The Cuban Council of Churches, the Communist Machine
The Cuban Council of Churches is an organization made up of churches that have received approval from the communist regime in Cuba, which does not recognize the existence of God. It is the communist regime that sanctions without the revelation of Jesus Christ and will be judged, as stated by Paul, “But those who are outside God judges. Therefore, “Put away from yourselves the evil person” (1 Corinthians 5:13, NKJV). The CCC is not monitored to any degree by those who are, in the words of one author, “non-members such as denominations and Protestant house churches. The regime may control the church’s physical nature. However, the soul is untouched and in the hands of the Lord.
The Sad Deterioration of the Church in Cuba
The relationship between the church and the state has deteriorated since the Revolution due in part to the Marxist-Leninist government’s policies, which included nationalizing private schools and the departure of church leaders. Pondering this carefully, one can see that the United States government has nationalized the public school system. It does not matter who agrees. The truth is that parents have no say in what education looks like for their children. Please look at all the protests parents are making concerning their position, which the education boards have ignored. Moreover, they are doing it on Americans’ taxes for education. One must consider that when customers are unsatisfied with a company’s product and lose money, the company listens to its customers and makes the necessary changes needed to produce the product. Well, not that I want to look at our children as products, but within communist regimes, they are a finished product of what you want them to be when they reach college level—trained in the art of Marxism, Socialism, and Communism. The government-backed education system is not listening and strong-arming further to assimilate the children into ideologies that produce what they have the finished product in mind. Our children are more confused today than ever; confusion is the enemy. That is how the enemy divides and conquers, turning the children against their parents.
Discrimination Against Christians
In addition, in Cuba, discrimination against those within the church seeking to enter fields of study or job market was prevalent. Sound familiar? Cancel culture doing their work of discrimination while telling the people that the ones coming against them are racists. The blinders are being removed, but history reveals it will not stop them; they will readjust their plan into a new phase. It almost seems like they are always one step ahead. Caraway states, “Religious individuals became increasingly marginalized in the early 1960s; some were denied entrance to university or other jobs.”[1] Again, sound familiar? It was a strict requirement that unless church leaders conformed to the Cuban Council of Churches, they would not have an opportunity for inclusion in the Cuban government, highlighting the control exerted by the government over the church.
My Family Relative Risked Losing Everything?
I had mentioned in a previous podcast that when I visited Cuba in 2003, I met four relatives for the first time. I invited them to a church we were serving. One of the four said she could not come. She risked losing everything because she worked for the communist regime. So, tell me, how dare Fidel Castro use the racism card against the United States when the hypocrite himself did the same? Remember, God is not mocked, and whatever a person thinks he or she is getting away with here in the temporal will have eternal effects. The decision you make today about your eternal life is at risk of losing everything regardless of whether you accept that the Bible is the Word of God. My family relative would only lose everything in the temporal, but she risked losing it all, her soul.
Social Justice or Social Revenge?
In Cuba, young members of various Protestant churches debated aligning biblical doctrine and theology with certain aspects of the communist Government. To quote one writer, the youth “posited a need for a doctrinal base that promoted the positive aspects of the revolution, with a specific focus on social justice.”[2] Social justice was already circulating within Fidel’s communist regime. They were capitalizing on the race card for a very long time. I am sure that if I began to dig, I would find the lineage line of this social justice manipulation upon the people of the United States because of what the white British did regarding slavery. A new doctrinal base to promote positive aspects of the Revolution? Are you hearing this? Positive aspects of the Revolution? Really? Does the violent takeover of a country under the name of the Revolution have positive aspects? In addition, now you are indoctrinating the church with a social justice agenda? Let us call it what it is: social revenge.
The World Council of Churches
In Edmund Schlink’s Ecumenical and Confessional Writings, he points out some interesting facts about the World Council of Churches, a pusher of the ecumenical church. We are going to cover what this ecumenical church is as well. Schlink’s book reveals, “The World Council of Churches first met in Amsterdam in 1948 and established in Toronto in 1950.”[3] Right away, there are red flags because Canada has been a socialist country since 1898. Some say they are not a socialist country but refer to themselves as a “Social Democracy.” Sound familiar? Fidel stated that his government stressed the social aspects of Marxism and, in reality, was not really a Marxist country. In a previous podcast, I mentioned that Fidel said Communism or death, Marxism or death. Okay, that does not sound like a commitment to social aspects. Schlink goes on to say, “The Constitution and “Basis” that was adopted at Amsterdam defines the World Council as “a fellowship of churches which recognize our Lord Jesus Christ as God and Savior.”[4] This sounds wonderful, but some issues are tied to this constitutional basis that reflects the Cuban Council of Churches in Cuba.
