Eight Short Articles Providing a Reformed Perspective on the Present Madness

General permission is granted to all to copy and publish this document freely, provided that the entire document is unaltered, including this title page and copyright, except for reasonable formatting changes.

Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, in the past two years or so, America has experienced an eruption of both physical and spiritual troubles and disasters. Some of the disasters were “natural” disasters. But just as hurricanes bring out looters and insurance scammers, so criminals have eagerly taken advantage of human misery in every trouble for their own ends. This includes Marxists, who are organized “respectable” criminals. Other disasters are have been imposed on us by evil humans, such as destructive riots, refusal of law enforcement to arrest shoplifters, tyrannical mandates to be masked or vaccinated, sexual perversions, fake “genders,” strange “pronouns,” the myth of “systematic racism,” the “evil” of whiteness, rampant monetary inflation, shortages of goods, and so on. Our situation is made even worse by wholesale rampant lying by both mainstream and non-traditional information streams, making reliable, trusted information hard to come by; we are often left wondering who to believe. Many of us are wondering, “What is going on here, all of the sudden?”

But our real situation is similar to a water leak in your house from the roof or a pipe. Unless something was damaged, the problem started long before you saw the leak, such as weather-deteriorated shingles, or corroded pipes. So it is here. There are domestic and foreign enemies who detest America and all we have traditionally stood for, especially biblical Christianity. They have been patiently chipping and gnawing away at us for over a century. Now that they think they have damaged us sufficiently, they are trying to pull our whole house into the basement. Our enemies include:

Due to secrecy and deception it is not possible to untangle the relationships among the various bad guys, determine who is really in charge, and so on. Thus, we must identify the bad trees by their bad fruit. It is very important to understand that while many decisions made by those in power are objectively stupid, their evil is actually the result of deliberate craftiness and demonic planning. Nonetheless, there are three things about them that are certain: they all have Satan for their master, they all work in similar ways because they have a common master and lessons from past tyrants, and these birds of a feather flock together, but there is no honor among thieves or criminals. For these reasons, and because Communist China and Communist Russia are America’s major foes, every citizen and especially every Christian needs to be strongly educated concerning Marxism. This is not only true on a national policy and defense level, but on a personal level for these reasons:

These short articles cannot possibly cover even the necessary basic information about Communism and Marxism. Neither is it reasonable for this author to attempt to duplicate work that others have already done better. Thus the author has created a document that has an annotated bibliography of helpful books on Communism, and summaries of the two most helpful books. Please download it at https://beforgiven.info/twoessentialbooks.pdf. Yet, none of the books are written from a Reformed perspective and there are some other important issues left unaddressed. The articles in this series should help fill in these needs. The remainder of this introductory article will state briefly and simply the most important facts about Marxism.

This article is the second of a series. The first article pointed out that the present troubles and craziness afflicting America did not come out of nowhere, but are caused or enhanced by human enemies, mostly foreign and domestic Marxists. It ended by noting that the Marxist’s most dangerous weapon is spiritual, especially temptations to sin. This article will elaborate on that theme.

A thorough study of Marxism in all of its various flavors leads to the inescapable conclusion that it is utterly satanic. This should not surprise any Christian, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12 ESV).

Numbers chapters 22–4 relate how Balak, king of Moab, hired Balaam to curse Israel, but God thwarted Balak. Chapter 25 then relates how the Israelites prostituted themselves, both carnally with the daughters of Moab and spiritually with the false god Baal. Thousands of Israelites died for those sins. Much later, when Israel warred against Midian, they brought back Midianite women as part of the spoil. Moses rebuked them saying, “Behold, these [the Midianite women], on Balaam’s advice, caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the Lord in the incident of Peor, and so the plague came among the congregation of the Lord” (Numbers 31:16 ESV). Note carefully Moses’s explanation of the enemy’s tactics: to tempt Israel to sin, so the wrath of God would fall on them directly and also so their sin would cause other bad consequences. This tactic implies belief in God’s existence, that sin has temporal consequences, and that God punishes sinners! Balaam was not alone in using this tactic: “But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality” (Revelation 2:14 ESV).

Marxists work to demoralize those they wish to conquer. Now, demoralize has two meanings. Commonly it means to cause someone to give up hope, as in the context of war. Marxists do seek to demoralize America in this sense, as in “Better Red than Dead.” The second meaning is more important to Marxists: to de-moral-ize people, that is, cause them to abandon their moral standards. Even absent direct Divine judgment, this is highly effective. The moral laws God gave us are a reflection of His holy character. Likewise when God created the universe, its design also reflected His holy character. Therefore, the “natural laws” God designed into the universe support God’s moral laws in many ways. Immorality thus has “natural” destructive effects on people. “Your evil will chastise you, and your apostasy will reprove you. Know and see that it is evil and bitter for you to forsake the Lord your God; the fear of me is not in you, declares the Lord God of hosts” (Jeremiah 2:19 ESV).

