# 106 Karl Marx and the Devil

There is no biblical basis whatsoever for socialism, either in the Old Testament or in the New Testament. because socialism is totally at the opposite end of the spectrum from what it means to be a God-fearing person.

You’ve probably sensed that there’s something wrong with the entire Marxian idea that the proletariat should overthrow the bourgeois, but there’s now further support from a pastor and author who has investigated it. 

In his new book, Where do we go from here? Dr. David Jeremiah clearly states: “Karl Marx was a cheerleader for the Devil.”  He continues, “Marx’s socialist theories are all based on a fundamental belief in the existence of God, but a hatred and opposition to everything God has taught.”

A Deadly Virus

Dr. Jeremiah explains Socialism as a deadly virus.  The problem is most people don’t understand how deadly it is.  He says, “socialism is “a deadly virus [that] is quietly spreading throughout our nation—far more lethal than COVID-19.”  But he warned that most Americans are totally unaware of the threat that it poses to our way of life.  It’s like smoke coming under the door. You just see it a little bit, but it’s no big deal.  If we don’t become aware of it, it’ll be very destructive.

In his book Defending the Free Market, Father Robert Sirico writes, “Karl Marx summed up socialist theory in the single phrase, “Abolition of private property.” He goes on to point out, that the eighth commandment, “Thou shalt not steal” assumes private property.  You cannot steal something, after all, if no one owns it.  

Oh, one of my favorite quips is “The book in which Karl Marx called for the end of private property has been copyrighted.  You see, at heart, everyone is a free-market capitalist.  They just like to talk like Marxian Socialists.

Socialism sounds so good.  It’s being social something positive?  No, not really.  It’s all based in power. 

Power

The government has no money, so it must take before it can give. 

At a conference last week, I heard a speech by Charles Payne from the Fox Business channel.  He quipped, “You can only vote for Socialism once.”  Meaning, after the socialists take power, voting stops.  Another way to phrase it is, “Socialism: You can vote your way in, but you have to shoot your way out.  Ask the people of Venezuela.  In my lifetime, they have been the third richest country in the Americas.  And they still have more oil and gas reserves than any country in the world.  Socialist price controls have so limited the supply of goods, that 30% of the population has fled.  A year ago, Mary Anastasia O’Grady wrote in the Wall Street Journal, “Life in the once-prosperous country has now officially become hell.”  Socialism only works in heaven where they don’t need it, and hell, where they already have it.  

“Capitalism is a system that begins not with taking but with giving to others,” write George Gilder in Wealth and Poverty.  That’s why it’s consistent with the Christian worldview.  In Capitalism, power is dissipated throughout the economy.   In Socialism, power is centralized where via corruption, it can do its greatest harm. 

Ok, with the following quote, it’s possible that Thomas Sowell might become the most quoted author in the Christian Economist series of podcasts.  In Wealth, Poverty and Politics, he writes, “Marxism is based on the assumption that the poor are poor because the rich exploit them. Yet none of the Communist countries ever achieved a standard of living for ordinary people equal to that in free-market capitalist economies.