Reviews

Book Review ‘Triumph of Good’ — Why All Believers Must Unite Against Communism

Trevor Loudon, The Epoch Times
Commentary
I have just read one of the most sobering yet optimistic books of my life. This work answers the burning questions many of us are asking: How do we stop this wonderful planet from swiftly collapsing into an earthly Hell?… Full Review

More Than a Great Reference Book
By Claire
January 21, 2022
United States

Not only does Cromwell bring well-deserved judgment to the Left by their own words, but he gathers documented evidence of repeated communist efforts to obfuscate the real cause of universal human suffering, while claiming themselves to be faultless. The book’s appendixes show this deception repeatedly. Another great quality of Cromwell’s work is the juxta-positioning of the mean-spirited and intimidating plan for world peace as expressed in the Communist Manifesto, which stands in stark contrast to the more hopeful and encouraging ideals found in the American Declaration of Independence, and the English and American Bill of Rights. But what really elevates this hefty work above reference status is how Cromwell lays out the internal, spiritual process that has been winding through human history toward a more humane and loving resolution of the human tragedy through the Cain-Abel dynamic. Get it, read it and share it.

This is a sense-making book for our chaotic times
By D and C
January 23, 2022
United States

From “pronoun” battles … to “cancel culture” … to intelligent people and loving Christians marching with clenched fists to leftist slogans … to China’s increasingly alarming and outrageous activities, domestically and abroad … there are but a few things in this world making sense right now.

Thomas Cromwell’s “The Triumph of Good: Cain, Abel and The End of Marxism” (which I have now ordered copies for several very smart people to make sure they see this book) offers practical solutions as well as succinct explanations for the chaos.

Once “Cain-type” and “Abel-type” are understood as a general concept in our conversations and strategies, we will see why appeasement never works with “Cain-type” aggressors, no matter how well intentioned the “Abel-types” are. Instead, we just get more aggression and attack. Why?

God, as shown in the Book of Genesis, cannot receive Cain’s offering (even though both Cain and Abel are beloved but imperfect sons). In the real world, this means God doesn’t bless activities where Cain-types make the offerings (or when Abel-types unite with Cain-types to make the offering.)

Instead, the message from Genesis is that God will receive and bless only Abel’s offering — and this acceptance should apply to any offering in which Cain-type unites with Abel-type.

The proper sequencing, therefore, is for Abel-types to seek Cain-types’ agreements so their combined offering, lifted up through Abel to Heaven, can be received by God, and both Abel and Cain can be blessed abundantly. This is what Cromwell refers to as “The Way of Abel.”

In reading this book, this Cain-Abel paradigm may initially appear airy-fairy. But Cromwell takes time to overlay this formula in human history. Then the formula is not only revealed in human activities, it is successful and rewarding when practiced properly.

Thus, we can understand the title: In Cromwell’s view, the goal can’t be endless see-sawing between opposing forces (as Marx’s dialecticals insist). Instead, “The Triumph of Good” means that “good” finally figures out how to disarm Marx’s fatuous thinking and then dissolve it forever. Without Marxism’s insistence that we all must fight to progress, “the goodness planted in men and women by our Creator will surely prevail” and a new day will dawn in which unselfish cooperation and mutual prosperity, etc., will manifest.

The book is scholarly, well-researched and roughly 250 pages of initial content. The remaining half of the book is dedicated to original sources (The Communist Manifesto, Declaration of Independence, Martin Luther’s 95 Theses), as well as Parallels of Providential History and lists of pertinent groups in the Cain-Abel paradigm of today.

I’ve read a lot of books about how (and why) to “defeat” communism, beginning with Solzhenitsyn’s shocking “The Gulag Archipelago, when it was first published in the U.S. in 1974. Cromwell’s “The Triumph of Good” is the first book I’ve seen to offer a formula that every freedom- and peace-loving person can use to advance goodness around them, and see how to stand strong — and prevail — over “cancel culture,” gender-bending arguments, and the thousands of other Neo-Marxist attacks on Western traditions, traditional families, free markets, religious freedom and other bedrock elements of the Free World.

Highly recommend.

A very Timely Book
By Jack Ashworth
January 9, 2022
United States

Cromwell is able to explain the roots of the materialist ideological movements that seek to destroy America as the providential “City on the Hill” in layman’s terms while providing a biblically-based historical context for why and how America should fulfill its providential destiny.

Settlement Project Review
By Jack Ashworth
January 2022
United States

The “Triumph of Good” portion of the title quickly caught my attention, and then the “Cain and Abel and the end of Marxism” subtitle continued to pique my curiosity even further. What could inquiry into two biblical figures of antiquity possibly  have to do with upending the contemporary Marxist influence in society?  Remarkably, the author covers both topics in clear and thorough detail as well as provides extensive appendices that support and elaborate the book’s unique insights and propositions.