From the foregoing discussion, it becomes clear why the Marxist tactic of demoralizing us is so devastating to us. We are not only suffering the “natural” consequences of our sins, but the wrath of God is heavy upon us right now due to our many sins. While Marxists promote immorality, this does not mean they directly control all immoral organizations. However, they strongly support, aid, and abet them and Marxist controlled “charitable” foundations are major financiers of immoral organizations. Also, members of immoral organizations frequently, if not usually, hold at least some Marxist beliefs.

As an aside, one might wonder why atheistic Marxists use spiritual warfare. First, Satan is their real boss, whether they know it or not. Second, history shows that totalitarian regimes and revolutionary movements typically contain people who engage in occult practices, irrespective of their professed political beliefs. For example, Marxist community organizer Saul Alinsky’s book Rules for Radicals, is dedicated to the devil. And Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, was heavily influenced by Marxism, was a Socialist, and practiced occult rituals.

It is necessary to explore the topic of God’s judgment on us in some detail. Whenever some well-known Christian links a particular trouble or disaster to a particular sin, such as Sodomism,¹ there is an instant outcry that is correct, but for largely the wrong reason: none of us want to be held accountable for our sins. The Lord Jesus was told that Pilate had mixed the blood of some Galileans with their sacrifices. “And he answered them, ‘Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem?’” (Luke 13:2–4 ESV). Also, if we learn no other lesson from the book of Job, people who suffer do not necessarily suffer because of their sin. But some do; when the Lord Jesus had healed a man, “afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, ‘See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you’” (John 5:14 ESV). We must conclude that we cannot reliably and absolutely particular link sins and adverse events.

At the same time, God said, “I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the Lord, who does all these things” (Isaiah 45:7 ESV). Sometimes God sends adversity to punish people for their sins, to get their attention so they will repent, or both. For example, in the history of Israel, God said, “‘I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and lack of bread in all your places, yet you did not return to me,’ declares the Lord. ‘I struck you with blight and mildew; your many gardens and your vineyards, your fig trees and your olive trees the locust devoured; yet you did not return to me,’ declares the Lord” (Amos 4:6, 9 ESV). God also promised, “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14 ESV). Thus from ancient times, serious Christians, when faced with adverse events, have examined themselves to see if God is trying to get their attention. This has often been true of families, churches, and bodies politic as well; in these cases, believers must first seek to find and repent of their own sins.

Marxists, like their master the devil, they can only tempt. They cannot force any of us to sin or prevent us from repenting of sin, no matter how hard the temptation. We Americans are guilty very many sins such as Sodomism, gossip, abortion, desecrating the Lord’s Day (Sunday), sex outside of marriage, use of pornography, transgenderism, neglect of daily Bible study and prayer, the welfare state, failure to tithe and give, atheism, spiritual pride, theft by monetary inflation, being busybodies into other’s affairs, divorce, waste of time, and many, many other sins.

The evidence strongly suggests that the foreign and domestic forces arrayed against America will greatly harm or even destroy us sometime in the not too distant future. Almighty God is punishing us for our sins, thus urging us to repent. We can pray that God will deliver us from Marxists and other evildoers, but why should He heed us when the Marxists are merely one of the rods in His hand with which He strikes us? Furthermore, of what use is it if Americans defeat the Marxists and prosper on earth, only to perish in the eternal flames of Hell? To find out how to avoid Hell and be assured of Heaven, see https://beforgiven.info/tract.htm.

America’s battle against the Marxists is largely a spiritual battle. If America repents, God may be pleased to hear our prayers for earthly deliverance and flatten the Marxists like a stomped insect. But right now God is, as it were, against us on the other side.

In the first article, the underlying philosophy of Marxism, Dialectical Materialism was briefly summarized. Just as it is not necessary to know the technical details of how to cast an astrological horoscope to debunk astrology, so it is not necessary to have an in-depth understanding of Dialectical Materialism; it is enough, but very important to know the basics. Hence, this article will focus on debunking Dialectical Materialism and show some of the evil effects of adopting this Marxist world view.

In brief, Materialism means that there exists only matter in motion; the supernatural does not exist. Marx considered Darwinism essential to his philosophy. Thus, a strong trust that God was able to tell a straight story in the first two chapters of Genesis about what He did during His Creation work is a strong antidote against Marxism. “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20 ESV), even those who believe in Materialism.

The Marxist Dialectic is similar to the three-valued system (wrongly) attributed to Hegel: thesis + antithesis → synthesis, but Marxists teach that the material universe actively and dialectically pushes history forward to Communism and the Communist New Man who, free of Capitalism, will be morally perfect, selflessly caring for others. Marx effectively personified history, seeing it as the force that drives Communist dialectical “progress.” Thus, Marxism is a form of pantheism or monism. Since Dialectical Materialism has no basis either in logic or valid science, it must be taken on blind faith by its adherents; the dense, impenetrable philosophical arguments that “support” it are mere smokescreen. A problem immediately arises when one tries to identify “real-life” theses, antitheses, or syntheses. One cannot just plug a meter into life’s affairs and get a readout. Thus there are no rules or natural laws whatsoever by which one may objectively, reproducibly, and verifiably select or determine a proper thesis. The same problem attends the selection of the antithesis and consequent synthesis.

