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Hitler's Cross: The Revealing Story of How…
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Hitler's Cross: The Revealing Story of How the Cross of Christ was Used as a symbol of the Nazi Agenda (edição: 1998)

de Erwin W.. Lutzer (Autor)

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The story of Nazi Germany is one of conflict between two saviors and two crosses. "Deine Reich komme," Hitler prayed publicly--"Thy Kingdom come." But to whose kingdom was he referring?When Germany truly needed a savior, Adolf Hitler falsely assumed the role. He directed his countrymen to a cross, but he bent and hammered the true cross into a horrific substitute: a swastika. Where was the church through all of this? With a few exceptions, the German church looked away while Hitler inflicted his "Final Solution" upon the Jews. Hitler's Cross is a chilling historical account of what happens when evil meets a silent, shrinking church, and an intriguing and convicting expose? of modern America's own hidden crosses.Erwin W. Lutzer extracts a number of lessons from this dark chapter in world history, such as:The dangers of confusing church and stateThe role of God in human tragedyThe parameters of Satan's freedomHitler's Cross is the story of a nation whose church forgot its call and discovered its failure way too late. It is a cautionary tale for every church and Christian to remember who the true King is.… (mais)
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Título:Hitler's Cross: The Revealing Story of How the Cross of Christ was Used as a symbol of the Nazi Agenda
Autores:Erwin W.. Lutzer (Autor)
Informação:Moody Publishers (1998), Edition: New, 224 pages
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Hitlers Cross de Erwin W. Lutzer

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A good book outlining the history of church within Nazism although not from a historical nature. I found his commentary on America a little bit out of date and reductionist. Current trends of 2020 apply better and I got a little bit of a “America Repent” vibe which didn’t really do anything for me. Overall I enjoyed and had a contemplative read. If he stayed in Germany in his book and spoke to church universal not church America only I would rate higher. ( )
  Razin | May 30, 2023 |
The German church looked away while Hitler inflicted his “Final Solution” upon the Jews. Hitler’s Cross is a chilling historical account of what happens when evil meets a silent, shrinking church, and an intriguing and convicting exposé of modern America’s own hidden crosses.
  phoovermt | May 4, 2023 |
My Twitter feed just happens to be a place where ministry updates and book lover thoughts collide, and when I saw several people raving about this book, I decided to review it next. I was pretty sure I would love Lutzer's style of writing, and I wasn't disappointed. Like Rescuing the Gospel, Lutzer writes with clarity and detail, yet in a conversational style.

This year I have been drawn to the history during World War 2 and have already read several historical novels of the time period. While much of the history is tragic, I enjoy the life reminders and accounts of people who were willing to stand up for what they believed despite the cost.

Hitler's Cross is a little deeper though. Many people believe the Holocaust never happened. Others shake their heads and wonder what kind of man Hitler must have been to carry out such an awful role. But despite some obviously glaring differences, Hitler was an average man. He believed himself a Christian, he was very "spiritual", and he was deeply involved with the public, even before his rise to power. He knew people and he knew politics, and he used these both (if somewhat unfairly) to place himself on the "throne" when the people needed him most. The conflict of church and state, the Treaty of Versailles, and general instability of the nation, gave Hitler the abililty to comfort the people and demonstrate his leadership. I appreciated understanding how Hitler used religion and spirituality in his life. I do not doubt that he was involved in Satanic and demonic activity, but hearing it from Lutzer clearly demonstrated that the terms "Christian" and "spirituality" mean many things to people.

Hitler didn't rely simply on his own mind and thoughts to bring a massive change to his country. There were psychologists, speakers, and authors that Hitler drew from or promoted (with or without knowing it). Men such as Karl Marx, Georg Hegel, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Fyodor Dostoyevsky profoundly shaped the thinking of Hitler.

