We had the chance to meet face to face with Jean Marc Bel in June of 2000 when he  came from Paris to  White Lake, New York to visit the Sullivan County site of the historic 1969 Woodstock Festival  in Bethel.
He describes himself as a "dialectic materialist" and his book is written from that point of view.
There were a few clashes of opinion as he, with a hint of malice, scorned our faith in Jesus Christ and glorified the technological progress of western civilization. I on the other hand trod upon his personal icons of popular revolution. Yet we parted on a friendly basis.
Hopefully we and others will gain a better understanding of each other from this developing dialogue, leading to true cooperation, and real love for the physically, economically and culturally disadvantaged.

Jean-Marc Bel:  Comments for our "public discussion":

"I do not scorn religion as such nor people for being religious though I think with Marx that "religion is the people's opium"
I consider religion as a superstitious answer to man's fears facing the universe and territories science has not yet explored and explained and an unadapted answer to social problems.
Religions are also  law an order organizations (give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar) mostly siding  with the powerful against the people
If Christianism started as a slaves' religion under the influence of Paul it soon became a statelike organization abusing and killing.
The Catholic church did not fight nazism and you know enough of Spellman to be judge of their social & political behavior
In the United States Catholicism crusades and generates violence against the Right To Chose for women, conducting murderous raids against abortion clinics: even in a democratic country where they are a minority that is the real face of religion, think what may happen if they were a majority!
In Africa and Latin America the Pope's position against condoms prevent the people from protection against AIDs that is endemic, to a point the Pope should be indicted for genocide.

I want it to be pointed out that everywhere everytime a religion has the power it denies any form of democracy, slaves the women, jails, rapes, tortures
I consider the priests parasites living on people's creed at the best, dangerous loose terrorists at the worst
I analyze churches as sects dividing people by the mean of faith and preventing them to unite at the best, getting them to fight one another at the worstand so on so forth
I quote Sigmund Freud's Moise and Monotheism as a very valid interpretation of the development and evolution of the religious feelings

I think tolerance is essential to democracy, any man has a right to his own creed as long as he does not try to force his beliefs by means of power onto other men or he does not use his position to have people that don't share in his beliefs excluded from society."

Peace
Jean-Marc Bel

Comments from the editor:
Daniel Francis Eggink

Why did Christianity succeed?

Jean-Marc Bel Replys:
 please keep in mind two things
1- religious groups for lack of a better word, like yours here (in France) are considered sects.
2 - Woodstock here is associated with rock, free sex, anti war activists, Country Joe Mc Donald and very non-religious if not anti religious (But for Tommy, Hair was THE thing and the Aquarians, not Jesus Christ Superstar)
The peace movement here was backboned by the - young - communist militants (other would say infiltrated if not manipulated!)  and the picture of Spellman blessing the US troops is well alive
By nature (and reason) progressive forces in Europe - the one who may connect to the beat generation etc - are by essence antireligious

Comments from the editor:
The difference between the American Revolution and the French Revolution is that the American Revolution, in its origins, was a religious event, whereas the French Revolution was an antireligious event.

Those of us who in 2000 have access to the internet are automaticly members of a GLOBAL ELITE with the power to direct our thoughts and commands with the coherent precision of a laser. We are also target nodes for those who would obstruct the free exchange of information and energy for the benifit of their special interests.

Its important to remember that the internet is a tool but it was first designed as a weapon. It is not a toy. Use it carefully or better yet prayerfully.