At a practical level, Marxists will use traditional boolean or Aristotelian logic to lend an air of authority to their propaganda. But Marxism is so divergent from reality, that Marxists have to frequently use their Dialectic to move their arguments forward. They thus choose that thesis, antithesis and synthesis that make their lies look true to the unwary. By the same means, they decide what actions to take and what they choose to believe. Thus, for a Marxist, “truth” is any idea that supports Marxism and everything else is a “lie.” And everybody must assent to those actions and beliefs. Or else. Thus, “information” derived from the Dialectic is in reality nothing more than lies.

“God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?” (Numbers 23:19 ESV). God is truth itself. A craftsman’s work tells much about what kind of person he is. God not only cannot lie, but made His universe to function according to mathematical laws. Mathematical physicists and others have been amazed at how the universe is describable by mathematics, often very simple mathematics. In modern mathematical theory, boolean algebra and set theory undergird the foundations of mathematics. Boolean algebra could be called “computer algebra” as it uses binary numbers. It is named for George Boole, whose 1854 book, The Laws of Thought, was seminal. Now, note that here computer algebra was called the laws of thought for humans back in an age when the most advanced use of electricity was the telegraph and its spin-offs. So God’s creation is intrinsically mathematical and logical by His own intentional design. Computers are strictly logical, and humans routinely think logically without even being aware of it. Classically, this kind of logic has been called Aristotelian logic. Even highly irrational people are still logical to a great degree: “Spiders are horribly dangerous. There is a spider in this room. I am in danger. I will not be in danger in another room. Therefore, I will flee this room.” Logic is not limited to rocket scientists, but is innate even in small children: “Milk tastes good and cures hunger. Mommy has milk and is nice and warm and comforting. Therefore I will cry to get mommy to come and feed me.”

So, yes, babies are, at a very primitive level, mathematicians; they use boolean algebra because that is how God created us. It is also how the universe works. If we lie to ourselves and refuse to think according to and obey the logic of the world that God made, we can be harmed or even die, as many a badly impaired drunk has found. Put another way, only God’s logic works. Marx’s made up dialectical logic does not. There is no way to build an airplane or skyscraper or Marxist utopia dialectically. A simple belief in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, One God blessed forever, and reflection on the orderliness of His created universe thoroughly devastates the philosophy of Dialectical Materialism.

And, Dialectical Materialism devastates whole societies. Perhaps worst of all, whole societies become liars. One must lie, or contrive to be silent. Or else. One Soviet prison camp inmate said:

The main difference between the Soviet camps and detention camps in the rest of the world is not their huge, unimaginable size or the murderous conditions found there, but something else altogether. It’s the need to tell an endless series of lies to save your own life, to lie every day, to wear a mask for years and never say what you really think. In Soviet Russia, free citizens have to do the same thing. Dissembling and lies become the only means of defense. Public meetings, business meetings, encounters on the street, conversations, even posters on the wall all get wrapped up in an official language that doesn’t contain a single word of truth. People in the West can’t possibly understand what it is really like to lose the right to say what you think for years on end, and the way you have to repress the tiniest “illegal” thought you might have and stay silent as the tomb. That sort of pressure breaks something inside people.²

That which breaks inside of people is, most of all, the conscience and personal integrity. We are seeing this happen to us here in America. Many people are forced to sit through indoctrination sessions in which blatant Marxist falsehoods such as “woke” ideology, the supposed evil of “whiteness,” or false medical information are jackhammered down their throats. If they dare speak against the lies, they may lose their jobs, ranks, or professional licenses. Blatant censorship and financial sanctions are also being used against Conservative and Christian speakers, authors, and organizations.

Indeed. intense pressure is being applied against all of us to go along with these falsehoods. In other words, intense pressure is being applied against all of us to become habitual liars with horrible spiritual and eternal consequences. “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death” (Revelation 21:8 ESV). If you are a liar, “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44 ESV). You also effectively deny the Lord Jesus Christ, for God is true and faithful (Revelation 19:11). “And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God” (Luke 12:8–9 ESV). In light of Scripture, adverse consequences—consequences that are merely earthly—of standing for the truth do not seem so bad after all, do they?

The previous article thoroughly refuted Dialectical Materialism, the philosophy underlying Marxism and showed that Marxist societies are basically societies of liars, with all of the consequent devastation. But because Marxists are sneaky liars, they spew out many ideas and false “facts” that are not easily traced back to their Marxist origins, but appear to be well supported by science and scholarship. This article provides ammunition against falsehoods whether from Marxists or otherwise.

