Americans must take the time to learn what the Communitarian philosophy is all about in order to understand the agendas in modern politics and religion. Communitarian principles (which are really just a “softer” version of communism) are being taught in a number of universities in this country, both secular and Christian. A Communitarian adopts and advocates concepts such as a cooperative spirit of community, selfless commitment to community service, and the duty to work for “the common good.” The ideals of this philosophy are coming in today as a new sort-of “salvation” for the human race, a new way to solve the world’s problems and have peaceful governance on Earth.
INDIVIDUALISM?
While it is true that, on the surface, a commitment to one’s community can sound very “good,” “Christian” even, there is a menacing evil behind Communitarianism’s bighearted ideals. Lying beneath its face is a subtle spirit/a subtle fortitude against individualism, which ultimately, will come against an individual’s right to worship and follow the god of his choosing. America was founded on principles, which guarded an individual’s rights, so that he/she may have the freedom to pursue his/her own definition of life, liberty, and happiness (as long as such did not impede the rights of others). The freedoms we have in America have allowed Christians to worship and follow the Lord in ways that those in other countries must risk their lives to do on a daily basis.
Our individual rights and freedoms in this country are a blessing beyond measure for which we should praise God and strive to protect. Yet, we are being brainwashed to belittle their worth. Amazing how often some of the worst evils, at first, appear “good.” If you can get the public accustomed to consensus-thinking, they will neglect the importance of their individual freedoms. If you can get people to put the so-called “greater good” of the community first, they will often neglect personal convictions, leadings, and callings from God.
Niki Raapana, the co-founder of the Anti-Communitarian League (ACL), an online research center, has said, “I’m preparing to write a series of articles introducing readers to the most important aspects of this complex and confusing theory that leads to a global Communitarian order. . . . Georg William Friedrich Hegel was a German theologian and philosopher who formed a theory of history to help dispute the American principles for individual freedom based in natural law. Amitai Etzioni is a German-Israeli immigrant who came to the US to further Hegel’s synthesis.”[1] In the New Age mind, “natural law” is considered a form of “god” as well.
ECUMENICAL!
Someone has said, “the worst thing that can happen to a preacher is that he becomes civilized.” Again, the danger in becoming too enmeshed and dependent upon a group or society is that it can cause one to forsake complete loyalty to Christ. The Lord required the Jews to separate totally from the culture and ways of the surrounding nations just as Believers today are supposed to separate, spiritually-speaking, from the world and its endeavors. How could the Jews have been part of a global community? And likewise, how can God’s true Followers today become part of ecumenical religious efforts, which have nothing to do with the true Gospel? “And what concord has Christ with Belial? or what part has he who believes with an infidel?” (II Cor. 6:15). When the Antichrist imposes the “mark of the beast” upon those under his domain, will you choose to become part of his community or separate and follow God?
PREACH THE WORD
What is extremely alarming is the degree this community-oriented thinking has already infiltrated the church. It has gone so far that service to the community is now considered to be an indicator of whether one is a Christian or not! The modern church should keep in mind Christ’s Words, “. . . You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve” (Lk. 4:8). Of course Christians care about the poor and needy, but such does not define a follower of Christ. Over the years, our ministry here has given hundreds of thousands of dollars to poverty-stricken countries all over the world in order to feed the hungry, build churches and schools, and set up medical facilities. But, this was all done while a strong Gospel message was being preached from God’s Word. The preaching of the Word is the true Christian commission. You see, man’s need is not really physical things; man’s need is Salvation and Deliverance from the bondages of sin. What good is a new house for a man still in bondage to drug addiction or an emotional disturbance? A new house cannot deliver him, and his life will still be miserable. What good is it to feed someone a meal when he will turn right around and have his sinful lifestyle prevent him from keeping a job? Once a man is Saved and set free, however, he will be empowered by the Holy Spirit to work a job and put food on his table. Then, the Lord can lead, guide, and provide for all his needs. The Lord may also guide a fellow brother in Christ to help him. God does speak to His People about who to help and when. If you have given your heart to Jesus, He will guide another Believer to you if necessary.
