"Is there a thing of which it is said, 'See, this is new'? It has been already in the ages before us." -King Solomon
It's amazing how history finds it's way back to us. The very things we hoped we would avoid from every happening again come creeping slowly at our doors. Their knock is persistent and undying. They themselves are death and come from that place where death was born; man's rebellion from their rightful ruler.
Death's knocking is quaint at first though, and almost unrecognizable. It would seem crazy to think that we would have more people like Adolph Hitler knocking at our doors when it should be so obvious that we have all learned from his life; namely, what not to do. But it knocks persistently, and gently at first. Although Hitler's history is not one I am an expert on by any means, there is a lineage that he fell into that needs to be recognized. After all, his ideas came from somewhere.
Hitler thought of himself as a Christian and described the Nazi party as the Christian Social Movement. (see: Mein Kampf Volume 1, Chapter 3) It really is a slow fade when lies are mixed with truth.
"There should be no ranks or classes"
"You must be peaceable and courageous at the same time!" [1]
This sounds nice... The equality of people, peace balanced with courage... it carries the tune that all of our hearts initially want to dance to. It almost sounds like Jesus the Messiah speaking when he said, "The first shall be last and the last shall be first." [2] Or further when St. Paul (follower of Jesus) told us that one of the traits of a Christian is Peace. The two quotes fit smoothly within these. However, when Adolph Hitler spoke these words to the 'Hitler Youth' he had drastic
ally different motives than Jesus Christ or any of his followers. Using Christ's teachings is often a way that death tries to creep in the back door. Then once the door of the heart is open, it quickly changes directions toward an alternative motive. Here is where Hitler went next in his speech to the youth of Germany:
"I know this (supremacy of Germany) cannot be otherwise, because you are flesh of our flesh and blood of our blood."
This phrase is also used in the Bible. After God created woman from Adam's rib, Adam used this same flesh of my flesh analogy to describe her. Hitler's use of familiar phrases that people associate with good things (i.e. God creating people out of love) seemed to give him an 'in' to their heart. He can't be all bad if he is saying things the way they are said in the Bible right? Whether Hitler realized it or not, this springboard approach to getting peoples attention is not something that he originated. There were others that paved the way for Hitler's philosophies. In face, it was their philosophies that became Adolph Hitler's.
Hitler's Bookshelf Buddies
When Hitler was turned down the second time to The Academy of Art in Vienna, he worked as a labo
rer part time and constructed and wrote post cards the rest of the time. Right around this time he buys his first anti-Semitic pamphlets, which were authored by Lanz von Liebenfels (given name: Adolf Josef Lanz 1874-1954).
Lanz von Liebenfels
Author of the Ostara monthly journal, Lanz von Liebenfels believed that the blonde, light skinned man was supreme over all darker skinned men. The blonde man not only sat special, but had special toes as well. World history for Lanz was nothing more than a struggle between the blonde and the dark. The swastika was his symbol as he was himslef a mystic in some ways. [3]
Lanz also tried to justify his philosophies by using the Bible. He claimed Eve (originally divine) mated with demons and produced sub-perfect races (darker skin). Once again, tickling the ears of his listeners with the Bible reference, then heading in another direction... death.
Lanz had influencers as well. One of the most known was Charles Darwin (1809-1882). Look at the way Lanz listed people (1 = best 7 = worst):
1)Nordic
Blonde, blue-eyed. Close to pure Aryan.
2)Germanic
Brown hair, blue-eyed, or less desirable, brown-eyed. Predominantly Aryan.
3)Mediterranean
White but swarthy. Slight Aryan preponderance.
4)Slavic
White, but degenerative bone structure. Close to Aryan, but half-ape.
5)Oriental
Slight Ape Preponderance
6)Black African
Predominantly Ape
7)Jewish
Fiendish skull. Close to pure Ape. [6]
Once Hitler got ahold of this list, combined with his agreeing belief in evolution, he worked his way from the bottom up. This then leads us to another major influencer on Adolph Hitler:
Charles Darwin
Darwin's theory as expressed in his book had a huge influence on Lanz, which then influenced Hitler. It sounds strange, but take the title of his book and you can easily see where Lanz von Liebenfels belief about the superiority of blondes came from.
"The Origin Of Species By Means Of Natural Selection: or the Preservation Of Favoured Races In The Struggle For Life"
If Natural Selection is the way that humans have come to exist, then are there different classes of humanity? It is not such a stretch to think this if you carry a belief that humans have evolved from animals, and are in fact animals themselves. With this mindset, strong dogs should and will outlast the weak ones as strong humans have every right to outlast and delete the weak ones. Although Darwin did not suggest this, an evolutionary world view allows it.
