David Goldstein (Catholic apologist)
Encyclopedia
David Goldstein was a Jewish convert to the Roman Catholic Church
. In addition, he spent much of his life as an activist against the spread of Marxism
in labor unions.
stripper. His real education began here, from his fellow-workers, to people such as Samuel Gompers
and Henry George
, who the young Goldstein supported in his run for Mayor of New York City
in 1886. Gompers would remain an influence throughout his life.
In 1888 Goldstein's family moved to Boston, Massachusetts, where, inspired by Edward Bellamy
's Looking Backward
, he decided to work in organized labor. At his union local, Goldstein first encountered Marxism
, which attracted him greatly. In 1895, Goldstein's parents were horrified when he joined the Socialist Labor Party of America
. However, his talents as an organizer soon placed him on the front page of Boston's newspapers and his parents took great pride in him for this reason.
While a Socialist, Goldstein also met Martha Gallison Moore Avery
, who had also been influenced by Bellamy and who became Goldstein's lifelong friend and mentor. Goldstein became the Secretary of the Boston School of Political Economy, an institution founded by Avery in 1899.
, Goldstein gradually became disenchanted with what he saw as the irreligious and immoral implications of a Marxist society. Despite his attachment to Socialism, Goldstein had always believed quite strongly in family values
. Therefore, when Rev. Herron abandoned his wife and children for another woman and began preaching free love
, Goldstein became one of the defrocked clergyman's most vocal critics.
However, the rank and file of the Socialist movement applauded Herron's teachings, much to Goldstein's disgust and horror. In 1902, Goldstein, Avery, and a small number of allies proposed a motion at the Massachusetts Socialist convention to formally repudiate any socialists who attacked religion, advocated violence or free love
. After the contemptuous defeat of the motion, Goldstein refused to accept defeat and continued campaigning for the same cause. However, he was becoming increasingly a voice in the wilderness.
In 1902, the translation of Karl Marx
's critique of family and marriage left Goldstein in no doubt about the real aims of the ideology he had served. As a result, he and his allies resigned from the Socialist movement and became a fervent anti-Marxist. With Martha Moore Avery, Goldstein published a book, Socialism: The Nation of Fatherless Children, in 1903.
At first, the Socialist press treated the work to a full scale media blackout. However, when it was favorably quoted by Theodore Roosevelt
and senior officials of the American Federation of Labor
, the book became and major bestseller. As a result, Goldstein and Avery were repeatedly smeared by the Socialist press and compared to Judas Iscariot
. If anything, this only strengthened their resolve to defend their country against what they saw as a totalitarian ideology.
Soon after, they both decided to convert to Catholicism in 1905 and 1904 respectively. Both became involved with Fr. Peter Dietz' Militia of Christ, a movement to inoculate Catholic workers against the inroads of socialism and communism
into the union movement. Goldstein began using the Boston School of Political Economy to publicize his opposition to socialism and communism. As a socialist and a Jew who had converted to Catholicism, Goldstein quickly became a sensation in Catholic circles, and rose to become a prominent lecturer around the United States for the Militia of Christ.
Goldstein also became deeply involved in evangelizing the Jews, authoring several prominent books and tracts designed to be used by Christian apologists working with Jews. He founded the Catholic Truth Guild in 1917 along with Martha Moore Avery. In 1936 he founded the Catholic Campaigners for Christ.
. His apologetics writings are considered in some circles as offensive to Jews, and therefore a hindrance to inter-religious dialogue. However, he is still greatly revered by, extensively relied upon, and quoted, by Traditionalist Catholics. Perhaps, the most famous and relied upon apologetical book by David Goldstein is What Say You?
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. In addition, he spent much of his life as an activist against the spread of Marxism
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
in labor unions.
Early life
Writing in 1936, David Goldstein recalled,I was born in London, England, on July 27, 1870, of NetherlandsNetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
Jewish parents who were married in London. I was just a little over a year old when, in 1871, my parents came to America to live in New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. From thence—in 1888—on to Boston they moved, there to live until they went to their eternal reward within the past ten years... Poverty was the lot of my father and mother. This they struggled through with courage, with devoted love for each other and the children. My parents and their four children had to be supported on the meagre earnings my father obtained from long hours of toil at the bench, making cigars. Though born of strictly Orthodox JewishOrthodox JudaismOrthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
parents, they like most Jews who attend the synagogueSynagogueA synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
were Rosh HashanahRosh HashanahRosh Hashanah , , is the Jewish New Year. It is the first of the High Holy Days or Yamim Nora'im which occur in the autumn...
and Yom KippurYom KippurYom Kippur , also known as Day of Atonement, is the holiest and most solemn day of the year for the Jews. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue...
