In his book “Takedown,” Paul Kengor offers a well-documented overview of how the traditional view of marriage (one man and one woman) has morphed, been forced, and “taken down” into a vastly different form. Though this form at present is best seen through the clamorous call for same-sex unions, Kengor fears that this is only the opening salvo to marshal in other forms such as one man with several women, one woman with several men, groups of three or more “marrying,” and perhaps even “marriage” to animals. (Kengor documents one case in Thailand where, not a couple of men, but a “triple” have “married,” and as he fears, perhaps adoption of children into this group is next.)

Kengor recounts how Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in the “Communist Manifesto” of 1848 called for the abolition of the family as one of the hallmarks of achieving the utopia they envisioned communism would bring. This line of reasoning saw the traditional family as a huge roadblock on the path to installing full-fledged communist ideals within existing cultures. Trying to pry the traditional pattern of family and marriage loose from their foundational attachments, however, was proving very difficult.

The book chronicles how this difficulty was lessened and largely overcome, when the far-left, socialist, so-called “progressives” (and particularly in the United States) began stringently lobbying in super-loud tirades for the acceptance of same-sex “marriages.” They did their work so well, that many liberals were duped into joining the cause under labels of “fairness,” “tolerance,” “freedom,” and “equality” without considering the ultimate results on society. Even the Supreme Court of the United States has now found that the Constitution sanctions such.

In “Takedown,” Kengor names names (Marx, Engels, Margaret Sanger, Herbert Marcuse, Frank Marshall Davis, the Bernardine Dohrn-Bill Ayers group, and other radicals from the 1960s), and proves his points well. In all fairness to his approach, when he suspects and/or deduces something from circumstantial or hearsay evidence, he is quick to insert a disclaimer such as, “ … no real proof to support that claim, … ” or, “ … we cannot overstate things in this discussion, but it would also be a mistake to understate or ignore them.”

The author is a genuine word-smith writing with an engaging style, but he offers no quick or easy delivery from this quagmire. He does strongly suggest that ignorance of communist and progressive movements, and the unwitting support of liberals as dupes, are largely responsible for this lapse into frivolity where traditional-natural-biblical marriage and family are concerned. He shows how the culture-at-large got to where it is. So, though he offers no simple extrication process, it is clear that what is to be done about it, and how to react to it, must come from God and God’s servants.

By Dr. Bob Hughes

(Dr. Bob Hughes is pastor of Pembroke Advent Christian Church in Pembroke, Ga.)

Dr. Paul Kengor, a dedicated Christian, is author of some dozen books and scores of articles in referred, scholarly journals and other national and international publications. He regularly appears on major radio and television programs as a respected commentator. His PhD is from the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs.