Hitler's Cross - Erwin Lutzer

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)!

My Rating: 4 Out of 5 Stars

****

This book may be purchased at places like Amazon and Christianbook.com

So Close to Home by Michael J. Tougias and Alison O'Leary

So Close to Home by Michael J. Tougias and Alison O'Leary is a riveting account of the amazing, providential survival and reunion of a family after the ship they are travelling on was torpedoed by a German submarine. 

In 1942, the Downs Family, consisting of Ray and Ina Downs and two of their children, Lucille and Sonny Downs (their oldest son Terry was already in the U.S.), were making their way back to the United States from an eleven month stay in Columbia where Ray had taken a job with the United Fruit Company.  They began their journey home on a ship called the Heredia.

Their trip home was drastically interrupted. The night before they were to land at New Orleans, two torpedoes hit the ship.  The Downs' almost make it out onto the deck of this ship together but are separated by a lurch of the ship causing a surge of water to engulf them.  Ray is washed back inside the ship, while Ina, Lucille and Sonny are swept to various places on the decks and in the water, all find themselves separated from the rest of their family.

Ray is reunited with Sonny after a short while, Lucille is helped by the Second Mate of the Heredia while Ina struggles to survive on her own.  They all have encounters with sharks and suffer from long exposure to the elements.  All of them have to deal with their fears for each other, wondering whether the rest of their family is still alive and they all try to keep their composure during their ordeal.  Even little Sonny tries to be tough like his dad and succeeds in not breaking down.  The Downs' family ends up happily reunited, all of them amazed and grateful that they survived. 

Heavily intermixed with the story of the Downs family story are the accounts of several U-boat Captains and their crews, including that of the Captain of the U-boat that sank the Heredia.  The authors interweave these accounts by jumping off many  incidents in the Downs' story to lead into history and facts about German submarines, their crews and other ships they sank.  I found it very interesting that, unlike the Japanese, many German Submarine Captains were kind and friendly to survivors of ships that they sank.   The most amazing one is probably the account of the sinking of the ship called the Laconia which carried many civilians.  The Captain of the U-boat who sunk her surfaced and took on many survivors, helped any injured, and ended up obtaining help from other German U-boats who also took on survivors and all of them towed several lifeboats in their wake and helped to repair lifeboats.

I'm going give a couple of negative comments here: First, I just want to note that book had some foul language, but it is easy enough to scribble out and to skip over (I've been reading it out-loud to some of my siblings).  Sometimes I don't want to know what people said exactly the way it was said, even if it is actually history.

Second, I was saddened to find that, though Ray and Ina Downs' seemed to be professing Christians, they ended up divorcing later in life. If they hadn't been Christians I wouldn't have thought much of it.  But they were professing Christians, and as such they could have shown the kind of unconditional love toward each other that God showed toward them. That was not a good example of a Christian marriage, that they loved each other conditionally rather than unconditionally.  It is quite disheartening to think that they had the stamina to survive a ship's sinking, almost being drowned or eaten by sharks and yet they didn't have the stamina to choose to keep loving each other despite each other's flaws and keep their marriage covenant.  Perhaps I am getting too preachy here, but that was just really sad to find out. 

But all in all, I liked the book.   It was a very fascinating account of the sinking of the Heredia with lots of background history and information interwoven throughout the book.  It was very surprising to find how much German U-boat activity was happening in the Gulf of Mexico.  I had no idea that U-boats came SO close to the U.S.!  Looking at the map just inside the front cover of the book one can get a picture of just how close they got.  Some U-boats even gave potential German saboteurs a lift to our shores!  I learned quite a bit of extra World War II history.

Many thanks to the folks at Pegasus Books for sending me a free review copy of this book (My review did not have to be favorable)!

This book may be purchased at Amazon.com and also on other retail sites

A Good Place to Hide - Peter Grose

A Good place to Hide:  How One French Community Saved Thousands of Lives During World War II by Peter Grose is quite an interesting account.  This French Community, mainly of Le Chambon but also other communities around the same area, was made up of various unique people, many (perhaps most) of whom helped saved Jews in one way or another.  One of the most intriguing things about this rescue operation is that it was apparently not organized into one big operation, and no one was ultimately in charge. 

Generally, I have focused on reading biographies, and have found that focusing on the life of one person was more interesting to me than general history.  But more recently I have become very intrigued with histories that deal with historical events from the perspective of many of the people who experienced and participated in those events.  Take a group of people and stick them in a particular tragic event or perilous time and what do they do? How do they act? Will they be brave or cowardly? Will they be selfish or selfless?

