A recent blurb in Newsweek mentioned a forthcoming Jewish statement of principles, which (among other things) will discuss Nazism. The brief quotes given said, "Nazism is not a Christian phenomenon," and that Nazism eventually "would have turned its murderous rage more directly to Christians."
And, to a degree, I'm in agreement with these statements. First of all, it's true that Nazism per se is not a Christian invention. Hitler, however, felt he was doing God's work by exterminating Jews, atheists, homosexuals, and others. His own writings reflect this, as do the statements of his associates.
And yes, I've no doubt that Hitler's form of Nazism would have eventually gotten around to killing more groups of people, including Christians who opposed him. But the Jewish statement seems to feel that this is some sort of exoneration of Christianity with regard to Hitler and his atrocities. In fact, it is just the opposite.
Christians have been murdering other Christians for 2000 years now. Zealots (and there are always plenty of them) will take issue over any little thing. "My way is the only way to be a Christian," they proclaim, and proceed to butcher fellow Christians who differ in opinion. This has always been the case, and probably always will be the case.
Why? Because religion is divisive. I don't know how many times this has been said, but it bears repeating. Religion is not the uniting force that its proponents claim it to be. Even a cursory look at the countless religious wars throughout history will show this to be a silly claim.
So yes, the Jewish statement is apparently saying some true things about Nazism. But, as usual for a religious document, it's not telling the whole story, or being forthright about it.
