One event changed millions of lives forever. Not only did that event change the lives of that generation, but would change the lives of future generations forever as well. If you are a Christian you probably think I am talking about the birth of Jesus, but I am not. I am referring to a world event that is so horrendous, many of us refuse to think about it. We have heard about it throughout our lives, but most will probably not seek out anything more than their high school history class provided.
Only a few days ago my husband and I traveled to Washington, DC. There were a number of sights I wanted to see, but one was at the top of my list and I was not leaving DC until I had visited it. The first day we visited Arlington National Cemetery. The sight of the graves and the changing of the guard was overwhelming, but that was not my top priority.
The second day we visited most of the memorials, but that was not my highest priority either. Finally on the third day I received the reward of my patience, The Holocaust Museum of Washington, DC. That one museum was the reason we chose DC to begin with. I have researched the Holocaust and watched videos of survivors telling their story for the past few months. Why is the Holocaust so important to me seeing that I have no relatives, that I know of, who were affected by that event? Prior to my trip I had no clear answer, but now I do. The museum brought all the research together for me in a tremendously poignant way.
For almost a year now our country has been in turmoil. First a young unarmed black man was shot and killed by a white police officer. Next a young black teen was shot and killed by a white police officer, because the officer thought the boy was pulling a gun on him. The gun turned out to be a toy gun. Thirdly a black man was arrested, placed in the back of a police van and died hours later from an injury he apparently received while in the back of that van. A black man was wrestled to the ground by several police officers and one white officer put him in a choke hold. The black man died from that hold.
Three weeks ago a young white man walked into a historic predominantly black church and spent an hour with the members in a prayer meeting before standing up, shouting racial slurs and gunning down nine people. As a result the nation has been in a total uproar over a flag, a piece of cloth. While the nation was drawing lines in the sand over this piece of material, the Supreme Court made a thunderous decision, a civil rights decision that gave Gays and Lesbians the right to marry and for that marriage to be recognized as a legal marriage in all 50 states.
"Hands up don't shoot," "Black lives matter," "Police lives matter," "All lives matter," "I can't breathe," and "That flag is our heritage," "Marriage is between one man and one woman," have all become slogans across this great and mighty nation. The United States of America, by the looks of my social media feed, is anything but united. Gays and Lesbians are celebrating their rights, while Christians feel as though their rights are being violated. Lines are DEFINITELY being drawn in the sand and I have been concerned over where this might lead. Will there be another Civil War?
In the midst of this, just a few days before the celebration of our country's birth, my husband and I visit Washington, DC. That first day as we entered the gates of Arlington National Cemetery, I turned to my husband and said, "I think we are the only people here who speak English." Standing in that entrance I could distinctly pick out at least six different languages spoken within earshot and that scenario continued day after day. As an English speaking caucasion woman, I certainly sensed that I was in the minority.
Then on day three, The Holocaust Museum. I walked through the museum, watched the videos, heard the stories of survivors, saw the pictures and cried. The first video instructed us about how Hitler and his army came to power. The second video was even more unsettling. It was about antisemitism throughout history. The video touched on the fact that Christians have been responsible for a tremendous amount of this antisemitism throughout the past 2000 years. I do believe we have made great progress in that area, but the past is what it is. I cannot change it.
Today I have tried to form the words in my mind I wanted to say to you. I have researched even more and I have to say putting this together has been heart wrenching for me. I have been told all my life that ignorance is bliss, but it absolutely is not. Ignorance is the very factor that allowed Hitler to commit horrible genocide. Ignorance allows people to blindly follow a charismatic leader.
I am speaking predominantly to my fellow Christians in this post. I am not trying to be condescending here, because I am so very guilty myself. This lesson has been as much for me as anyone else. Part of this research has been watching a video containing thoughts by several people including a Jewish Rabbi. This Rebbe states, "I could be a Nazi." He goes on to explain that, "Whenever I think of someone as less than human or think of them as not deserving to live, I am a Nazi."
I paused the video and contemplated his words. Am I a Nazi? Do I think of others as less than human? Do I ever think someone doesn't deserve to live? Do I make that statement even if it's only in my head? As a Christian I have been programmed to think that anyone who commits certain sins doesn't deserve to go to heaven. Isn't that the same thing as thinking they don't deserve to live?
There is a verse in the Bible that says when you know the truth, the truth will set you free. I know I am taking this verse out of context, but this statement can be used in every area of life. Whenever we know the truth of a situation, that truth will set us free. Free from judgement, free from blindly following a leader down the wrong path, free to love.
The truth we need to see in the decisions being made in our country is that ALL PEOPLE ARE CREATED EQUAL. If we, as Christians, begin to condemn all those who believe differently than us we have become Nazis. If we say all men must believe in our God, how then are we different from Hitler? Hitler played on the "knowledge" of his predecessors, that Jews killed Jesus and therefore they needed to die. Those Jews were worthless pieces of meat, deserving of death. Those Jews were inferior creatures.
Hitler's way of thinking didn't just stop with Jews, as horrible as is that fact. He dreamed of a pure race of people; therefore he not only sought out Jews, but any person who had an imperfection either mentally or physically. He also rounded up Gypsies, Jehovah's Witnesses and homosexuals. Hitler published a list of characteristics that made up his perfect Aryan race. Any person who did not fit that list was fodder for the camps.
Hitler arrested almost 500,00 homosexuals and interred approximately 15,000 of those in concentration camps. He also exterminated approximately 200,000 disabled, approximately 220,000 Roma Gypsies and 1,500 Jehovah's Witnesses, (although close to 10,000 were interred in camps). Can you see a pattern here? Hitler had a list of characteristics and ideals that he believed were perfect. Anyone who did not fit that list were subject to death, people who were subhuman.
We, as Christians, cannot afford to think in these abstracts. God created people and he created them in His image. All people are sacred; the disabled, the people who believe in a different god or in no god, people of other races. All men are created equal. If we, as Christians, begin to think of any other human being as unequal to us, we become Nazis.
I have said this before and I will say it again, our job in the kingdom of God is not to judge, but rather to love. Jesus was asked, "Rabbi, what is the greatest commandment?" Jesus replied, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, your soul, your mind and your strength and there is another just like it. Love your neighbor as yourself, for this is the entire Torah."
Guess how one truly defines those words? Love the people who agree with you. Love the people who disagree with you. Love the people who do not believe in your God. Love the people who commit atrocities. Love ALL PEOPLE! Love covers a multitude of sins. Christians should be leading the world in feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned. We should be the poster child for love!
We, as Christians in America are NOT being persecuted. There is no state church in America and no state religion. We may have the truth, but we do not have the right to force people to believe that truth. We are not a perfect "race" of people.
As we were leaving The Holocaust Museum I turned to see the window. This is what it said,"The next time you witness hatred, the next time you see injustice, the next time you hear about genocide, Think about what you saw."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4CKq3ywXL8
