Missing the Marx

No, it’s not a picture of Santa Claus. Far from it.

The Acton Institute reports that about a third of all young adults in America have a favorable view of Marxism. Yes, you read that correctly. It’s hard to believe, but true. Someone, somewhere, is successfully propping up a whopper of a lie. And the recent statistics confirm for us the unfortunate news: it’s working.

And here is the problem with rewriting history so that Karl Marx comes out smelling like a rose: every form of Marxism works against the inherent dignity of every person. Because Marxism demands fascism, you see. It is a worldview guided by the following cardinal rule: “If we like it, it must be made mandatory. If we dislike it, it must be banned.” It is the end of freedom. So, for example, commonsense gun legislation isn’t enough – all guns must be banned. Legalizing same-sex marriage isn’t enough – everyone must be a proponent of it. Respectful tolerance in the public square isn’t enough, because – if you disagree with me on any point – you must be shouted down, silenced, and canceled entirely. Those are the rules of the game, but it’s no game.

My guess is that Marxism looks attractive to the historically naïve because – at first glance – it feels like a viable way in which all people can be treated “equally.” But nothing could be further from the truth. Where Marxism really takes root, there always arises incredible inequality in the form of an elite class of government authorities who speak the language of equality, but who enshrine the mechanisms to ensure a ruling dictatorial class. How do they justify this? Well, simply put, they are so self-deceived that they are firmly convinced that they know better than the unenlightened populace beneath them. So the state gets bigger and bigger and bigger, all in the name of progress, while personal liberties fly out the window – until sophisticated thugs rule the roost. This tragic pattern has repeated itself in history over and over again, under the influence of many different people who thought their version of it was right. You’d think that we’d know better by now, but apparently, we do not.

And we must never forget that Marxism is a jealous god. It will never tolerate any notion of the one true and living God! We must never forget that Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong made certain that they be regarded as God. If you disagreed with that idolatrous assessment, then you deserved death – the ultimate cancellation. Sadly and catastrophically, Marxism is the end of reason, the end of critical thinking, and the end of cultural flourishing. As a philosophical, political, and moral system, it is entirely anti-God. The utopian dream of Karl Marx has become nothing short of a global nightmare, as regimes built in his image have killed more than a hundred million people in the last century, while misguided ideological tyrants led the way.

I don’t have to tell you that anti-God is never the right way. Marxism, and all of the belief systems which flow from it, elevate man. Humanism becomes the be-all-end-all. It’s absolutely morally bankrupt. In fact, Marxist forms of government have failed miserably in every single part of the world in which they’ve ever been tried, and yet – somehow, strangely – Marxism still beguiles leading intellectuals, academics, politicians, and religious leaders here in our corner of the world.

Marxism is a false religion. Someone needs to be elevated, but it’s not us. You see, it is only the gospel of Christ which elevates God to His rightful position: JESUS IS LORD OF ALL!

Prejudice exists. Racism exists. Oppression exists. Indeed, all of these awful realities are realities indeed, because this planet is fallen to the core. But the solution is not Marxism of any stripe.

In his famous essay, Vladimir Lenin called religion “opium for the people … spiritual booze in which the slaves of capital drown their human image.” I would submit to you friends, the precise opposite: it is only the knowledge of God that can deliver us from our present cultural crisis. It is only the truth of Christ’s gospel that can promote any sense of human dignity within our current cancel culture. And it is only the love of God that can speak peace to our profoundly troubled world.

When I think of our young people being robbed of their right mind, and being cunningly convinced to believe a deadly lie, it breaks my heart. Just like in Jeremiah’s day, people are choosing to put their hope in “broken cisterns that can hold no water” (2:13), and leading many others toward the same place of spiritual bankruptcy. But you and I have the weapon of prayer, and that’s a powerful weapon! So arm yourself for this pivotal moment … draw upon the evidence of history … love with resurrection passion those who are trapped in deceit … and wait joyfully upon the Lord who does marvelous things …

Pastor Charles