TRANSFERENCE OF FAITH
The Lord accomplishes all these provisions by the Leading and Guiding of the Holy Spirit, but sadly Christians today are not being taught to let the Spirit lead. They are being taught to depend on community social programs. This transfers faith from belief in God to belief in man. Nowhere does Scripture tell us to rely on other men. All social/community programs are made up of flawed human efforts, which have no guarantee of success or fulfillment of their promises. It’s a part of maturing and growing in the Lord to become dependent upon Him alone. If we look to man to provide for us, we’ve lost sight of our True Saviour. We must come to trust that our needs are all met through Christ and what He did for us at Calvary. “The LORD redeems the soul of His servants: and none of them that trust in Him shall be desolate” (Ps. 34:22). “. . . Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him” (Ps. 2:12). See, when the church joins the world in social programs to solve humanity’s problems, the Holy Spirit can no longer lead. Even if the unsaved world wants to do “good,” all they can ultimately do are the works of Satan. Until a man is Saved, he will do the bidding of Satan without even meaning to. In his fallen state, a man can be nothing more than a servant of unrighteousness. Once the Lord becomes his Father, however, the Works of God can be accomplished as the Holy Spirit empowers him through his Faith and reliance upon the Lord! “ . . . Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit says the LORD of Hosts” (Zech. 4:6).
CHRISTIAN SOCIALISM
Today’s world-centered, non Spirit-led, church, however, is illustrating a different kind of service, service designed to please man rather than God. They emphasize organizational behaviors rather than true Biblical beliefs, in short, “deeds instead of creeds.” They actually train their servers to hide the “offensive” truths of the Gospel so that more people will come into the fold. Again, behind their facade of “good works” is simply just another version of the century old “Christian Socialism,” which now fits-in perfectly with the modern Communitarian philosophy. When churches do away with strong theological preaching from behind the pulpits, the deceiver (Satan) may then come in with his brand of the gospel. Knowing he cannot eliminate the concept of God, he redefines God as being this cosmic New Age force of “love,” as we mentioned in last month’s article. He introduces the concept of a non-judgmental God who could never send anyone to a horrifying place called Hell. Satan whispers to the modern church that if we love our neighbor, we will never offend him by telling him that Jesus Christ is the Way and the Only Way to Eternal Life (when the exact opposite is true). Instead, the enemy says, we should just respect all religions, beliefs, and values as if they are just as valid as our own Biblical teachings. Never mind the Bible says, “Thou shall have no other gods before me.” Just ignore that. After all, that is just in the Old Testament, not for the modern church-goer. Today, we can even learn to honor and esteem worshippers of Allah. After all, aren’t we supposed to love everyone? What’s wrong with bringing all of the world’s religions together into one big happy family, finding common ground, and doing good works? What’s wrong with bringing the whole world into unity? Just think how many times a day we hear Satan preach this lie through various media. But, as Christians, we should be asking – unity of what? and for what reason?
COMMUNITY?
The modern church, you see, is actually playing the critical role for the Communitarian ideal to work because “community” needs to become a part of the religious consciousness of people. People will usually come to accept something on a religious level before they will support it on a political level. Communitarians want their philosophies to be considered “Christian.” This is why its concepts are being taught in the church. Rick Warren’s “3-legged stool” fits into the Communitarian ideal perfectly as it calls for government, business, and church cooperation. In our February article we mentioned Tony Blair’s statement that “religion is the new politics.” Robert Phillips, of the Carnegie Council, writes, “Pope John Paul’s great vision of communitarianism and a New Global Order has yet to receive the recognition it deserves in furthering the understanding that humanity is built on religious values, without which transformations in totalitarian regimes would have been impossible . . . Communitarianism presents an encouraging universal notion of freedom, transcending the one-sided stances of Marxism and libertarian capitalism and promoting the vision of a unified human destiny.”[2]
If Americans do not wake-up quickly, we will find ourselves past the point of no return!
When Christ and His Disciples went out to minister and spread the Gospel, there was no consensus. Rather, it was “Thus says the Lord!”
A BURDEN FOR SOULS
What if, instead of preaching the Gospel on Mars’ Hill and correcting its citizens for their idolatrous worship of other gods (Acts 17:16-34), the Apostle Paul had appealed to the citizens so-called “better nature,” asking them to join him in working for peace? What if, like so many of our modern “preachers,” Paul had reasoned to himself: “After all, we all worship God and want the same things in life, right? So, let’s join together and work for the ‘greater good’ of Rome.” What an unimaginable loss for the cause of Christ that would have been. But, thank the Lord, we know that no such thought entered Paul’s mind! Scripture makes it completely clear Paul was troubled and burdened at the knowledge of their lost condition. Scripture says Paul’s spirit was “stirred within” as he saw the city given over to idol worship. Any man who is truly called of God will have a burden for souls. Day and night, it will be the cry of his heart! Where are these men of God today? The Gospel is about souls, not religious efforts and goals!
1. (http://www.rense.com/general77/sele.htm)
(Communitarianism – Final Synthesis In Hegelian Dialectic. Niki Raapana, 2007. http://nord.twu.net/acl)
2 (http://www.crossroad.to/Quotes/communitarian/niki.htm) (Communitarianism, the Vatican, and the New Global Order by Robert L. Phillips, CarnegieCouncil.org)
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