Liberating Planet Earth
by Gary DeMar by Gary DeMar
2 THE GOD OF LIBERATION God spoke all these words, saying: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:1-3). God announced Himself at Mt. Sinai. It was He who had intervened in history to deliver His people out of bondage. This God is the master of history. The false god of Egypt, Pharaoh, had not survived his confrontation with the God of the Bible. Because there was no god in Egypt powerful enough to call a halt to their liberation, God’s people are reminded not to call upon any other god in their worship. Here is a fundamental point of conflict between Christianity and Marxism. The Marxist does not believe in God. Marx argued that the idea of God stems from the minds of men, which in turn are the product of the mode of production at any point in history. Thus, in Marx’s view, a God who actively intervenes in history to deliver His people is a myth. That was Pharaoh’s view, too. ‘Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go” (Exodus 5:2). We see a statement of this view in the Humanist Manifesto H (1973): But we can discover no divine purpose or providence for the human species. While there is much that we do not know, humans are responsible for what we are or will become. No deity will save us; we must save ourselves. 29
30 Liberating Planet Earth The Marxist liberation theologians refer to the exodus again and again in their writings. They claim that it is Exodus, above all other books in the Bible, that gives to radical Chrktians the right of bloody revolution. The exodus of Israel from Egypt is the primary model for Marxism’s version of liberation theology. There is no question that Exodus does provide a model for liberation. Pharaoh was a tyrant. He worshiped foreign gods. In fact, Egyptian theology claimed that the Pharaoh was himself a god, the link between heaven and earth. Thus, Egyptian theology was at bottom humanism. God does not tolerate humanism forever. God destroyed Pharaoh and his troops in the Red Sea. God, Not Revolution, Delivered Israel There is an important aspect of the exodus story that the liberation theologians just never seem to mention. The Ism.dites were never called upon by God to engage in armed revolt against their captors. God intervened to deliver them, even against the will of their compromising rulers (Exodus 5:20-21). God cut down Egypt in the midst of its glory, but the Israelites had to be hounded out of Egypt. The Egyptians had to beg them to leave, offering them jewels and gold as an incentive (Exodus 12 :35-36). As people with a slave mentality, the Israelites preferred to remain in bondage to Egypt rather than to exercise dominion under God. This is why they said to Moses over and over that they wanted to return to Egypt (Numbers 11:5, 18, 20). The whole message of the Book of Exodus is that God delivers His people from bondage, even when they are in partial rebellion to Him. When they are in dedicated obedience to Him, He does not deliver them into bondage in the first place. They exercise dominion over God’s enemies under such circumstances (Deuteronomy 28:1-14). So in no way can the Book of Exodus legitimately be used as a justification for armed revolution. It is true that God will raise up evil, God-hating nations or groups to conduct bloody revolution against the Egyptians of this world. It may be that God is using the Communists to plow up the pagan, power-seeking political
- Page 2 and 3: LIBERATING PLANET EARTH
- Page 4 and 5: LIBERATING PLANET EARTH An Introduc
- Page 6 and 7: This book is dedicated to Loren Cun
- Page 8 and 9: For political religions, for humani
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- Page 12 and 13: 4 Liberating Piunet Earth doned his
- Page 14 and 15: 6 Liberating P&met Earth reasons su
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- Page 24 and 25: 1 CHRIST AND LIBERATION All things
- Page 26 and 27: Chtit and Liberation heart, soul, a
- Page 28 and 29: Christ and Liberation 21 ever there
- Page 30 and 31: Chrzkt and Liberation 23 Adam was a
- Page 32 and 33: Christ and Liberation 25 by 117%; B
- Page 34 and 35: Christ andLib~ation 27 How can we g
- Page 38 and 39: The God of Liberation 31 systems of
- Page 40 and 41: The God of Liberation 33 God as Lib
- Page 42 and 43: T& God of Liberation 35 versal stan
- Page 44 and 45: T/w God of Liberation 37 theology -
- Page 46 and 47: 3 THE ENEMIES OF LIBERATION “No m
- Page 48 and 49: The Enemies of Liberation 41 Three
- Page 50 and 51: The Enemies of Liberation 43 built
- Page 52 and 53: The Enemies of Liberation 45 for Go
- Page 54 and 55: The Enemies of Liberation 47 To spe
- Page 56 and 57: The Enemies of Liberation 49 or God
- Page 58 and 59: The Couenant of Liberation 51 us al
- Page 60 and 61: The Covenant of Liberation 53 For Y
- Page 62 and 63: The Covenant of Liberation 55 Creat
- Page 64 and 65: The Covenant of Liberation 57 Satan
- Page 66 and 67: The Covenant of Liberation 59 all l
- Page 68 and 69: The Covenant of Liberation 61 their
- Page 70 and 71: The Liberation of the Individual 63
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- Page 74 and 75: The Liberation of tb Individual 67
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- Page 78 and 79: i’%e Liberation of the Individual
- Page 80 and 81: 6 THE LIBERATION OF THE FAMILY Hono
- Page 82 and 83: Th Liberation of the Fami~ 75 born
- Page 84 and 85: The Liberation of the Fami~ 77 the
2<br />
THE GOD OF LIBERATION<br />
God spoke all these words, saying: “I am the Lord your God,<br />
who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.<br />
You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:1-3).<br />
God announced Himself at Mt. Sinai. It was He who had intervened<br />
in history to deliver His people out of bondage. This<br />
God is the master of history. The false god of Egypt, Pharaoh,<br />
had not survived his confrontation with the God of the Bible.<br />
Because there was no god in Egypt powerful enough to call a halt<br />
to their liberation, God’s people are reminded not to call upon any<br />
other god in their worship.<br />
Here is a fundamental point of conflict between Christianity<br />
and Marxism. The Marxist does not believe in God. Marx<br />
argued that the idea of God stems from the minds of men, which<br />
in turn are the product of the mode of production at any point in<br />
history. Thus, in Marx’s view, a God who actively intervenes in<br />
history to deliver His people is a myth.<br />
That was Pharaoh’s view, too. ‘Who is the Lord, that I should<br />
obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I<br />
let Israel go” (Exodus 5:2).<br />
We see a statement of this view in the Humanist Manifesto H<br />
(1973):<br />
But we can discover no divine purpose or providence for the<br />
human species. While there is much that we do not know, humans<br />
are responsible for what we are or will become. No deity will save<br />
us; we must save ourselves.<br />
29
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