Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Communist America Part 1

Communist America?!? Maybe we'll be a little more socialistic in 4 years...but communism? This is not speculation, a conspiracy theory, or scare tactics, this is meant to be a wake up call to the facts!

"Khrushchev, a more contemporary Soviet prime minister, said: "We cannot expect Americans to jump from capitalism to Communism, but we can assist their elected leaders in giving Americans doses of socialism until they suddenly awake to find out they have Communism."

Check out these articles I found by Googling "Communist America."

-
The Communist Takeover Of America - 45 Declared Goals
- Communist Party USA
I have been doing lots of research studying world leaders and philosophers, who they learned from, what their goals are/were, what they have been and are involved with currently, and how it has effected the United States. For instance:

MARXIST FUNDAMENTALS
by Prof. Libor Brom
From "Where is your America" August 1982

The fact is that we live in a time of fateful challenges. As a people and a nation we are under test. This challenge is, of course, Marxism-Leninism. There is no mystery in its strategies and tactics. It has always been concrete and spelled out in black and white. It has also been openly and actively tested in the economic, political, and ideological struggle for control around globe.

Lenin, the founder of the first Communist state, put it simply: "First we will take Eastern Europe, then the masses of Asia. We will encircle the last bastion of capitalism, the United States of America. We will not need to fight. It will fall as a ripe fruit into our hands." And, "We must practice coexistence with other nations, until we are strong enough to take over by means of world revolution.... We are not pacifists. Conflict is inevitable. Great political questions can be solved only through violence.... It is inconceivable that Communism and capitalism can exist side by side. Inevitably one must perish."

In other words, the so-called ditente is nothing more than a form of Marxist-Leninist art skillfully geared toward pacifying the American public by encouraging them to act ridiculously nice while the Communists kick the daylights out of them. The result is that the free world continues to shrink. Democracies cannot handle periods of low-tension confrontation. They have - an almost universal desire to believe that peace is the natural condition of man, that armies are temporary nuisances, that conflicts of interest can be dissolved simply by a policy of good will. Unfortunately, nothing is further from the truth; but for some reason free people prefer to believe it. - Read the full article here.

As Christians we need to be ready, but how? First of all, to have a Biblical worldview you need to read...kinda makes sense eh? :)

THE BIBLE
by GOD
If you don't have a Bible I recommend that you get one. I'm not a strict King James version type of person, but I do prefer and recommend it.

I have also compiled a list of other books, videos and events that are "highly recommended by John-Clay!" Actually, in my opinion these are things that should be required reading/attending for each and every Christian...they are really THAT GOOD!
Warning: These things will challenge your commitment to Christ and your view of the culture around you.

DO HARD THINGS
by Alex and Brett Harris "Written when they were 18 years old, Do Hard Things is the Harris twins' revolutionary message in its purest and most compelling form, giving readers a tangible glimpse of what is possible for teens who actively resist cultural lies that limit their potential. Written by teens for teens, Do Hard Things is packed with humorous personal anecdotes, practical examples, and stories of real-life rebelutionaries in action. This rallying cry from the heart of a revolution already in progress challenges the next generation to lay claim to a brighter future, starting today."

I read this book on my plane flight to Ukraine. Now, I'm 23 so the whole "teenage years, low expectations" aspect of the book didn't really apply but the principle of "Get outside your comfort zone and do hard things" really, really challenged me. If you haven't read this book, it's worth your time and $10! You can get the
book here.

OUTSIDE HOLLYWOOD
by Isaac Botkin
"In this groundbreaking book, experienced cinematographer, writer, and animator Isaac Botkin prepares Christians for successful Christ-honoring leadership as writers, directors, and producers. Botkin has worked as both a Hollywood outsider and an insider, and is a leading proponent of a new independent film industry. In Outside Hollywood, he smashes the myth of methodological and cultural neutrality and offers a paradigm for developing a family-friendly approach to this hugely important field of cultural influence."

This book is a MUST for anyone even remotely interested in Christian film making. However, it goes beyond film makers because the majority of this book is not about the nuts and bolts of film making. It focuses more on the history of Hollywood and how to be aware of the cultural impact of media. You can read more about the book here and purchase the book for $15 here.

