Ich Bin Adolf?

Adolf as a Child, Courtesy: wikipedia.com

Genocidal dictators aren't born, they're created, and they started out being a lot like you and me.

I recently viewed a documentary on the beginning of World War II, which of course talked a great deal about Adolf Hitler, and a somewhat disturbing thought came to mind; Adolf was once a regular person. Curious as to whether the facts support this thought or not, I did a little research.

A Regular Person

According to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Adolf was born into a middle-class Catholic family. He pursued a career as an artist despite his family's insistence that he join the army. After his parents died, he bounced around quite a bit, supporting himself with his art until eventually joining the army in World War I. Most importantly, up until the end of WWI, his racism was nothing extraordinary, keeping in line with much of the general public at that time.


A Single Step

At this point you may be asking yourself, "What does this have to do with me? I'm nothing like Hitler." Sure, almost nobody goes to bed a law-abiding, tolerant person, and then wakes up a hate-filled mass-murderer. It's a process that one goes through. As the saying goes, the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Many times that single step is a step in the wrong direction.

Jesus stated in His famous Sermon on the Mount that thoughts have the same weight as actions because thoughts are that first step. One does not set out to murder without first nurturing hatred to a person or group of people. Young Adolf got caught up the wrong crowd that encouraged the negative parts of his character, and the rest, as they say, is history. Sadly, history has a way of repeating itself.

Swimming Against the Current

Even one with only a passing knowledge of current events can see that there is a lot of hatred going around. Aside from those atrocities that make the national and international news, people are being killed everyday simply because they are different. Beyond that, the world-wide web often becomes a forum for people to spew hate-filled diatribes against those who simply disagree with their views. With hatred such as this being so prevalent, it's easy to allow yourself to go with the flow. In order to not be changed by that hate, one must swim against the current of popular opinion, even when that popular opinion has seemingly good intentions.

No God Zones

In a must-read article on the British website the Telegraph, Cristina Odone voices her valid concern about the potential creation of "no God zones" in which no public religious display will be allowed because such display might provoke an attack. The discrimination would be for their own protection. She continues by pointing out those who have taken steps in the wrong direction.

Secularists once sought only a separation between Church and State; today they want to purge all signs of religion from all public space: the staff at Charlie Hebdo said they did not want to hear the bells of Notre Dame mourning their colleagues’ murders. Salman Rushdie weighed in, saying religion, as a "maedieval form of unreason", is the enemy.

Instead of simply religious extremists being the problem, religion itself becomes the problem, and it doesn't take much imagination to see where that mindset can take you.

The Right Path

Young Adolf took such a mindset to the next level and ended up being one of the most reviled people in history. He kept nurturing that hatred until it controlled him. There is no room for such hatred in the Christian, even in small amounts. So I challenge you to make the right choices, to choose the right path. Such a choice will be difficult, but remember this, you can do all things through Christ Who gives you strength.