Corrupting Jesus
"In an obsequious act of submission to Nazi ideology, many German theologians in the Third Reich transformed the central teachings of the New Testament into Nazi principles."
This is the opening sentence of Susannah Heschel's article "Reading Jesus as a Nazi" in the book, A Shadow of Glory: Reading the New Testament after the Holocaust.
I assigned the article in one of my recent classes, and I'm still pondering its resonances for today.
Heschel describes the theological work of Walter Grundmann, who served as the Director of the Institute for the Study and Elimination of Jewish Influence on German Church Life. The goal of this supposedly academic institute is right there in the title – to reject Judaism and Jews under the banner of Christianity.
"Judaism was said to pose a violent and dangerous threat to Germany, and Jesus became an Aryan whose teachings were essentially the same as those of Hitler."
The second sentence of her article. Jesus, the Jew, was transformed into an Aryan—a startling occurrence. In an unbelievable act of sheer will, ignorance, and evil, the teachings of Jesus became equivalent to the teachings of Hitler.
Do you know how much corruption is needed to balance that equation?
"That such a massive corruption of Christian teachings was possible, even under Hitler, should bring pause to theologians."
The third sentence of the article. Bring pause?
This type of massive corruption should have us rethinking our own moment.
When did Jesus become an American?
A Benediction (Or Miscellaneous Thoughts)
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