 15:55)

The skeleton has a unique significance for the Mystery of Golgotha. The Roman soldiers used to break the bones on those who were executed at Golgotha to make sure they were dead. But Jesus was obviously completely dead, and for this reason they pierced him in the side because it was written in the Old Testament: "No bone on him shall be broken."

Let us therefore adorn our Anarchist Black Flag with a Christian Skull.

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