Frederick R. Smith Speaks: Nefarious National Council of Churches

Frederick R Smith has moved to Frederick R. Smith Speaks (substack.com)

The National Council of Churches (NCC) claims to represent many church denominations in the United States. Headquartered in New York City, the NCC is like a typical bureaucracy with various departments and divisions. Founded in 1950, it holds to be “the leading force for ecumenical cooperation among Christians in the United States.” It also claims that “... 36 Protestant, Anglican and Orthodox member denominations include more than 50 million persons in 140,000 local congregations in communities across the nation.” Their statement of faith says:

“The National Council of Churches is a community of Christian communions, which, in response to the gospel as revealed in the Scriptures, confess Jesus Christ, the incarnate Word of God, as Savior and Lord. These communions covenant with one another to manifest ever more fully the unity of the Church. Relying upon the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, the communions come together as the Council in a common mission, serving in all creation to the glory of God.”

The above sounds nice but a browse through their website finds that extraordinarily little of NCC’s activities concern religion. What is most disturbing about the NCC is the fact that it always has championed and continues today to champion socialist programs and it promotes leftist causes. [1]

Long before the NCC came along, Walter Rauschenbusch, in 1893, wrote, “The only power that can make socialism succeed is religion. It cannot work in an irreligious country.” Rauschenbusch saw socialism as the goal with religion being the quintessential instrument to carry out this task.

The first effort to create a national church organization occurred in 1900 as a nationwide committee of 25 leading churchmen assembled. Many were devoted socialists or “Fabians.” The following year delegates from local church federations met in Philadelphia to birth the National Federation of Churches (NFC). In 1902 in Chicago, several prominent NFC clergymen took part in the national convention of the Socialist Party. In 1905 a meeting in New York occurred to propose a Federal Council of Churches, now the National Council of Churches.

In 1908, Waller Rauschenbusch and Harry Ward organized a conference in Philadelphia to set up the Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America (FCC). Its constitution was the same socialist plan of the 1905 conference. Also adopted was the “The Social Creed of the Churches” written by Harry F. Ward. As a result, the FCC became a major proponent of hyper-socialism in America. Some writings also suggest that Ward had direct contact with Communists such as Lenin.

In 1927 the FCC lobbying became so deliberate that Congressman Arthur M. Free introduced a resolution that said the FCC was “a communist organization aimed at the establishment of a state-church ....” That is an interesting twist on the concept of a wall of separation! While some may say “Oh no, Fred Smith is one of those ‘reds under the beds’ types, history tells us that Military Intelligence branded the FCC as subversive. Furthermore, the 1928 Naval Institute Proceedings showed that the FCC was “probably the most powerful propaganda organization in the country.” It gets worse. In 1932 Congressional Committee Report Number 2290 also showed that the FCC was a subversive organization.

In 1942, the FCC developed a special report issued by the Commission to Study the Basis of a Just and Durable Peace, which among other things desired “a world government of delegated powers.” Chairman of this Commission, which issued these proposals, was John Foster Dulles. In 1945, the FCC was one of only 42 non-governmental organizations invited to the conference at San Francisco that founded the United Nations (UN). Who was leading the UN conference? None other than Soviet spy Alger Hiss who along with Dulles had both earlier served in FCC committees.

The FCC held a convention at Cleveland in 1950 where it absorbed four additional organizations and formally changed its name to the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. or simply the National Council of Churches (NCC). In 1952, the Air Reserve Center Training Manual detailed the fact that the NCC had published a “Revised Standard Version” of the Bible. NCC altered many passages to portray a “social gospel.” Now we know where the mantra “Jesus was a socialist” came from.

As much as this author disdains the concept of a total and complete wall of separation between church and state, the primary concern of the Church should be the care of souls.

The NCC’s primary mission is to mold and influence politics, education, and economics. It promotes poverty programs, artificial birth control, gun control, socialized medicine, etc. In the opinion of this author, the NCC’s obsession with social issues results in neglect of the Gospel and salvation for the individual. Churches should focus on the spiritual care of individuals first then it is certainly proper to help the poor. An agenda that consists of the promotion of overarching socialism is simply tearing down the building blocks of our nation. [2]

Remember the Elian Gonzales story? The NCC supported Elian Gonzales’ father (Juan Miguel) by paying lawyer Greg Craig for his effort that led to the forceful action to take the boy back to Cuba. Contrast that to today’s mantra concerning “undocumented visitors.”

Notes:

Before my leftist friends skewer me, let me say that to help the truly poor is indeed something that all good Christians must do. Throughout the year, I contribute to many a “second collection” at Sunday Mass for charitable causes.
Despite what my socialist friends say about the “horrors of capitalism,” I ask this simple question? What built this nation and what has supplied the wealth and comfort to most of the people in this country? Capitalism - not socialism. With respect to crony capitalism and corporate crooks, the perpetrators should face punishment to the fullest extent of the law. Also, it is important to keep in mind that the true tenet of socialism is Godlessness. The state takes the place of God.

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