Mere Marxism

I recently interviewed Megan Basham for my YouTube channel and during our conversation, she explained how communists in America in the early 20th century plotted to infiltrate and influence Protestant denominations. Progressives dismiss this as a conspiracy theory, but Megan has documented notes from such communists in which they outlined their plans. She said it reads like the monologue of a Bond villain when he lays out his plan for all to see. There is nothing secret about it. 

I shared with her that this is also true of the American university, although many secular professors still resist being labeled as Marxists. This is ironic because they will resist that label, but when you ask them to explain history, they say it is a conflict between the oppressors and the oppressed, essentially quoting the beginning of the Communist Manifesto. 

That is when she came up with a great idea. We need a resource that explains “Mere Marxism” for Christians. Christians have been easy targets for Marxist Progressivism because they have hearts and want to love their neighbor. For over a century, progressives have been repackaging Marxism to Christians as the best way to do just that. This has been so successful that for many people, justice and love simply mean progressive policies, with the only alternative being to become Ebenezer Scrooge. As a philosophy professor, I want to show what Marxism is to help warn the uninitiated. Here’s my guide to Mere Marxism:

Marxism 101

Marxism begins with the material dialectic. That’s fancy talk for the idea that “all of history is a conflict between those who have material resources and those who do not.” All of human life and troubles are reduced to material concerns. And what fuels the conflict is oppression. 

This means that the Marxist must always explain history by finding an oppressor; the one who gains material advantage over others. And the only way one can gain more than others, according to Marxism, is through theft and deceit. If one person or group has more than another, this can only be because the “have mores” stole or cheated the “have nots.” You can probably already hear echoes of this in how Modern and American history are taught in schools today; white European Christian men stole from the rest of the world, and their success is only due to illicit behavior. 

The Mere Marxist solution to this problem is through the state and, of course, taxation. By taxing the “have mores,” the state can seek a just and equitable distribution of wealth - or equal outcomes. 

For churches that swallow this, the belief becomes that the church is to help the state do this by focusing its teaching about sin on greed. Greed becomes the cardinal sin and the only way to explain differences in human living conditions. Any attempt to suggest that the Protestant work ethic played a part is dismissed as bigotry. In fact, modern Marxists have redefined terms like “work ethic,” “timeliness,” “diligence,” and “order” are largely redefined as code words used by the oppressors to justify their oppression and theft. This is the basic story that Mere Marxism teaches, and it has strategically postured as the loving and just version of society. 

The Issues

History shows that Marxism is a totalitarian system guilty for the murder of millions, as many as 100 million in fact, many of them targeted for being Christians. As such, that story won’t work for American Christians. But the story that loving your neighbor means relying on the state to take money from some and give it to others has worked. Evangelicals have been criticized for only caring about the soul and not the body, and in response, they have often adopted a Marxist explanation of poverty and justice.

One weakness that Marxists have exploited among Americans in general, and Evangelicals in particular, is ignorance about God’s providential rule in history and how that solves the problem of evil. Americans are aware that they have, by and large, materially privileged lives. They are also aware that many/most places in the world have significant suffering from poverty, sickness, and violence. A person who is born into the privileges of America can’t take any personal credit for them, and nor can a person born into the suffering of another nation be blamed for causing that suffering. Why is the world like this?

The Marxist has an answer. The answer is that the places where there is not as much suffering have exploited the places that have suffering. In this story, those places were once Edenic. The people lived in harmony with each other and with nature until European sails were seen on the horizon, and all hell broke loose. 

In reality, this is a silly and childish story since the truth is these places were filled with idolatry, sexual immorality, warfare, cannibalism, rape, self-mutilation, torture, and human sacrifice. But if you are taught the Mere Marxist narrative from K-12 and then in college, it is all you know.

