When a Nation Forgets God: Seven Lessons We Must Learn From Nazi Germany
Lesson Overview
When a Nation Forgets God: Seven Lessons We Must Learn From Nazi Germany Dr. David Noebel
This standalone message is given by Dr. David Noebel, founder of Summit Ministries and author of the worldview textbook Understanding the Times, drawing on his updated edition of Fred Schwarz’s classic You Can Still Trust the Communists (to Be Communists). This overview covers the durable, teachable core of the talk: what communism is as a worldview, how it stands opposed to the biblical view of God and property, and the sobering record of communism in practice. Use it to review the key points after watching the full video.
A note on this lesson: much of the original talk consisted of Noebel naming specific contemporary individuals and organizations and asserting them to be communists or communist sympathizers, from a strongly partisan standpoint around 2011. Those claims are contested political accusations about named, living people and groups, and this overview does not reproduce them or present them as fact. What follows is the durable worldview analysis, which stands on its own and connects to Noebel’s other two lessons in this series. See the note for students.
The Setting: Faith Under Pressure
Noebel opens with Hebrews 11, the great “faith chapter” that lists those who “conquered kingdoms” and “administered justice” by faith, and also those who were tortured, imprisoned, and killed rather than deny their faith. He connects this “cloud of witnesses” to the present: while Christians in America have not faced that level of persecution, he argues believers should be spiritually prepared, grounded in truth, and not ruled by fear. This frames his purpose, to equip believers to understand and stand firm.
One of Six Worldviews
Noebel places communism within the framework his ministry teaches, which is developed fully in his talk “Six Worldviews That Rule the World.” There are, he argues, six major “evangelistic” worldviews competing for people today: Christianity, Islam, Secular Humanism, Marxism, New Age (or Cosmic Humanism), and Postmodernism. Each answers the same set of about ten basic questions (in theology, philosophy, ethics, biology, economics, and so on). Communism, in his analysis, is the popular name for the worldview of Marxism-Leninism, and “leftist” is another common label for the same underlying position.
For the fuller framework, see the companion lessons “Six Worldviews That Rule the World” and “How the Worldview of Marxism Lives On.”
What Marxism Is at Its Core
Noebel summarizes the Marxist worldview in two phrases: “dethrone God, destroy capitalism.” Its foundation is atheism; its economic program is the abolition of private property. He argues these two are connected, and that in the Marxist view private property is treated as the root cause of society’s ills.
He grounds the atheism point in Scripture’s description of the person who says “there is no God,” and stresses that communism is finally a spiritual matter, not merely an economic theory, because it begins by denying God.
Marx in His Own Words
To show that this opposition is not a caricature, Noebel quotes Karl Marx directly from the Communist Manifesto (1848). Marx wrote that Christianity has “declaimed against private property, against marriage, against the state,” and dismissed attempts to blend the two, saying “Christian socialism is but the holy water with which the priest consecrates the heartburnings of the aristocrat.” Noebel’s point is that Marx himself understood his project as fundamentally opposed to Christianity and to private property, so the two cannot simply be merged.
The Biblical Response: Property and Acts 5
Against the claim that the early church practiced communism (because believers in Acts shared their possessions), Noebel points to Acts 5:4. When Ananias is confronted by Peter, Peter says the property was his to keep and the proceeds his to control; his sin was lying, not owning. Noebel argues this shows the early church’s sharing was voluntary generosity, not coerced collective ownership, and that private property remained intact. This is the same key argument developed in his lesson “How the Worldview of Marxism Lives On,” where he also draws on Abraham’s purchase of a burial field (Genesis 23) and the parable of the talents (Matthew 25).
Communism in Practice: The Human Cost
Noebel stresses the historical record of communism where it has held power. Citing The Black Book of Communism (published by Harvard University Press), he notes that communist regimes were responsible for the deaths of tens of millions of people, more, he argues, than any other movement in history. He points to the brutality of the Cuban regime under Fidel Castro as one example, noting that large numbers fled the country to escape it. His point is moral as well as factual: a worldview that begins by denying God and abolishing property has, in practice, produced immense human suffering, and this history should not be forgotten or minimized.
What Christians Should Do
Noebel closes with application. His counsel: stay close to the Lord; find out what breaks God’s heart (the loss of life, injustice) and let it break yours; study hard, because “ignorance is not a luxury,” reading widely and then passing the knowledge on; be equipped to understand the competing worldviews; engage as informed citizens, voting thoughtfully for what is good; and refuse to give in to fear. He ends by praying that the peace and truth of Christ would guard believers’ hearts and minds, and encouraging them not to be afraid but to be prepared.
Key Terms
Marxism-Leninism: the worldview for which “communism” is the popular name.
Abolition of private property: the central economic aim of Marxism, which Noebel says Scripture opposes.
Atheism as foundation: Noebel’s point that communism begins by denying God, making it a spiritual matter.
Voluntary sharing versus coerced collectivism: the distinction, drawn from Acts 5:4, between the early church’s free generosity and forced common ownership.
The six worldviews: Noebel’s framework placing Marxism among Christianity, Islam, Secular Humanism, New Age, and Postmodernism.
The Black Book of Communism: the scholarly work Noebel cites documenting the death toll of communist regimes.
Verses to Know
Hebrews 11, the faith of those who endured, and the cloud of witnesses. Psalm 14:1, the fool says in his heart there is no God. Acts 2:44-45 and 4:32, the early church sharing possessions. Acts 5:4, the property and its proceeds remained Ananias’s own. Exodus 20:15, you shall not steal (which assumes private property). Matthew 25:14-15, the talents given each according to his ability.
Takeaway
Noebel argues that communism is not merely an economic theory but a worldview founded on atheism and the abolition of private property, that Marx himself understood it as opposed to Christianity, that Scripture affirms private property and voluntary generosity rather than coerced collectivism, and that the movement’s record in power has been one of immense human suffering, so believers should understand it clearly, hold to the truth, and live prepared and unafraid.