21st-century Christian Philosopher

I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator: by defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord. — Adolph Hitler, Mein Kampf, Chapter 2: Years of Study and Suffering in Vienna http://www.hitler.org/writings/Mein_Kampf/mkv1ch02.html

!!!!

In fact, if you spend much time on the net, reading what atheists have to say about Hitler, you’re bound to run into that quote. Right here, Jim Walker posts it as the headline for “Hitler’s religious beliefs and fanaticism”. Two sentences that tell you all some atheists think you need to know about Hitler’s religious motivations.

Right there are the words “Almighty Creator” and “Lord”. It sounds like we might see Hitler sitting in a pew at a Baptist church somewhere–and the atheists are highly motivated to not disturb this sound with clumsy stuff like details and what Hitler said in the previous few paragraphs. Walker, for example calls it “Biblical”.

The real sentence begins “Hence today I believe…”. So this has something to do with the previous clause, which is the following sentence:

Eternal Nature inexorably avenges the infringement of her commands.

“Eternal Nature”? “Her commands”? Here the common atheist who tries to blow you over with the first quote, wants you to consider the possible meanings of this one. Suddenly, you need to become subtle. “Her” might be simple personification. And even though Christians largely do not think of Nature as “eternal”–having been created 6,000 years ago¹–still you can sweep around for Christians who have spoken similarly.

But the Christian who believes that Nature can be described as “eternal”, is probably not “denying science” in the same was as the Christian who says the the earth was created 6,000 years ago. So one could argue that for either Hitler or the audience he intended denies a little less science. As well, as Hitler is not so squeamish about attributing power and sentience to things other than God.

Keep in mind that before the Big Bang achieved scientific standing “eternal nature” was the model of scientists. So even though the Bible says that God had created light at some finite point in the past, Hitler was fine with paralleling the current scientific cosmology of his day.

Okay so while the starkness of Hitler’s “faith” in the splash quote is still pumping adrenalin through our veins, and we can still explain away “Nature’s commands”, let’s take another step backward.

We know that Nature avenges infringements and that for that reason Hitler is in tune with Nature and the Lord, “her” creator. But what infringement?

Hitler answers

If, with the help of his Marxist creed, the Jew is victorious over the other peoples of the world, his crown will be the funeral wreath of humanity and this planet will, as it did thousands of years ago, move through the ether devoid of men.

Okay, how credible is it to say that the thousand years that the earth moved through the ether without men was 6 thousand years, when by the same scale it was 3 days at most? How much moving through the ether could the earth get done before it was un-devoid of men? Is Hitler saying that if the Jews have their way it will be another terrible 3 days?

So what about this?

[T]his planet once moved through the ether for millions of years without human beings and it can do so again some day… http://www.hitler.org/writings/Mein_Kampf/mkv1ch11.html

So Hitler isn’t a fundamentalist or a “science-denier” it could well be argued. In his doomsday scenario, there’s little mention of the second coming of Christ that could pull the world back into balance, or even any form of triumphalism where God would step in. This is repeated any time that Hitler mentions the doomsday scenario. 1) If we don’t act, 2) the world plummets into chaos, 3) The End.

So Hitler’s “Christianity” is not too prophetic either. Not triumphal at all. There is really not much triumphalism outside of action by men, which is what he urges stridently. In fact if you go to this page(sorry, it’s a NAZI site) and query “miracle” (both Manheim and Murphey texts if you want), you’ll find that everything that Hitler refers to as a “miracle” is a historical, political outcome.

But another step back helps here too. So, how, Adolph? could this funeral come about?

Hitler said:

The Jewish doctrine of Marxism rejects the aristocratic principle of Nature and replaces the eternal privilege of power and strength by the mass of numbers and their dead weight. Thus it denies the value of personality in man, contests the significance of nationality and race, and thereby withdraws from humanity the premise of its existence and its culture. As a foundation of the universe, this doctrine would bring about the end of any order intellectually conceivable to man. And as, in this greatest of ail recognizable organisms, the result of an application of such a law could only be chaos, on earth it could only be destruction for the inhabitants of this planet.

Thus we have it the “destruction for the inhabitants of this planet” seems to be exactly that 1) funeral which leaves the earth devoid of men. And the “aristocratic principle of Nature” is arguably something that Nature would repay for “infringement”. Hence, Hitler believed that he was acting with the “will of the Almighty Creator” in defending his Germany against the watering down of “nationality and race” and the premise of humanity’s existence.

How Biblical can you get? The premise of existence is not to love and serve the Lord that the Bible would have you understand it is to express yourself through nationality and race and culture. Paul wrote that in Christ there is neither Greek nor Jew–in direct violation of the God of the Bible has deemed the “premise of human existence”.

But before I get into endless reflections on the entire text, let’s take another step back. Hitler says:

As I delved more deeply into the teachings of Marxism and thus in tranquil clarity submitted the deeds of the Jewish people to contemplation, Fate itself gave me its answer.

Now here it is: Fate. Jim Walker describes this as “hysterical beliefs” (again here) in which he includes “Fate”. Fine but what makes that characteristic of a “Biblical reasoning”? Hitler didn’t say “With prayer and fasting and meditation on the Bible…” It says that Fate delivered the answer to him.

Another step:

Have we an objective right to struggle for our self-preservation, or is this justified only subjectively within ourselves?

This is what he was wondering about, we can guess. But what provokes this question? Adolph? (This is the last step.)

Just once more-and this was the last time-fearful, oppressive thoughts came to me in profound anguish.

When over long periods of human history I scrutinized the activity of the Jewish people, suddenly there rose up in me the fearful question whether inscrutable Destiny, perhaps Or reasons unknown to us poor mortals, did not with eternal and immutable resolve, desire the final victory of this little nation.

Was it possible that the earth had been promised as a reward to this people which lives only for this earth?

Was it possible that there was a mystical force behind the Jews? Was it possible that “Destiny” or some source of “reasons unknown to us poor mortals” could want the Jews to inherit the earth? Maybe there was some sort of prophesy or promise or something by which the Jews would inherit a kingdom of some sort.

But this, he contemplated. NO! That whole idea of some sort of inheritance held in check replaced the “aristocratic principle of Nature” and replaced the forces of race and nationality and culture as the “premise of existence” with “mass of numbers and their dead weight”. Nature would enforce her punishments on the infringements of her laws. And Hitler would be suddenly fighting for the will of God–as expressed through Nature in fighting this miraculous inheritance scheme.

Lightweight readers like Wells conclude “but one only has to read from his own writings to appreciate that Hitler’s God equals the same God of the Christian Bible.” What were you doing skimming the previous 4 paragraphs.

But what is “the aristocratic principle of Nature”? Adolph?

Adolph explains in Chapter 1 of Volume 2, Philosophy and Party

…[T]he völkisch concept of the world recognizes that the primordial racial elements are of the greatest significance for mankind.

Hey!! Don’t thump the Bible so hard there, Adolph. You’re scaring us. “primordial racial elements”? “greatest significance”?

…On the Völkisch principle we cannot admit that one race is equal to another. By recognizing that they are different, the Völkisch concept separates mankind into races of superior and inferior quality. On the basis of this recognition it feels bound in conformity with the eternal Will that dominates the universe, to postulate the victory of the better and stronger and the subordination of the inferior and weaker. And so it pays homage to the truth that the principle underlying all Nature’s operations is the aristocratic principle and it believes that this law holds good even down to the last individual organism.

He should have quoted chapter and verse, because I’m having trouble finding this in my Bible! Concordances are only of some help, I guess.