Are We Witnessing The Rise Of The Fourth Reich?

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Tue, 7 Feb 2006 23:17:41 -0800 (PST)

Are We Witnessing The Rise Of The Fourth Reich? Chuck Baldwin

 

 

 

 

Are We Witnessing The Rise Of The Fourth Reich?

 

Chuck Baldwin | February 8 2006

http://prisonplanet.com/articles/february2006/080206Fourth_Reich.htm

 

 

 

Without a doubt, comparisons to Hitler have been overdone. It seems

that when a writer disagrees with the policies of a sitting president,

be he Republican or Democrat, there exists a ubiquitous temptation to

compare him with the ignoble German leader. Some will no doubt charge

this author with having succumbed to this temptation. Perhaps I have.

 

 

However, as a student of both the Bible and history, I believe we in

America are living in times that are eerily reminiscent of the days

leading up to the rise of the Third Reich. If after reviewing this

thesis, the reader wants to dismiss its conclusions as insipid and

irrelevant, he or she is certainly free to do so.

 

 

On the other hand, it would do the reader good to heed the words of

George Santayana who said, " Those who cannot remember the past are

condemned to repeat it. " If America is truly flirting with any

semblance of the fallacious and fallen Reich (which I believe it is),

it is incumbent upon each and every true American (especially

Christians) to renounce, reject, and repudiate such flirtations as

early and as vociferously as possible!

 

 

 

There are many facets and aspects of the Third Reich which could and

should be analyzed. For the purpose of this column, however, I want to

focus on the attitude and actions of the ministers and churches of

Germany at the time of Hitler's rise.

 

 

My focus upon the German church is predicated upon the fact that as a

Christian pastor (I have been the pastor of an Independent Baptist

Church for more than 30 years), it is my studied opinion that any

western nation will rise or fall according to the attitudes and

actions of its Christian leaders and churches. Scripture says,

" Judgment must begin at the house of God. " Therefore, while any nation

might survive corrupt politicians, greedy merchants, and sinful

citizens, it cannot survive cowardly, compromising churches! As the

churches go, so goes the country!

 

 

 

In the case of Nazi Germany, it was the German churches first and

foremost that failed their country. It was the churches that provided

Hitler with moral and spiritual cover. It was the ministers and

churches that allowed Hitler to seduce the nation. Some ministers were

no doubt deceived themselves. Many others, like Adam, partook of the

forbidden fruit with their eyes wide open. Either way, without the

help and assistance of Germany's churches, the Nazi Party could never

have become such a horrible leviathan. Therefore, let's examine the

attitudes and actions of Germany's ministers and churches and compare

them to America's ministers and churches today to see if there is any

similarity.

As we delve into this material, I want to strongly recommend that the

reader purchase and devour a book to which I will repeatedly refer.

The book is entitled, " Hitler's Cross. " It is written by Erwin Lutzer

and published by Moody Press. The book is absolutely phenomenal! If

you do not read any other book this year (beside the Bible), read

" Hitler's Cross. "

 

 

 

Now, let's examine the evidence.

 

It is a fact that when Adolph Hitler began his ascent to power, many,

if not most, of Germany's Christians believed he was an answer to

their prayers. Lutzer says many Christians replaced pictures of Christ

in their homes with pictures of Hitler. They truly believed Hitler was

" God's man " for Germany. They believed that to resist Hitler was to

resist God. And why not?

 

 

As Lutzer notes, Hitler revived Germany's collapsed economy. He

eradicated the shame of Germany's defeat in WWI by reclaiming the

Rhineland. He gave generous vacations to the German people. He created

numerous trade schools that trained and equipped Germany's workers.

Thus, almost overnight, Germany's vast unskilled labor force was

replaced with highly skilled workers. In fact, under Hitler, Germany

had virtually no unemployment. Furthermore, Hitler brought crime under

control. He built freeways and highways that were the envy of Europe.

He literally brought the German people out of poverty and despair and

made them a great and proud people once again. As a result, the German

people, including German Christians, loved him!

 

 

 

Unfortunately, as Hitler was building Germany's economy and

strengthening its military, he was also taking away the rights and

liberties of the German people. Remember, Germany was a republic

before Hitler came along. The principles of individual freedom and

constitutional government were at one time precious to Germans.

 

 

However, most German people were willing to gladly trade their liberty

and freedoms for Hitler's promise of security and strength. It was a

bad trade then. It is a bad trade now!

 

 

Lutzer documents the fact that at the time of Hitler's rise, there

were some 14,000 evangelical churches in Germany. To win the support

of these churches, Hitler literally wrapped himself and the Nazi Party

in the Cross of Jesus Christ. Even today, one can view photos from

Nazi parades showing the Cross of Christ highlighted in the heart of

the Nazi Swastika.

