Today’s Scripture Reading (April 28,
2014): Ezekiel 5
As the Nazi
Party began to take hold of Germany in the 1930’s, it quickly became apparent
that the political structure of the nation was being set up for a conflict with
the Christian Church. Adolph Hitler was willing to take steps to start off with
a mediating position with regard to the church, but ultimately Hitler believed
that Christianity, and all other religions, were incompatible with the National
Socialism espoused by Hitler’s Nazi Party. The problem for Hitler was that
Germany had strong Christian roots. So the only response for the Nazi’s was to
change Christianity.
The plan
started by restricting the teaching of the church. Nazi racism meant that Christianity
had to make a clean break with its Jewish roots. The attack on the Jewish basis
for Christianity appears to have two main focal points. First, the Hebrew Bible
(the Old Testament) had to be removed from Christian teaching. So Hitler
adopted a position similar to the position that the heretic Marcion had held in
the second century - everything Jewish had to be removed from the Christian
Bible. The second attack was found in the accusation that it was the fault of
the Jews that Jesus was crucified. What more could be expected from what Hitler
believed was an inferior people. But there was a third line of attack. Quietly
Adolph Hitler became portrayed as the new Messiah – the new Jesus. And the
specter of a “Positive Christianity” – one dominated by the policies of
National Socialism - rose within the nation.
And the
unfortunate truth was that many Christians seemed to be willing to make the
shift from a historical Christianity to a Nazi dominated version of
Christianity. But not all Christians made the switch. The confessing church
remained active in the nation – and leaders like Dietrich Bonhoeffer kept the
image of the Biblical Christ fresh in the minds of the people that they came
into contact with. But for others it seems that Jesus’ message of love was all
too easily exchanged for the Nazi dominated Messiah characterized by hate.
Knowing what it was that Christ had demanded, they decided to go into a
different direction. And the truth that the world discovered as the Second
World War ended was that the Nazi’s had not only violated the teachings of
Jesus, but they had not even lived up to the moral standards of the nations
that had never accepted the teachings of Christ.
God warns
the nation of Judah that their sins were greater than the other nations because
although they knew what God had demanded of them, they had decided not to keep
his decrees and follow his instructions. And not only did they fail to measure
up to the instructions of God, they did not even live up to the morality of the
pagan nations that surrounded them. For God, that was unacceptable. It was
then, and it continues to be unacceptable in modern times. God demands more of
us. But the disturbing truth is that the church still seems too willing to exchange
the message of Jesus of love for one based on hate. And in doing so we continue
to reject the demands of God – and we fail to live up to the moral standards of
a secular world. And God is still unimpressed.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Ezekiel
6
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