Marx and Satan, written by Pastor Richard Wurmbrand, is an intriguing book that looks into some of the publicly available information we have about Karl Marx, the inventor of Communism.
This book reveals that Marx was once a professing Christian. An excerpt from Marx's first book, The Union of the Faithful with Christ states:
Through love of Christ we turn our hearts at the same time toward our brethren who are inwardly bound to us and for whom He gave Himself as sacrifice, [p. 11].
Are these sincere words from an honest Christian man? They certainly seem to be. Marx's comrade, Friedrich Engels, was also a believer, and became a conservative theologian. He wrote against the liberal theologians of his time who criticized the Bible as the absolute word of God, and he also wrote a number of very sound Christian poems and hymns.
Why did Marx became a God hater who invented not only one of the worst tools of oppression to Christianity, but also to all of humanity? Why did Engels become his accomplice? The turning point in both of their lives occurred at the universities they attended when they learned of a new ``Christian doctrine'' called ``liberal theology''. Engels was aware of the danger of this theology and even wrote against it, yet in the end was not able to conquer the error. He wrote:
I pray every day, indeed almost all day, for truth, and I have done so ever since I began to doubt, but still I cannot go back. My tears are welling as I write, [p. 36].
What drove the liberal theologians to corrupt the Christian belief of youths such as these? The book that Engels read that first led him to doubt his faith was written by Bruno Bauer, an acclaimed liberal theologian at the time. Bauer says of his own sermons,
I don't recognize myself when I pronounce my blasphemies from the pulpit ... it is a very bad demon that possesses me as often as I ascend the pulpit, and I am so weak that I am compelled to yield ... [p. 37].
The unbelieving blasphemies weren't obvious to his listeners but were very subtle manifestations of a spirit of error speaking words that fostered doubt and unbelief toward the truth of God's word. Bauer was quite aware of what he was doing, and he certainly had no false pretense of seeking to follow the Scriptures more truly, which is the purported aim of liberal theology.
Wurmbrand exposes how Marx, a former Christian, went on to become a hater of God and the Christian. Marx eventually joined the satanic cult of his closest comrades, and this book explains in detail the evidence of that decision.
The reader learns that Marx was initially opposed to the ideas of socialism and Communism until Moses Hess persuaded him of the usefulness they had in being agents of the destruction of mankind, which was Marx's ultimate satanic goal. Why was Marx so bent on the destruction of mankind? We will never know for sure, but we do know what he wrote in this poem:
... I wander godlike and victorious Through the ruins of the world And, giving my words an active force, I will feel equal to my Creator.
The parallel to Scripture is obvious.
Isaiah 14:13.
13. ``But you [satan] said in your heart, `I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north.
14. `I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
We see an aggression against God in Marx's writings, and apparently he found Communism an excellent means to his end of ``feeling equal to his Creator'', much as satan himself declared. In spite of the death and destruction that the writings of Marx have fostered for over 100 years, neither he nor satan will ever achieve their goal of equality with God. The creature can never replace the Creator.
Wurmbrand challenges the reader in the last part of the book to reject Communism as the satanic religion it is and to accept Christ and Christ's teachings. He also has a discussion of those who attempt to meld Communism and Christianity, which is simply a way of replacing the gospel with satan's teachings.
I especially like the fact that Pastor Wurmbrand is not an academic in a glass tower compiling a set of research facts. Rather, he is a former leader of the underground church of Romania who spent fourteen years in the Communist prison under the palace of Caeusescu, the former dictator of Romania. Three of those years were in solitary confinement. By God's grace and power, he emerged spiritually victorious and sane. He also spent three years in the prison hospital ward from which no one else ever left alive. He was healed by the power and grace of God and is still alive at this writing. Richard Wurmbrand knows firsthand the ravages of Communism, and he also knows firsthand what the saving power of Christ can do. He is a man of keen intellect, and his research is careful, concise, complete, and compelling. Those 14 years and older will find the book an instructional, sober look into the spiritual reality of communism.
Marx and Satan is available from the Voice of the Martyrs for $5.00 plus $3.00 shipping. Their website is http://www.persecution.com/. You can reach them by telephone at (918) 337-8015. Their address is:
The Voice of the Martyrs
P.O. Box 443
Bartlesville, OK 74005
USA
Australian readers can contact VOM at:
VOM
PO Box 598
Penrith, NSW 2751
Australia
If your family would like to learn of the practical realities of life for a Christian in Communist Cuba, I recommend I Will Die Free by Noble Alexander, another pastor who spent twenty-two years in a Communist prison system. This book is also available from Voice of the Martyrs for $8.00 plus $3.00 shipping. This book covers history, government, psychology, marriage, and religious liberty.