Furthermore, you are considered pedantic if you refer in such detail to Marx's thought. Such examination is all right for specialists, but not for militants. As a very committed Communist student said to me one day as he was leaving one of my classes on Marx, "After all, I really don't see why we should study Marx's thought. A lot I care about Marx! You don't need that to be a Communist.” His chin stiffened to underscore his feelings. I get the impression that many Marxist Christians would say the same thing. Some of them cling to a rough idea of Marx drawn from the philosophical approach to history; others reject that philosophy but hold to the historical analysis of economic evolution and its consequences in socialist society. For many others, Marxism is "science.” But at this point we have lost touch with our starting point: we are dealing with Marxism rather than Marx.

— Jesus and Marx by Jacques Ellul