If Everyone's Hitler, No One's Hitler
Breakpoint
Colson Center
4.8 • 3.1K Ratings
🗓️ 8 November 2023
⏱️ 1 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In one of his books, historian Tom Holland asked, "Who needs the Devil when there is Adolf Hitler?" Since the Holocaust, calling someone "Hitler" has been the quickest way to call someone "evil" and to short-circuit debate, even for those who don't know much about who Hitler was and what he did.
However, because of its constant use, calling someone a "Nazi" or "Hitler" is almost meaningless. Put differently, if everyone is Hitler, no one is.
But I say almost because any of our moral proclamations are made in a world infused with the moral law that stands over the behavior of moral beings, and all of this reflects the moral nature of the Creator.
In the so-called "Holocaust inversion" of recent days, Jews have been called "Nazis" while those committing and supporting their annihilation are called victims. This is because the whole tragic episode is being seen by those unattached from the realities of evil and history.
But even if a name becomes meaningless, morality does not.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | With a |
| 0:04.1 | look at culture from a Christian worldview. I'm John Stone Street with the point. In one of his books historian Tom Holland asked, |
| 0:06.6 | who needs the devil when there's Adolf Hitler? |
| 0:08.5 | Ever since the Holocaust calling someone Hitler or Nazis been the quickest way to call them evil and to short |
| 0:14.0 | circuit debate even for those who don't know much about who Hitler was and what he did. |
| 0:17.8 | However, because of the constant use, calling someone a Nazi or Hitler these days |
| 0:22.0 | is almost meaningless, but differently if everyone's |
| 0:24.6 | Hitler no one is. But I say almost, because any moral proclamation we make is made in a world |
| 0:30.5 | infused with the moral law that stands over the behavior of moral beings and all of this reflects the moral nature of our Creator. |
| 0:37.6 | And the so-called Holocaust inversion of recent days Jews have been called Nazis while those committing and supporting the latest atrocities |
| 0:44.0 | against them are called the victims. |
| 0:46.0 | This is because the whole tragic episode is being seen by people unattached from the realities |
| 0:51.0 | of history and evil. |
| 0:53.0 | But even if a name becomes meaningless, make no mistake. |
| 0:56.2 | Morality does not. |
| 0:58.0 | I'm John Stone Street. |
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