The Naked Communist
Page 40
But the effectiveness of the Sabbath can also be lost by just simply changing it from a holy day to a holiday.
By adopting the ancient heathen practice of using the Sabbath exclusively for hunting, fishing, feasting, and entertaining we completely nullify its design and purpose.
The Lord might well say, "I want you to remember this, in the world today I have old people, I have sick people, I have lonely people and poor people. My whole system depends upon your ministering to one another and inasmuch as you do it unto the least of these you do it unto me. This is my method, this is my pattern, and this is my program. I could send angels, but I do not. I send you!
This should always be a part of the American way of life, but frequently we are too busy. We forget the sick and fail to visit our neighbors. We only go to the hospital when it is the boss's wife who is sick. To that extent the American way of life is destroyed, because it ignores the pattern for happy living on which the American social order was originally built.
A Vacuum in the Training of Youth
And because of our failure to reserve any part of the Sabbath to study the word of God, we are rapidly becoming a nation of ignorant Christians. We know so little about the evidence which has been recorded from generation to generation that many have no real basis for their beliefs. Somebody picks up a Bible, holds it aloft and says, "Fairy tales!" Then we are surprised when some of our young people who know very little about the Bible say, "Oh, is that so! Three bears stuff, eh?" And the man says, "Sure, something people made up."
Or a boy who has been raised in a Christian home but is entirely unfamiliar with the proof found in the Bible comes back from school some evening completely confused. At family devotions his father asks him to say grace and he says, "No, Dad, I don't want to." Later his father talks to him and says, "Son, what's the matter? What's happened?" And the boy may reply, "Well, Dad, I don't like to pray to something we made up -- something like a piece of music or a poem. I just found out that we made God up."
It is really quite a simple thing to destroy the beliefs of a boy or girl when they are not supported by knowledge of the evidence which proves the validity of such beliefs.
Are Elderly People Important?
The fifth commandment was designed by God to sustain the integrity of the family. In it the Lord commanded: "Honor thy father and thy mother."
Life is a strange combination of circumstances. When children are tiny, helpless and dependent, their parents are in a position to give them love or abuse, nourishment or neglect, depending upon their inclinations. In later years those same parents may feel the ravages of time and become as little children themselves. Then it is their offspring who are in, a position to love or neglect, depending upon their inclinations.
So, God was wise. He counseled children to honor their parents and parents to honor their children. Each in their time is dependent upon the other.
Strong family solidarity is part of our religious strength and part of our national strength, but it is despised by the materialist. Marx and Engels wrote in their Manifesto that they stood for "the abolition of the family." Immediately after the revolution, Lenin attempted to wipe out the family pattern of life, but social disease and social disorder forced the regime to reverse itself.
What About Communist Purges?
The sixth commandment says, "Thou shalt not kill." The Mosaic code made the sanctity of human life extremely important. That is why a person who believes and practices the Judaic-Christian code does not make a good Communist. He will not kill on command. He cannot believe that a cause is just which depends upon blood purges, concentration camps, and cruel exploitation of human life for its existence.
This explains why we have such statements as this from Joseph Stalin:"Have we suppressed the reactionary clergy? Yes, we have. The unfortunate thing is that it has not been completely liquidated. Anti-religious propaganda is a means by which the complete liquidation of the reactionary clergy must be brought about. Cases occur when certain members of the party hamper the complete development of anti-religious propaganda. If such members are expelled it is a good thing because there is no room for such Communists in the ranks of the party."22
Significance of Marital Integrity
The seventh commandment says, "Thou shall not commit adultery." Fundamentally the strength of the American home is rooted in an exchange of confidence between a mother and father, between parents and children. God might well say to us. "I give you nothing except that which is for your ultimate happiness. My commandments are not to take away happiness but to preserve it. I want you to be able to be honest with each other in your marriage covenants. If you want a happy family, if you want to share complete confidence with your mate, then thou shalt not commit adultery."
And moral integrity does not begin with marriage. It finds its strength in careful self-discipline over the years. When two young people come to the marriage altar, I do not personally know of any greater insurance for a life of happiness and trust than for each of them to be able to say in their hearts as they kneel together, "Even before I knew you I honored you and kept myself circumspect for you." As a law enforcement officer I learned that when young people approach marriage with this spirit of devotion and personal discipline, then purity, peace and happy families are usually the result.
The Thief and the Character Assassin
The eighth commandment says, "Thou shalt not steal." The Communist commandment says, "Thou shalt not get caught stealing."
The ninth commandment says, "Thou shalt not bear false witness." Igor Gouzenko stated that the national pastime in his native land is tearing down the man just above you so you can take his place after he is discredited and gone. In our country we have a few people like that but it is not the American Way. One of the favorite Communist tricks is character assassination. American boys and girls should be taught that when they work for a man they should try and be loyal to him. Surely he is just a human being and he will have his faults, but he should be supported in every good thing he is trying to do. This is what builds communities. It builds industry, it builds schools. It builds a nation.