This book focuses on people living ,working in or through  "the upper reaches of the Loire Valley", a plateau in France.  The time period is that of world war ii, with Nazi Germany ultimately taking over France, at first, only ruling half of France (though in reality they ruled the other half by means of the French Vichy government which gave into Nazi ideals) and eventually ruling the whole.   The people on the Plateau end up being known as those who would take in Jews and other people fleeing the ramifications of Nazi rule.    Many of these people were not natives of that part of France (and some were not Frenchmen at all), but they all end up in that particular spot.

  There are multiple characters in this history:  Andre Trocme is a protestant pastor and ardent pacifist who ends up very involved in the saving of Jewish refugees, all while trying to keep the community from using violent means to attack the enemy.  Simone Mairesse loses her husband in the war, and instead of giving in to grief and despair desires to be active in opposing the enemy.  Andre Trocme and his wife provide her with an occupation (non-violent by the way):  helping to save (particularly Jewish) refugees, which she agrees to do and becomes a key source in finding safe houses that would take in Jews.  Oscar Rosowsky, a young Jewish man who wants to be a doctor but who is denied that occupation because of his Jewishness, and ends up becoming a document forger instead (doing his work while also having a false identity himself of course). These are just a few of the individuals who make up a part of this history.

There are joyful moments, such as when raids on houses are foiled in their attempts to round up Jews.  There are funny moments, such as when a lady who is about to be arrested pretends to be insane, or when you find out that one of the methods used to disguise Jews  and get them to safety was to dress them up as boy scouts…even older men!  And there are also sad moments, and ironic moments, one of those being when you learn that a Jewish mother and her son are hidden separately in the same village without those who are hiding them knowing that they are related to each other.  The neat thing about all of this is that this is that all of these things really happened, these were real people, not actors, these were truly scary times dealt with in real time, in real situations.

Reading history as a Christian makes it even more intriguing for me, especially as I am a premillennialist (believe that the Bible teaches that there is a future mass salvation of Jews and that all of those Jews will end up back in the promised land), and so I think that it is exciting to see how God sovereignty used various people, places and events to thwart Hitler's plan to exterminate all Jews.   The people working on and through this French Plateau were some of those means, and their 'story' is quite enthralling.

Many Thanks to the folks at Pegasus Books for sending me a free review copy of this book!  - My review did not have  to be positive, I truly did like this book.  

My Rating:  5 out of 5 stars 

*****

Just a quick note:  Being a book of history, there is a little bit of foul language (as of course, people swore and blasphemed back then too).  But it is easily scribbled out and/or passed over while reading out loud (as I did when I read it with my younger sister).

Here are a couple (there are more of course) of websites where this book may be purchased:  Amazon and Barnes and Noble

'Till We Meet Again

One of the ways I know a book is well written is when it seems too short. 'Till we Meet Again by Ray and Betty Whipps with Craig Borlase is one of those books.  It is a true World War II account of a U.S. soldier (Ray) who ends up wounded and transferred to a place where U.S. Nurse (Betty) works.  Upon meeting they discover their love for each other.  After promising to marry Betty, Ray gets sent out to the battlefield again and gets captured.  But I knew it had a happy ending before I read it because their picture is on the back of the book as an old, happily married couple (of course, you can assume it too because Betty's name is joined with Ray's on the book cover with the same last name as Ray).   

Told from Ray's first-person dramatized view, Betty's perspective is mainly told from her letters scattered throughout the book.  I found their first meeting very…I don't think that amusing is the word…it was very heartening/encouraging.  Betty had noticed the lack of men who were visibly Christians amongst the soldiers she met and cared for in her duties as a nurse. It just became an understood thing with her, that most of the men she took care of were not Christian, actually, it sounds as though she hadn't met a Christian soldier yet.  Then God brought in the injured Ray.  The first day they met Ray had a Bible visibly on him because he had fallen asleep with it the night before.  When Betty saw him, the first words out of her mouth were not, "how are you?" or, "I'm Betty, what is your name?"  Or something like that, rather it was, "Are you a Christian?"  I found her absolute joy at meeting another Christian delightful. Her first attraction to Ray was not his looks or other superficial things but was the fact that he was a Christian.   

I read the book in one day as it was more of a narrative book than a thought provoking one(not that I wasn't thinking while reading it), generally no deep thinking was inspired, it was just more of a high level observation of God's direction of their lives.  Both Ray and Betty seem to have had a God-focused perspective during the trials He had ordained.  It was very interesting to see this part of God's plan for their lives. 

