Socialism requires a powerful, centralized
government to implement its policies. This inevitably leads to a ruling elite, like the old Soviet
politburo, that controls every facet of society, spreads the wealth around, and
enriches itself. Socialism and political power thus go hand in hand.
The Vision of Socialism
In socialism, which is rooted in Marxism, the state
is deified. The God of the Bible is replaced by the god of the state. People no
longer need to look to God for help with life’s problems; they can now look to
the government to solve every problem and
meet every need.
In socialism, the
God of the Bible is viewed as a competitor—an enemy of the state. This is why, during
the 20th century, millions of Christians were imprisoned and put to
death in socialist/communist regimes such as China, Cambodia, Cuba and the
Soviet Union. The
god of socialism is a jealous god and will tolerate no rivals.
Have you noticed that the Democrat party seems to be moving further and
further from any open identification with God and Christianity? Have you also
noticed a corresponding rise of hostility toward Bible-believing Christians? This
always happens as a people move from faith and liberty to agnostic socialism.
The Vision of America’s
Founders
America’s Founders understood something that few in Washington D.C.
understand today. “Liberty flourishes where there is boundless faith and
limited government.” Liberty and governmental power are anathema to one
another. As power is centralized in Washington D.C., there occurs a
corresponding loss of liberty throughout the heartland.
The Founders, their parents, and their grandparents had fled oppressive
governments that sought to control their lives with tyrannical laws and
regulations. They came to America with visions of individual and religious
liberty. They were not looking for help from any government.
They were people of faith. They looked to God as their Source for life
and meaning. Government for them was a
nuisance and a pain. They agreed with Thomas Paine, who in his book, Common
Sense, wrote, “Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil;
in its worst state, an intolerable one.”
They issued the Declaration of Independence, not from a quest for
political power, but from a deep desire to protect the liberties they had
experienced in the New World. This would require a government with limited
power for they knew from their study of both the Bible and human history that
human nature cannot be trusted with power.
Their distrust of power is why they divided the powers of
government into two legislative branches, an executive branch,
and a judicial branch. It is why they implemented checks and balances to keep
absolute power out of the hands of any person or group.
It
is also why they instituted the 2nd Amendment--to give the citizens
the right to defend themselves against a tyrannical, over-reaching government
that might arise in the future. The Founders would agree with the adage of Sir John Dalberg-Acton, “Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
Socialism,
by contrast, loves and needs power. If you want to understand the passion of
the new progressive wing of the Democrat party, this is it. They have visions
of power. They have exchanged the God of the Bible for the god of power, which
they envision being expressed through themselves in a powerful, centralized
government.
The Christian Answer to Socialism
The
ultimate answer to the challenge of atheistic socialism in American today is
not a political one, but a spiritual one. America must return to the vision of
the Founders who saw liberty and faith as being joined together in an
indissoluble bond. They did not believe one to be possible without the other
That is why the First Continental Congress opened with an extended time
of Bible reading and prayer. It is why George Washington insisted on taking the
oath of office with his hand on a Bible. It why he said, “It is impossible to
rightly govern the world without God and the Bible” (Hyatt, Pilgrims andPatriots, 137).
For this same reason John Adams wrote to his cousin, Zabdiel, a minister of the gospel, two
weeks before the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, and said,
Statesmen, my dear sir, may plan and speculate for Liberty, but
it is Religion and Morality alone, which can establish the Principles, upon
which Freedom can securely stand" (Hyatt, Pilgrims and Patriots,
173.)
The
Bible-believing Christian who takes his faith seriously is socialism’s worse
nightmare. This is why we must pray for another Great Awakening across the
land. This is why we must challenge the contemporary church to move beyond an
entertainment culture and begin training people the to be salt and light and
live out their faith in this culture.
Dr. Eddie Hyatt is the author of numerous books, including Pilgrims and Patriots, which documents America's birth out of a great, spiritual awakening. His books are available from and Amazon and his website at www.eddiehyatt.com.
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