Christianity and Marxism can work together in some ways, but ultimately choosing a philosophy is a matter of faith.

This was discovered at a Marxist-Christian panel discussion Tuesday at the Holmes Student Center.

The discussion, attended by about 30 people, covered questions concerning the validity of Marxism and Christianity and how the philosophies complemented each other.

A Marxist philosophy is a materialist perspective of the world based on the writings of Karl Marx.

Dr. David Schmidt, of the Wesley Foundation, said the most important thing when discussing Marxism and Christianity is to understand there is a wide variety of views in each group.

“A failure to recognize this is the failure to realize where people are coming from,” Schmidt said.

“As a Christian, I believe I can learn something from Marxism, however I do not look to Marxism as my ideology, but I look to my faith for that,” he said.

However, foreign language Professor Monique Lemaitre said ideology as a whole was not important when looking at the world’s problems.

“It does not matter whether you are talking about Marx or Jesus as long a you are making a contribution to this world,” Lemaitre said.

“Christianity is fine as long as people know they have a right to be happy on this earth right now,” she said.

Drew Parlee, of the Navigators Campus ministry, said the Marxist philosophy was invalid.

“Every argument that is material is circular in essence and therefore invalid,” Parlee said.

He said many of the arguments against God are ways of defending a materialistic lifestyle even when there is convincing evidence showing the existence of God.

“They (Marxists) already assume there are no exceptions to natural law,” he said.