The Bible vs. Communism: Clear Principles for a Confusing Age. Series 1/6

Jul 25

Written By Bea

Part 1 of 6: Opening Statement – Socialism Is the Road to Communism

Series Summary:

This six-part series examines socialism and communism in light of Scripture. It argues that socialism is the deliberate first stage of communism and that both systems stand in fundamental opposition to the Bible’s teaching on private property, voluntary generosity, the dignity of work, and the proper limits of government. Historical evidence consistently shows that these ideologies produce tyranny, poverty, and mass death. The series concludes by calling Christians to stand firmly on biblical truth and live faithfully in a confusing age.

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury:

The question before us is simple: Should the United States of America adopt socialism or communism in any form?

The defense will claim that socialism is democratic, compassionate, and fundamentally different from communism. They will say, “It was never done right. This time it will be democratic socialism for the people.”

That claim is false — historically, ideologically, and empirically false.

Clear Definitions from the Originators Themselves

Communism, according to Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, is the final stage of history in which:

Private property is completely abolished
The means of production are owned by the collective (factories, land, resources) through the state or “the people”.
Classes and money disappear.
Society operates on the principle of centralized government which controls the economy to distribute resources a.k.a. “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.”

It is fundamentally atheistic and views religion as an obstacle to progress.

Socialism, according to Marx, Lenin, and Stalin, is the transitional stage between capitalism and full communism. Karl Marx, in Critique of the Gotha Programme, divided the future into two stages: the lower phase (what we now call socialism) and the higher phase (full communism).

In this stage the state seizes control of the economy and private property in the name of equality, with the explicit goal of reaching pure communism.

Vladimir Lenin made the same point repeatedly and clearly. In The State and Revolution (1917) he wrote: “In striving for socialism, however, we are convinced that it will develop into communism…” Elsewhere he stated: “Socialism is the first stage of communism.”

Joseph Stalin repeated and implemented the same principle. Socialism is not a destination. It is the deliberate first step designed to abolish private property and deliver total state control.

Two Very Different Starting Points

The Bible and communism begin at completely opposite points.

The Bible begins with a personal Creator who makes human beings in His image and immediately entrusts them with private property and stewardship.

Ownership is not a human invention or a social construct. It is a gift and responsibility given by God. The Eighth Commandment protects it.

When the early church practiced radical generosity, it was voluntary, not coerced.

Because every person is made in the image of God, they possess inherent dignity that includes the right to own and steward property. This dignity places clear moral limits on what the state may do.

Communism denies that dignity, treats people as products of material conditions, abolishes the private ownership God established, and replaces the Lord with the state. That is why communism must fail and always ends in tyranny.

Ken Ham has rightly called modern Marxism a false gospel — it offers a wrong diagnosis (economic conditions instead of sin) and a wrong solution (revolution and the collective instead of repentance and faith in Christ).

These two starting points cannot be reconciled.

The Body of Evidence – The Body Count

Because every person bears God’s image yet is fallen, power concentrated in human hands tends toward abuse.

“The heart is deceitful above all things and it is exceedingly corrupt. Who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9).

“For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

Communism assumes people can be remade through the right social structures. History has shown the painful results of that assumption.

According to The Black Book of Communism (Harvard University Press), the documented death toll of communist regimes in the 20th century exceeds 94–100 million people:

Soviet famines (under Lenin and especially Stalin): ~20 million
Mao’s China (Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution): ~65 million
Killing Fields of Cambodia (under the Khmer Rouge led by Pol Pot (1975–1979)): ~1.7–2 million (25% of the population)
Venezuela, North Korea, Vietnam, Eastern Europe, Ethiopia, Cuba, and others: millions more

These were not accidents. They were the predictable result of the ideology.