Before proceeding, a small excursus is in order. It has been said that the Church is an anvil that has worn out many hammers. The Bible does not mention America. God has destroyed many cities and nations due to gross sin. He has also redeemed many cities and nations due to His infinite mercy. Perhaps Ronald Reagan, a believer in Christ, was taking a lesson from King Jesus when he announced his strategy to win the Cold War: “We win. They Lose.” That is our strategy because it is the strategy of King Jesus. Whatever happens to America, because Christ the King reigns and has all power and authority, the Church can say in the long haul: “We win. They lose.”

“For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20 ESV). The Apostle Paul does not here engage in scholastic debate with unbelievers. He boldly and baldly states the truth that Almighty God exists and has made Himself known to everybody, however much they may pretend otherwise. This writer will do likewise, dispensing with the all too common pretended academic neutrality. “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16 ESV). “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?” (Numbers 23:19 ESV). This being the case, we are not only free to boldly and baldly argue straight from the Holy Bible, but must.

This kind of thinking led to one of the great sola’s of the Reformation, Sola Scriptura: the Scriptures alone are the only infallible rule for faith and life. And, this sola is an overwhelming weapon against many falsehoods. As the Scriptures attest, false teachings plagued Christianity from the very start. Many of these false ideas clearly directly contradicted Scripture and thus could be quickly dismissed. But over fourteen centuries, especially in the Middle Ages, bad exegesis and heathen ideas entered theology and became official teachings of the Church of Rome. Scholars had built these ideas one on another like bricks in a wall, and so wandered further and further from the truth. To refute the false teachings by scholarly debate would not only have been a Herculean task, but useless to the common people who had been taught from infancy to believe in purgatory, pray to Mary and the saints, seek indulgences, work for their salvation, never know whether or not they were saved from Hell, and so on.

“See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ” (Colossians 2:8 ESV). Because our Lord Jesus closely links our relationship with Him to our relationship to His Word (John 12:48, 14:24, 15:7), that which is not according to Scripture is not according to Christ. A comment about “elemental spirits” is in order. Spirits is not in the Greek. Other translations insert principles, forces, or another word the translators believed to be implied. The word translated elemental (στοιχεῖα, root στοιχεῖον, “stoy-khi´-on”³) may refer to the ABC’s, the four classical elements (air, earth, fire, water), the musical notes, the mythical spirits thought to underlie the universe, and so on. Thus instead of elemental, some translators render basic or elements. In other words, the reference is to anything that is basic or foundational. Therefore, we may make application and be warned against not only philosophy, empty deceit, and human tradition, but also against the foundational or elementary presuppositions and assumptions that underlie a system of philosophical thought or world view.

During the Reformation, one of the fundamental assumptions that supported—and still support—the Roman Catholic falsehoods was that the clergy, and especially the Pope authoritatively said what the Holy Scriptures “really” meant, setting themselves above the Word of God. On the other hand, the Reformers correctly taught that Scripture alone must interpret Scripture and all other teachings are thus subordinate to Scripture. Thus, that which is not in Scripture is not morally binding. The same principle applies not only to Dialectical Materialism, but all human teachings from whatever source. Therefore:

Now, this is almost insultingly elementary and obvious to a regenerate heart, but when we live in a society of many habitual liars, it is important to keep reminding ourselves of these things. Indeed, this seems to be increasingly needed in many Evangelical churches for many have adopted Marxist errors.

Regarding “according to the wisdom God gave us”: “The simple believes everything, but the prudent gives thought to his steps” (Proverbs 14:15 ESV). “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise” (Ephesians 5:15 ESV). Consuming information (such as reading or television) is by default a passive activity. But as these verses teach us, it should not be passive, especially now; mainstream media is characterized by liars lying about liars. Not heeding these Scriptures may have temporal and eternal consequences. “The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it” (Proverbs 22:3 & 27:12 ESV).

“Racism” is a topic that seems to dominate our society today. This is due to Marxist agitation and propaganda that is designed not to heal, but to divide. Consistent with the history of Marxism, it is a form of class warfare, and is used to create problems that the Marxists can pretend to solve so they can take power over people. This article addresses three Marxist falsehoods about racism: The “problem” of whiteness, false accusations of individual racism, and the myth of “systematic” racism.

First, we address the “problem” of whiteness. Marxists are not concerned with skin color here. Rather, Marxists hate all of Western civilization, especially Christian influences on Western civilization. These atheists hate God and His moral standards. America was built by people from all over the world, but the majority have been white Europeans. One for the reasons for the white majority is that many of the early Pilgrims, Puritans, and others were deeply serious and godly Christians who came here fleeing persecution due of their biblical beliefs. As a result, our society, constitutions, laws, morals, and traditions still reflect that Christian heritage to a great degree in spite of our increasing apostasy and rebellion against God. Many Americans of all colors still believe in individual responsibility, diligent schoolwork, strong traditional families, obedience to authority, hard work, saving for the future, free market economics, courtesy and charity, law and order, productive use of free time, sobriety, and so on. They may not always know from whence these values came, but they practice them out of tradition and because they have obvious benefits and generally strengthen societies. These values are the “whiteness” that Marxists detest. These values are also labeled “whiteness” (not by this author, but Marxists!)—and it pains this author to have to say this—because conspicuously, there are those in many minority communities who do not practice them and crime in these communities is way above average. Unfortunately of course, these values are in serious decline among Americans of all colors.