The Sanctity of Work
Then last of all we come to the tenth commandment which says we should gain wealth through our own industry. If we see a house, a car, or something else which another man owns, we are not supposed to sit down and try to figure out how we can cheat him out of them. That is what God calls, "Coveting our neighbor's goods." Instead, we should go out and work for the things we desire.
To desire good things and work for them is not a sin, but to acquire them by cheating or exhorting them from a neighbor is. While God says to respect the property of others, the materialists have taught for over a century that the object of human existence is the acquisition of loot and power; that tim strong man should never be content, never be satisfied; whatever good thing the other man has he should want it and strive to obtain it. The gaining of spoils, the accumulation of others' wealth and the concentration of power has been their constant goal.
The Christian Code
Last of all may I say just a few words about the Christian Code. Here are additional principles which -- if understood and practiced -- prevent a person from being a good Communist. As I go down the list see if you can determine why the former Soviet Commissioner of Education would say, "We hate Christians and Christianity."
Here are a number of concepts typical of the teachings of Jesus:
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.23
Blessed are the peacemakers.24
It is better to give than to receive.25
Do not hate your enemies but do good unto them.26
Be as humble and teachable as a little child.27
Be wise, aggressive and alert to promote good and preserve peace.28
Perfect yourself by overcoming personal weaknesses.29
Follow the commandments of God to increase the value of your life and blot out the scars of past mistakes.30
The greatest happiness comes through the greatest service.31
Do good secretly and God -- who seeth in secret -- will reward you openly.32
Christianity also teaches that we are responsible to God for our daily conduct, even for our thoughts.33 It also teaches the reality of human immortality and the resurrection. We are given the scientific declaration of Paul, Peter, Mary Magdalene, the eleven Apostles and five-hundred members of the Church who saw the resurrected Christ. It is good to know that after we pass from this life we too will eventually receive a perfected physical embodiment.
In his teachings Jesus affirmed what the prophets had taught -- that beyond this life we will launch forward into another great pattern of existence. He taught that our next estate has been carefully engineered and will allow us a great variety of new experiences as we pass upward along the endless corridors of the future.
Like the Judaic Code these Christian principles give great strength to any free people. It is not difficult to understand why Communists seek to discredit these concepts. On the other hand, if we teach our children that there is no God, that men are only graduate beasts, that the end justifies the means, and that religious convictions are not scientific, then we will hear a resounding "Amen" from across the ocean.
A New Dynamic Trend in Education
In closing let me say that I have never had a more thrilling experience than that which has come to me during the past year-and-a-half while serving on the faculty of Brigham Young University. I have been permitted to participate in a pattern of education where several thousand students are being taught citizenship along with their scholarship; where science, philosophy, and religion all find their proper places in the personalities of these boys and girls. I get a great satisfaction watching these young people crossing the campus, loaded down with their textbooks -- chemistry, physics, fine art, geology, sociology, history, economics, political science -- and mixed in among those textbooks you will generally find a copy of the Bible. A great variety of religious subjects is offered to the student and he may choose those in which he has the most interest.
Across the country many universities are building chapels and emphasizing religious participation. They are doing it because there is an increased appreciation that this is a most important part of the American ideal and the source for much of our strength.
Each Tuesday on the BYU campus approximately 5,000 students voluntarily attend the weekly devotional where they have a chance to catch the inspiration of some of the finest religious leaders in the nation.
If the challenge to our youth today is a war of ideologies, then it is time for us to take the offensive. We should not sit back and wait for our boys and girls to be indoctrinated with materialistic dogma and thereby make themselves vulnerable to a Communist conversion when they are approached by the agents of force and fear who come from across the sea. For two generations an important phase of American life has been disintegrating. As parents and teachers we need to recognize that if this pillar of our culture collapses our own children will be the casualties. This disintegration must stop. George Washington knew what makes us strong; Jefferson knew, Lincoln knew: "This nation, under God, cannot fail!"
Of course we must do more than merely teach correct principles -- certainly we must practice them. I therefore close with the words of Francis Bacon who said: "It is not what you eat, but what you digest that makes you strong. It is not what you earn, but what you save that makes you rich. It is not what you preach, but what you practice that makes you a Christian!"
