Liberating Planet Earth

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