When these dialectical materialists first tried to tell me that everything in the universe was the result of force and accident, I could not help but recall the teachings of my high school chemistry professor who said that the major premise of science is recognition of the fact that there is order in the universe resulting from intelligent design. He pointed out that the mission of the scientist is to explore and discover the engineering principles followed by the Master Architect so that these can be used as a blessing for mankind. In other words, the very foundation of science is the recognition of an intelligent designer who used principles which we ourselves can discover and use.
The followers of Marx are so desperately anxious to over-throw the recognition of God that they have denied that there is any design in the universe. They refuse to admit that there is order, law, or an intelligent creator behind the phenomena of nature. They say all of these things are the product of accumulated accident. I wonder what my chemistry professor would say to that? These materialists claim o’ glorify the name of science and to march under its banner, but, in their anxiety to discredit and repudiate God, they have openly denied the very things which science has demonstrated.
Second Major Premise
Now here is their second major premise: “Human beings are only graduate beasts,” and therefore human life is no more sacred than that of a centipede, a caterpillar or a pig. The completely reckless disregard for human life is the most striking, single characteristic of “materialism in action.” For many Americans, the things which were experienced in the Korean War have brought a rude awakening. It means a big difference when we are dealing with people who look upon all humanity as merely “graduate beasts.”
Third Major Premise
The third major premise of Communism is this: “There is no such thing as innate right or wrong.” As one of their leaders pointedly declared, “To lie, is that wrong? Not for a good cause. To steal, is that wrong? Not for a good cause. To kill, is that wrong? Not for a good cause.” We can that pragmatism—that the end justifies the means. The dialectical materialists look upon ethics and morals as superficial and fraudulent. V. I. Lenin declared: “The upbringing of Communist youth must not consist of all sorts of sentimental speeches and precepts.” And in the same volume he states that “Morality is that which serves to destroy the old exploiting society…. Communist morality is the morality which serves this struggle.”{245}
It is highly important to Communist discipline to have every person obey blindly. To obey blindly is considered good and therefore morally right. But a system of morals which controls conduct in terms of right and wrong makes each individual a moral free agent. This, Communism cannot stand.
Fourth Major Premise
The fourth major premise of Communism is “That all religion must be overthrown because it inhibits the spirit of world revolution.” It was the feeling of Marx, Engels and their fellow travelers that the deep spiritual convictions of the people hindered their acceptance of Communist philosophy and Communist rule. It kept them from capturing the revolutionary spirit. It kept them from lying and stealing and killing when leaders commanded it. As one of their writers declared: “Religion does not fit into a dialectical materialist system of thought. It is the enemy of it. One cannot be a thorough materialist, that is, a dialectical materialist, and have any remnants of religious beliefs.”{246} Marx said: “Religion is the opium of the people,” and as we have pointed out previously, it became a prime objective of the Communist Manifesto to overthrow “all religions.”
The Communist founders were not satisfied to have their disciples merely ignore religion. They felt it was highly essential that religion be methodically replaced with militant atheism.
One of their writers declared: “Atheism is a natural and inseparable part of Marxism… consequently; a class-conscious Marxist party must carry on propaganda in favor of atheism.”{247} In one of their youth magazines the following instruction appeared: “If a Communist youth believes in God and goes to Church, he fails to fulfill his duties. This means that he has not yet rid himself of a religious superstition and has not yet become a fully conscious person.”{248}
The Communists have written volumes against religion, but this is sufficient to demonstrate that atheism and the rejection of all religions is a very important part of the Communist program.
Can Communist Beliefs Hurt Us?
So there you have the four major premises of Communism. Some people will say, “Well, if that’s what it takes to make a Communist—so what? What they believe cannot hurt me.” Such attitudes have practically been our undoing. These beliefs can hurt us. For example, let me tell you briefly of an important event which occurred toward the conclusion of World War II.
This incident began in June, 1943, when a young Russian by the name of Igor Gouzenko arrived by plane in Ottawa, Canada. He was immediately assigned to the military attache of the Russian Embassy as a cipher clerk. This was the first time Igor Gouzenko had ever been outside of Russia. He later wrote: “I was surprised during the first days by the complete freedom of the individual which exists in Canada, but which does not exist in Russia.”{249}
He observed that even during war time, the people enjoyed comparative freedom, that they were a happy people and that the government served the people rather than vice versa. He vicariously enjoyed their freedom just by watching them. As he himself said: “I saw the evidence of what a free people can do. What the Canadian people have accomplished and are accomplishing here under conditions of complete freedom, the Russian people, under the conditions of the Soviet Regime of violence and suppression of all freedom, cannot accomplish even at the cost of tremendous sacrifices, blood and tears.”{250}
He was impressed by the vast quantities of goods that were on sale in the stores and he was amazed to find they could be purchased by anyone. He was impressed by the lack of fear and the lack of chaos, which the Russian propaganda machine claimed existed. Most impressive of all was the way democracy worked. He said: “The last elections which took place recently in Canada, especially surprised me. In comparison with them, the system of elections in Russia appears as a mockery of the conceptions of free elections.”{251}
What Puzzled Gouzenko Most?
