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WARNING
Possibly unfavorable opinion coming through. If you do not like this opinion, please feel free to leave!
If you do not like this opinion, too bad, because this person is not changing their opinion just because you don't like it.
This was a stamp that I had in mind for a while now, but seeing as I never had time to do it, I never got to make it. At least, until now, anyways.

A while back I was shifting through my watch notifications from all the groups I watch and/or are a member of, and I happened to find this stamp within the pile. Of course, I did not agree, and even after I took a looksie in the deviation's description, I actually found it to not only be disagreeable, but I also came to the conclusion that (in the nicest words possible), I found the claim to be absolutely ridiculous, and not just because they used pieces of the Bible, the Torah, and a sentence from one of Hitler's speeches. Now I know some people pop the question of "Where was God during the Holocaust?" (and interestingly enough, my college offered a course regarding all of that this semester, so I think that's what also got me thinking with this stamp), but to claim the Holocaust to be an act of God through some German guy is a bit much. To be honest, the view irks my inner historian.

Now before I go talking about this, I am going to say now that I am not an atheist; instead, he best way I can describe my views when it comes to religion as a mix of agnosticism, deism, and freethought. My agnostic views not only consist on the fact I don't claim either faith or disbelief in a supreme being, but I also believe that there is no real absolute way of proving the existence of said being (other than death, but that doesn't exactly prove it to those other than the deceased, now does it?). This is also tied in with my freethought beliefs, which is reflected in my formation of opinions about religion on the basis of reason, rather than religious dogma and whatnot. However, like deists, I believe that if there is a supreme being, he (or she) has given humans free will.

But back to the topic at hand...

Hitler's religious views have been much of a debate (and probably will be until we find concrete historical evidence or bring him back from the dead, whichever comes first). During his childhood, Hitler was baptized and confirmed in the Roman Catholic Church, for his family was Catholic. His father, Alois, while nominally Catholic was "religiously skeptic" and "anti-clerical" while his mother, Klara, was a devout Catholic. Though he was critical of its teachings in adulthood, did not join in its rites, and planned a "reckoning" with the Church when politics allowed, he was still a member at the time of his suicide.

So that would mean he was still a Catholic, right? In the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church, yes, he would be, considering he was baptized and confirmed as a member of the church. But in practice, he was not. And the only reason I know this is because most of my family is comprised of Catholics, some more devout (or have been devout) than others.

I know, I am probably going to get the statement that will probably sound something along the lines of "But, Sweetly, he was a Christian! He even said so himself!" and/or "He said he supported Christianity!". And yes, he did say those things, but Hitler was no Christian. Why? Because while he publically made statements in favor of Christianity, he scorned it in private and to his friends.

You also need to keep in mind, Hitler wasn't an idiot. According to historians such as Ian Kershaw, Laurence Rees, Alan Bullock and Richard Overy, while Hitler was skeptical of religion, he was opportunistic and shrewdly aware of its impact on politics. Hitler typically tailored his message to his audience's perceived sensibilities (why else do you think he was so persuasive with his speeches?). Seeing as at the time Germany had a Christian majority (and the fact the Christian churches in Germany held political importance), Hitler knew he had to get the majority to his side if he ever had a chance of coming to power, which is why in his speeches and in Mein Kampf he calls himself a Christian.

In order to keep up with this lie of support for the Christian church, the Nazi party endorsed what it termed "Positive Christianity". In 1920, Hitler used the term in the 1920 Nazi Party Platform. Now, this is no ordinary Christianity that Hitler was endorsing. In 1937, Hans Kerrl, the Nazi Minister for Church Affairs, explained that "Positive Christianity" was not "dependent upon the Apostle's Creed", nor was it dependent on "faith in Christ as the son of God", upon which Christianity relied, rather, it was represented by the Nazi Party and the Fuhrer himself.

In lame man's terms, it basically removed the religion of its Jewish origins, set up Hitler as a messiah, and did not require the belief in the divinity of Christ. So to use parts of the Bible and the Torah as evidence that the Holocaust was "an act of God" would be null and void, because some "Positive Christianity" radicals called for repudiation of the Old Testament (the Hebrew Scriptures) and the Pauline epistles of the New Testament because of their Jewish authorship. And guess what? That includes Leviticus, Deuternomy, and Ezekiel.Credits:
Stamp Template by zilla774
Smallest-Pixel-7 Font by Style-7
Image of Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp by Beit Lohamei Haghettaot, found on the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Website Made in Adobe Photoshop CC 2015

Description

WARNING
Possibly unfavorable opinion coming through. If you do not like this opinion, please feel free to leave!
If you do not like this opinion, too bad, because this person is not changing their opinion just because you don't like it.
This was a stamp that I had in mind for a while now, but seeing as I never had time to do it, I never got to make it. At least, until now, anyways.