In line with Lanz, Adolph Hitler "believed he was carrying Darwinism forward with his doctrine that undesirable (and inferior races) must be eliminated." (R. Milner, Encyclopedia of Evolution, pages 207, 412, 119)
Another interesting comparison that is worth looking into is the relationship of communists (dictators and followers) to evolution. Karl Marx's' belief in this worldview influenced Poll Pot (Saloth Sar), and Chairman Mao ZeDong. [3]
Karl Marx
Karl Marx once wrote an article titled, "Zur Judenfrage" or, "The Jewish Question." Marx spoke about how humankind must be emancipated from Judentum, as he put it. Hitler agreed and furthered Marx's work. He used Marx's phrase and added, "The Final Solution of the Jewish Question." Hitler emphasized different aspects of Karl Marx's philosophy, but agreed entirely on the content.
Rebellion against God carries the belief you don't need him, and that your ways are above his ways. Therefore, even though God says that all men are created in his image [4], a belief that you are God says that all men are not equal and you can do what Hitler did. How did this belief creep in the back door?
Angelus Silesius (1624-1677)
Angelus is known for his great philanthropy and beautiful poetry. He wrote many Hymns for the Catholic church. He was a member of the Catholic church. What was his relation to Adolph Hitler? Angelus was one of the men that influenced Lanz von Liebenfels - a man who had a drastic influence on Hitler.
Angelus believed panentheism, and subtle aspects of Mysticism. Everything boiled down, he believed that God and man are one because God can't love anything inferior to himself. He enjoyed Jakob Bohme's writings, a Lutheran who thought man must go through hell before he can know God and Christ's incarnation was not for the sins of men, but merely a love offering to show that God is willing to bear man's suffering.
The variations that Angelus took on Theology seemingly gave Lanz just enough wiggle room to take the next step beyond man and God being one.
Arthur Schopenhauer
Influenced by Immanuel Kant, Arthur was another man that had a strong influence on Lanz von Liebenfels. Arthur also influenced Friedrich Nietzsche, Sigmund Freud, and Charles Darwin.
Schopenhauer was a pessimist and known for his belief that human will is the foundation for life, rather than reason. He denied that morality had any basis for human decisions and that human beings operated solely on their will for desires - which was illogical and futile. He viewed marriage as a waste in that it cuts in half all of a persons rights and doubles their duties. He compared it to reaching blindly in a sack of snakes in hopes to find an eel.
He believed that intellect came from a persons mother and character from a persons father. Take a look at how he proposed we ought deal with people who are 'scoundrels' and 'stupid geese.'
"If we could castrate all scoundrels and stick all stupid geese in a convent, and give men of noble character a whole harem, and procure men, and indeed thorough men, for all girls of intellect and understanding, then a generation would soon arise with would produce a better age."
It is no mystery where Lanz followed by Hitler received their thoughts of a pure race, Schopenhauer said it before them, he just called them 'thorough men.' In his mind, some people are more valuable than others - which is totally opposite from how God views people. To God, at a foundational level, he sees everyone the same... lost and separated from him, but loved! All people are equally lost and equally needy of his grace and forgiveness. All people need to make a decision about who Jesus is and whether or not they accept what he did on the cross as a substitute offering (in place of themselves) for their disobedience to God.
He condones homosexuality for the way it helps prevent "ill-begotten children" and that it somehow serves a purpose of preventing "greater evils". [5]
Schopenhauer believed that there was no difference between animals and humans; both are manifestations of the will and that our 'essential nature' is the same. His beliefs that the suffering in life is due to desires we have was also very similar to Buddhism.
All in all, Arthur Schopenhauer did an amazing worth in devaluing human life. This eventually had a huge influence on Hitler.
The patterns that these men followed don't seem that far from our society today. Animal rights, the over-all devaluing of human life at the most foundational place... babies, the continued acceptance of homosexuality, and the belief that human beings evolved (macro-evolution) from "lower" life forms.
If you haven't ever read "The Pink Swastika" or studied the greek and roman cultures as it pertains to their acceptance of homosexuality it would be worth taking a look. Perhaps down the road I'll comment on here, but my heart and mind is not yet prepared to take that journey. I will say this though, the fall of all of these societies came when homosexuality became acceptable- and this homosexuality had nothing to do with the feminine traits we often relate it to today. No, this homosexuality was with children and other warriors in each of these armies.
We will follow these societies unless we chose to do something drastically different right now. Our eyes need to be lifted and the veil removed so we can see the glory of Jesus Christ, and realize that we deserve no glory.
"So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me. And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil. The I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.
...The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgement, with every secret thing, whether good or evil." -King Solomon
Movie Recommendation:
for the heart: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (rent or buy)
1) Excerpt taken from "Triumph of the Will."
2) Matthew 20:16
3) Visit the landmine museum in Cambodia and you'll find an article in the entry room that talks about Chairman Mao's relationship to Pol Pot, and the advice he gave him about handling his population problem. Pol Pot murdered over 2 million of his own Cambodian people through some means or another (nearly 1/4 of Cambodia's total population). Chairman Mao's great leap forward left over 20 million to die of starvation.
4) Genesis 1:27
www.marxwords.blogspot.com
5) page 566 of Schopenhauer, Arthur
6) "The Hitler Movement" page 107
Man is fallen, but for Christ.
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