Despite the country’s shift towards a more secular approach, religious gatherings and associations were still subject to significant limitations under the regime. Despite the changes, Schlink notes that “there were still clear limitations on religious gatherings and associations.”[5] The Cuban Council of Churches still influenced the church that sought the good in the communist regime. A deeper study is warranted in each individual who started and is currently involved to understand the World Council of Churches better. Okay, let us move on because you will find this next part interesting.
Sergio Arce, Influenced by Professors Who Did Not Believe the Bible Was the Word of God
While studying at Princeton University, Sergio Arce was profoundly impacted by two theological professors, John A. Mackay and Paul Lehmann. Wait a minute! Arce studied at Princeton University. That is exactly my thought: What in the world was he doing here in the first place? Mackay and Lehmann were not followers of Jesus Christ or believed that the Bible was the inerrant Word of God. Arce studied Mackay’s expertise in Hispanic philosophers, such as Unamuno, an educator and philosopher who benefited his cause. Arce was moved by Lehmann’s interpretation of Marx, which highlighted crucial social-ethical implications that resonated with and inspired him. Later, Arce would acknowledge that Lehmann’s principles were a significant driving force behind his evolving theological and ideological perspective. Unfortunately, Arce did not reference that the Bible was the driving force behind his developing theological and ideological perspective. Arce was a leader within the Presbyterian church, and he should have brought grave concern, given his submission to the Cuban Marxist government inspired by a Princeton professor.
In 1962, at the national convention of Cuban Presbyterian men, a lecture was delivered by speaker Sergio Arce. He believed that one could genuinely comprehend and honor God by engaging in the historical context of their surroundings, where God’s creative and redemptive purposes are active. The idea of Socialism and the Presbyterian church was entrenched by 1985, which led to Sergio Arce’s dismissal as stated by professor Theron Corse, “Socialism and Christianity was widely accepted in the Presbyterian Church, and in 1985, Arce was ousted by more moderate leaders, socialist in outlook but more critical of the Revolution.”[6] Socialism still prevailed in the Cuban Presbyterian church, with less extreme leaders. This is why Cuba had to intimidate with force, cutting off all support and connections with the Presbyterian church in America. I would have hoped that the Presbyterian church would have stopped this monster from watering down the gospel of Jesus Christ and conforming the Word of God to the Marxist, Socialist, Communist Revolution machine of Fidel Castro’s Cuba.
How Do We Get A Hold of This Indoctrination?
So, what do we do? How do we get a hold of this indoctrination that is happening in our country today? You know, what I find repulsive is that years back, when I would share the gospel of Jesus Christ with another, they would immediately say I was brainwashing them or using tactics to brainwash people into believing that Jesus is the Messiah. First off, when I share the gospel message with a person, you have the choice to proceed with discovering whether what the Bible says is true or not; you have that choice. Therefore, I am being a gentleman by giving you the information, walking away, and leaving it to you to decide. So, as you can see, no brainwashing tactics were employed. Now, have people in the past abused and misrepresented the Holy Word of God? Absolutely! Enslavers used the Bible to justify why slavery was justified. I will tell you today that this was nothing more than a tactic of the enemy to sway people from wanting anything to do with the Word of God. I also felt that way, but I did not let others determine my salvation; I hunkered down and read and read and confirmed that the Bible is, in fact, the Word of God. People can hunker down and read the truth of what Jesus did for the human race. I believe the Bible is the Word of God, but it is not my belief; instead, it is what the Word says, which is the belief of whether we accept the gift or not, eternal life.
If the local governing education system begins to run the course of strongarming their agenda, no more funds, and you are all fired. “We, the People of the United States, in Order to form a perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity (meaning future generations) do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”[7] We the people, not we the Government. Pray that God will move among the people, change hearts, and heal our land.
[1] Rose T. Caraway, “Religion, Sustainability Movements, and Ecumenism, 446.
[2] Ibid., 447.
[3] Edmund Schlink, Ecumenical and Confessional Writings: Volume 1: the Coming Christ and Church Traditions/after the Council, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2016, 53.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Theron Corse, “Presbyterians in the Revolution: An American Missionary Church and the Challenge of Castro’s Cuba, 1959–1970.” Cuban Studies 31 (2000): 115.
[7] Flashcards – Preabmle.. https://freezingblue.com/flashcards/6301/preview/preabmle