The Aryan Jesus: Book Review

Since the birth of the United States, there have been debates about whether or not America is a Christian nation. Those debates are still making headlines today. Whether or not America claims to be a Christian nation, America is home to many churches and denominations that claim Christ. The church has been a central institution in our nation and has influenced legislation and even our own Constitution states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” 

Throughout history, not just in the United States, the church has influenced wars, ideology, and other important historical matters. One major event in history that was influenced by the church ideologically was the Holocaust. 

While the link between the church and the Holocaust is not one that can be statistically proven, Susannah Haschel spent many hours researching and making connections between what was happening in German churches while the Holocaust was happening. Her work focuses on the history of the Institute for the Study and the Eradication of Jewish Influence on German Church Life, and shows the influence that the German church had over the German people. Looking at the history of the Institute shows the importance of churches in world history and how churches can influence the masses in both a positive and negative way.

The Institute focused heavily on the Aryan race and changed Biblical Christianity to fit the narrative of Nazi Germany and Adolf Hitler. (29) “With this work [of the Institute] we know we are bound to one thing as a foundation and a guiding principle: to the work of the Fuhrer.” (102) The goal of the Institute was to eliminate all Jewish connections to Christianity and rewrite the Bible to fit within the confines of their defined “Aryan race”. 

By eliminating portions of Scripture that pertain to Judaism, the Institute stated that their desire was to preach pure salvation without Judaism. (45) Even going as far to state that the Germans had been given a “sister Gospel” which was better suited for the German way of life. (49), one pastor “insisted that the genuine Jesus would harden the German people.” (53)  Scripture was twisted to state facts and morals that fit the narrative that the Institute was trying to write. One example is that of Matthew 5 which was changed to read, “Happy is he who is always a good comrade; he will make his way in the world.” (53) Changing Scripture was not enough for the Institute—they also sought to change the hymns sung at church. Heschel includes pages from the hymnal that was published by the Institute with words like “Hallelujah” replaced with “Hymn of Praise and Gratitude.” (117-124) These changes within church literature were reflected throughout Germany and thousands of copies were sold and distributed. (124)

While the changing of Scripture and literature was done by the Institute, but someone also had to train theologians in this new form of Christianity. (166) Blaming the lack of Christian piety among German Christians on Jewish influences, the leaders of the Institute created a narrative that sought to replace the true story of Christianity. (182) One leader stated that the message of Christ was one that fulfilled the Germanness of the German people and that the presence of God could be found within National Socialism. (195) Seeking to take all of this a step further, the Institute offered training classes to pastors on how to pick out the people that should be sterilized from within their congregation. (198) This fulfilled the need of people who were scared to visit their doctor out of fear of being sterilized, by creating a middle man of the pastor who would consult with them on the topic. (198) 

At the end of the war, the Institute closed its doors and hid from the public under the guise of theology studies to wipe their hands clean of Nazi influence. (279) They took no responsibility for how they had changed the minds of local Germans.

So whether or not you believe that America is a Christian nation, seeing how the German church changed doctrine to influence the masses, should serve as a warning that churches in the United States. Our religious institutions should continue to teach the truth or it will have dire consequences.