Submitted by Solitary Man on
© G.M. Worlee http://www.absentgod.com/hitler-in-heaven.php
One of the curious aspects of the New Testament of the Christian Bible is the concept of the “Divine Right of Rulers”, as explained by the apostle Paul in the book of Romans. Here we read:
Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour. (King James Bible, Romans 13:1-7)
These passages indicate that to disobey a lawful government is to disobey a representative of God on Earth—meaning that to disobey our governments is to commit heresy! This concept means that if our rulers tell us to conquer, torture, rape, kill and plunder, we must conquer, torture, rape, kill and plunder, because this is obviously what God wants us to do. What is more, this statement of Saint Paul implies that that governments are also free to randomly imprison, torture and kill people at will, extort incredible taxes, or cancel all government social welfare payments, because if this is government policy, then these actions are evidently also the will of God. Jesus even referred to this obedience to our earthly rulers in the book of Matthew when asked whether it was lawful to obey the current occupying rulers of Israel.
Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not? But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? They say unto him, Caesar’s. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s. When they had heard these words, they marvelled, and left him, and went their way. (King James Bible, Matthew 22:17-22)
This raises an interesting question about a horrific leaders and rulers such as Adolf Hitler of Germany (1889-1945). Attila the Hun (406-453), Vlad Tepes of Romania (1431-1476), Ivan the Terrible of Russia (1530-1584), Idi Amin Dada of Uganda (1925-2003), Pol Pot of Cambodia (1925-1998). So did God purposefully place Adolf Hitler and these other paragons of monstrous evil as rulers of nations? This is a thought provoking concept—the Christian Bible preaches the divine introduction of unspeakable and malignant evil to demonstrate the “glorious nature of God!” This concept is indicated in another passage in the book of Romans of the New Testament.
Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, (King James Bible, Romans 9:20-23)
So the merciful Christian God actually creates people whose explicit function is to reveal the “glory of God” by living lives of malevolent and vile wickedness! And when they are our rulers, then God enjoins us to obey their commands to conquer, kill, rape, plunder, and mistreat the designated enemies of God. In other words, the Christian Bible indicates that Adolf Hitler and these other malevolent creatures truly were “godsends” to humankind, and just as much victims of the inscrutable nature of God, as were the many millions murdered by the willing, and unwilling slaves of their vile and repellant ideals.
If Adolf Hitler was specifically created as an evil, but divinely appointed ruler of people, then he was only carrying out part of the inscrutable plan of God. As such, then Adolf Hitler was merely a hapless instrument of God, and no more than a helpless part of a predestined plan of God. And indeed, the Christian Bible, just as the Islamic Quran, preaches the repulsive philosophy of predestination.
The philosophy of predestination
Predestination is a philosophy believed in by all followers of Judaism (Bible, Jeremiah 1:5), Christianity (Bible, John 6:64-67, Ephesians 1:3-6), and Islam (Koran 14:4, 28:56, 22:18). Now we are not speaking about some trivial, minor, local god here. The followers of these three great religions all believe God to be an eternal, all-pervading, all-knowing, all-powerful God who created and predestined all that was, is now, and will be in the whole universe. An example of this was given by the preaching of Jesus, the major prophet of Christianity.
Most people think that Jesus had only twelve apostles who followed him during his peregrinations through ancient Israel. The book of John in the New Testament of the Christian Bible actually indicates he initially had more than twelve, but that all the others left after he preached then, already ancient philosophy of predestination.
But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? (King James Bible, John 6:64-67)
In other words, Jesus told these disciples that it really did not matter how profound they felt their belief in his message to be, God his Father, had already determined whether they would receive eternal life in heaven. Accordingly, these other disciples left upon hearing these words of Jesus. They realized from these words that their ultimate fate in a life after death was neither dependent upon the profundity of their belief, nor upon what they said or did, but was solely determined by God irrespective of their belief or deeds. So they decided they may as well have a comfortable life on earth, instead of drifting around homelessly with Jesus and living on charity, because ultimately God had already determined whether they would receive eternal life anyway. It was all predestined.
The repellant reality of predestination
The above, almost trivial example of predestination and the number of apostles, pales to insignificance when considering the enormity of the consequences of divine predestination. Predestination means that God at the creation of the universe knows the fates of all persons from the beginning of creation (Bible, Jeremiah 1:5, Psalms 139:16, John 6:64-67, Ephesians 1:3-6). Jesus himself tells us this in yet another passage.
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: (King James Bible, Matthew 25:34)
So God has actually planned every war, every murder, every rape, every abortion, every epidemic, every shipwreck, every accident, and every death due to disease. However, the fact all these things are predestined by God is of no comfort to those undergoing these fates. Not one of the affected persons gladly undergoes any of these fates in the spirit of a joyous submission to a predestined inscrutable plan of God.
Hitler in heaven?
So as a hapless instrument of God, predestined and created by God to manifest the “Glory of God”, Adolf Hitler, after fulfilling his allotted part of the inscrutable plan of God, will almost certainly be found with other faithful servants of God in heaven… A fascinating consequence of the word of God as expressed in the Bible.