I loved Lutzer's thread of Providence through this whole book. Despite the horrific deeds of Hitler, we see God (or as he believes "Fate") leading the events of history and being specifically involved in Hitler's life. Lutzer deals with the role of Fate and God in this book and clearly explains the terms and how each were demonstrated in history. Lutzer unpacks the anit-semitism of the time period, and tackles the topic of who was in charge: God or Hitler. This book is full of interesting history, along with the stories of Deitrich Bonhoeffer and Martin Niemoller (this man's testimony is so encouraging--never heard of him until this book), and quotes from various other men and women who decided to speak out for those who couldn't. I also appreciated learning about the German Christians. They were a group who sat on the fence regarding issues much of the time. Some kept preaching but did it secretly, while others decided to go along with Hitler's demands so they wouldn't be arrested. But some, not under the label of German Christians, decided to preach the Gospel and suffer if necessary, because God had called them to defend the poor and outcasts of society.

As Lutzer says, "Suffering gives the Cross its most enduring witness." Pick up this book if you get a chance, and thank God for the churches and invidividuals who decided to live fully while preparing to die.

*I received this book free from Moody Publishers. All opinions expressed are my own. ( )
  kcpstudent | Nov 14, 2017 |
Why and how did Hitler ever come into power? Was it because Satan had the upper hand over God? Was God powerless to stop it? As Mr. Lutzer asks, "Is God only involved when righteous leaders are installed and uninvolved when a leader is something less than distinctively Christian, or even evil?" Of course, the answer to this is that God is always involved, otherwise He is not God. This is something that I really like about Lutzer's book Hitler's Cross. He reminds us that Hitler's ascension to power was not an accident, it was not outside of God's power. Lutzer reminds us of Romans 13: "...there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God." Satan himself is not outside the realm of God's sovereignty, every move he makes works perfectly into God's plan. Speaking of God's sovereignty in even evil things that take place, the author comments: "Some prefer to call it His 'permissive will,' but it is His will nevertheless. He directs all things to their appointed end." and again: "Those Christians in Nazi Germany who believed that evil was triumphing because God was too weak to stem the tide could find no hope in their distress." This is comforting to we who are Christians, nothing, even evil, is stronger than God, and nothing can take place without His will!

It was fascinating to me how Hitler used religion to gain over professing Christians in Germany. Much of Germany was religious at the time, the Lutheran church was connected with the state. Instead of wiping out the church, the plan was to infiltrate Christianity, politicize it (more than it already was) and change its doctrines bit by bit until true Christianity vanished altogether. Christian Jews ended up being required to worship separately from Christian Aryans, Pastors were eventually required to swear an oath to Hitler, Nazis even planned that Hitler's Mein Kampf would take the place of the Bible in the churches. The official church in Germany became the 'Reich church' .

Lutzer points out that there were Christians who were against the Nazification of Christianity, even at the cost of being sent to consecration camps and/or death. Refusing to take the oath of loyalty to Hitler as the head of the Pastors, they declared that God's word was their authority, and they also declaring that Jews and Christians are one in Christ, therefore there should be no ethnic discrimination in the church of God. By separating themselves from the official church(now the Reich church) and the so called 'German Christians' they were not apostatizing from the church, rather they were declaring the political Reich church apostate.

Lutzer sees that there are parallels between what led to Germanys being Nazified and things in America today. After world war I the Germans had a short lived Republic, they gave up this Republic for a dictator because the economy was very bad. Under Hitler's regime "Workers now had job security, a health service, cheap holiday schemes; if freedom meant starvation, then slavery was preferable." They gave up freedom for temporary safety. Which is something that America may be headed toward. Lutzer makes us ask questions: what will we do if things become like they were in Nazi Germany. What are we doing now? What decisions are we making now in our Christian life, what do we truly hold as valuable?

I've read this book before, several years ago. I remembered having really liked it at the time and recently decided that it would be nice to read it again. My perspective has changed over the years, and though I still like the book, I've noticed statements in the book that I don't seem to have noticed before. For instance, Lutzer uses Matthew 25:35-36 (I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink…etc.)to say that when the Jews were persecuted, it was the Lord Jesus Christ who was suffering and therefore Christians should have focused on helping them. But I'm pretty sure that Lutzer is using that passage incorrectly, it clarifies that " ..Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these MY BRETHREN, even these least, ye did it unto me."(vs. 40 ASV - emphasis added by myself). Who are Christ's brothers and sisters? Christ Himself says, "Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand towards his disciples, and said, Behold, my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother." (Mat 12:48-50 ASV) And in Luke 8:21 He says, "But he answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these that hear the word of God, and do it (ASV). This would seem to indicate that Christ's brethren are Christians, His followers. And Christ also says that this is how the world will know that we are His disciples, "if you have love for one another". The whole New Testament seems to emphasize focusing on Christians loving and caring for other Christians and meeting their needs more than it does meeting the material needs of unbelievers.