But while Igor Gouzenko was working for the military attache of the Soviet Embassy, he noticed something else. He observed that contact was being made with top Canadian scientists and sometimes with important Canadian officials. Often they were actually cooperating in furnishing highly secret Government data to the Communist military agents. Gouzenko was further puzzled by the fact that he knew these important officials and scientists were aware that the ultimate aim of the Communists was a world-wide revolution which would destroy the Canadian Government as well as all others.
After watching these developments for a period of two years, Igor Gouzenko decided that he would warn the Canadian people of what was happening. Already he had made up his mind that he would never go back to Russia and raise his own child the way he had been raised. He told his wife that he intended to leave the Russian Embassy and warn the Canadian Government of the espionage network in its midst.
To prove his story he secreted a lot of espionage documents in his clothing and then went to the Canadian officials. He thought, of course, that he would be welcomed with open arms—that the Canadians would be delighted to have the in. side story. But as he watched the expressionless face of the first person he contacted, Gouzenko realized he had exposed himself to great danger. The man did not believe him! Only at the last moment, when Gouzenko was actually in danger of being recaptured by the Russian NKVD did it finally dawn on some of the officials that perhaps this Soviet code clerk’s story might be true. He was therefore immediately taken into protective custody so he could tell his story to the world.
Treason in High Places
The Canadians wondered if the people named by Gouzenko actually would collaborate with a potential enemy, The list included such men as Dr. Raymond Boyer,
wealthy faculty member of McGill University, who was a senior supervisor in the National Research Council and co-inventor of the explosive RDX in World War II; Eric Adams, graduate of McGill and Harvard, serving in a top position in the Industrial Development Bank; Israel Halperin, professor of mathematics at Queen’s University in Ontario and doing highly technical research for the Directorate of Artillery; David Gordon Lunin, editor of Canadian Affairs; Dr. David Shugar, employed by Research Enterprises Limited, doing advanced research on radar; Harold Gerson, holding a top administrative position in the Allied War Supply; F.W. Poland, an officer in the Directorate of Intelligence of the Royal Canadian Air Force; and there was Kathleen Mary Willsher, who held a confidential position with the High Commissioner of the United Kingdom in Canada.
These and other persons on the list were promptly arrested and investigated by a Royal Canadian Commission. This Commission later reported: “Perhaps the most startling single aspect of the entire fifth column network is the uncanny success with which the Soviet Agents were able to find Canadians who were willing to betray their country and to supply to agents of a foreign power secret information to which they had access—in spite of oaths of allegiance, oaths of office, and oaths of secrecy which they had taken.”{252}
What the Royal Commission wanted to know was why these high Canadian officials would deliberately turn against the interest of their native land. They asked these people if they had been bribed and one of them replied, “If they had offered me money, I would have been insulted.”
When the Commission inquired into the background of these people, they found they were casualties in the ideological war which is being waged between the materialists and the free world. These people had been raised in freedom. They had gone to Canadian and American schools, yet, when asked why they collaborated with the Soviet Agents, one of them made a typical reply: “I thought I was helping humanity.”
How were these men and women, raised in a free world, converted by Communist agents to believe that if they collaborated they would be helping humanity? Supposing you were a scientist and one of these agents came to you. How would you react? Supposing he said, “My friend, you know that there is no divine intelligence guiding the human race; you know there is no Providential destiny for humanity; you know that if superior intelligences like yourself do not help us gain control of the human race it will destroy itself.” Can you even imagine yourself giving this reply: “I must confess that, in my heart of hearts, I do not believe that there is any God or divine intelligence guiding the human race. Therefore, I suppose I should feel it my duty as one of the superior intelligences of my generation—and for the salve of humanity—to collaborate with your movement which is destined to take over and save the race from itself.”
This was not only typical of the statements which many of the Soviet-converted Canadians admitted making, but they verified their complete devotion to such ideas by deliberately engaging in subversive activities against their own country.
The Secret Weapon of Communism
Now what do we deduct from this? Simply that these people were home-grown materialists! As Igor Gouzenko pointed out, there is a defect in your culture when your own people can grow up in your midst without gaining on appreciation of the difference between freedom and slavery, between idealism and atheism, between faith and doubt, or between order and chaos.
Somehow we failed to provide these people with the necessary ammunition to protect them in that critical moment when they were contacted by the agents of a foreign ideology. And we should be quick to recognize that if our culture and system of education is producing materialists, then this is the greatest secret weapon the Communists possess!