In sum, the problem of “whiteness” is a problem with God’s Holy Word printed on white paper. The discussion above also shows why Marxists claim that America is “systematically” racist: America is systematically influenced by Christianity. If America were, in fact, systematically racist, our laws would discriminate against minorities. But the reverse is true: our laws protect (and sometimes unfairly favor) minorities. (This by no means denies that there are racist individuals!)

Accusations of racism are thrown out with abandon. But even when there is actual unfair discrimination, the cause is usually prejudice. Even many who should know better confound racism and prejudice at times. Let us begin with prejudice. Prejudice is part of how God made us, and for good reasons. Prejudice enables us to assume certain things are true without having to first investigate the matter in detail first-hand for ourselves. For example, you move to a new town and when you went shopping at one store, their produce kept for a week and was free from rotten surprises. When you went shopping the next time at a different store, the produce did not keep and you had to throw away a fair amount. Where will you shop the third time? But you could be wrong; perhaps you got produce at the first store the day after they received it, and the second store a week after they got it from an overheated warehouse. This is prejudice in action; it often saves us work, though sometimes it misleads us. When we flip a light switch, we are prejudiced that the light will come on and don’t first inspect the wiring. Usually we are right, but sometimes the bulb is burned out or there is no mains power.

Prejudice becomes even more useful when, based on known average group characteristics, we select a member of that group and so increase our chances of being satisfied. Thus, we select particular varieties of apples or potatoes, or different brands at the store, or a particular breed of puppy. But of course, the puppy you choose may be very different from the average characteristics of that breed as it grows up. So prejudice has its uses, but also its limitations. Importantly, prejudice is always open to correction by new information; otherwise it is not mere prejudice. This writer has gone to some length on this matter for four reasons:

Now let us consider racism. It is a fairly new word that is absent from Webster’s 1913 edition and from the huge multi-volume unabridged 1976 Oxford English Dictionary. The 1967 Random House Unabridged dictionary defines racism as:

1. a belief that human races have distinctive characteristics that determine their respective cultures, usually involving the idea that one’s own race is superior and has the right to rule others. 2. a policy of enforcing such asserted right. 3. a system of government and society based upon it.

In great contrast to prejudice, we see that racism is a settled belief resistant to correction. Motives will vary, but the sins of pride, uncharitableness, greed, or oppression will likely be involved.

Let us go to the Holy Bible: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27 ESV). “And he made from one man [twice: Adam, Noah] every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place” (Acts 17:26 ESV). Let us therefore define racism as sinful partiality in which one regards another race as having less of God’s image or less of the intrinsic value and dignity that comes from being made in God’s image than his own. By this definition, nothing is wrong with recognizing average group characteristics of a particular race for a legitimate purpose. We also recognize, that in contrast to prejudice, racism is always sinful partiality.

Scripture has much to say about the sin of partiality. For examples: “For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, ‘You sit here in a good place,’ while you say to the poor man, ‘You stand over there,’ or, ‘Sit down at my feet,’ have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?” (James 2:2–4 ESV). “You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 19:34 ESV). It is sin to regard another person as having less of God’s image or less of the intrinsic value and dignity that comes from being made in God’s image than one’s self. The reason—ugly, fat, unintelligent, boring in conversation, and so on—is not relevant.

The previous article dealt with Marxist’s use and abuse of the concept of racism. This article will continue the topic, but first will deal with some underlying Marxist lies. From earlier articles, the reader will recall that the underlying philosophy of Marxism is Dialectical Materialism. Materialism teaches that there is no supernatural, only matter in motion. A corollary is that humans are devoid of free will, being mechanically determined by their genetics and environment. Thus Darwinism is vitally important to Marxist theory and Marxism is inherently racist. This also means that if people are bad, it is because of their bad environment or personal circumstances. Related to this is the idea that people can be educated out of badness, Capitalism, or other “incorrect” ideas. Unfortunately too many Conservatives and Christians have fallen into the same salvation-by-education trap. Only the Holy Spirit can regenerate or truly change hearts.

