This has been an incredible book, and I think it will stay with me for a long time to come.  I was amazed at how much this book was a testimony to Chambers faith.  I expected an  inside look into Communism in the United States.  I didn’t expect a description of Chambers conversion from Communism to Christianity.

I think there are two messages that we should take from this book.  The first is that Communism isn’t the opposite of Capitalism.  Communism is the opposite of Christianity.  Christianity believes that man is made in God’s image.  We are required to treat one another as we want ourselves to be treated.  We, as Christians are required to follow the Commandments.  Communists are not only free of these requirements, they look at them as a weakness. Communists believe that men are simply another form of beast.   As such, there is no higher order they have to respect.  Any action, any betrayal, any lie is OK, provided it helps or protects Communism.

The other lesson is to remember just how far inside our own government communism had penetrated.  Alger Hiss was instrumental in the United States involvement at both the Treaty of Yalta and the formation of the United Nations.  With the collapse of the Soviet Union, and a resurgence of Russia, it’s hard to know how far Communism may have penetrated our current government.  However there can be no denying that communists “fellow travelers”  of socialism, Marxism, and statism are deep in our government.  The current administration and the current Congress have used these as their guiding principles for the last two years.

For Next Week: Let’s start Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis.  I plan on covering through the end of Book 2, Chapter 2 “The Invasion”.  For those of you keeping up with the reading, do you want to have an assignment for Christmas week or not?