Liberating Planet Earth

Introduction 3
This is a strong statement, but it is one of the key doctrines of
the Bible. Can people who are slaves of sin escape other forms of
slavery? The Bible’s answer is clear: no. Eventually bondage to sin
produces earthly forms of bondage. This was the lesson of the Book
of Judges, as well as First and Second Kings. To escape bondage,
people must first escape bondage to sin, the original bondage.
What we need is to turn around and go back the other way.
The road to sajdom is a two-way street. In the Bible, the word “repent”
means “turn around.” Through the grace of God, people are able
to repent:
For by grace have you been saved through faith, and that not
of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should
boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).
People can be transformed morally, and this alone enables
them to overcome this world. By coming under the covenant that
God makes with His people, Christians can play a role in overcoming
the many evils of this world.
Regeneration by grace through faith in Jesus Christ is the first
step on the roadfiom serfdom. It is the first step in liberation.
Liberation Theology
This is a book about liberation theology. In fact, it’s a book
about two radically different types of theology, each of which
claims to be preaching liberation. One of these systems is Marxist,
and the other is Christian. One is based on the teachings of a
man who claimed that religion is the opium (drug) of the people,
while the other is based on the teachings of a perfect man who was
also the incarnation of God Himself.
We must be clear about this from the beginning. Karl Marx,
the founder of the political movement known as Communism,
was an atheist. He had been a liberal Christian as a youth, as we
can see in his schoolboy essay, “On the Union of the Faithfid with
Christ according to John XV, 1-14.” 1
But by age 20, he had aban-
1. Reprinted in Robert Payne (cd.), The Unknown KadMarx (New York: New
York University Press, 1971), pp. 39-43.