Responsibility of Christians

Responsibility of Christians with regards to Communism and Capitalism and the mandates of the Gospel
506: Discussion Board 02
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Throughout the Cold War, there was growing distrust of communism among American Christians, and the US foreign policy primarily focused on an anti communist ideological approach. In looking at the foreign policy formulations the costs of allowing communist to spread would have costly to Americans and Christians as a whole. The focus on negotiated solutions or either military intervention of communist nations, were policies which the US relied on to advance ‘democracy’ following the threat of autocratic communists. To Christians, capitalist ideals allow them to follow God’s will with each person being held accountable for their actions and decisions unlike communism. This essay focuses on the responsibility of Christians with regards to Communism and Capitalism and the mandates of the Gospel
For the duration of the Cold War, capitalists and communists were on opposing sides and the Cold War shaped many policy adoptions in America. In order to stop the spread of communism, America intervened directly to support regimes in countries like Iran and Iraq. This would go on to have long lasting effects on America’s foreign policy. In the US, halting the spread of communism also reverberates today among American Christians. Communism relegates the role of God and Christianity in people’s lives, assuming that it is merely an illusion to control people. Christians have a responsibility to back capitalism, given that communism denies people their individuality, and ignoring the role of man as a moral being.
The ideological battles between communism and capitalism was most prevalent all through the Cold War after both the Soviet union and the US worked together to defeat Germans in WWII. The threat of nuclear holocaust influenced the two nations, but after WWII, the two never really went to war, but they sent their troops to various countries to support countries following the two competing ideologies. It is the fear of the spread of communism and other ideologies seeking to topple capitalist nations that has given impetus to the War on Terror. Containment was one of the strategies employed by the US and the Soviet Union between 1945 and 1956, with the threat of nuclear war a concern for both nations, in a largely bipolar world.
The Cold War influenced the foreign policies, and repercussions are still felt, as the US intervened to stop the spread of communism. The spread of communism has its roots in the works of Karl Marx who opposed the supposed exploitation of workers by capitalist who owned the factors of labor during the industrial revolution. To Marx, religion was no better that the exploiting capitalists, as it blinded people who focused on eternity, rather than the immediate situation where they needed to be empowered. The redistribution of wealth is the most common variant of Marxism common today, but feminism, multiculturalism and class warfare are based on communist ideologies. Liberation theology common is parts of Latin America have been adapted to fit the communist narrative. However, the Bible clearly states that human...