Marxists, always seeking chances to take advantage of people’s troubles, attempt to convince members of minority groups that they are victims of racism, and that they are thus not responsible for any failures, bad behavior, or sin in their lives. This is also perfectly in line with Marxist Materialism as discussed above. They try to convince people that their life circumstances or environment makes them the way they are. Marxists thus, often subtly, also try to convince them that they are therefore entitled to monetary compensation at taxpayer’s expense, to riot freely, to destroy property, to flout the law, and so on. Now many people, especially those in certain minority groups, most certainly have experienced unfair prejudice and outright racism to a huge degree with major impact on their lives. Such people are quite justly characterized as victims of evil. But is this evil the cause of all their troubles? Or does it justify sinful or self-destructive behavior on their part? “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire” (James 1:13–14 ESV). “Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all” (Romans 12:17 ESV). It is not a person’s outward circumstances, environment, or the actions of others that cause him to sin, but the desires of his own sinful heart. “See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:15–18 ESV). The first thing we see from these verses is that no matter what others may do to us and no matter what are our circumstances in life, there is never an excuse to sin. Thus, when Marxists entice people to use their life circumstances as excuses to sin, this is part of the overall Marxist plan to demoralize America. Worse, hypocritical Marxists, in the name of fighting racism, unfairly attempt to demoralize particular racial groups and lead them into more sin and more trouble in their lives! The second article in this series pointed out that sin has both “natural” temporal consequences and eternal consequences. “Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults” (Psalm 19:12 ESV). This verse not only teaches us the difficulty we have in finding sin that is deeply hidden in our hearts, but it also equates sin and error. Now, consider how our mistakes (errors) hurt us in small and big ways. A missed turn on the road costs time and gas. An arithmetic error can result in a chain of expensive bank fees. A driving error can be extremely costly and even deadly. And here, vile Marxists, to promote their own evil ends, try to lead especially struggling people into worse trouble in their lives! Thus also, those who accuse others of “acting white” aid and abet the Marxists.

“And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. … and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done” (Revelation 20:12–13 ESV). Notice here that the judgment is not according to what others have done, or what any group had done, but what each individual had personally done. Thus each person must exercise individual responsibility for his or her own life. Sure, others can help us in this life, but we will each of us, alone and individually, stand before Almighty God on the last day and give account for our lives, down to the last detail, even our words and thoughts. The Lord Jesus said, “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak” (Matthew 12:36 ESV).

A certain man testified: “I knows what it is like, just because of how I was born, to be on the outside, poor, under or unemployed, disrespected, and to find life hard. Yet, I must freely acknowledge that my own sin made things worse than they might have otherwise been. But after repenting and trusting in my Lord Jesus Christ, I obtained eternal life and look forward to eternity with Christ in Heaven instead of Hell. Not only that, but in spite of myself and in spite being a slow spiritual learner, by the grace of God alone, my life circumstances have much improved over the years. Not only I, but Almighty God Himself invites all to the eternal life and blessings that are in Jesus Christ.” “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 ESV). For more information, please visit beforgiven.INFO/tract.htm.

Marxists beware! The Lord Jesus said, “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes!” (Matthew 18:5–7 ESV).

We now move away from the topic of racism but continue the theme of individual responsibility. Previous articles in this series have mentioned the fact that Marxists believe that personified history will cause the moral perfection of humans and the Communist New Man will appear. It remains therefore to address the idea of human perfectibility. It is this idea that motivates many Marxists; they think they are actually working for a better world even as they lie and murder.

Consider a scenario: Some scientist claims he has found a way to make a thimble-sized magnet that will pick up a hundred-ton steel I-beam. You go to his demonstration and the scientist puts the magnet on the I-beam. It does not even stick to the I-beam, but just slides off and falls to the ground. The scientist gives some excuse about “back to the drawing board” and leaves. You attend such demonstrations year after year with the same results. That schmuck of a scientist cannot even make a magnet that will stick itself to the steel, much less lift a hundred tons! What would you think about his eventual chances of success? Marxists have had over a century to even partially produce the Communist New Man. They have only produced millions of dead men, women, and children.

Even the Apostle Paul complained: “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out” (Romans 7:15–18 ESV). Perfected humans are only found in Heaven (1 Corinthians 15:49; Hebrews 12:23). And no human ever reaches Heaven unless he individually repents of his sin and trusts in Jesus Christ. Note: Good works by themselves lead only to Hell, but the kind of trust (faith) in Christ that leads to Heaven also produces good works. Now, study and training can give us new knowledge and skills, and we can often avoid sin by avoiding places and things that would tempt us to sin. But no matter what our individual circumstances or environment, we will never stop sinning in this life. We can only put sin to death more and more as we grow in grace and holiness by the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit. Therefore:

Socialism is one of those bad ideas that have appeared multiple times in human history; Marxists have been merely one of the nastiest proponents. The record of the wreckage of Socialist societies that have not learned to pull back out of it soon enough is voluminous and such wreckage is very visible today. The Schwarz Report site has much useful information in it and details some of the wreckage in https://www.schwarzreport.org/uploads/schwarz-report-pdf/schwarz-report-2018-4.pdf. Sadly, most Christian literature seems to consist merely of refuting the idea that the Bible teaches Socialism. But Socialism is actually completely against God’s Word. In addition, Socialism is not the only totalitarian ideology out there; the “Divine Right of Kings” is an example.

Thus, this article will give a brief overview of some of what the Holy Bible teaches about civil government, then address Socialism in particular. To begin with, Scripture does not endorse any particular system or form of civil government; from the Patriarchs to the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD, Israel had several governmental systems. Instead, God has told us the purpose of civil governments and what they must accomplish. Readers wanting more information may find it in Jesus Christ: Rock of Human Rights and Freedom, by Jeremiah Bezalel. This book discusses human rights from a biblical perspective, and also covers civil government in depth because governments are by far the most prolific and egregious violators of human rights. Its teaching on the doctrine of the Mediatorial Kingdom of Jesus Christ guides this article and is vital, but there is not space to adequately summarize it here.