This means that we can spend two billion dollars developing the atomic bomb and the Communists can sit back and wait until we have succeeded. Then, they can drain off the information from some of our top security personnel. In fact, that is exactly what they did.
The greatest mistake that is being made in the free world today is the fact that we are mixing iron and clay. We are fighting for freedom but allowing some of our boys and girls to grow up believing in things which turn out to be basic Communistic concepts. Materialism is not Americanism but Communism. Every time we produce a boy or girl who is trained to believe that the universe is the product of accumulated accident, that human beings are only graduate beasts, that there is no such thing as innate right or wrong or that deep spiritual convictions are old-fashioned and unnecessary, then we have caused a casualty among our own ranks in the field of ideological warfare.
Without his ever knowing it, a young American is thereby trained to be a potential Red ally. This is indeed the great secret weapon of Communism.
Home-Made Materialism
Now where does an American boy or girl pick up the teachings of materialism? I think I can answer part of that question from a personal experience in an American institution of learning.
I was in my second year—a sophomore—and was taking my first course in philosophy. One morning the Professor said: “Now you young people are sufficiently mature so that your minds should be cleansed from the barnacles of superstition which probably accumulated during your youth. When you were children you were told about Santa Claus. Now you know the truth about Santa Claus. When you were children you were told about the stork. Now you know the truth about that.” He then stated that he was about to clarify our thinking in another field which had been cluttered up with childhood fairy tales. “Today,” he said, “I will tell you where the ideas about God came from and also about religion.” All of us sat back to absorb the gems of knowledge we were about to receive.
“Now in the beginning,” said the professor, “men worshipped things which they created with their own hands. It was called idolatry. Later, men imagined that there were a great many unseen gods—a god of war, a god of love, a god of rain, etc., and all these gods required sacrifices in order to keep them happy. Otherwise they showed forth their wrath. Therefore they were frequently called gods of vengeance.”
The professor then stated that the Bible is an excellent history of the evolution of religion. He said that it is clear from Bible study that the practice of idolatry prevailed among ancient peoples and that the Hebrews finally rose above it to worship Jehovah as a God of Vengeance. He said the people of Israel made sacrifices to Jehovah to keep him happy.
“Then,” he said, “Jesus came along and declared that God was a God of Love possessing the attributes of all the Platonic ultimates. Jesus taught that God was kind, just and forgiving. He taught the higher concepts of the Beatitudes, the Sermon on the Mount, and the Golden Rule.”
“Now,” he continued, “This is the God men worship today, A God of Love as taught by Jesus. And it is good to go to church and worship this concept of God because it elevates the mind and stimulates the higher senses.”
“But,” he continued emphatically, “I want you young people to remember this: The idea of God is exactly like other human creations—like a great symphony someone has written, or a great poem; you don’t have to fear God, because we made him up!”
The professor finished by saying, “There is nothing watching over you—answering your prayers, or directing the human race toward some divine destiny. You young people are on your own.”
As the lecture concluded, I looked around at my fellow classmates. On the faces of some there seemed to be an expression of considerable relief. It was as though they were saying “Well, what do you know? Nobody’s watching me after all! So that’s what God is—something we made up—like a great symphony….”
Conversation Between a Student and a Professor
After the class I went to the professor and said, “Doctor, have you ever had an opportunity to read the Old Testament?”
“Well,” chuckled the professor, “only parts of it. I never had time to read all of it. But I studied the history and philosophy of the Bible under a well known authority.”
The following conversation th
en took place between the student and the professor. The student told the professor that when he read the Bible he did not find the story in it which the professor said was there. The professor looked puzzled, “What do you mean? What story isn’t there?”
“Well,” said the student, “the story that religion started out as idolatry, evolved to the worshiping of a God of Vengeance, and then culminated in the worshiping of a God of Love—as taught by Jesus.”
“Tell me,” asked the professor, “what did you find in the Bible?
The student said that as far as he was able to determine the nature and identity of God had been taught to men from the very beginning. He said he thought the Bible taught that God had raised up prophets and special witnesses from earliest times and these were each given a scientific experience so that they would know for themselves the nature of God and be able to teach it to the people.
Then he continued, “The second thing I understood the Bible taught is that in the beginning God revealed a pattern for happy living which we call religion. He taught us not to steal, not to lie, not to cheat, to serve our fellow men, to remain morally clean.
“Finally,” he concluded, “I thought the Bible said idolatry and heathen religious practices were set up to compete with revealed religion because a large percentage of the people refused to subscribe to the things God had revealed. I thought it said manmade religion came long after God had revealed His will to man and that idolatry was a substitute and degenerate form of worship sponsored by men who reveled in the violation of God’s commandments.”
The Naked Communist Page 36
