The religious beliefs of Adolf Hitler are often a topic of debate among theologians and history scholars. Christians will often cite Hitler as being an atheist. Atheists, however, are quick to point out a few references of Hitler’s alleged Catholic (or Christian) beliefs. In fact, Hitler may have even called himself a Christian on occasion or in some of his writings.
Luckily, the debate of Hitler’s religious system is very easy to settle using common sense (no quotes or inside information or historic documentation is needed). Hitler’s belief system can be summarized by asking & considering the 2 questions below:
- What does it mean to be “a Christian?”
- Can Hitler accurately be classified as a Christian?
What it Means to Be a Christian
If someone says they are a plumber, you usually think this means they perform plumbing services for a living, right? Or if someone tells you they are a lawyer, it generally means they practice law for a living, correct?
So what does it mean for someone to call themselves a Christian? In the same way, it means the follow Christ, right? We follow Christ’s teachings, and believe what Christ said about
Adolf Hitler
Himself. So when Jesus says not to do something, we refrain from that activity. Jesus Himself said “if you love me you will keep my commandments.” When the Bible classifies something as sin, we avoid it, and repent of it if we do fall into sin.
Nevertheless, merely calling ourselves something doesn’t make it true. Our actions must match what we say in order for it to be true. I can call myself a billionaire all day long, but am I actually a billionaire? No, unfortunately I am not. So calling myself a billionaire all day means nothing unless I have a billion dollars.
Or if I call myself Superman all day, does that make me Superman? Once again, no it does not. So while we can “call ourselves” anything we want, we can only accurately call ourselves something if it is true (meaning the words match up with the facts or actions).
Surprisingly, Jesus actually talked about this very same fact. In Matthew Chapter 7, Jesus said this:
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every sound tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears evil fruit. 18 A sound tree cannot bear evil fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will know them by their fruits..
Matthew 7:15-20
What is Jesus trying to say with the above teaching? All he is saying is this simple fact: A tree is known by its fruit. If you walk up to a tree with apples hanging from its branches, you can immediately know it is an apple tree. If you walk up to a tree with oranges hanging from its branches, you can immediately know it is an orange tree.
But what if there is a sign in front of an apple tree that said “Orange Tree.” You would immediately know there must be some kind of mistake, because the tree is labeled as an orange tree, however, it is producing apples as a fruit. You would know tree that wasn’t an orange tree as it were labeled, and in fact was an apple tree–simply because of the fact that it produced apples as its fruit. Makes perfect sense, right?
So you know a tree by its fruit, not what labels my be applied in front of it. In that same way, a Christian is known by the fruit produced. If someone follows the teachings of Christ, you can immediately know they are a Christian. Why? They produce Christian fruit.
If, however, someone says they are a Christian, writes about being a Christian, and even sits in a church pew every Sunday…but then proceeds to bear bad fruit, are they still a Christian? Obviously not, and Jesus himself warned of this behavior. This is simply common sense, and it amazes me that atheists and others want to classify Hitler as an actual Christian.
You may be able to make an argument that Hitler believed in God in some twisted way. You might make the argument that Hitler even believed some of the events regarding Christ, or that he adopted some beliefs or tenets within Christianity. But does that matter at all? Nope. Even Satan believes Jesus exists, in fact, he knows Jesus exists.
So Is Hitler a Christian (Catholic) or Not? Is He an Atheist?
I can’t find a single verse in the Bible that says we are to kill the Jews in the masses like Hitler did. I can’t find a single verse that says we are to have inappropriate sexual relations like Hitler did. I can’t find a single verse that suggests we are to commit suicide like Hitler did. I can’t find a single verse that says we are to hate and harm the way Hitler did.
Now make no mistake, God is the Almighty judge, and I cannot judge Hitler’s heart or mind in the way that God alone can do. But what I can judge is Hitler’s fruit (which Jesus commanded us to recognize about people), and that is NOT Christian fruit.
Some of you may be saying, “Well wait a second, I thought there were some writings which indicated Hitler believed in God? Or he indicated he was a Christian?”
My reply to that is: Doesn’t Satan believe in God too? Of course he does! There is a big difference between belief and obedience. Satan believes, but is not obedient to the will of God. Therefore, Satan does not follow God. Likewise, Satan can believe in Christ, but unless Satan actually followed Christ, he isn’t a Christian.
Hitler may or may not have believed there was a God. That is inconsequential to the whole debate. Hitler may have even attended church on occasion, made references that he was a Christian, or used Christianity (or religion in general) to spread his propaganda (which is a common tactic). Again, this doesn’t make Hitler a Christian anymore than calling myself a billionaire makes it true.
Conclusion: Hitler is Obviously Not a Christian by His Fruit
We can know people’s actions by their fruit. If I were judging Hitler’s fruit, I would say atheism, satanism, or agnosticism is far more accurate just based on his “true actions.” Why one of those? Because he obviously had fruit that was “anti-Christ” in nature. His fruit was not that of God.
He may have believed anything he wanted to believe in his mind, but unless he actually followed (bore fruit) of his beliefs, then he is nothing more than Satan himself. For the evil that poured out of Hitler only comes from a deluded mind, filled with evil, and an absence of true love.