Secret societies and subversive movementsWebster, Nesta Helen
History
Secret societies and subversive movements
Webster, Nesta Helen
Secret societies
It is true that a certain section of the Socialist movement proclaims
itself Christian. The Illuminati made the same profession, so have the
modern Theosophists and Rosicrucians. But, as in the case of these
secret societies, we should ask of so-called Christian Socialists: What
do they means by Christ? What do they mean by Christianity? On
examination it will be found that their Christ is a being of their own
inventing, that their Christianity is a perversion of Christ's real
teaching.
The Christ of Socialism invoked in the interests of Pacifism as the
opponent of force and in the interests of class warfare as a Socialist,
a revolutionary, or even an "agitator," bears no resemblance to the real
Christ. Christ was not a Pacifist when He told His disciples to arm
themselves with swords, when He made a scourge of cords and drove the
money-changers from the Temple. He did not tell men to forgive the
enemies of their country or of their religion, but only their private
enemies. Christ was not a Socialist when He declared that "a man's life
consisteth not in the abundance of the things that he possesseth."
Socialism teaches that a man must never rest content as long as another
man possesses that which he has not. Christ did not believe in equality
of payment when He told the parable of the ten talents and the
unprofitable servant. Socialism would reduce all labour to the pace of
the slowest. Above all, Christ was not a Socialist when He bade the
young man who had great possessions sell all that he had and give it to
the poor. _What School of Socialism has ever issued such a command?_ On
the contrary, Socialists are enjoined by their leaders not to give their
money away in charity lest they should help by this means to prolong the
existence of the present social system. The truth is that, as I showed
in connexion with the fallacy of representing Christ as an Essene, there
is no evidence to show that He or His disciples practised even the
purest form of Communism. Christ did not advocate any economic or
political system; He preached a spirit which if applied to any system
would lead to peace among men. It is true that He enjoined His disciples
to despise riches and that He denounced many of the rich men with whom
He came into contact, but it must not be forgotten that His immediate
mission was to a race that had always glorified riches, that had
worshipped the golden calf, and by which wealth was regarded as the
natural reward of godliness.[742] Christ came to teach men not to look
for present reward in the form of increased material welfare, but to do
good out of love to God and one's neighbour.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account