Perhaps I sound absolutely horrible in saying that! I sound strange to myself! But I’m NOT saying that Christian shouldn't have helped the Jews. What I'm getting at is this: if they didn't go out and actively seek Jews to hide or help, were they being disobedient to the Word of God? That is one of the questions I'm struggling with. Yes they should have stood up to the law that no Christian of Jewish descent could become a pastor, yes they should have stood against the politicization of the church and establishment of Hitler as its head. But what if, besides dealing with those issues that directly affected their brethren, they did not focus on primarily helping unbelieving Jews in need, but focused mainly on helping their fellow Christians in need (both Jewish and non-Jewish believers in Christ as their Savior and Messiah?). What if they mainly fed and clothed their fellow saints, took them in and visited them in prison over and above helping non-believers? Would they be sinning if they did this? Would they be turning their back on Christ if they focused on serving their fellow Christians over and above serving non-Christians? Will Christ say that He never knew people who focused their lives on serving their spiritual brethren who do the will of God?

To apply this to the present day: What if we Christians don't focus on ending abortion (the killing of little babies in the womb)? Yes, we absolutely want it stopped, but how much of our lives ought we to biblically devote to stopping it? How far should we go? Should we kidnap any pregnant woman who says that she will have an abortion and free her when her baby is born alive? Are we sinning if we don't go out every year and picket abortion clinics? What if we don't devote some of our lives to ending slavery in the world? Or ending child abuse, spouse abuse or human trafficking? What if we focus the majority of our lives on loving our fellow saints? Will Christ say that He never knew us?

Of course, we Christians will help unbelievers, if we have opportunities to help them, materially and spiritually. We are to walk with wisdom and have gracious speech toward "outsiders' (Col 4:5), keeping our behavior pure, to love our enemies and do good to those who hate us, blessing those who curse us, showing hospitality and are told, "as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone" and yet even that statement is qualified by the next: "and especially to those who are of the household of faith."(Gal 6:10 ASV). I just can't get over the strong emphasis of the New Testament on helping one's fellow believers.

Again, I am not saying that the Christians in Germany should not have helped Jews who came their way. I'm simply saying that I'm starting to think that Lutzer goes too far in his implications that the church in our day needs to focus on stopping the practical evils of our day: abortion, slavery, child abuse…etc. And that it needs to focus more on helping the unbelieving world. I think that biblically, the church in our day needs to focus more on loving our fellow believers. Christ says " By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (Joh 13:35) And I'm not sure that that is the reputation of the church in our day, which I suspect has more of a reputation for its love for unbelievers than its love for believers.

I don't want to sound nit-picky, I just felt like I needed to say something about that. There were some other things as well, but I won't bring them up here. But I still like the book overall. it is a fascinating recounting of the heavy influence of Nazi Germany on the 'Christian' worldview of many of the Germans at that time, and how the churches reacted or didn't react to it. Many churches of that day proved that their focus was temporal, while others were willing to suffer for the truth of the Gospel. It really makes you think about how we would react in our day. Are we willing to suffer and lose everything in this life for the sake of Christ? Will we panic if another 'Hitler' arises in our day and becomes the President of the United States of America? Or will we realize that God is still in perfect control and be willing to suffer persecution for doing what is right? The sovereignty of God over all the affairs of this world is something that we Christians need to come to realize now, and then we won't have to wrestle later with fears and doubts about His power and about whether or not all things are working together for our good (Rom 8:28-29).

