Ramon Arias | April 3, 2017
“The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way, but the folly of fools is deceiving.” Proverbs 14:8 (ESV)
A recent article (March 27, 2017) by Scott Malone, had this heading: “’Religious left’ emerging as U.S. political force in Trump era.” The focal point is the increasing interest of what the Christian left has to say and their plans for social action.
Malone quotes Serene Jones president of New York’s Union Theological Seminary:
“The election of Trump has been a clarion call to progressives in the Protestant and Catholic churches in America to move out of a place of primarily professing progressive policies to really taking action.”
Jones acknowledges that the 2016 presidential election was a shift away from the left’s political dominance and that they are in full panic mode. Not just the Religious left is experiencing the setback but all the progressives /liberals / socialists and communists are also scrambling to retake control and this can best be seen in the mainstream media with all of the nonsense they are projecting as “news” with hope that they can convince the truly uninformed.
You must be aware that the religious left is not a new phenomenon, as Malone accurately comments, and Trump’s presidency has jolted them. Malone continues:
Religious progressive activism has been part of American history…. The latest upwelling of left-leaning religious activism has accompanied the dawn of the Trump presidency.
Some in the religious left are inspired by Pope Francis, the Roman Catholic leader who has been an outspoken critic of anti-immigrant policies and a champion of helping the needy.
The inspiration for the religious left for social justice comes from a failed ideological view of life and its social institutions, which was implemented by the Roman Catholic Church for 500 years in Latin America and other nations where they dominate. The very reason for mass migration from Latin countries is mostly to overcome poverty, which is the byproduct of deep corruption that the Roman Catholic Church has never been able to overcome, even though the majority of the population professes that faith, and there lies the root of their problems.
The social problems south of the border, all the way down to the tip of the continent, were not created by Trump’s policies. What the religious left desperately needs is to calibrate their worldview lenses so they can understand and then explain why their socialist perspectives are producing so much misery and devastation in countries like Venezuela and Brazil, just to mention two. If their leftist ideas are the answer to creating the perfect society why are we not seeing positive results? What about Cuba? Do you understand what the Christian left has contributed to their condition? Only government controlled Hollywood millionaire “stars” come back and tell us how wonderful life is in those hellholes after their visits. Certainly the leftist academia elite can teach the wonders of a socialist paradise, all the while ignoring the truth revealed by a history of horrors done to socialist societies and the obvious trails of death and destruction.
The Christian left may be optimistic due to the increased interest of like-minded people. They see an opportunity to increase their political activism using anything and everything including social unrest to arouse further discontent among those who depend on the handouts of a “generous government” that must rob the working class of their honest earnings and who are already greatly overburdened. The mantra of “give us,” “feed us,” “make us happy,” and you can have our vote! These will only get louder.
What every professing Christian of all denominations should know in depth is the value of biblical economic principals that ethically govern the free market. Christians must abandon the false teachings of getting rich quick just by “claiming” God’s financial blessings.
History has already condemned the failure of socialist morality and ethics in all areas of human development; they run opposite to Biblical standards. By the middle of the twentieth-century, the socialistic result was the enslavement of the productive class by promoting its gospel of envy. True freedom can only be achieved by accepting the liberating work of Jesus Christ and then follow His example of obeying God’s Commandments.
Countries are impoverished not due to lack of natural resources, rather, for the lack of biblical knowledge and its application to all areas of life. History is screaming at us to assess the ineffective results of rich countries if we want to help stop the malicious cycles of poverty; the results are always the same, enriching the corrupt elite.
Mere good intentions promote so much evil in the name of God and these must be exposed. Biblical Christians and well-meaning people should have true knowledge about the failures of socialism and the unmatched realities of biblical economics that meet the needs of the hurting masses.
Fact: Socialism can only increase poverty and misery anywhere it is applied. Socialist welfare is slavery for all, with a temporary exception for the elite. When we understand that humanism is a bankrupt worldview for all areas we will be compelled to embrace the full counsel revealed in the Bible once again as the only reliable blueprint for a rebirth of hope, faith, and love in the nations.
The religious left doesn’t have the biblical view of who God is nor the historical role of Christ for the human race or for the purpose of every individual. They refuse to believe that He is the only true source of all perfect law. The optimism of the left is built on quicksand. The good news is that they, and the rest of Christian America, can have the needed understanding once the Bible is accepted as the final authority, and they abandon, once and for all, their defiance toward the Almighty.
The historical time clock is ticking, and we must not think we can cheat our way out with cheap ideologies. Our commitment to sound biblical understanding will give us the needed intellectual capacity to answer all our critics. The Resurrection of Christ should be sufficient to motivate us to engage in reversing the downward trend.
“Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, ‘He catches the wise in their craftiness,’ and again, ‘The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.’ So let no one boast in men. For all things are yours.” 1 Corinthians 3:18-21 (ESV)