Eyewitness Testimony – The Survivors

Lily Tang Williams (China): Grew up during Mao’s Cultural Revolution. Watched neighbors denounced, property seized, and people starve while the state lied about “progress.” She now warns Americans that the same rhetoric is rising here. Watch her short testimony on X.
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (Soviet Union): Spent eight years in the Gulag. In The Gulag Archipelago he documented the system that turned ordinary citizens into slaves for the crime of wrong thoughts. Watch his speech at Harvard University in 1978 on YouTube.
Holodomor survivors (Ukraine, 1932–33): Stalin’s forced collectivization deliberately starved 3–5 million Ukrainians. Survivors describe eating grass, tree bark, and, in some cases, the dead. Holodomor survivor tells his story on YouTube.
Yeonmi Park (North Korea): Saw dead bodies on the street as a child, ate wild plants to survive, and watched the state punish three generations of a family for possessing a Bible. Watch her speak about her life on X.
Cambodian Killing Fields survivors (e.g., Youk Chhang, Dith Pran, Teeda Butt Mam): The Khmer Rouge emptied the cities, abolished money and private property, and murdered anyone with education or glasses. One survivor lost 23 family members.

I also lived under this system. Growing up, I remember empty shelves in government-run stores, people being jailed for trying to do extra work, rampant poverty, neighbors snitching on each other, constant surveillance, and enormous lines whenever a new shipment of food arrived. I distinctly remember standing for hours with my mother just to get one bag of government-selected coffee — the only brand available, with a limit of one bag per family. Often the coffee ran out before we reached the front of the line.

I praise and thank God for giving me a very resourceful earthly father who somehow managed to provide food for my family. Even though we lived modestly, we were not hungry. I know this was no easy task for my dad, and he often suffered consequences for it.

Do not take abundance for granted. Do not fall for the promise of “free.” There is no free lunch. Do not fall for the lies.

These are not abstract numbers or distant history. They are the lived reality of millions — including those of us who experienced firsthand the exact system some Americans now romanticize.

Rebuttal: “It Was Never Done Right — This Time It Will Be Democratic Socialism”

This is the most common defense, and it collapses under scrutiny.

Every major communist regime began by promising a more just, democratic, or “people-centered” version of socialism. Lenin, Mao, Pol Pot, and the early Soviet leaders all claimed they were building a better, more authentic form of the ideology. The result was always the same: concentration of power, destruction of private property, suppression of dissent, and mass death.

“Democratic socialism” does not escape this pattern. Once the state gains the power to seize and redistribute the means of production, the incentives for abuse are overwhelming. History shows that the transition stage (socialism) rarely stops voluntarily. The state that can give everything can also take everything.

Closing of Opening Statement

Socialism is not a kinder, gentler alternative. It is the declared first stage of communism. Every nation that has fully implemented it has produced mass death, poverty, and the persecution of the church. The evidence is overwhelming. The survivors are still speaking. The only question left is whether we will listen.

Next (Part 2): God’s Design for Private Property and Stewardship — and what happens when the state abolishes it.

Further Context

Clear Contrast: A Constitutional Republic

A constitutional republic is a form of government in which:

Elected representatives govern according to a written constitution that limits government power
Individual rights (life, liberty, property) are protected
Rule of law applies equally to all citizens
Private property, free enterprise, and voluntary exchange are foundational

The United States was founded as a constitutional republic, with built-in checks and balances precisely to prevent tyranny.

The Communism Symbol (Hammer and Sickle)

The main symbol of communism is the hammer and sickle (☭), often placed on a red background or star. What It Represents:

Hammer: Represents the industrial working class (proletariat) — factory workers, blacksmiths, and laborers who build society through manual and industrial work.
Sickle: Represents the agricultural peasants (rural farmers) who harvest the land.
Together: The crossed hammer and sickle symbolize the alliance between workers and peasants — the two main groups Marx believed should unite to overthrow capitalism and create a classless communist society.
Red color: Symbolizes revolution, the blood of workers, and the passion of the movement.

Origin: Designed in 1917–1918 during the Russian Revolution by artists working for the Bolsheviks (led by Lenin). It became the official emblem of the Soviet Union and was widely adopted by communist parties worldwide.

Bea