| Psalm 2 |
| 00Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? 00The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, 00Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. 00He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. 00Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. 00Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. 00I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. 00Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. 00Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. 00Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. 00Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 00Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him. |
Why the Shoah? |
| A Conservative Christian Looks at the Holocaust |
Preface |
| This was written in the Sultanate of Oman, where I have been working as an English teacher. I did not have access to libraries in which I could have spent many hours doing research. I was able to order a few books that seemed especially useful, but to a significant extent I was constrained to rely on the internet for historical and philosophical information. Fortunately, the Sultanate's highly commendable policy of censoring the internet - we have in the west too much freedom - did not extend to German history and philosophy. |
| I was unable to put together a scholarly work such as I first intended - however, that was for the best. What is needed in this area is not primarily scholarship, although there is a place for that of course, but rather spiritual insight - and that, according to the Christian belief, comes from the free gift of the Holy Spirit of God, given through faith in Jesus Christ, and from the teachings of God's literally inspired word, the bible. As to the extent to which I have been able to attain to this insight, I leave it to the reader to judge for himself. |
| Even some doctrinally conservative Christians might find certain aspects of this treatise disagreeable. In theory, God is sovereign of course, but to what extent does that apply to events in the real world? God's sovereignty applies even to the origins and outcome of World War II and the Holocaust, and Hitler and his devilish minions were not beyond the eye or the reach of the all-seeing, all-knowing, all-powerful God of the bible. Also, some will feel uncomfortable with the concept of God's wrath which, along with sovereignty, is acceptable in theory, but is disagreeable and unpleasant if applied to current events. My purpose, however, is to be as true to scripture as I can, given my understanding of it. |
| Much has been written on the subjects of Hitler's life and the Holocaust, and much knowledge is already available, but there has to my knowledge been little if anything written to interpret these dark subjects in the light of faith in Christ and a belief in the literal truth of the bible. I hope that by approaching these topics from a different perspective it will be possible to contribute in some small way to the clearing up of common misconceptions concerning the relationship between biblical Christianity and the extermination of six million Jews. If anything similar has been written, I would be glad to know about it. |
The origin of this essay |
| Not long ago I found myself on a Jewish chat board that was dedicated to refuting the claims of Christianity, and to protecting Jews from the influence of Christian missionaries. I got involved in a number of threads, and found it spiritually uplifting and intellectually invigorating to be able to express myself, and to have my beliefs so rigorously questioned by for the most part intelligent people. |
| One of the topics that came up was the question of the relationship between Christianity and the Holocaust. I was genuinely surprised to find some people blaming the attempt of the Nazis to exterminate the Jews on Christianity. Of course, I had come come across such comments here and there before, but not being widely read in the many attempts to explain the Holocaust, and having had little or no exposure to Jews during my years in America, this was the first time I had been personally confronted with such assertions. |
| Particularly surprising to me was the ease with which serious and in some ways well-informed people jumped effortlessly from Jesus and the apostles, Chrysostom and the early church, the Middle Ages, and Luther, to the twentieth century - as if the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries had not witnessed a massive shift away from, and an outright rejection of, biblical Christianity in Europe. I tried to argue the point that Naziism was hostile to Christianity, and that it was an outgrowth of modernism, but it was in vain. There are some who are absolutely determined to believe that Christianity is to blame for the Holocaust, and reason, logic, facts, history, philosophy, and biblical interpretations will not budge them. Still, I am glad I made an effort, and as a result found myself increasingly interested in the subject. Being compelled by the rigors of debate to look into the topic more closely, I found a vast panorama opening up before me, and as I began to research it a little for my own personal interest, more and more intriguing avenues opened up for exploration. |
| Somewhere in this period I began to think of writing a book on the subject. Since books on the Holocaust do not typically attract a lot of attention, I don't think I was primarily motivated in this by vanity - although vanity, that subtle but deadly poison of the soul, seems to be inextricably bound up in the endeavors of all but the greatest and holiest sages (which I frankly confess I am not). I was sincerely disturbed, though, by the fact that the glorious revelation of God in Jesus Christ, which has so much changed my life, should be wrongly linked with the horrible technological cataclysm, that sustained paroxysm of rational, logical, and industrialized hate that is now known as the Holocaust. |
| The eternal truths of our blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ are as far removed from the black barbarism of Naziism as night is from day, or as east is from west. There is a vast gulf between the truths of biblical Christianity and the lies of Naziism; between the love of Christ and the hatred of Hitler; between the light of God as it is manifested to us in his Son the Lord Christ Jesus, and the darkness of this world. |
