Ronald Reagan

Our nation and many people of other countries are mourning the death of one of the strongest political leaders in American history and world history. The death of Ronald Reagan did not come as any surprise. Most of us understood the devastating Alzheimer's disease that was destroying his body. Nevertheless, as we mourn his death, we remember the great contributions he made for our country and the world.

Our Lord Jesus teaches us that we are to "render unto Caesar what is Caesar's." The New Testament gives further instructions for Christians on what our attitude should be to our government. "Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor." (Romans 13:7 NIV) Whether we agree with them or not, we are to show proper respect and sometimes honor toward our leaders. In the case of Ronald Reagan, we honor his memory for being a minister of God in the affairs of men.

We remember the now familiar line he used in Berlin: "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down that wall!" But his stand against the aggressors of the Soviet Communist Party had started long before that meeting. We honor the memory of this man who showed great courage, even against the advice of his own people, to let the leaders of the Communist Party know that enough is enough. When President Reagan took his bold stand against Communism, many people were crying out for more tolerance toward the Communist doctrine. These same people loudly denounced Fascism and Nazism in all forms.

The leaders of the Communist Party knew that they could not achieve their goals of enslaving all the workers of the world as long as America was such a strong voice for individual freedoms. We must never forget how far reaching and lasting an influence the founders of Communism have had upon many people – even in our own country.

Almost a hundred years ago, Lenin wrote; "`Religion is the opium of the people.' Religion is a kind of spiritual vodka in which the slaves of capital drown their human shape and their claims to any decent human life." In addition, in 1909 Lenin wrote; "Marxism is relentlessly hostile to religion." From an official Soviet newspaper – "Young Bolshevik" the writer stated; "Dialectical materialism, the philosophy of Marxism-Leninism and the theoretical foundation of the Communist Party, is incompatible with religion; the (Communist) Party is bound to oppose religion." Stalin later wrote; "The (Communist) Party cannot be neutral towards religion...Anti-religious propaganda is a means by which the complete liquidation of the reactionary clergy must be brought about."

The Soviet Communist Party came out with a treacherous scheme in the 1960's to deceive many gullible people in the West that Christianity and Communism have the same goals, and should be compatible. The touted their new laws regarding religious freedom, while at the same time the Soviet government established the Institute of Scientific Atheism. A huge campaign against religion was carried out in every phase of life for Soviet people. Instructors of Scientific Atheism, trained to teach this dogma, were put in schools, shops, factories, and other work places. Many districts in Russia still use the old textbooks, which contain this harsh teaching against faith in God. My wife Galina who grew up under this oppressive regime, and received her higher education in Russia, said the grades you received on Scientific Atheism counted more on your final report card than any other subject.

Due in some small part at least to the courage of President Reagan, in 1992 I stood in with some other preachers and one college vice-president and preached the Gospel of Christ to an audience of spiritually hungry people in a gulag mining town in the far north of Russia. The meeting hall belonged to the Communist Party, which had recently lost power. We gave away 2,000 Russian language Bibles that we had lugged on a long flight and longer train ride. Now there is a Church of Christ in Inta, along with other groups that were started about the same time.

Partly because of the implosion brought on by a regime which was built upon lies, and because of the courage of President Reagan, in 1993 I was able to travel to the Russian Far East. There we taught the Gospel and planted churches in Khabarovsk and Magadan. Today, the Magadan Church of Christ conducts their worship services in the same building that was previously the administrative center for the infamous Gulag prison system where many citizens worked as slave laborers. Millions of people died in these prisons while some in the West were crying for more tolerance in our dealings with the Soviets. We should thank God for giving us such a leader at just the right time in history.

You are invited to attend the services of the Church of Christ at the corner of 3rd and E Streets. Write me with any questions or comments David Binkley, Sr., P.O. Box 186, Cedar Key, FL 32625 or E-mail at dgbinkley@aol.com. You may also request to receive the daily WORD OF THE DAY by e-mail. Check out our web site at www.cedarkeychurchofchrist.com.