The Holy Bible is loaded with God’s commands on how we must treat other people. Some of these tell us what not to do to others, such as “You shall not steal.” Notice the period. No exceptions are given, even to any authority or government. This logic is the basis of all true human rights; statements on true human rights are statements from the victim’s perspective concerning God’s commands about how we must treat others. Thus for example, “You shall not steal.” establishes a human right to private property that must be respected even by authority. “But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people's matters” (1 Peter 4:15 NKJV). Being a busybody is a serious sin, as shown by its being in company with other serious crimes. As Bezalel points out (pp. 50-2), this teaching reinforces and summarizes human rights: “There is a general human right to be left in peace without undue outside interference. … Further, given its scope, this is the major human right” (p 52). There is no exception granted to any authority, including civil government.

There is a general human right to be left in peace without undue outside interference.

The question then naturally naturally arises: do not fathers have the right to discipline their children and do not civil authorities have the right to arrest and punish criminals?

Wife-beating strikes even unsavory people as intuitively despicable. But the Bible does not explicitly forbid it. Indeed, the Bible gives some authorities not only the right, but sometimes the command to corporeally punish those under them. So why must husbands not beat their wives; the Bible does give husbands authority over their wives? First, “And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me’” (Matthew 28:18 ESV). Note the first word the Lord Jesus spoke: All. There are no exceptions. But Christ has been pleased to use men instead of angels to do much of His work on earth. As part of that work, He has explicitly delegated some of His authority to certain people to exercise authority over others using Christ’s methods, and Christ’s standards as He has revealed them in the Holy Bible. For example, God put parents in authority over children so they can care for them and train them up in the Lord: “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise” (Deuteronomy 6:6–7 ESV). And when children disobey: “Do not withhold correction from a child, For if you beat him with a rod, he will not die. You shall beat him with a rod, And deliver his soul from hell” (Proverbs 23:13–14 NKJV). But husbands will sooner find the Loch Ness monster than biblical authority for wife-beating. This is an example of how human authorities have only delegated authority from God and are required to use it in complete compliance with Scripture.

Romans 13:1-7 and 1 Peter 2:13–14 famously instruct citizens in civil obedience. But they also instruct civil authorities, as seen in the excerpts below: “… There is no authority except from God, and … rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. … Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. … For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. …” (Romans 13:1–7 ESV). And, authorities are, “… sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good” (1 Peter 2:13–14 ESV).

The job description of every civil official and governmental body is to punish evildoers and praise the righteous. And it is only the Holy Bible that defines good and evil; clearly many American civil officials are badly falling down on the job. We see elsewhere in Scripture that punishing external evildoers is a valid cause of just war, a job of civil officials. Biblically, in civil justice, distinguishing between good and bad deeds is as intrinsic to tort cases as in criminal cases. The Holy Bible is loaded with commands pertaining to justice and just war. As illustrated by the wife-beating example, apart from God’s explicit authorization, civil authorities are required to honor all human rights, just the same and just as much as private individuals. Note also that taxes are to be collected for very limited reasons.

It is important to understand that Socialism depends on force and threat of punishment by civil government. People are free to voluntarily relinquish rights to various groups in order to participate in them, such as churches, employers, and clubs, and to pool some of their resources with others for various good purposes. But nowhere in the Holy Bible will one find authority given by God to civil government to violate human rights by any of these examples, many of which are inherent to Socialism:

All forms of Socialism and other tyranny are utterly devoid of any delegated authority from Christ.

Finally, in summary, apart from the Holy Bible, there is no solid defense against against any form of tyranny, including Socialism. And, those who use the Holy Bible as a defense against tyranny do so in vain if their own lives do not exhibit obedience to God’s Holy Word. America will serve Jesus Christ or tyrants. There is not another option.

The previous article refuted Socialism from the Holy Bible, showed the biblical basis for human rights, and considered to what degree people, particularly civil governments, are allowed obtrude into other people’s lives without their consent. This article considers biblical responses by citizens whose civil rights are violated by government tyranny, a rapidly increasing concern. The issue becomes particularly acute when Christians are confronted by laws or official demands that violate God’s Law. “But Peter and the apostles answered, ‘We must obey God rather than men’” (Acts 5:29 ESV).

During the November 2020 election, massive fraud occurred, almost entirely in favor of Democrats. Furthermore, as documented in Electing Commies, Part 1, Page 6 and Part 2, Page 3, Communists have been lawfully elected to public offices across the country, largely by bribing voters with promises of taxpayer’s money. This shows how local and state offices often have a greater impact on citizens than national offices. As a result, city councils have “defunded” their police, effectively made shoplifting legal, and prosecutors have targeted those who have stood against rioters and looters, while letting those criminals go free. This has been a hard lesson to voters to be more responsible. The result has been a great increase in blatantly immoral and unconstitutional tyranny against citizens.

