Article by Roelf L. Ruffner
“Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness. Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment” (Ex. 23:1-2).
Granted the above passage deals primarily with lying in legal proceedings, but the phrase, Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil, is quite relevant to my concern in this article. That concern is the rise of the old nemesis of personal freedom—Communism.
For several months our country has been embroiled in a deepening turmoil concerning the shooting of an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, MO by a policeman and lately the death of an unarmed black man in New York City as he was being arrested by the police. Protests and looting have ensued all over the United States. But increasingly I see among the banners of these protestors the old red “hammer & sickle” of Communism. Being a student of the Bible and of history, I recoil at this banner. They might as well put up a swastika or the banner of the Islamic State. It is sickening and revolting to hear them chant, “What do we want? Dead Cops! When do we want it? Now!” Many of these are professional agitators and anarchists giving the clenched fist salute of Communism. They don’t really want “justice”; they want mayhem and revolution.
At one time preachers of the gospel would preach sermons against Communism. The late brother Roy C. Deaver had a series of sermons on this topic. Brother George S. Benson, former President of Harding College and Chancellor of Oklahoma Christian University, spoke fervently against Communism. He had been a missionary in China for twelve years but was forced out by the Red Chinese in 1936. They and others saw the malevolent evil in this ideology as a threat to Christianity.
A concrete fact of history is that Communism has been responsible for the slaughter of multiplied millions of human beings through persecution, forced migration, starvation, and execution. We often think of the National Socialist (Nazi) regime of Adolph Hitler as the worst mass murderer in human history; and they were horrible. But Hitler’s crimes pale in comparison to the devilish deeds of the Communists dictators Joseph Stalin and Chairman Mao Tse-tung (often referred to as Mao Zedong, gws). From the Russian Revolution of 1917 to the Castro brothers’ executions in Cuba, the history of communism is one of the shedding of blood. One of the happiest moments of my life was to see the tearing down of the old Berlin wall in 1989 which symbolized what many thought was the utter defeat of this decrepit ideology and the liberation of the oppressed peoples of Communist Eastern Europe.
Communism at its roots is atheistic and materialistic. It does not hold to God as the author of all things (Dan. 2:44) but rather avers that man evolved from slime and is still evolving. Their “god” is their ideology. There is no Judgment Day and no Heaven or Hell in their twisted mind. In fact, dialectic materialism (Communism or Marxism) sees human society as evolving into a perfect “workers’ state.” The Bible teaches that man is made in God’s image but is now a fallen creature because of his own sin.
The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one (Psa.14:1-3).
Human society is only a means God has provided to know Him and maintain order (Acts 17:26-27); it will never be perfect. For the Communist this world is a struggle between the “haves” and the “have-nots” or the “proletariat” (working class) versus the capitalist system (owners of wealth). They envision a future “workers’ state” in which all of society’s ills will be corrected, and the world will be ruled by a “dictatorship of the proletariat” or mob tyranny. But the Bible teaches we should love one another, especially our enemies whether worker or owner (Mat. 5:44; 1 Cor. 13:1-7).
Because of their Godless, humanistic bent the Communist sees the Collective (The State) as everything and the individual as nothing. This is the reason why they can kill with impunity, whether it is one person or a million. For them we are all animals, some more “evolved” than others. To kill another human being is no different than swatting a fly. This is why the dedicated Communist will give his life for “the cause.” They will burn church buildings and execute Christians. Whatever stands in the way of societal “progress” must be eliminated. This is why dictators like Joseph Stalin and Mao Tse-tung could oversee the slaughter of whole communities without losing a night’s sleep.
But the Son of Man came and offered Himself on the cross for me as an individual as well as the billions of other souls in this sin-sick world. Our goal should not be to make this world into a materialistic paradise but rather the restoration of one soul to God at a time. “Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily” (Col. 1:28-29).
Communism is attractive not only to the unemployed and the hopeless but to the educated and affluent as well. The latter are often spoiled children who are angry at society. They have an emptiness in their lives that only God can fill. But rather than turning humbly to their Creator, they seek fulfillment/salvation in utopian ideas and “class struggle.” Yet Communism does not lead to personal satisfaction but only unrest and violent revolution. “Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord. Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy” (Prov. 6:14-15).
As a Christian I should teach others that true fulfillment and salvation comes only by the gospel of Jesus Christ. The way of Christ is an inner revolution or change of oneself by the grace of God. “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2:20). Their guidance should not be found in following the Communist Manifesto but in obeying God’s word. “I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one” (1 John 2:14b).
Are we challenging our young people, especially those in college, to run from Communism? I have read that brother Foy E. Wallace, Jr., once said, “There are no ‘isms’ in Christianity!” How true this is! We need to preach sermons and teach Bible classes against Communism and pointing souls to Christ (John 14:6). Our goal in life as Christians should not be to overthrow the government but to overthrow Satan. “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation” (Rom.13:1-2).