So, God was wise. He counseled children to honor their parents and parents to honor their children. Each in their time is dependent upon the other.
Strong family solidarity is part of our religious strength and part of our national strength, but it is despised by the materialist. Marx and Engels wrote in their Manifesto that they stood for “the abolition of the family.” Immediately after the revolution, Lenin attempted to wipe out the family pattern of life, but social disease and social disorder forced the regime to reverse itself.
What About Communist Purges?
The sixth commandment says, “Thou shalt not kill.” The Mosaic code made the sanctity of human life extremely important. That is why a person who believes and practices the Judaic-Christian code does not make a good Communist. He will not kill on command. He cannot believe that a cause is just which depends upon blood purges, concentration camps, and cruel exploitation of human life for its existence.
This explains why we have such statements as this from Joseph Stalin:
“Have we suppressed the reactionary clergy? Yes, we have. The unfortunate thing is that it has not been completely liquidated. Anti-religious propaganda is a means by which the complete liquidation of the reactionary clergy must be brought about. Cases occur when certain members of the party hamper the complete development of anti-religious propaganda. If such members are expelled it is a good thing because there is no room for such Communists in the ranks of the party.”{257}
Significance of Marital Integrity
The seventh commandment says, “Thou shall not commit adultery.” Fundamentally the strength of the American home is rooted in an exchange of confidence between a mother and father, between parents and children. God might well say to us. “I give you nothing except that which is for your ultimate happiness. My commandments are not to take away happiness but to preserve it. I want you to be able to be honest with each other in your marriage covenants. If you want a happy family, if you want to share complete confidence with your mate, then thou shalt not commit adultery.”
And moral integrity does not begin with marriage. It finds its strength in careful self-discipline over the years. When two young people come to the marriage altar, I do not personally know of any greater insurance for a life of happiness and trust than for each of them to be able to say in their hearts as they kneel together, “Even before I knew you I honored you and kept myself circumspect for you.” As a law enforcement officer I learned that when young people approach marriage with this spirit of devotion and personal discipline, then purity, peace and happy families are usually the result.
The Thief and the Character Assassin
The eighth commandment says, “Thou shalt not steal.” The Communist commandment says, “Thou shalt not get caught stealing.”
The ninth commandment says, “Thou shalt not bear false witness.” Igor Gouzenko stated that the national pastime in his native land is tearing down the man just above you so you can take his place after he is discredited and gone. In our country we have a few people like that but it is not the American Way. One of the favorite Communist tricks is character assassination. American boys and girls should be taught that when they work for a man they should try and be loyal to him. Surely he is just a human being and he will have his faults, but he should be supported in every good thing he is trying to do. This is what builds communities. It builds industry, it builds schools. It builds a nation.
The Sanctity of Work
Then last of all we come to the tenth commandment which says we should gain wealth through our own industry. If we see a house, a car, or something else which another man owns, we are not supposed to sit down and try to figure out how we can cheat him out of them. That is what God calls, “Coveting our neighbor’s goods.” Instead, we should go out and work for the things we desire.
To desire good things and work for them is not a sin, but to acquire them by cheating or exhorting them from a neighbor is. While God says to respect the property of others, the materialists have taught for over a century that the object of human existence is the acquisition of loot and power; that the strong man should never be content, never be satisfied; whatever good thing the other man has he should want it and strive to obtain it. The gaining of spoils, the accumulation of others’ wealth and the concentration of power has been their constant goal.
The Christian Code
Last of all may I say just a few words about the Christian Code. Here are additional principles which—if understood and practiced—prevent a person from being a good Communist. As I go down the list see if you can determine why the former Soviet Commissioner of Education would say, “We hate Christians and Christianity.”
Here are a number of concepts typical of the teachings of Jesus:
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.{258}
Blessed are the peacemakers.{259}
It is better to give than to receive.{260}
Do not hate your enemies but do good unto them.{261}
Be as humble and teachable as a little child.{262}
Be wise, aggressive and alert to promote good and preserve peace.{263}
Perfect yourself by overcoming personal weaknesses.{264}
Follow the commandments of God to increase the value of your life and blot out the scars of past mistakes.{265}
The greatest happiness comes through the greatest service.{266}
Do good secretly and God—who seeth in secret—will reward you openly.{267}
Christianity also teaches that we are responsible to God for our daily conduct, even for our thoughts.{268} It also teaches the reality of human immortality and the resurrection. We are given the scientific declaration of Paul, Peter, Mary Magdalene, the eleven Apostles and five-hundred members of the Church who saw the resurrected Christ. It is good to know that after we pass from this life we too will eventually receive a perfected physical embodiment.
In his teachings Jesus affirmed what the prophets had taught—that beyond this life we will launch forward into another great pattern of existence. He taught that our next estate has been carefully engineered and will allow us a great variety of new experiences as we pass upward along the endless corridors of the future.
Like the Judaic Code these Christian principles give great strength to any free people. It is not difficult to understand why Communists seek to discredit these concepts. On the other hand, if we teach our children that there is no God, that men are only graduate beasts, that the end justifies the means, and that religious convictions are not scientific, then we will hear a resounding “Amen” from across the ocean.
A New Dynamic Trend in Education