 

 

 

In short order, Germany's pastors and churches were convinced that the

Nazi Party was God's party and Hitler was God's man. By the time

Hitler consolidated power and became Germany's Fuhrer, the Nazi

Swastika was displayed proudly on the walls and halls of Germany's

churches, both Catholic and Protestant.

 

 

Germany's pastors often preached sermons supporting Hitler and the

Nazi Party. They told their congregants that to support any other

party or any other potential leader was to " fight against God. " Very

soon, congregants who refused to swear loyalty to Hitler were denied

last rites and Holy Communion by Catholic priests, while Protestant

pastors excommunicated such members. Romans chapter 13 was often

quoted from Germany's pulpits as scriptural justification for

demanding loyalty to Hitler.

 

 

 

Even the famous Canadian pastor, Oswald J. Smith (Pastor of the

People's Church in Toronto), was taken with Hitler. In 1936 Smith

wrote, " What, you ask is the real attitude of the German people toward

Hitler? There is but one answer. They love him. Yes, from the highest

to the lowest, children and parents, old and young alike, they love

their new leader. They trust him to a man.

 

 

" What about your elections? I asked. 'We don't want another party. We

are satisfied with Hitler.' And that feeling exists everywhere. Every

true Christian is for Hitler. I know, for it was from the Christians I

got most of my information, and right or wrong, they endorse Adolph

Hitler. " (Source: " Hitler's Cross " by Erwin Lutzer, pp. 109, 110)

 

 

One German pastor, Julius Leutherser gushed, " Christ has come to us

through Hitler. [T]hrough his honesty, his faith and his idealism, the

Redeemer found us. " (Source " Hitler's Cross " by Lutzer, p. 101)

Lutzer writes on page 102 of his book, " n Hitler's day being a good

Christian involved being a good German nationalist. God and country

were practically one and the same. "

Germany's Christians forgot that Christ's kingdom " is not of this world. "

Their desire to restore Germany's greatness and their patriotism

somehow dwarfed their commitment to Christ and their fidelity to

republican principles. Accordingly, their trust in God was supplanted

with trust in Hitler, and their allegiance to principles of freedom

was replaced with allegiance to the Nazi Party.

Of course, Hitler knew exactly what he was doing. He knew he needed

the support of Germany's churches and pastors and he played the role

of Christian leader magnificently. Privately, however, he despised

Germany's clergymen. He said, " The parsons will dig their own graves.

They will betray their God to us. They will betray anything for the

sake of their miserable jobs and incomes. " How right he was!

Out of 14,000 German ministers, all but 800 gave Hitler their

unequivocal and unflinching loyalty. Among the 800 was the great

Christian patriot Dietrich Bonhoeffer who was later assassinated by

Hitler's henchmen. Virtually all of the 800 courageous pastors who

refused to support Hitler were sent to concentration camps.

What would have happened had 10,000 ministers in Germany resisted

Hitler? What would have happened if 10,000 ministers would have

refused to compromise their loyalty to Jesus Christ, their commitment

to republican principles, and their devotion to sacred duty? What

would have happened if 10,000 Christian ministers had not allowed the

National Socialist Party to supplant their loyalty to God's Word?

It seems clear to me that the attitudes and actions of Nazi Germany's

ministers and churches are being repeated in the United States today.

To a large degree, Evangelicals have wrapped the Cross of Christ in

the banner of the Republican Party. They quote Romans chapter 13 to

justify their unflinching, yes, even blind support for President Bush.

They are willing to surrender their freedoms and liberties so that

President Bush might protect them. Pictures of the president almost

universally line the halls and walls of our churches, Christian

schools, and pastors' offices.

They castigate and denigrate in the most caustic terms anyone who

dares to challenge or even question President Bush. They are willing

to let the president lead them into multiple wars, even wars of

aggression, based solely on Bush's word. They refuse to hold the

president accountable to the principles of our Constitution and Bill

of Rights. It seems to me that President Bush has taken on the aura of

an American Fuhrer in the minds of many Evangelicals.

Just how far are Evangelicals willing to allow Bush to go? They

already support unbridled spying on American citizens. They have

gladly surrendered their Fourth Amendment rights. Would they be

willing to support the imprisonment of fellow Christians who don't

support Bush if the Department of Homeland Security ordered it? I

believe many would. And if so, how is that different from the

attitudes of Christians in Nazi Germany?

Again, readers may dismiss my observations as inane if they want to.

However, please notice that the focus of this column was not so much

on Hitler but on the attitudes and actions of Germany's ministers and

churches.

If the reader can honestly and objectively look at the history of

Germany's ministers and churches and see no similarity to the

attitudes and actions of America's ministers and churches today, so be

it. To me, however, the similarities are striking!