OPINION:
Armstrong Williams correctly observes that unless Americans return to the traditional values of “self-reliance, individual liberty and equality of opportunity, our democracy will inevitably lead to socialism” (“The New American era of socialism,” Commentary, Monday).
In the Bible, the devil tempted Jesus by appealing to his physical needs (Jesus had just fasted in the Judean desert). “Turn these stones to bread,” said the devil to Jesus, who had not eaten in 40 days. Jesus rebuffed Satan, but throughout history, this appeal to the material would appear again and again under different circumstances.
When indoctrinating a new generation of children, the Communist Party in Russia would send apparatchiks into the schools. There they would have the children bow and pray to God for bread. When no bread was forthcoming a party official would enter and distribute a bounty of bread, conveying the idea that praying to an invisible God yields nothing, whereas the Communist Party is there to provide for the physical and material needs of its people. The seductive appeal of Communism would ultimately impoverish everyone, of course.
I can’t help but notice that as Western culture steps on the gas to distance itself from its Christian heritage, the signposts up ahead are all painted in red. Faith and reliance on God are being replaced with an unwholesome dependence on the state, and it’s not because of any failure on God’s part. For some, this dependency is idolatry but for others, it’s a ticket to power. With his class warfare and a craven appeal to our material concerns, a president like Barack Obama could only have come to power in an America that had become spiritually impoverished.
But he knows this, which is why his assault on the church is as devious as the stones he offers to the gullible.
THOMAS M. BEATTIE
Mount Vernon
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