MARX & SATAN
by Richard Wurmbrand
"Karl Marx began life in a God-fearing family. Drastic changes led him to a deep personal rebellion against God and all Christian values. By examining Marx’s writings, Wurmbrand builds a convincing case for Marx’s undeniable Satanic preference."

I have not finished reading this book yet, but it is very intriguing, insightful and important history! You can pick it up for $7 here.

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If you read this entire blog post, congratulations! Come back though, I'll be posting more in the next several days!
 

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Excellent and very insightful post.
I've been learning a lot about socialism, communism, and humanism...very similar in beliefs by the way. Also, our study on historical revisionism and censorship has provided some insight in the matter as well.
I look forward to more suggestions. Do you have any history book suggestions? ;-)

John-Clay said...

Actually, I came across this book "The Dialectical Imagination: A History of the Frankfurt School and the Institute of Social Research"

http://tinyurl.com/dialectic-imagination

I don't have it yet and haven't read it, but it looks very promising.

Another one that I found recommended is "The Great American Bring-Down and How It Happened"

http://tinyurl.com/yahzmyb

noneuclidean said...

John,

While it is true that Marxism is a fundamentally atheist philosophy, there are many, many thoughtful Christians who have identified aspects of Marxism that are very consistent with the Christian faith. It is a very dangerous thing to do to confuse an economic system with our faith. Capitalism is not "Biblical"--it's the economic system that I believe works the best, but it is not divine.

I would also strongly suggest that you spend some time reading top Marxist thinkers; in my experience, Marxist social critics have some of the best (most accurate, helpful, and thoughtful) criticisms of America. Even though I almost always disagree with their solution, I've still found their criticisms very helpful. In fact, I would go so far as to say that some of the deepest problems with the American church come directly from uncritically accepting capitalism and consumerism.

All this to say, it is important not to fall into either/or categories when talking about philosophy. While I believe that capitalism is a better economic system than Marxism, I recognize that Marxism can offer us some insight into habits and beliefs that are central to capitalism which are also antithetical to Christianity.

John-Clay said...

I first want to say, thank you for the comment! I'm always interested to hear from people who read my blog.

You make some very interesting remarks ("Marxism can offer us some insight into habits and beliefs that are central to capitalism which are also antithetical to Christianity.") that I plan to keep in mind as I continue to look into these issues and study deeper!

My point is not to argue the legitimacy of capitalism (not yet anyway as I am still researching the subject) I am more trying to point out that capitalism and communism clash...

"Communism and capitalism cannot exist side by side. Inevitably one must perish." - Prof. Libor Brom

...and that there is a very real concerted effort within America and even globally to "merge" the two together. Also, I am trying to give information about resources that can be helpful when viewing current events.

You made the statement, "there are many, many thoughtful Christians who have identified aspects of Marxism that are very consistent with the Christian faith." I'm a little concerned when anyone says that even parts of Marxism can blend with Christianity. Granted Marx was a professing Christian before he went the way of the devil, but Marx and his goals in life were very VERY anti-God and anti-Christian. I would be highly interested to get some more detailed thoughts from you concerning which aspects of Marxism you are thinking of in particular.

Jonathan said...

noneuclidean,

I agree with you that to there is a tendency among many Christians to blindly accept capitalism and place too much emphasis on it as an economic system. I think that one of the consequences of not critiquing capitalism is that the capitalism we know today is not same as capitalism in the past.

However, I have a couple cautions in going so far as to say that this is one "of the deepest problems with the American church". First of all, I believe that many of the problems are blamed on capitalism are actually the fault of Biblical principles that we as Christians have violated. For example, there is many Biblical warnings against greed. Yet, most Christians, myself included, are guilty of self-centered materialism. Also, Christ did not condemn land ownership and material possessions, but he did tell us to use our homes for hospitality and extend our hands to the needy (Matthew 25:32-46). Again, we have not extended our hands and homes like we should.

Secondly, I recommend using Biblical guidelines for living as the standard for measuring important issues rather than using Marxism or any other human theory.