God versus Socialism

Joel McDurmon has written a new book entitled God Versus Socialism. The premise of the book, that God and socialism are antithetical to one another, is presented clearly, effectively, and consistently by the book—not only in the title, but in the cover design, and in the words written on every page. The subtitle of the book, “A Biblical Critique of the New Social Gospel,” reveals the book's more focused intent—that of exposing popular “evangelical” political ideas of our day to the light of Scripture. This McDurmon does with refreshing bluntness. He does not beat around the bush, but rather delivers an unrelenting and uncompromising attack on the currently popular, but mushy-headed idea that God and socialism can be mixed. McDurmon begins his book by establishing God and His law as King with the right to speak to every area of life, including politics. There is no neutrality. To reject God's Word in politics is to allow a false king, the State, to take over. He makes the case that we must oppose all forms of political sin as defined by God's Word—not just abortion and homosexual marriage, but welfare, public education, and social security as well. To not do so is to lose the moral high ground. This polemic is greatly need in our day in order to knock the shaky foundations out from under the new, young “evangelicals” of our day who support Obama's policies and are unable to see how such support conflicts with the Christian faith. It is also needed to once again remind conservatives that many generally accepted ideas in America such as property taxes, graduated income taxes, inheritance taxes, a national central bank (the Federal Reserve), and public education are actually planks of “The Communist Manifesto” and according to God's Word are great evils. McDurmon gives the history of the Fabian Socialists of the 1800's who were really nothing more than communists and shows how they are the intellectual grandfathers of the New Social Gospel leaders of today. I found this history to be fascinating. I have been reading about politics and economics for thirty years, but had never really known much about the Fabians and their goals to deceive Christians. He then takes a look at three current promoters of the New Social Gospel: Jim Wallis, Tony Campolo, and Ron Sider. Each one is examined in great depth, and point by point their own words are compared to Scripture. McDurmon shows how they repeatedly cherry-pick Bible verses, inconsistently applying them, ignoring some and misinterpreting others in order to further their personal political agenda,which in each case is socialism. I would highly recommend God Versus Socialism to every American. The lies that this book exposes are so widely accepted as good and normal that everyone could benefit by reading it. The truths presented in it are essential to seeing through the fog of current political thought in the popular culture.

Our Church book club recently read and discussed "God Versus Socialism" and felt that Joel McDurmon has written a book that exposes the faulty thinking not only in the secular world but in the thinking of many Christians today. Years ago a pastor's wife once told me that before God will bring about reformation hidden sins must be exposed and addressed. Joel McDurmon does an excellent job in exposing the sinful thinking and hidden sins of many Christians and their unbiblical mindset in looking to the government for their salvation and not to the Lord. I would recommend this book to anyone who is willing to take a honest and hard look at the source of so many problems in American Churches today. On a side note I did find myself rereading many passages not because they were no well written but I was not well informed. I am now.