A while back I was shifting through my watch notifications from all the groups I watch and/or are a member of, and I happened to find this stamp within the pile. Of course, I did not agree, and even after I took a looksie in the deviation's description, I actually found it to not only be disagreeable, but I also came to the conclusion that (in the nicest words possible), I found the claim to be absolutely ridiculous, and not just because they used pieces of the Bible, the Torah, and a sentence from one of Hitler's speeches. Now I know some people pop the question of "Where was God during the Holocaust?" (and interestingly enough, my college offered a course regarding all of that this semester, so I think that's what also got me thinking with this stamp), but to claim the Holocaust to be an act of God through some German guy is a bit much. To be honest, the view irks my inner historian.

Now before I go talking about this, I am going to say now that I am not an atheist; instead, he best way I can describe my views when it comes to religion as a mix of agnosticism, deism, and freethought. My agnostic views not only consist on the fact I don't claim either faith or disbelief in a supreme being, but I also believe that there is no real absolute way of proving the existence of said being (other than death, but that doesn't exactly prove it to those other than the deceased, now does it?). This is also tied in with my freethought beliefs, which is reflected in my formation of opinions about religion on the basis of reason, rather than religious dogma and whatnot. However, like deists, I believe that if there is a supreme being, he (or she) has given humans free will.

But back to the topic at hand...

Hitler's religious views have been much of a debate (and probably will be until we find concrete historical evidence or bring him back from the dead, whichever comes first). During his childhood, Hitler was baptized and confirmed in the Roman Catholic Church, for his family was Catholic. His father, Alois, while nominally Catholic was "religiously skeptic" and "anti-clerical" while his mother, Klara, was a devout Catholic. Though he was critical of its teachings in adulthood, did not join in its rites, and planned a "reckoning" with the Church when politics allowed, he was still a member at the time of his suicide.

So that would mean he was still a Catholic, right? In the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church, yes, he would be, considering he was baptized and confirmed as a member of the church. But in practice, he was not. And the only reason I know this is because most of my family is comprised of Catholics, some more devout (or have been devout) than others.

I know, I am probably going to get the statement that will probably sound something along the lines of "But, Sweetly, he was a Christian! He even said so himself!" and/or "He said he supported Christianity!". And yes, he did say those things, but Hitler was no Christian. Why? Because while he publically made statements in favor of Christianity, he scorned it in private and to his friends.

You also need to keep in mind, Hitler wasn't an idiot. According to historians such as Ian Kershaw, Laurence Rees, Alan Bullock and Richard Overy, while Hitler was skeptical of religion, he was opportunistic and shrewdly aware of its impact on politics. Hitler typically tailored his message to his audience's perceived sensibilities (why else do you think he was so persuasive with his speeches?). Seeing as at the time Germany had a Christian majority (and the fact the Christian churches in Germany held political importance), Hitler knew he had to get the majority to his side if he ever had a chance of coming to power, which is why in his speeches and in Mein Kampf he calls himself a Christian.

In order to keep up with this lie of support for the Christian church, the Nazi party endorsed what it termed "Positive Christianity". In 1920, Hitler used the term in the 1920 Nazi Party Platform. Now, this is no ordinary Christianity that Hitler was endorsing. In 1937, Hans Kerrl, the Nazi Minister for Church Affairs, explained that "Positive Christianity" was not "dependent upon the Apostle's Creed", nor was it dependent on "faith in Christ as the son of God", upon which Christianity relied, rather, it was represented by the Nazi Party and the Fuhrer himself.

In lame man's terms, it basically removed the religion of its Jewish origins, set up Hitler as a messiah, and did not require the belief in the divinity of Christ. So to use parts of the Bible and the Torah as evidence that the Holocaust was "an act of God" would be null and void, because some "Positive Christianity" radicals called for repudiation of the Old Testament (the Hebrew Scriptures) and the Pauline epistles of the New Testament because of their Jewish authorship. And guess what? That includes Leviticus, Deuternomy, and Ezekiel.Credits:
Stamp Template by zilla774
Smallest-Pixel-7 Font by Style-7
Image of Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp by Beit Lohamei Haghettaot, found on the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Website Made in Adobe Photoshop CC 2015