There is an underpinning euphoria in the American church that unlike those that have gone before us we are somehow comfortable and secure amidst the turmoil around us.  Solomon’s words in Ecclesiastes 1:9 are as applicable today as when he wrote them “there is nothing new under the sun”.  While the people and names change the same euphoria has been felt by others throughout history.  The difference between the people and deeds of yesterday’s Nazi Germany and today’s Nazi America are just names and technology.

Am I my brother’s watchman?

Millions of people entered the Nazi concentration camps due to being Jewish, Gypsy, homosexual, or simply an enemy of the state.  The majority of those enemies were turned in by neighbors, friends and family.  For the purity of the nation it was your duty to observe and report.

Attention Wal-Mart shoppers, we have a message from the Department of Homeland (Fatherland) Security.  “If you see something, say something.”  This catchy slogan is being posted in mass transit locations, farm supply stores, and on video at Wal-Mart.  We are being encouraged to trust the government, but not our neighbor.

Many Germans lived in fear that they might be reported for something they said or beliefs they have that are contrary to the state.  While Americans were once known for their feisty independence, that day is clearly waning.

False flags and opportunities

Hitler needed an excuse to introduce the world to blitzkrieg, or lightning war, so he sacrificed some of his own people, euphemistically referred to as “canned goods”, as well as many Poles in the staged incidents of Operation Himmler to convince the German people and the world that it was the right thing to do to invade Poland.  He told his generals “I shall give a propaganda reason for starting the war; whether it is plausible or not.  The victor will not be asked whether he told the truth.”

On February 5, 2003 Secretary of State Colin Powell presented to the United Nations charges against Iraq that were questionable at the time and most subsequently confirmed to be bogus.  However the US successfully toppled the Iraqi government so few are interested in revisiting history.

The disgruntle Jew, Herschel Grynszpan, who shot a German in France on November 7, 1938 may or may not have had support from the Nazis, but was certainly provoked.  Hitler took the opportunity to rally the nation in what became known as Kristallnacht or the night of broken glass.  In one day the German populous rioted against the Jews destroying much of their property, killing hundreds and arresting thousands to be sent to concentration camps for the crime of being a Jew.

A few years later the United States followed suit and sent thousands of US citizens to internment camps for the crime of being of Japanese descent.

The Reichstag fire on February 27, 1933 was the rallying cry for Hitler to instill fear in the German people that the threats to their security real.  By giving more power to the state, security and tranquility would follow.  The demand for power came with an assurance that it would be used sparingly.

Building 7 about to come down

On September 11, 2001 when two planes allegedly toppled three skyscrapers in New York the Patriot Act followed to give the state more power under the guise of security and tranquility.  The state influenced press would gleefully ignore the free-fall collapse of building 7 or the nanothermite explosive residue but rally the nation against a cave dweller and the CIA funded Al-Qaeda.  The US government assured its people that the new powers were to be limited and only used against foreign terrorists.

American Auschwitz

The concentration camp in Auschwitz Poland, and the many smaller ones like it, was a factory for low cost and disposable workers.  Products for the German war machine and the German people were made in these camps.  While there was a high percentage of Jews, the camps were for any German citizen that the state felt was disloyal or a threat.

Utah Data Center

The American Auschwitz is being built in outside of Salt Lake City, Utah with smaller camps in places like San Antonio, Texas, Ft. Gordon, Georgia, and Ft. Meade, Maryland.  The Utah Data Center will electronically encamp submissive workers.  With same compulsive record keeping of the German concentration camp leaders, or the later East German Stasi, every detail of your life is being monitored and recorded.

People are being inspired leave the farm and suburb to encamp in cities. Huddled in these camps you can more readily be cared for, watched and directed.  With our heads buried in our smartphones, our hearts and minds focused on movies and sports, we have no problem repeating the mantra “Arbeit macht frei”.

Pledge

As we gather in our patriotic groups we feel the obligation to recite the pledge of allegiance. Do we know what we are saying and the history of the pledge?

U.S. children reciting pledge in 1942

Originally we did not hold are hand over our heart, we held our outstretched arm pointed toward the flag in what later became known as the Nazi salute.

While many complain about the words “under God” which were added in 1954, we should actually be concerned about the word “indivisible”.  We forget our history of sovereign states with differing desires and laws and have inverted our understanding to place the national government as the sole sovereign power.  No decent is allowed, and no separation is possible.

State muzzling of the church

Starting in the 1930s efforts were made by the German Evangelical Church to work with the state.  The minority of churches in German formed the Confessing Church that opposed the state; however it was only a small minority of those that backed their words with actions.

In 1954 then Senator Johnson successfully implemented the IRS 501-C3 tax code to limit political speech.  Churches and their members fell into line seeing the tax advantage rather than the reality of a tax penalty and a muzzle.  Today few churches refuse to don the muzzle.

It is worth considering if we are offended by seeing a swastika in a church, what should we think about having an American flag?

The submissive church

Hitler skillfully used Romans 13 to rally the church to his cause.  The vast majority of the German churches complied or gave outright support.  The appeal to being a proud member of the superior race and in good standing with a powerful nation is difficult to resist compared to submission to the Lord.

Our faith is the victory

While it is true that the Christian is called to submit to the authority of the state, it is also true that this is usurped when the state obligates or prohibits higher laws.

Clearly allegiance to the state before allegiance to the Lord is a violation of the greatest commandment and the First Table of the Law.  We may not be literally bowing down and worshiping the state when we hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, but change the terms and the technology we are in lockstep with Daniel’s peers.  We need to reflect on how much our personal  allegiance is to the state, the corporation and the education system before it is to the Lord.

The second greatest commandment and the Second Table of the Law require us to love our neighbor.  We are often fooled into thinking that this love is simply having a good feeling about people in our heart.  That is romance.  Love includes my care for you and a willingness to put my reputation, my comfort, and my life on the line to stand against any who would oppress or exploit you or your progeny.  Greater love has no man than this…