Having misdiagnosed the issue and burdened all Westerners with guilt, Marxists next offer redemption through atonement. Those who now realize how they have participated in an unjust system can find a cause to advocate for in society. They can “make the world a better place” through their money and time before finally arriving at a Utopia in which we are all, finally, equal.  And of course, anyone opposed to this is a greedy capitalist. Those are the only options. 

For this reason, Marxism should rightly be considered as a cult that borrows from Christian beliefs. It teaches about a perfect time, the introduction of sin (private property and greed), and the path through atonement and redemption. It is a religion of works. There is no grace or mercy. You can only be redeemed by doing your fair share.

Twisting Scriptures

In weaving this false doctrine, Marxists will appeal to a number of Scriptures. Let me address a few. 

First of all, Marxists will appeal to Leviticus 19:34, “You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God,” to say that Americans must open their borders and accept all immigrants. What is often omitted is that the “stranger” who came to live in Israel did so to worship Yahweh. The stranger would be expected to keep the law of Moses. We know that the worst times in Israel’s history were due to Israel adopting the idolatry of other nations. Leviticus does not teach an open-border pluralist policy at all.

Furthermore, you will find Marxists misusing the New Testament to say that Christians should feed the poor by state programs. After all, James 1:27 says that “true religion is to look after orphans and widows” - does it not? What the Marxist does not do is quote the whole passage. The second part says, “and keep yourself from being polluted by the world.” This call to holiness is not heeded. Furthermore, caring for the poor is part of how we are to show our true faith. Demanding your neighbor be relieved of his purported wealth to fund government programs is not the same thing. 

Many of my atheist colleagues love to quote from Matthew 25, saying that what Jesus cared about is that you fed the poor, gave water to the thirsty, helped the stranger, and visited the prisoner because that is the same as doing those things for him. The sentences before that part of Matthew 25 take away any atheist's appeal to this verse, as it speaks of the final judgment of the righteous and the wicked. There is no doubt that the righteous are those who believe their sins are forgiven only by the cross of Christ, and the wicked are those who reject Christ. This passage cannot be turned into a works-righteousness passage. Furthermore, who are these works done for? “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Those in Christ’s family. This is an appeal to sacrificial Christian generosity towards those in the church, not to government programs. 

Marxists will similarly appeal to Jesus feeding the multitude. But remember, in John 6:26, Jesus rebukes the multitude, saying they only follow him because he fed them, and admonishes them to work not for food that spoils but for the food that leads to eternal life. Marxists reject this and cannot offer eternal life. They have no conception of reconciliation to God and the forgiveness of sins through God’s gracious act of sending His Son to die in our place. Mere Marxists and the progressive Evangelicals who have followed them are working for the food that spoils.

The Impact And Solution

Marxism teaches church members to be suspicious of each other, to judge each other based on skin color, wealth, background, or any multitude of other factors, and then assign blame on that basis. Such teaching is divisive, creating legalists who seek out the sins of others as a way to justify themselves. It destroys the peace of the church even while claiming to bring love and justice. Wolves in sheep’s clothing they come to you and say they are all for love and unity and helping others. If you do not have discernment, you learn too late about their teeth.

There is a simple solution to Mere Marxism. It is to know what is our chief end. A very rich person can lead a miserable life because they do not know their chief end. And a very poor person can lead a blessed life because they do know about their chief end. This is how it was with Dives and Lazarus. The moral of that parable is not that the state should have redistributed Dives’ wealth. It is that Dives’ should have imitated Lazarus and known true life. Our chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. Discontent and envy about our material conditions is a sin, not a path to justice.

Megan revealed through her investigative work how 20th-century liberal denominations fell for this Mere Marxist story and aligned with progressive policy. Those denominations are mostly failed and empty at this point. The Marxists moved on to the Evangelical churches, which still had some vitality and influence. Megan has helped pull back the curtain on the schemes of those who hold to this ideology and their intentions of destroying Biblical Christianity. It is incumbent on Christians, and especially Christian leaders, to be ready to demolish all of such arguments that are raised up against the knowledge of God.