Constitutions can be an important defense against tyranny. But is this defense morally justified? As always we must go to the Holy Bible for answers. Joshua chapter 9 tells the story of how the people of the city of Gibeon in the Promised Land rightly feared destruction by the Israelites. So they pulled a sneaky trick and approached Joshua and the men of Israel, pretending to have come from outside of the boundaries of the Promised Land. On this basis they enticed the Israelites to make a covenant of peace, a civil compact with them, to let them live. When the Gibeonites were caught out in their lie, Joshua and the leaders protected them because of the oath they had sworn to the Gibeonites, but did punish them by making them drawers of water and wood cutters. Centuries later, King Saul murdered some of the Gibeonites, though the event itself is not recorded. Many years after that, during the reign of King David, there was a famine in Israel, as related in 2 Samuel 21:1–14. In the famine’s third year, David inquired of the Lord and was told that it was on account of the murder of the Gibeonites. Thus, David sought reconciliation and justice for Gibeonites. The Gibeonites demanded the lives of seven of Saul’s sons whom they hanged. (It may reasonably be suspected that the hanged were at least complicit in the murders (Deuteronomy 24:16).)

God’s timing of these events is mysterious, but His valuation of the sanctity of oaths and civil compacts is clear. When we consider how God forcefully upheld the treaty with the Gibeonites in spite of its very flawed origin, we may in good conscience uphold the validity our present constitutions, warts and all, the worst of which is not explicitly submitting the USA to Jesus Christ in our Federal Constitution. Further, Article 6 of the US Constitution says, “The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this constitution.” All members of the US military, both enlisted and officers, must also swear or affirm that they will support the US Constitution as well. Almost all of these oaths end, “So help me God.” While oaths are made in the presence of people, they are to God; it is a serious matter to violate an oath!⁵

Both the Apostles Paul and Peter commanded civil submission to public officials (Romans 13:1–7, 1 Peter 2:13–17), without mentioning laws or constitutions; this reflected the then prevailing culture. But Paul also defended himself from official tyranny using Roman law on multiple occasions (Acts 16:37; 22:25; 25:10).

The Founding Fathers who gave us our Constitution did not believe in either evolution or modern theories of literary criticism. They intended that constitutions, federal and state, be interpreted strictly according to authorial intent. What the authors of our constitutions originally meant to say is the law of the land, not some judge’s fantasy. Thus, citizens are free, before God, to read, interpret and understand constitutions for themselves. Further, it is universally recognized that an unconstitutional law or official edict is not binding on anyone. The result is that our constitutions are treasures given to Americans by God in His gracious providence, for which we should be thankful.⁶

The ninth and tenth amendments to the US Constitution are also important defenses against tyranny: “[Ninth] The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. [Tenth] The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

Americans are rapidly being subjected to increasing levels of tyranny. But thanks be to God, there are solid biblical defenses against much of this tyranny. But first, some cautions: First, civil disobedience must not involve failure to remain subject to and respectful of officials. Second, one must weigh the cost of obeying an unlawful edict against the cost of possible or actual punishment.⁷ Third, we must recognize that, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9 ESV), and it is often difficult to be objective about our own concerns. Counsel from pastors, elders, attorneys, and others is usually vital. Fourth, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV).

In light of the discussion so far, it seems helpful to list some biblical defenses against tyranny:

1This coined word is designed to separate practitioners and supporters of homosexuality from those who manfully struggle against such temptations. This struggle, by God’s help, is required of all, whatever their particular temptations.

2The Black Book of Communism: Crimes, Terror, Repression, by Stephane Courtois, Nicolas Werth, Jean-Louis Panne, Andrzej Paczkowski, Karel Bartosek, and Jean-Louis Margolin, was first published in French in 1997 and published in English by the Harvard University Press in 1999, ISBN 0-674-07608-7 or 978-0-674-07608-2, p 218,

4This coined word is designed to separate practitioners and supporters of homosexuality from those who manfully struggle against such temptations. This struggle, by God’s help, is required of all, whatever their particular temptations.

5The affirmation option was not intended to allow for atheism or false religions, but because some objected to making oaths on the basis of, “But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your ‘yes’ be yes and your ‘no’ be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation” (James 5:12 ESV). On the other hand, Scripture even commands some oaths (Deuteronomy 6:13), so it is generally agreed that Scripture does not forbid all oaths, but flippant or careless oaths, less one “fall under condemnation.” James 5:12 also implies that a solemn affirmation has the same force as an oath.

6It is for this reason that in the present degraded and perverse political climate, attempts to call a constitutional convention to insert a balanced budget amendment are wildly dangerous; a constitutional convention would not actually be limited to balanced amendments, but free to propose any idiocy they please.

7 This should cause us to carefully consider how much of one’s affairs we make known and to whom; all too much information is kept for decades, and times and laws change. People have lost jobs due to innocent remarks deemed “racist” many years later.