| The purpose of this essay, then, is to examine the nature and origin of the Holocaust in the light of biblical Christianity, and to validate my contention that Jesus Christ has nothing to do with hatred, lies, cruelty, and murder of any kind. The Holocaust originated not in the New Testament, but in spiritual powers of evil, and in the corruption of the human heart that is innately sinful in itself, but even more sinful when intoxicated with the mad follies of modern secularism. |
| It is not my intention to vindicate Christianity by papering over unpleasant facts. Many people with the name of Christian have disgraced the faith which they claim to follow, and there are reasons why those who are ignorant of the true nature of scriptural Christianity can be misled into thinking that there was a significant Christian element in the origins and to a lesser extent in the perpetration of the Holocaust. Those reasons need to be dealt with fairly. Nevertheless, are Christ and the apostles, and the teachings of the New Testament, to be blamed for the actions of those who deliberately flouted and disobeyed all of the divinely revealed truths of biblical Christianity? Do the evil actions of those who have the name of Christians come from principles inherent in the New Testament, or from disobedience to principles inherent in the New Testament? Is hostility to Jews the result of following the New Testament, or of failing to follow it? |
| I am aware of the opinions of those who claim that hostility to Jews is inherent in the teachings of the New Testament itself. Their objections notwithstanding, an objective consideration of New Testament teachings, and of the origins of the Holocaust in the light of those teachings, will confirm the assertion that the attempted extermination of European Jewry by the Nazis in pursuit of their mad dreams of world domination and racial purity had zero basis in the New Testament, and was in fact a great rebellion against scriptural Christianity. The ideology of Naziism was a direct result not of Christianity, but of the repudiation of Christianity that characterized so much of 19th-century German thought. As to more traditional forms of allegedly Christian anti-Semitism, these were also directly contrary to the teachings of Christ and the apostles, in many instances perpetrated or at least encouraged by cruel and worldly ecclesiastical power structures that had nothing whatever to do with the New Testament's teachings about the nature and purpose of the church. Not merely the Holocaust, but all forms of anti-Semitism, are disobedience to scripture and reveal a profound ignorance of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. |
| At this point, a number of questions arise: so many, that it is difficult to know where to begin. A brief description of biblical Christianity is necessary - unfortunately, the word "Christianity" now has so many different meanings as to be almost void of content. I should also discuss God's plan and purpose for the Jews, according to scripture, and look at the difficult but essential question of the extent to which God controls the events of this world. This leads to the problem of evil itself. Involved with this is original sin - is man basically good, as some believe, or is he basically sinful? Moreover, the definition of "Christian" needs to be clarified. What does the bible teach about receiving the Spirit of Christ by faith, and walking in that Spirit? Are murderers Christians, when the bible plainly teaches that Christians will go to heaven, but murderers will be cast into the lake of fire? |
| The straight and narrow way of Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life allows for human error, but it excludes deliberate and flagrant evil. True Christians have been by the power of the risen Christ delivered from the power of sin. "The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us," as it says in Romans. Being turned "from the power of Satan unto God," Christians are forbidden to practice hatred, cruelty, murder, immorality, and evil, and warned in the most direct fashion that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. There is more to being a Christian than saying some words or even intellectually agreeing to some doctrines while the heart remains dark, cold, and enslaved by sin. An examination of biblical Christianity will reveal that those who have the name of Christian but commit horrible tortures, murders, massacres, adulteries, or other extreme forms of wickedness are enemies of Christ, and ignorant of his grace - no matter whether they be popes, bishops, pastors, or layman who go to church 365 days a year, imagine themselves to be Christian, and believe God approves of their evil-doing. |
| It will appear to some that defining the term "Christian" so narrowly as to exclude the worst abuses is nothing but sophistry. They are not familiar with the bible's teachings on this subject, and criticize Christianity without even understanding what it is. Jesus said that the way to heaven is straight and narrow, and few find it. The Sermon on the Mount plainly warns of those who will come before Christ in anticipation of their reward and acceptance, only to be cast out. A Christian is not anyone who was born in Europe, or went to church (once a year or faithfully every week), or lived in such allegedly "Christian" countries as Poland or Romania, but never received the Spirit of Christ and blatantly disregarded the teachings of Christ. Much of what one reputable author called "a disjunction between the magnificent message of Christianity and its institutional history" must be attributed not merely to normal human failure (since even the best of Christians are flawed), but also to the fact that there is more to being a Christian than merely having the name. More will be said about this in the examination of the bible's teachings on the Holy Spirit and its fruits in the life of the sincere Christian. As to the use of the word "disjunction," it is more than merely inappropriate. If a father lent the family car to his teenage son and told him to drive carefully, it would be something more than a "disjunction" if the son took the car, tried to rob a liquor store, got involved in a high speed chase with the police, crashed the car head on into a school bus, and killed thirty children. Also, there is much less of a disjunction if we consider not the institutional church, the worldly power structure, but look instead at the countless millions of Christians who have never harmed a Jew or wanted to do so; who never gullibly supported deceitful politicians such as Hitler was prior to his accession to power; who never participated in a Crusade or a pogrom and were in their hearts far from such cruelty and wickedness. In all of the Protestant countries from the Reformation in the 16th century up until 1914, where Protestant Christianity was the dominant form of Christianity among countless millions of people for centuries, was there one single pogrom? One Crusade to recover the Holy Land? One single death sentence given by an ecclesiastical court? This is not to say that those countries were void of problems, since we live in a sinful and fallen world, but surely if such wickedness is inherent in Christianity the evils that Christianity is linked to would have manifested themselves with more regularity. It is unreasonable and unjust to point to the wickedness of the medieval church of Rome, or the abuses of Naziism, and say that is Christianity, while ignoring the myriads of Christians who have been far from such things. |
