The moral authority of the “woke” is a counterfeit virtue rooted not in transcendent truth, but in an anti-Christian worldview. Today’s progressive ideology did not spring from nowhere. It is a mutation of Marxist thought—an ideology birthed in rebellion, nourished by envy, and weaponized through deception. Parents, especially Christian ones, must understand that the woke do not care about your values. They seek your re-education. They aim to dismantle biblical morality, not merely disagree with it.
To understand what’s happening in America’s schools, universities, media, and even corporations, we must understand Karl Marx—both his theories and his life—and how today’s cultural revolutionaries have rebranded his ideas through identity politics. For an essential deep dive into this, I highly recommend Paul Kengor’s powerful exposé, The Devil and Karl Marx: Communism’s Long March of Death, Deception, and Infiltration. Kengor shows that Marx was not simply an economist or philosopher—he was a man animated by spiritual darkness, hatred of God, and a desire to destroy the moral fabric of society.
From Marx to Mao to Modern Wokeness: A Christian Perspective
Marx’s worldview divided the world into two camps: oppressors and oppressed. For him, the solution was not reconciliation or redemption but conflict and revolution. The working class (the proletariat) was to rise up and overthrow the bourgeoisie (the owners), and in the process, destroy all existing social structures—including religion, family, and private property.
Marx wrote in The Communist Manifesto, “The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is the demand for their real happiness.” In other words, to achieve his godless utopia, Christianity must be eradicated.
But Marx was no moral sage. Paul Kengor chronicles Marx’s deeply immoral personal life: He was chronically unemployed and lived off others while preaching class struggle. He neglected his children, two of whom committed suicide—one with her husband in a suicide pact. He was often drunk, and displayed vile racism and anti-Semitism, despite his Jewish ancestry. Marx, writes Kengor, was obsessed with destruction. In one of his poems, Marx wrote: “With disdain I will throw my gauntlet full in the face of the world, and see the collapse of this pygmy giant whose fall will not stifle my ardour. Then will I wander godlike and victorious through the ruins of the world.”
This is the man whose worldview animates today’s woke revolutionaries. He is their ideological father, whether they realize it or not.
Neo-Marxism: Violence by Other Means
The 20th century saw Marxist regimes interpret his doctrines in horrifying ways. Lenin, Stalin, and Mao sought to provoke class-based conflict to destroy civil society. The Soviet strategy included turning peasants against kulaks (small landowners), a campaign that led to mass starvation and murder. Mao’s China weaponized youth through the Red Guards to attack their elders, burn books, destroy traditions, and carry out the infamous Cultural Revolution. Their slogan: “Smash the Four Olds”—old customs, culture, habits, and ideas.
The woke, or what some call cultural Marxists or Neo-Marxists, follow this pattern—but instead of economic class, they define oppression through identity. Today, you are an oppressor or oppressed not by your wealth or labor, but by your race, sex, gender identity, ability, or religion.
Intersectionality: A New Class Warfare
In this system, the most “privileged” is the white, heterosexual, cisgender, able-bodied Christian male. The most “oppressed” is imagined to be a black, lesbian, transgender, disabled, non-Christian female. This hierarchy is called intersectionality, and its core belief is that those at the top (oppressors) are automatically guilty of systemic oppression—even if they’ve never harmed anyone.
This is not justice. It is slander.
In the name of “anti-racism,” the woke embrace overt racism—so long as it targets the “privileged” class. As with Soviet and Maoist systems, today’s cultural revolutionaries manipulate resentment, repackage envy as righteousness, and demand public confessions of guilt and re-education.
DEI: The New Religion
Every religion has its creed. For the woke, it is “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion”—often abbreviated as DEI. But these terms are deceptive:
- Diversity does not mean intellectual or theological diversity—it excludes conservative, Christian, or traditional views.
- Equity does not mean equal opportunity—it means forced equal outcomes, regardless of effort, skill, or morality.
- Inclusion does not mean welcoming everyone—it means excluding anyone who dissents from the new orthodoxy.
These principles are now baked into corporate policies, school curricula, government hiring, and even some church programs. They have replaced virtue with ideology.
