Cultural Survival Skills

Is such a tragic day coming on this beloved country? Not if we and millions of other patriots can prevent it! 

Several weeks ago, I watched a pastor on television who spoke of these concerns. He is my friend, Dr. Jack Graham, senior minister at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas. I was so moved by his words that I asked for permission to share them with the constituents of the James Dobson Family Institute. Dr. Graham granted my request, and below is a partial transcript of his sermon, delivered to his worldwide audience in late June. 

Let’s define our terms. Socialism is a political and economic system in which there is government ownership of the means of production and the primary focus of providing equality. Socialism favors large government and governmental control of social services and much more. In socialism, the government is all important and is involved in every aspect of the lives of those whom it rules. 

Contrast this with capitalism. Ours is an economic system in which there is private ownership, private property, and private possession of goods. In capitalism, there is a limited role for the presence and force of government in individual lives. Economically and philosophically, capitalism and socialism are two forms of government between which we need to differentiate. 

Americans have historically favored capitalism and the freedom it provides. Surprisingly, however, a shift appears to be occurring in public opinion, especially among the young. 

A recent USA Today report said that 4 in 10 Americans embrace some form of socialism. A recent poll of millennials found that a majority, 58 percent, would rather live in a socialist nation than a capitalist nation. Some young people perceive capitalism and corporate America as being greedy and without compassion or concern for others. Yes, there is greed in this country, but there is greed whether it is in a socialistic system or a capitalistic system. It is in the heart of every human being.

What accounts for the changing attitudes among the young? Those under 30 years of age have not seen the devastating effects of Soviet-style repressive governments under socialism. It is the big bad brother, communism. We’re past the Cold War now, and a generation has arisen that either hasn’t been taught history, doesn’t read or understand it, or doesn’t care. They are listening to their liberal teachers, professors and politicians; and what they have been told sounds good. It appears compassionate and loving. But is it? I can say emphatically that it is not!

Socialism is fundamentally at odds with the Christian worldview because it seeks to suppress all people according to the dictates of the state. No one serious about their Christian faith can accept socialism, and here’s why. Socialism is totally secular and is predicated on atheism. That is a fact. Our faith in Jesus Christ is built on the Word of God, the revelation of Scripture, and the belief that God exists. We believe in the coming resurrection of Christ, and with that faith comes freedom to live an abundant life that is founded on liberty.

Contrast that with Karl Marx, the father of socialism. He considered religion of all types, specifically Christianity, to be what he called “an opiate of the people.” In other words, belief in God is a drug to be used to pacify the public. Marx was the originator of the horribly repressive Soviet style of government. He was also greatly influenced by Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. It purports to explain the existence of life on earth. Human beings, he said, are nothing more than advanced animals. If that is true, any one of us can be disposed of at the whim of the state.

But the Bible says in Genesis 1: 27-28, “So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, ‘Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it.'” 

The Creator later went on to tell Adam and Eve in Genesis, chapter 2, that they were to possess the land, the garden that was given to them and to till the soil. The first man, Adam, was a farmer, and he was given property to possess and property in which to produce goods. And that became foundational to the Judeo-Christian ethic. It is evident throughout the Old and New Testaments. 

But the philosophical views of socialists such as Marx and his disciples assert that God does not exist. In fact, they believe the idea of God is harmful and must be forcefully removed from society when necessary. Atheism is at the very core of this political and economic system.
We are told by socialists today, “Well, hostility to faith is a thing of the past. That was old style socialism and communism. Today’s socialists are no longer trying to destroy religion. It has changed since the days of Karl Marx.” 

That is their argument, but it is hollow. Socialist countries today still oppress and threaten people of faith, all faiths. Their leaders are determined to root out Christianity. This is why churches in China are detonated and Christians continue to be persecuted. China looked a little better for a while, but now it’s going backwards. That is also true in North Korea. It’s why the luggage of Western visitors is inspected for Bibles. It is why there is persecution, discrimination, and repression in socialist and communist countries. Pastors in Cuba and other Latin American countries are still persecuted. Likewise, evangelism in Soviet Russia is very limited today. This is still occurring under socialist dictatorships. 

Despite this opposition to Christianity, support for socialism is spreading alarmingly in America. For example, their proponents are campaigning against Christian appointees to our federal judiciary, such as what occurred in the hearings to confirm Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Why? Because socialists are radically opposed to any outspoken Christian being placed in an influential position. Leftists make their views clear. They say, “If you’re going to profess your faith openly, we’re going to oppose your candidacy.” 

These are but a few of the examples that I could give you. Can you name one socialist country—communist or otherwise—that is open to religious liberty? There is none. Opposition to God is at the very root of this system called socialism. It is agnostic, atheistic, and aggressive to believers in Jesus Christ.

Socialists also undermine the dignity of human life. We noted in Scripture that God created us in His own image. That image has been shattered by sin but restored by Christ. Believers in Him have been made holy by His death on the cross. We are not animals. We are God’s creation, and He provided for us a remedy for sin and depravity.

He has also given us liberty and the autonomy of life. As the Declaration of Independence states, freedom and liberty are gifts from God, not privileges granted to some by government. In socialism, the objective of government is to hold unrivaled power and control. The common people are just a part of the machine. Elites at the pinnacle of government live in palaces, while those who labor to earn a living get the dregs.