I received a free copy in exchange for this review (my review did not have to be favorable)

 

This book may be purchased at Amazon.com (and other bookstores)

C. S. Lewis and Mere Christianity: The Crisis that Created a Classic - By Paul McCusker

World War II England, and in particular, WWII London, was an intimidating place to be; itt seems that around 40,000 civilians in total were killed in England during the war.  During this time, when many bombs were being dropped by Nazi Germany on the civilian population, the director and the assistant director of the BBC's Religious Broadcasting department, James Welch and Eric Fenn, were searching for someone to draw people to the religious programs they were broadcasting on the BBC's radio station which were apparently being passed by in deference to stations/programs that were entertaining.  C. S. Lewis was the man they ended up recruiting. 

C. S. Lewis and Mere Christianity by Paul McCusker is the story of how C. S. Lewis' book, Mere Christianity came to be.  It took a little bit for me to get used to the way the book was put together.  The story is told, not by mere sequence of events, but also by 'flashbacks' to C. S. Lewis' history, and constantly switches from section to section from what C. S. Lewis is doing, to what is going on at the BBC, and also explanations of what world events are happening in regards to Hitler, Churchill and the war in general.  I got used to it quite quickly, and it does keep the interest pretty well, though sometimes you want the part you were just reading to continue going instead of switching to a different topic.    

There are also what I'll call 'information boxes', some of them very large/long, that pop up in the middle of the part you were just reading, some give biographical summaries of people who were just mentioned in the narrative, others explain different aspects of the war, and there were still other topics as well.  It was a bit odd and I couldn't quite figure out if it was annoying or not.  At least I know I didn't absolutely dislike them, it was just unusual to me.

 
This account of the making of "Mere Christianity" (of which I have only read snippets) is quite interesting.  I didn't fully realize that it originated from some of the radio broadcasts Lewis did during the war on various topics related to Christianity.  The book gives quite a bit of information of what was going on in his life at the time.   As he was working on the scripts for the radio broadcasts, he was taking care of, and dealing with, his 'adopted' mother(who apparently was quite bossy), helping and encouraging his brother who had problems with alcohol, teaching at Oxford, doing his duties as a home guard, writing books, as well as other tasks. 

I'm always a bit wary of Lewis because of his rather ecumenical views, and my perspective is no different having read this book.  As an example of where I am concerned about his views, it seems that during the war Lewis felt as though he should go to a 'confessor', and convinced himself of it by thinking of a quote, apparently speaking of Christian beliefs, "Let us hold on to that which has been believed everywhere, always, by everyone", and went to an Anglican confessor, apparently continuing the practice throughout his life.  I find his reasoning very flawed and dangerous, especially considering Christ's command:  "Enter ye in by the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many are they that enter in thereby. For narrow is the gate, and straitened the way, that leadeth unto life, and few are they that find it. "(Mat 7:13-14 ASV)   

But I did find the book a very interesting read, and a very intriguing look at WWII.

 

Thanks to Tyndale House Publishers for sending me a review copy of this book!(My review did not have to be favorable)

 

This book may be purchased at Amazon

December 1941: 31 Days that Changed America and Saved the World

December 1941 is the kind of history book I enjoy.  The history book I used in high school seemed to be written in a monotone 'voice', if a book can be so written.  It merely spewed out facts.  This book by Craig Shirley is the exact opposite.  It is very lively, and brings you into the time period.   Each chapter is a day in December 1941, with newspaper headlines  of the day under each chapter title.  Instead of leaving you an observer, it gives you the impression of these past day by day events as being present day by day events.

You get to know what the people of that 'fateful' month knew day by day, their culture, popular movies, books, events; Their attitude towards the war in Europe before and After Pearl Harbor.  You will hear of the panic and anger the was roused when people heard of the attack.  Some people didn't even know that Pearl Harbor was in Hawaii, some thought it was in North America.  There were also people who thought the attack was a hoax, like the 'War of the Worlds'.  Even people at Pearl Harbor didn't know exactly what was happening; there was a ship just docking as the fight began, the passengers, observing the bombing and gunfire thought that the navy had arranged a show for their arrival!

One of the things I found fascinating in observing the day by day life of Americans through this month in 1941 was their ardent patriotism.   Even the criminals were patriotic, there were some serving life-sentences who offered  themselves to FDR as a 'suicide Squad'; 6000 imprisoned in the Philippines offered to donate blood for the allies.  But their desire to be patriotic seemed badly misdirected in another sense.  More and more power was given to the government, and to the President in particular.  The government could seize private property, censor the American people(even forbidding weather reports for security).  Perhaps these things needed to be done, but it seemed that the American people seemed willing enough if merely asked to voluntarily restrict their freedoms.  I don't see the government stepping in as having been necessary, nor constitutional.  FDR's presidency was even called "the Imperial Presidency,  It was scary that "Roosevelt now wielded more power than King George III ever dreamed of."