The Illusion of Moral Superiority
The woke do not claim to be amoral. They claim the moral high ground. But their “morality” is a fabrication. In the 1960s, radical university students protested the supposed materialism and racism of their elders, while plunging into sexual anarchy and drug use. Their solution to moral failings was not repentance, but rebellion.
Today’s progressive movement continues that legacy. They claim moral superiority while defending abortion, sexual indoctrination of children, the denial of biological sex, the mutilation of children, and the normalization of perversion. Some even argue that using the term pedophile is offensive—preferring the euphemism minor-attracted persons.
Paul Kengor notes that Marxism and its variants are always parasitic. They must destroy the old before building the new. But what is the foundation of the new? It is not liberty, nor virtue, nor Christ. It is man as his own god.
The True Source of Morality
True morality comes not from man, but from God. The Bible tells us, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10, ESV). Any worldview that begins with man as judge will always descend into moral chaos.
God is the spiritual Father of believers.
Neither the woke or their ideological father, Karl Marx, determine truth—God does. Morality is not fluid, nor is it defined by “lived experience” or social power structures. It is rooted in the unchanging character of the God who made us in His image.
That image includes the ability to create systems of virtue—but when severed from Scripture, those systems become corrupt and tyrannical. The moral claims of the woke are not higher—they are lower. They disguise rebellion as compassion, envy as justice, and sin as progress.
Their accusations of racism and bigotry are often smokescreens—used not to correct actual injustice but to conceal their own radical agenda and seize cultural power. They have no real moral authority. They have only counterfeit claims.
Where Do We Go From Here?
We must resist wokeness, not merely politically, but spiritually. Parents must guard their homes. Churches must preach without compromise. Schools must be held accountable. Christians must speak truth in love, but also with clarity and courage.
Christopher Rufo has done valuable work exposing how Critical Race Theory and DEI have infiltrated public education. His short YouTube video titled “Critical Race Theory” is a helpful introduction. For deeper historical context, Paul Kengor’s The Devil and Karl Marx is essential reading.
As believers, we know the truth is not a social construct. It is a person: Jesus Christ, who said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6, ESV).
Let us call the woke to repentance—not to shame them, but to save them. And let us never surrender the moral high ground to those who reject the very source of truth and goodness.
S.D.G.,
Robert Sparkman
rob@christiannewsjunkie.com
RELATED CONTENT
Paul Kengor is a university professor who has authored books on several historical figures. His latest book entitled The Devil and Karl Marx covers Karl Marx. Following are two interviews with Dr. Kengor – one with Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, and the other with Jordan Peterson.
Christopher Rufo discusses critical race theory in the video below.
This blog post is related to a letter to the editor that I wrote to the local newspaper. The letter to the editor is available below.
Concerning the Related Content section, I encourage everyone to evaluate the content carefully.
If I have listed the content, I think it is worthwhile viewing to educate yourself on the topic, but it may contain coarse language or some opinions I don’t agree with.
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If you have evidence that I am wrong about a material statement of fact, provide the evidence and I will gladly review it and make revisions if merited. Obviously, there are some assertions that are matters of opinion that I will not change, but I always strive to be truthful.
I will continue to add videos and other items to the Related Content section as opportunities present themselves.
I recommend these Youtube channels and commentators for good content on politics and news from a Christian and/or conservative worldview: Albert Mohler, Allie Beth Stuckey, Bill O’Reilly, CBN News, Hugh Hewitt, John Anderson Media (Australia), Nick Freitas, Ruthless Podcast (language warning), Scott Jennings, The Hot Zone with Chuck Holton, Vince Dao, and Verdict with Ted Cruz.
For livestreaming of political protests and riots by conservative commentators, check out Nate Friedman, Cam Higby, James Klug, and Nick Shirley. I don’t agree with the perspectives of all these commentators and the language of protesters is often obscene. Most news outlets will not cover these illegal assemblies, though, because it doesn’t promote their narrative.
Depictions of Jesus Christ are used in some illustrations. I realize that some including conservative Presbyterians consider this to be idolatry. I respectfully disagree with their position on this matter as the commandment forbids worshiping such depictions, and I do not worship these illustrations.