____________________
1. V.I. Lenin, Religion, p. 14.
2. William Z. Foster, Towards Soviet America, p. 316.
3. Congressional Record, Vol. 77, pp. 1539-1540.
4. Revue des Deux-Mondes, 1834, Vol. 4, p. 408.
5. Quoted in Atheist Humanist, by Henri deLubac, p. 20.
6. Quoted in Atheist Humanist, by Henri deLubac, p. 10.
7. Quoted in Atheist Humanist, by Henri deLubac, p. 26.
8. Quoted in Atheist Humanist, by Henri deLubac, p. 25.
9. Quoted in Atheist Humanist, by Henri deLubac, pp. 23-24.
10. V.I. Lenin, Selected Works, Vol. IX, p. 477-478.
11. Earl Browder, Communism in the United States, p. 339.
12. E. Yaroslavsky, Religion in the USSR, p. 53.
13. Young Bolshevik, Nos. 5-6, 1946, p, 56.
14. Report of the Royal Commission, p. 638.
15. Report of the Royal Commission, p. 639.
16. Report of the Royal Commission, p. 639.
17. Report of the Royal Commission, p. 56.
18. Henri deLubac, Atheist Humanism, p. 20.
19. Exodus 19:21.
20. Exodus 24:9-10.
21. Revelation 20:12.
22. Joseph Stalin, Leninism, Vol. 1, p. 387.
23. Matthew 7:12.
24. Matthew 5:9.
25. Acts 20:35.
26. Matthew 5:44.
27. Matthew 18:4.
28. Matthew 10:16.
29. Matthew 5:48.
30. Luke 24:47; Acts 2:38.
31. Luke 10:29-37.
32. Matthew 6:4.
33. Galatians 6:7; Matthew 5:28.
Bibliography
Adler, M., What Man Has Made of Man, Longmans Green, New York, 1934. Adoratsky, V. Dialectical Materialism, M. Lawrence, London, 1934. Aveling, E., The Student's Marx, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1902. Basseches, N., Stalin, E. P. Dutton Co., New York, 1952. Barbusse, H., Stalin, John Lane Co., London, 1935.
Beer, M., The Life and Teachings of Marx, Parsons Co., London, 1921. Belloc, H., The Restoration of Property, Sheed and Ward, New York, 1936. Belyaev, M., Evolution, State Pub. House, Moscow, 1934. Bentley, Elizabeth, Out of Bondage, The Devin-Adair Company, New York, 1951.
Berdyaev, N., The Russian Revolution, Sheed and Ward, New York, 1933. Bivort, J., Communism and Anti-Religion, Burns, Oates & Washbourne, London, 1938. Blodgett, Ralph H, Comparative Economic Systems, MacMillan Co., New York, 1949. Bober, M., Karl Marx's Interpretation of History, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1927. Bohm-Bawerk, E., Karl Marx and the Close of His System, T. Union Co., London, 1898.
Boudin, L., The Theoretical System of Karl Marx, Charles H. Kerr Co., Chicago, 1907. Brameld, T., A Philosophic Approach To Communism, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1933. Briefs, G., The Proletariat, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1938. Browder, E., What Is Communism?, Workers Library Publishers, New York, 1936.
Bukharin, N., The A B C of Communism, Communist Party Press, London, 1922. Bukharin, N., Historical Materialism, International Publishers, New York, 1925. Burnham, James, The Web of Subversion, John Day Co., New York, 1954. Burns, E., A Handbook of Marxism, Gollancz, London, 1935. Byrnes, James F. Speaking Frankly, Harpers, New York, 1947.
Carr, E., Karl Marx, Dent & Sons, London, 1934.
Carr, E., Michael Bakunin, Macmillan Co., London, 1937. Chamberlain, The Russian Revolution, Macmillan Co., New York, 1935. Chamberlain, Soviet Russia, Little, Brown & Co., Boston, 1935.
Chambers, Whittaker, Witness, Random House, New York, 1952. Chang, S., The Marxian Theory of the State, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 1931. Cole, G., What Marx Really Means, Alfred A. Knopf, N. Y., 1934.
Constitution of the USSR, International Publishers, New York, 1936.
Conze, E., Dialectical Materialism, N.C.L.C. Society, London, 1936.
Cooper, R., The Logical Influence of Hegel On Marx, Washington University Press, Seattle, 1925. Croce, B., Historical Materialism and the Economics Of Marx, Macmillan, New York, 1914. Dobb, M., On Marxism Today, Hogarth Press, London, 1932. Eastman, M, Marx, Lenin, and the Science of Revolution, Allen and Unwin, London, 1926.
Eddy, G., The Meaning of Marx (A Symposium), Farrar and Rinehart, New York, 1934. Ellwood, C, Marx's Economic Determinism in the Light of Modern Psychology, American Journal of Sociology, Vol. XVII, 1911, pp. 35-46. Engels, F., Marx-Engels, Historisch-Kritische Gesamtausgabe, edited by D.
Rjazanov. 9 Vols. Frankfurt, 1927-1932. Engels, F., Marx-Engels: Selected Correspondence, M. Lawrence, London, 1934. Engels, F. Ludwig Feuerbach, International Publishers, New York, 1934.