Just look at the example of modern Venezuela. It was a beautiful and magnificent country just a few years ago. It had one of the largest reserves of oil in the world. But under the hobnailed boot of socialist government, the Venezuelan people have been deprived, murdered, and allowed to starve. That is what happens when ordinary people are seen as nothing more than advanced animals. They have no legal protections and no guaranteed liberties. They are expendable and will live or die at the pleasure of the state. 

The 20th century was the bloodiest century in the history of the world, primarily because of socialist dictators. Three million people were slaughtered under Lenin’s dictatorship in Soviet Russia. Twenty-five million died in World War I. Joseph Stalin murdered close to 60 million peasants, along with his opponents during his socialist reign. During the Nazi dictatorship of Adolf Hitler, more than 50 million people died around the world, including 6 million Jews, Gypsies, and Polish people. Forty-five million Chinese people were butchered under Mao Zedong’s communist dictatorship. Many of them were of the Christian faith. This is the record of brutal socialist dictators in the past 100 years.

America has blood on its hands too. More than 60 million babies in the U.S. have been murdered by abortionists. Planned Parenthood and the entire abortion movement were inspired by the racist and socialist Margaret Sanger. She taught that babies were expendable. If helpless babies can be eliminated at will, what does that mean for people of all ages? It cheapens human life. This is where a godless system of government leads—to misery, poverty, disease, and death.

The Bible teaches that every human being is a child of God, and therefore has great value to Him. Not only does socialism devalue human life, but it has been an economic disaster where it has gained hegemony. Compare the prosperity of West Germany during the Cold War to the socialistic deprivations of East Germany—or North Korea compared with South Korea. Socialism has been an economic bust wherever it has been tried. Do we really want to repeat the disastrous mistakes of history? Apparently some do, but America will never recover if our people make that foolish choice.

Congressman Gerald Smith made the following statement, which is now inscribed in the Congressional Record. He said in 1958, “You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give away that which it doesn’t first take from somebody else.” 

When half of the citizens begin to realize that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half begins to understand that it does no good to work because someone else is going to get what they worked for, that, my friend, is the end of free enterprise.

The Scripture has much to tell us about work and its role in the divine plan. Second Thessalonians 3:10 states, “If a man won’t work, neither shall he eat.” Ecclesiastes 2:24 reads, “There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat, and drink, and find enjoyment in his toil. This also I saw is from the hand of God.” Genesis 2:15 tells us what the Creator assigned Adam to do, as follows: “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” 

Now, let me say, the Bible does not endorse any one political system. It does endorse freedom, and private ownership, and the value of work and a free market system that decentralizes economic power. By contrast, socialism suppresses the poor, steals from the rich, legislates theft, and encourages envy. It confiscates what people have sweated to earn and achieve and then distributes it to those who have not earned what they have been given. Socialism focuses on the government and the state. Capitalism elevates the status of mankind. That is what it comes down to.

Isn’t it good to celebrate our freedoms in America? We should reflect on what God has done in our country and thank Him for the foundational principles that have made America a great nation. In all these years, I don’t know that I have preached a message quite like this one today. But I delivered these perspectives on socialism because we must oppose the lie on which it is based. We’re experiencing a life-and-death struggle that will determine not only our future but the welfare of generations to come.

Let me summarize what I have shared with you. Socialism is fundamentally contradictory to the Christian worldview. It seeks to suppress all people, especially Christians, in favor of the state. And the way that it does that is by breaking down the institutions that God has established, particularly marriage and the family. When I see the breakdown of our culture, our society, and especially the family, it truly breaks my heart. There is a spiritual war going on all around us. It is a battle for the heart and soul of our nation. We are fighting for the sanctity of life, the sacredness of biblical marriage, sexual identity, religious freedom, and, yes, economic freedom that gives us the ability to prosper within a nation. Socialism opposes each of these cornerstones.

My prayer is that, as our forebears fought and died to secure the blessings of liberty, we must also rise to the challenge that faces us. Now it is our turn.  

I can’t tell you how passionately I feel about this message delivered from the pulpit of Dr. Jack Graham. It should be read (or heard) by every freedom-loving citizen in this country.

If you are among them, I hope you will remember these exhortations when you continue to hear the mainstream media promoting socialist revolution in the days ahead. I also urge you to support the voices who are warning against those who want to “fundamentally transform” democracy. What is so wrong with our constitutional form of government that it should be thrown on the ash heap of history? What we are facing here is a culture war that is driven by those who hate Christianity and the Church of Jesus Christ. If the far left is successful in capturing the hearts and minds of Americans, the entire world will descend into a spiritual darkness unlike anything that has ever been seen. Please make that a matter of fervent prayer during these next 14 months, and do pass this letter on to your friends and pastors.

I also ask you to please continue to support our ministry, among others, who are trying to defend righteousness in a nation under siege. There is no time to lose.

Sincerely,

This letter may be reproduced without change and in its entirety for non-commercial and non-political purposes without prior permission from Family Talk. Copyright, 2019 Family Talk. All Rights Reserved. International Copyright Secured. Printed in the U.S. Dr. James Dobson’s Family Talk is not affiliated with Focus on the Family.