Many thanks to the folks at MPNewsroom (Moody Publishers) for sending me a free review copy of this book (My review did not have to be favorable)! ( )
  SnickerdoodleSarah | Oct 19, 2017 |
Hitler’s Cross is fascinating, enlightening, and downright terrifying. It is a book that I was meant to read. Erwin W. Lutzer covers an extremely dark subject matter in a clear, concise, and compassionate manner. I believe that the state of humanity is such that burying or hiding from our history is dangerous. Instead, truthful evaluation and personal introspection are imperative in order to avoid repetition of humankind’s greatest atrocities. We must not forget the atrocities committed nor can we forget the unfortunate fear, lack of faith, and lack of response that was exhibited by the Christian church during WWII. Hitler’s Cross is an excellent resource for the church to use in understanding this period in our history.

As a follower of Christ, it is so challenging to wrap my mind around the level of deception and depravity that we can be brought down to. But as I have grown in my faith I have gained a clearer picture of the Christian church as a whole. We are solely dependent on God’s grace, mercy, and personal sacrifice to save us from falling into the pit. It is far too easy for us to remove our eyes from Christ and submit ourselves to the will of the world. It is possible that we would respond to a similar situation in much the same manner today… I sure pray not. I specifically pray that I will always have my focus upon Christ so that I do not fall into the same trap, which when I am honest with myself would be far too easy to do.

This biblical study of one of the church and humanities greatest failings is truly valuable. We are a depraved people. As I read I realized that the degradation of human life and it’s intrinsic value induced by Hitler and those that inspired him is something altogether deeper and darker than I could have ever imagined. There is value in the backstory which Hitler’s Cross provides. Lutzer provides background information on Hitler’s insidious rise to power which I found extremely helpful towards gaining an understanding of the Christian lack of response.

Hitler’s atrocities are just one chapter in a very sad story that has been written over and over again since Satan first deceived Adam and Eve. Fortunately, Lutzer doesn’t leave us flailing in the dark subject matter… this portion of our history is dark indeed but God provides us with one bright shining light of forgiveness and redemption in His Son Jesus Christ. His conquering light comes shining forth in spite of Hitler’s attempts to annihilate it through his regime of hate and pride.

In addition, amidst all of the important historical information, Lutzer provides one of the best responses to atheism that I have seen. He writes:

"We have met those who tell us that no God could see the atrocities of this world (eg. the Holocaust) and not intervene. We must be sensitive to such a reaction as it is difficult to understand how a good God could permit (and hence ordain) such evil. But atheism is very unsatisfying; it affirms not only that we have horrific injustice in the world, but also that justice will never triumph.

I have a Jewish friend who does not believe in a personal God precisely because of the Holocaust. But he seemed perturbed when I reminded him one day that according to his view, Hitler and his henchmen would never be judged for what they did. In an atheistic world not only is this world unjust, but there can be no justice. Atheism teaches that our cry for justice will never be satisfied.”

If you wonder

-how Hitler gained such prominence with such radical ideas
-why the Christian church didn't object before it was too late
-why the Christian church was silent overall
-what hidden "crosses" exist in modern America

read Hitler's Cross!

As a reviewer for MP Newsroom, I received a review copy of this book in exchange for my honest and unbiased review. My thanks to the author and publisher.

For all of my reviews visit my blog at https://www.blessedandbewildered.com ( )
  ZoeSchoppa | Jun 11, 2017 |
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The story of Nazi Germany is one of conflict between two saviors and two crosses. "Deine Reich komme," Hitler prayed publicly--"Thy Kingdom come." But to whose kingdom was he referring?When Germany truly needed a savior, Adolf Hitler falsely assumed the role. He directed his countrymen to a cross, but he bent and hammered the true cross into a horrific substitute: a swastika. Where was the church through all of this? With a few exceptions, the German church looked away while Hitler inflicted his "Final Solution" upon the Jews. Hitler's Cross is a chilling historical account of what happens when evil meets a silent, shrinking church, and an intriguing and convicting expose? of modern America's own hidden crosses.Erwin W. Lutzer extracts a number of lessons from this dark chapter in world history, such as:The dangers of confusing church and stateThe role of God in human tragedyThe parameters of Satan's freedomHitler's Cross is the story of a nation whose church forgot its call and discovered its failure way too late. It is a cautionary tale for every church and Christian to remember who the true King is.

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