| Returning to the subject of this essay, it will not be enough to merely examine biblical Christianity. In addition to the spiritual dimension, the earthly aspects demand attention also. German nationalism, history, and philosophy; the so-called Enlightenment (which might more properly be called the Delusion); World War I and the Weimar Republic; the "personality" of Hitler, as well as his life and "thought" - all of these and still other subjects need to be discussed in order to present even the barest outline of a scriptural view of the holocaust. |
| I have no intention of writing a scholarly theological, philosophical, sociological, historical tome. There are too many lofty scholarly tomes already. The church today, and the world, the dark, lost, and suffering world, need less theology and philosophy and sociology, and more plain biblical truth. So, while an examination of many complex subjects is essential to even such a minimal analysis of the Shoah as I hope to write, and though there are many things that cannot be glossed over, I think it will be helpful to present or at least suggest the necessary themes (that could be expanded by some more erudite than myself) in brief and straightforward discussions - not exhaustively but, I trust, sufficiently. |
| In connection with this, I should say that there is of course value in historical descriptions of the holocaust that only try to describe what happened, without entering into deeper analysis. I have read a number of such books, and am sadly thankful for the dark and terrible knowledge that they present. These facts need to be remembered, and will be remembered, for as long as civilization as we know it endures (which might not be all that long). However, it is not enough to merely describe what happened; we are also driven by human nature to go beyond the what and seek for the why - if, that is, we have not succumbed to the philosophical and moral apathy of those who are convinced from the outset that life has no meaning at all. |
| Some have abandoned the search for meaning and are resigned to a profound ignorance, illuminated only by misguided opinions, and feeble passions and pleasures of a low and base sort - but that is not our purpose in the world. As a bible believing Christian, I know that truth exists, and know that it can be known with God's help. Relying therefore on the light of God as it is revealed to the human spirit through faith in God's Son Jesus Christ, and through the bible, the inspired and inerrant and infallible word of God, I will try in my own small way to shed some of the light of biblical truth upon the foul and monstrous morass of Satanic evils known as the Holocaust. |
| The lack of informed criticism, as well as a lack of access to much of the material that has been written on this subject, have been two obstacles to a more complete attainment of my purpose. Yet, I maintain that the most fundamental points of the essay are valid, even if they might have been more ornamented with scholarly language, and theological and philosophical subtleties. These give the appearance of knowledge and sophistication of thought, but a certain plainness and directness of style, and an avoidance of verbal superfluities that often have more appearance than substance, are not necessarily defects or signs of ignorance. |
| So many books have been written about the Holocaust, so many facts are now available for anyone who is interested, that it might seem there is not much new to be said. But, there has to my knowledge been little or nothing written about the origins of the Holocaust from the perspective of simple faith in the literal truth of the bible. Even though I am not protesting anything, and consider the term "Protestant" to be more than a little dated, it is from the viewpoint of traditional evangelical and fundamentalist Protestantism that this has been written. My hope is that it will contribute in some small way to the earthly glory of Jesus Christ. I say earthly glory, as his celestial glory where he sits at the right hand of the Father is in no way tarnished either by the false imputations of sincere and well-meaning ignorance, or by the deliberate deceptions of malice that can only be attributed to the blind hostility toward the Christian message that is the inevitable result of original sin. |
| There are many different ideas on these subjects, but I await the final revelation of Jesus Christ. Then all of the secrets of men's hearts will be revealed, and all doubts and uncertainties will be dispelled by the eternal, infallible, and unending truths of God. |
| Bible versions |
| When quoting the bible, I have used the King James Version because it is the most accurate and authoritative bible in English. Recognizing at the same time that its 18th-century English is a problem for some (the original 1611 version was updated in the 1700's) I have removed conspicuous archaisms such as "thee" and "thou" or old verb endings myself, according to simple grammar rules only and without regard to any other translation. The newer translations are best avoided, as they use inferior manuscripts, are insufficiently reverential, take too many liberties with the text, introduce unneeded change for the sake of change, and are infected with modern ideas of "scholarship" which is not really scholarship at all but conformity to the world masquerading as "scientific." More specifically, to say that the ending of the Gospel of Mark, a biblical account of the resurrection of Christ himself, is not in the most authentic manuscripts, is I believe nothing but a lie and a frontal assault of Satan on the word of God itself. This insults God and grieves the Holy Spirit. |
| With one exception, I have not given chapter and verse references because this was not the practice in the New Testament when quoting scripture. |
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