The Democratic Party has moved so far to the Left that we might as well call it the “Socialist Party.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders, who makes no attempt to hide his socialist ideology, has been disturbingly instrumental in facilitating the move. At the Democratic National Convention last month, he stated:
“Our campaign ended several months ago, but our movement continues and is getting stronger every day. Many of the ideas we fought for, that just a few years ago were considered ‘radical,’ are now mainstream.”
Though many proponents of socialism try to convince Christians of its compassionate underpinnings, a full 98% of Americans who hold socialist beliefs reject a “biblical worldview.” That’s according to the 2020 annual American Worldview Inventory poll released August 19.
The socialist worldview runs antithetical to the 10 Commandments. Let’s take a look:
- You shall have no other gods before me.
Socialism seeks to supersede God by eliminating individual freedoms and making government the authority in our lives. The elites at the top define “kindness” and “generosity,” and they dictate what is “right” and “wrong” – no matter how distorted it may be. And they put your treasures where their hearts are (Matthew 6:21).
As God’s image-bearers, we are created to live in fellowship with Him. Because He is a gentleman and a God of love, He does not force Himself or His standards on us. If we surrender to Him, He fills us with His Spirit, and the fruit of love, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control overflow in our lives (Galatians 5:22).
As followers of Christ, we live in freedom. We love our Lord and Savior because He first loved us. And it is that love that prompts us to seek His will - through His Word and guidance of the Holy Spirit. He is patient and kind with us as He continually sanctifies us and makes us more like Him.
But with socialism, big government calls the shots in the lives of its underlings! There’s a reason presidential candidate Joe Biden has so little reverence for the Declaration of Independence, referring to it as “you know, the thing.” Socialist philosophies do not make allowance for freedoms given to us by God, and described by our Founding Fathers as “unalienable rights” as “endowed by [our] Creator.”
- You shall not make for yourself an idol.
In ancient biblical times, idols were most often worshipped for what was perceived to be given in return – protection, material success, status, and the like. In addition, worship of these idols often involved ritual prostitution, and, therefore, held the allure of illicit sex.
Socialistic government programs destroy the God-ordained family unit and the sense of joy and achievement that come from working together while in the care of God’s love. But the government promises to be the ever-giving “daddy” who will take care of the people.
The lures appeal to the flesh (self). The bait is taken, and the people suffer more and more, as they worship the “god” who will ultimately destroy them.
Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God’s love for them (Jonah 2:8).
Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you when you are in trouble! (Judges 10:14).
- You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.
Have you noticed that socialists use God’s Word to push their agenda? People who do not read Scripture suddenly become Bible scholars instructing Christians on how we should be living in a manner consistently aligning with their evil and misguided theories.
Here is just one example of Speaker Nancy Pelosi attempting to use “the Word.” It would be funny if it weren’t so sad.
When the proponents of socialism are not mocking God or omitting His name from the Declaration of Independence, the Pledge of Allegiance and the like, they are “misusing” it to further a godless agenda.
- Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
Sabbath is translated as “rest.” In terms of the Mosaic Law, it was meant to be a day that the Jewish people performed no work. Common sense tells us that if one day of seven is reserved for rest, the other six are intended for work. And Exodus 20:9 confirms it. But under a system of socialism, property is controlled by a small group of individuals, so the everyday citizen is far less motivated to work.
On the other hand, the author of Hebrews introduced the concept of Jesus as our Sabbath rest – giving us salvation through His work on the cross. Though no government can take that away, socialism’s anti-God worldview historically results in increased religious persecution.
- Honor your father and your mother.
Those who advance Marxism, the theoretical framework that lays the foundation for socialism and communism, seek to destroy the nuclear family, recognizing that it works against socialism by forming its own autonomous unit which results in resistance to government hierarchy (control).
Therefore, policies that disregard parental nurturing, authority, and rights are paramount. The State, not parents, controls the education of children. Children are handed over to public institutions from the earliest age possible, where prayer is forbidden and evolution is taught.
Children are taught to disregard the beliefs, teachings, and authority of their parents.
- You shall not murder.
The ultimate goal of socialism is communism. And under communist dictatorship, innocent people die.
Countless lives were savagely destroyed at the hands of mass-murdering political leaders in the 20h Century. Among them are Germany’s Adolf Hitler and the Soviet Unions’ Joseph Stalin. But, do you know who murdered the most?
In his cruel determination to turn China into a socialist country, Mao Zedong had those who opposed him imprisoned, executed, or forced into famine and starvation. An estimated 65 million Chinese people were murdered under his rule.
And we cannot possibly overlook the Democrat Party’s platform, supporting abortion up to the moment of birth. When a group of people justifies the destruction of human life at its earliest stages, it will, when in unfettered power, find a way to justify the murder of others who get it the way of its political agendas.
- You shall not commit adultery.
In order to dismantle the family, sexual depravity is touted as “sexual freedom.” When marriage is no longer sacred, fidelity within a marriage between one man and one woman is an “antiquated institution,” a “patriarchal, abusive construct,” a “meaningless contract.”
- You shall not steal.
Taking from one person to give to another is theft. You can call it “redistribution of wealth,” but it’s just plain ole stealing.
Instruction is given in 2 Corinthians 9:7 concerning giving, that we are not do so “reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
Under socialism, we are no longer free to steward God’s blessings and resources, but government now stipulates what people do with their earnings. Those at the top know better what you should be doing and how you should be doing it.
- You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
Marxism is built on lies. The utopian worker’s paradise it claims to offer simply does not and cannot exist in a world of sinful people, especially in the absence of surrender and submission to the God that Marxists hate – the only One who can change a sinful heart.
The founders of our constitutional republic knew better than to make such an empty and deceitful promise.
Founder John Adams wrote in a letter in 1798 to the officers of the Massachusetts militia:
“Because we have no government armed with the power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, and licentiousness would break the strongest cords of our Constitution, as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
- You shall not covet … anything that belongs to your neighbor.
Socialism is built on covetousness. Coveting is the heart condition that causes one to yearn for possession of someone else’s belongings. If we do not allow ourselves to covet, it is highly unlikely that we will steal anything.
Jesus explained:
[T]he things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander (Matthew 15:18-19).
Bottom line
To the undiscerning, socialism may “seem” appealing. But, in the end, it leads to death.
See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ (Colossians 2:8).