Triumph of Good we eventually learn, refers to the successful fulfillment of America’s Providential role, often referred to as “A City Upon a Hill.”  The Cain and Abel story originating in the Biblical book Genesis is used as the paradigm through which Cromwell explains history’s inescapable clash between two quintessential antagonists, one representing Good, the other Evil. In the case of our present time, the Cain and Abel antagonists manifest in the current vying ideologies of our time, one (Cain) representing the atheistic worldview (Marxism/Critical Theory), and the other (Abel) representing a theocentric worldview (most particularly, American Exceptionalism).

The author exposes the evolution of Marxist/atheistic thought and how it has metastasized from its beginnings in 19th century Europe to become the mainstay, worldview of the American Left, the current Democratic Party, and it’s supporters in education, the media and elsewhere.  Cromwell provides,  in layman’s terms, a detailed account of the progression and inner elements of the Cain worldview. So it is a good read for everyone. He concludes with a challenge to those who believe in America’s Providential role as Abel, a mission to rise to our responsibility by incorporating lessons from the Bible (found in Triumph’s Chapter 4 “The Way of Abel”). In the end Cromwell reveals  the path we must go to restore America’s true purpose expressed in the country’s founding and divine origins.

Thomas you did a great job with this book. Excellent reading
By An Amazon Customer
January 17 2022
United States

I found it very interesting that our problems today relate back to Adam and Eve and their disobedience to God and how good and evil manifested itself through Cain and Abel and continues to prevail in our world today.

Highly Recommended!
By Johann Hinterleitner
January 25, 2022
Austria

The book by Thomas Cromwell exposes many hidden aspects of human history and the major ills of our current world. It goes back to the roots of our Judeo-Christian origins and gives meaning to timeless stories we all heard and read about.

I highly recommend this book to anyone, and it is a must-read for leaders in religion, politics and many other fields in society.

Clarity and resolve
By Ian
January 24, 2022
Australia

At a time of division and accusation in the US and the world…this book faces the core issues head on. It is a contribution to the pathways of resolution that should be read with care. By understanding the powers of destruction at work we can conceive of how good can triumph. A must read.

Quite an impressive feat
By Knut Holhus
January 21, 2022
Norway

Quite an impressive feat by Thomas Cromwell – his new book “The Triumph of Good: Cain, Abel and the End of Marxism”. It’s a must-read for anyone struggling to understand what’s behind the new concepts and movements that constantly seem to appear in today’s confusing ideological landscape. The book cuts right through the confusion. It gives a very clear and comprehensive analysis of the hidden agendas behind new movements – Neo-Marxism, Critical Theory, cancel culture, identity politics, postcolonial theory, wokeness, queer theory, gender studies, transgenderism.

Cromwell takes us behind the scenes and shows clearly how there are deep-rooted principles at work. Understanding principles like the Cain-Abel paradigm gives you the clues to deciphering the confusing propaganda from organizations determined to destroy the fabric of our Western societies and clueless journalists often echoing such propaganda.

Other books have been written on this, but none go to such an analytical depth that Cromwell seems to master well. Grasping what moves on the surface is a lot easier when you understand the underlying principles that have always followed humanity and its encounter with good and evil forces up through the millennia. Cromwell has done an amazing job tracing and revealing those principles and forces as they have manifested themselves in any era in human history.

This book has the qualities to make a big impact in today’s world due to its clarity and comprehensive analysis. And on top of that it is excellent as a reference book in today’s ideological jungle!

Excellent Reference Material Gathered Together in One Book
By Robert Williamson
January 12, 2022
Scotland

An important book for those wanting to understand the current situation of the world and the dangers that we are currently facing between nations and ideologies. Thomas traces the providential role of history and looks at the roots of evil and the rise of communism.

There is excellent reference material from the full text of the Communist Manifesto to Martin Luther’s 95 Theses. An important book for academics, students and researchers.