Jews. Thus, my father and mother, during my boyhood days, attended synagogue services on those two leading Jewish holidays, "if only for the children's sake," as Jewish fathers and mothers often say.
Socialist
Goldstein quit school at eleven years, and began to work as a tobaccoTobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
stripper. His real education began here, from his fellow-workers, to people such as Samuel Gompers
Samuel Gompers
Samuel Gompers was an English-born American cigar maker who became a labor union leader and a key figure in American labor history. Gompers founded the American Federation of Labor , and served as that organization's president from 1886 to 1894 and from 1895 until his death in 1924...
and Henry George
Henry George
Henry George was an American writer, politician and political economist, who was the most influential proponent of the land value tax, also known as the "single tax" on land...
, who the young Goldstein supported in his run for Mayor of New York City
Mayor of New York City
The Mayor of the City of New York is head of the executive branch of New York City's government. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, police and fire protection, most public agencies, and enforces all city and state laws within New York City.The budget overseen by the...
in 1886. Gompers would remain an influence throughout his life.
In 1888 Goldstein's family moved to Boston, Massachusetts, where, inspired by Edward Bellamy
Edward Bellamy
Edward Bellamy was an American author and socialist, most famous for his utopian novel, Looking Backward, set in the year 2000. He was a very influential writer during the Gilded Age of United States history.-Early life:...
's Looking Backward
Looking Backward
Looking Backward: 2000-1887 is a utopian science fiction novel by Edward Bellamy, a lawyer and writer from western Massachusetts; it was first published in 1887...
, he decided to work in organized labor. At his union local, Goldstein first encountered Marxism
Marxism
Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...
, which attracted him greatly. In 1895, Goldstein's parents were horrified when he joined the Socialist Labor Party of America
Socialist Labor Party of America
The Socialist Labor Party of America , established in 1876 as the Workingmen's Party, is the oldest socialist political party in the United States and the second oldest socialist party in the world. Originally known as the Workingmen's Party of America, the party changed its name in 1877 and has...
. However, his talents as an organizer soon placed him on the front page of Boston's newspapers and his parents took great pride in him for this reason.
While a Socialist, Goldstein also met Martha Gallison Moore Avery
Martha Gallison Moore Avery
Martha Gallison Moore-Avery was a Socialist who later converted to Roman Catholicism. After her conversion, she became the founder of the Catholic labor organization Common Cause Society and of the Catholic Truth Guild, which became the most extensive lay apostolate of the Roman Catholic Church in...
, who had also been influenced by Bellamy and who became Goldstein's lifelong friend and mentor. Goldstein became the Secretary of the Boston School of Political Economy, an institution founded by Avery in 1899.
Disenchantment with socialism
In response to the activities of the Christian Socialist George D. HerronGeorge D. Herron
George D. Herron was an American clergyman, lecturer, writer, and Christian socialist activist. Herron is best remembered as a leading exponent of the so-called "Social Gospel" movement and for his highly publicized divorce and remarriage to the daughter of a wealthy benefactor which scandalized...
, Goldstein gradually became disenchanted with what he saw as the irreligious and immoral implications of a Marxist society. Despite his attachment to Socialism, Goldstein had always believed quite strongly in family values
Family values
Family values are political and social beliefs that hold the nuclear family to be the essential ethical and moral unit of society. Familialism is the ideology that promotes the family and its values as an institution....
. Therefore, when Rev. Herron abandoned his wife and children for another woman and began preaching free love
Free love
The term free love has been used to describe a social movement that rejects marriage, which is seen as a form of social bondage. The Free Love movement’s initial goal was to separate the state from sexual matters such as marriage, birth control, and adultery...
, Goldstein became one of the defrocked clergyman's most vocal critics.