All in all it was a very interesting account.  You will learn a lot in this book about the events at Pearl Harbor, and events around the world at that time regarding the axis and allies, again as though you were hearing it in real time…or on a daily basis.  It really is amazing and interesting to see how America changed from being' Isolationist', "After World War II, the philosophy was changed from America first, to America first in."  Winston Churchill was apparently ecstatic (in a good way)when America was forced to join the war, "Churchill regarded the Japanese attack as Britain's salvation.  He recalled in his memoirs the emotion he had felt at hearing the news, 'we had won the war…'" 

Now, on a slightly negative note, this book did have accounts of things about American society that seemed inappropriate, let me just say, there are certain things/facts  I don't care to know about any time period.  Other than that, it was REALLY good.  I love reading about history from someone who obviously enjoys telling it(and who is a good writer as Shirley is here) as it generally makes me enjoy it too. The back of the book is full(and I mean FULL) of notes and references/sources.  The book ends with an excellent summary as to how the attack on Pearl Harbor affected the outcome of the war, and what might have happened had things not happened as they did.  Knowing the sovereignty of God makes it more interesting for me to read history, It's fascinating to look back on what God had 'written' for that time. "Events conspired to help the Japanese, and hurt America and the world in the short run, but ironically hurt Japan and helped America and the world in the long run."  I think that  it is an excellent book on an important event in World War II. 

I have received this book as a complimentary copy from BookSneeze® in exchange for my review(which does not have to be favorable).

 

Hitler's Cross by Erwin Lutzer

Why did Valkyrie and so many other plans to assassinate Hitler fail?  Was it because Satan had the upper hand over God? Was God powerless to stop it?  "When Mr. Clinton was elected president in 1992, I heard a Christian preacher say, 'God had nothing to do with the election of this president, the people made the choice!'  I found that statement incredible for several reasons.  First, I wonder what that teacher would have said if a president had been elected who was distinctively Christian and consciously committed to ruling with biblical principles.  Would he have said that that president had been raised up by God for this hour of American history?  To put it differently: 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 I like about Lutzer's book Hitler's Cross.  He reminds us that Hitler's ascension to power was not an accident, 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 is in perfect harmony with God's plan.  To quote Lutzer, Satan will always prove to be an "eternal loser".  It's the same with Hitler, Hitler could not make a move without God's allowing him to do so.  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." Lutzer comments: "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."  Lutzer also points out that Hitler seemed to be one of Satan's candidates for being the Antichrist.  Hitler  "boasted that just as Christ's birth had changed the calendar so his victory over the Jews would be the beginning of a new age.  'What Christ began,' he said, 'I will complete.'  In a speech just days after becoming chancellor, he parodied the Lord's prayer, promising that under him a new 'kingdom would come on earth and that his would be 'the power and the glory.  Amen.' …..."When he predicted that the Third Reich would last a thousand years, it was a typical instance of how Satan often overreaches; he cannot predict the future with accuracy because he cannot control it."

It was fascinating to me what the Nazis did to try to gain over the professing Christians in Germany.   At first  Hitler tried to pass himself off as a good Catholic, and even worked against some of his colleagues who were trying destroy the church too soon.  Much of Germany was religious at the time, the Lutheran church was connected with the state, obeying one's ruler and his rules was very much a matter of course, even a matter of religion.  This seems to have been one of the professing Christians excuses for why they did not go against Nazi ideals.  Instead of wiping out the church, the plan was to infiltrate Christianity,  politicize it (more than it already was), change it's doctrines bit by bit until true Christianity vanished altogether.  The Aryan Paragraph required Christian Jews 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' .

Reich Bishop Ludwig Muller

Lutzer points out that there were Christians who were against and who worked against the Nazification of Christianity, even at the cost of being sent to consecration camps and thence death.  Refusing to take the oath of loyalty to 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 racial 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. These were Christians who had already been practicing dying to self in lesser things "If we can't be loyal to Christ in the small decisions, how can we expect to be loyal when our faith might cost us something very precious? Only when we see value in the lesser sacrifice will we be willing to be faithful in the greater one."  Some of these Christians went so far as to join the attempts to assassinate Hitler and set up a new government. 

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 under the Republic 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 if we do not hold to our constitution.  Lutzer makes us think, 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'll end with one of my favorite quotes from Lutzer's book:"Conscientious objectors have for centuries disobeyed the state, believing that no Christian can participate in killing, even in a time of war.  Every Christian must draw that line in accordance with his or her own convictions.  But if we say that we will always obey the state, the state becomes our God.  We can render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's only when we have rendered every thing we have to God."