6 Replies to “Reviews”

  1. I guess I will be a fly in the ointment? I am an optimist at heart and purchased the book because of the title and mention in the Epoch times. I appreciate the author’s optimism, but find the book seriously lacking in some respects. Most to do with the author’s apparent lack of understanding or knowledge of the totalitarian “religion of Islam.
    I will start however with page 42, “The Role of Religion.” Paraphrase-the end goal is the perfection of human nature. I find it ironic that Marxists claim the ability to perfect human nature and here we have the author apparently making a claim that we indeed can do it. This in essence denies the fallibility of man, of human nature, in my opinion. Man cannot perfect man’s human nature.
    Now, about Islam. I have been fortunate to have had several great mentors on Islam and have several Korans. One is a former Muslim now Christian pastor, who gives regular presentations on the Islamic Trojan Horse of interfaith dialogue, the one way bridge to nowhere. He and others put the lie to the claim that Islam is an Abrahamic faith. Indeed in Genesis 17 the covenant is between God and Abraham and Isaac, but not with Ishmael.
    On page 38 the author quotes Sura 5:27-28, 30. Usama Dakdok in his “The generous Quran” states that the story of Cain & Abel is copied from the Bible and corrupted-“see Genesis 4.”
    Robert Spencer writes that Christians, Jews, and Muslims do indeed NOT worship the same God.
    The author is apparently also not familiar with the concept of abrogation in Islam? For example the claim that there be no compulsion in Religion is abrogated by later verses. Earlier (Meccan) peaceful verses have been abrogated by the later Medina verses.
    As far as the claim on page 13 that” religion does not approve of cruelty to others,” I suggest one take a look at Sura 9.
    To compare the Christian Crusades with the expansion of Islam by the sword is a common error. Islam expanded and conquered Christian countries by the sword, and the Crusades were a pushback or a defensive effort. Violence in Christianity is an aberration. Violence in Islam is Doctrinal. It is called for, and, is not “radical.” Please look up Raymond Ibrahim’s work on Islam
    I will end with this-Sura 3, 54-“and they deceived, and Allah deceived. And Allah is the best deceiver.” Now, who or what is considered to be the “best deceiver?”

  2. Hi David,

    Thanks for this thoughtful response.

    It seems your main beef with the book is its treatment of Islam. I am very aware of many of the theological issues with Islam, and don’t disagree with some of your points. (I lived for many years in Arab countries and Turkey, which is where I studied Islam as theory but also observed the behavior of Muslims in various situations.)

    A few points:

    1. Islam is a minor issue in Triumph, and I make no effort to examine Muslim beliefs, especially not as a comparative exercise.

    2. What I do point out is that Islam is connected to what I call the central providence, beginning with Ishmael who for no fault of his own was alienated from the central providence when his mother Hagar was sent away by Abraham and his wife Sarah. He was promised blessings much like those promised to Abraham. See Genesis 17:20.

    3. The importance of this is the context it provides for the rise of Islam some two millennia later, and how Islam relates both to Judaism and Christianity. It helps explain the mutual antipathy, resentments and decades of conflict among members of these faiths, but also provides a framework for how they can appreciate each other as part of a single providence. It is a constructive framework, rather than just an analysis that highlights the problems in Islam, especially for Christians.

    4. I do not refer to Cain and Abel in the Quran to suggest that this is an accurate, or equally accurate account as that in Genesis. All accounts of the first family, its purpose and disobedience, are part of pre-history and therefore have elements of myth. (That does not make them irrelevant, but it means that in looking back at them for understanding we are necessarily looking through a glass darkly.) I simply make the point that Muslims share a common story about the first family with both Jews and Christians. This is of importance because the central point of the book is to show how the Cain-Abel paradigm is the key dynamic of the providence. This paradigm explains the cause of the problems faced by members of the three great monotheistic religions, but also a path to solve the. (The New Testament does not anticipate the advent of Islam, and therefore Christians have no scriptures to guide them in understanding and relating to Muslims. The Quran, of course, refers extensively to “People of the Book”, and Jesus is mentioned more than any other prophetic figure in the Quran. What I have written goes at least some way towards addressing this imbalance.)

    5. You say that Islam prescribes violence, unlike Christianity. There is a good degree of truth in that, and it makes Islam closer to Judaism than it is to Christianity. However, members of the three faiths can find some support for meting out physical punishment and for just war in their scriptures. There is a huge difference between this and the teachings of Marx. According to his Dialectical Materialism and Historical Materialism progress (social, political, economic) can only be achieved through conflict, negation of negations. This is what makes Marxism (and Critical Theories for that matter) so destructive. Marxism does not encourage virtue, spiritual and moral development. All religions do. This is something we can work with to improve inter-religious relations and the world as a whole.

    6. Finally, I would like you to consider the following. Islam is not a monolith. It is important to identify Abel-type elements within that faith with whom it is possible to work against the very real dangers coming from atheistic ideologies (in particular Marxism and Neo-Marxism). It is not enough to simply identify the faults of Islam, or any other religion for that matter. The responsible thing to do is to recognize that Divine Providence embraces all people of all faiths, races, nationalities, etc. If this is true, it is up to us to figure out how that providence has advanced in the past and how we can help it advance today and tomorrow.

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