However, the rank and file of the Socialist movement applauded Herron's teachings, much to Goldstein's disgust and horror. In 1902, Goldstein, Avery, and a small number of allies proposed a motion at the Massachusetts Socialist convention to formally repudiate any socialists who attacked religion, advocated violence or free love
Free love
The term free love has been used to describe a social movement that rejects marriage, which is seen as a form of social bondage. The Free Love movement’s initial goal was to separate the state from sexual matters such as marriage, birth control, and adultery...
. After the contemptuous defeat of the motion, Goldstein refused to accept defeat and continued campaigning for the same cause. However, he was becoming increasingly a voice in the wilderness.
In 1902, the translation of Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
's critique of family and marriage left Goldstein in no doubt about the real aims of the ideology he had served. As a result, he and his allies resigned from the Socialist movement and became a fervent anti-Marxist. With Martha Moore Avery, Goldstein published a book, Socialism: The Nation of Fatherless Children, in 1903.
At first, the Socialist press treated the work to a full scale media blackout. However, when it was favorably quoted by Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
and senior officials of the American Federation of Labor
American Federation of Labor
The American Federation of Labor was one of the first federations of labor unions in the United States. It was founded in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions disaffected from the Knights of Labor, a national labor association. Samuel Gompers was elected president of the Federation at its...
, the book became and major bestseller. As a result, Goldstein and Avery were repeatedly smeared by the Socialist press and compared to Judas Iscariot
Judas Iscariot
Judas Iscariot was, according to the New Testament, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. He is best known for his betrayal of Jesus to the hands of the chief priests for 30 pieces of silver.-Etymology:...
. If anything, this only strengthened their resolve to defend their country against what they saw as a totalitarian ideology.
Soon after, they both decided to convert to Catholicism in 1905 and 1904 respectively. Both became involved with Fr. Peter Dietz' Militia of Christ, a movement to inoculate Catholic workers against the inroads of socialism and communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
into the union movement. Goldstein began using the Boston School of Political Economy to publicize his opposition to socialism and communism. As a socialist and a Jew who had converted to Catholicism, Goldstein quickly became a sensation in Catholic circles, and rose to become a prominent lecturer around the United States for the Militia of Christ.
Goldstein also became deeply involved in evangelizing the Jews, authoring several prominent books and tracts designed to be used by Christian apologists working with Jews. He founded the Catholic Truth Guild in 1917 along with Martha Moore Avery. In 1936 he founded the Catholic Campaigners for Christ.
Legacy
Following Vatican II, Goldstein became politically incorrectPolitically incorrect
The phrase "politically incorrect" may refer to:* Someone or something which does not meet a standard of political correctness* Politically Incorrect, a late-night U.S. political talk show* Politically Incorrect, a German political blog...
. His apologetics writings are considered in some circles as offensive to Jews, and therefore a hindrance to inter-religious dialogue. However, he is still greatly revered by, extensively relied upon, and quoted, by Traditionalist Catholics. Perhaps, the most famous and relied upon apologetical book by David Goldstein is What Say You?
Quote
- "It took some time to understand -- being sympathetic with Socialism -- that Socialists succeed in making 'Socialist minds' mainly by constantly picturing the misery of the poor and the greed of the rich; by continually condemning all things which meet with dissatisfaction in the minds of toilers, whether the discontent be rational or ridiculous; by increasing disapproval or condemnation of the character, work or proposals of officials in trade unions who have to meet practical issues and the responsibilities of the conflicts of labor organizations. At the same time, Socialists press forward their abstract propositions attract those idealists whose pictures are ephemeral and fall into confusion, like a baby's house made of blocks, when the common sense touch of the actual world of strife and strain is applied to them; for human nature is what it is and not what Socialist idealists conjure it up to be in their sickly sentimental thoughts."
Writings
- Suicide Bent: Sangerizing Mankind. St. Paul: Radio Replies Press, 1945.
- Jewish Panorama. Boston: Catholic Campaigners for Christ, 1940.
- Letters, Hebrew-Catholic, to Mr. Isaacs. St. Paul: Radio Replies Press, 1943.
- What Say You? St. Paul: Radio Replies Press, 1945.
- Socialism: The Nation of Fatherless Children. (With Martha Moore Avery). Boston School of Political Economy, 1903.
- Bolshevism: its Cure, Boston School of Political Economy, 1919.
- The Autobiography of a Campaigner for Christ, Boston, Catholic Campaigners for Christ, 1936.