My name is Ryan Buesnel and I am a writer and musician from Sydney, Australia. My two great loves in life are music and philosophy. I am currently a PhD candidate in theological studies, and I continue to be involved in numerous musical projects.
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Mr. Buesnel, I read your article “Positive Christianity’: Theological rationales and
legacies” and was impressed. Briefly I am curious to know your opinion as to whether Hitler was an atheist. Thank you for your time. Reading your work has added to my knowledge- thank you!
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Dear Brian, thank you so much for your kind words and encouragement!
The question about Hitler’s religious beliefs is a fraught one in the scholarly realm. On the one hand, he (along with Goebbels) was one of the few Nazi leaders to retain their membership in the Catholic Church. He spent considerable time courting the church during his early years and made several comments talking about his admiration for Jesus Christ etc.
However, his deep loathing and cynicism toward the Protestant churches was revealed as time wore on, especially after the failure to resolve the Kirchenkampf (church struggle). If Germany had won the war, the idea was to obliterate Christianity and forge a new national religion of sorts.
My own feeling is that Hitler had a form of belief in the transcendent, but that this was not in the God of Christianity. It was perhaps more in line with a Hegelian sense of the “Spirit” (Geist) or Logos as that which represented the sum total of human striving and achievement, particularly in the realm of cultural advancement and genius. His frequent proclamations about “providence” suggest he retained some belief in a transcendental guiding force, although this likely remained somewhat vague.
I am not sure whether this counts as atheism. I would welcome your thoughts also. I hope this helps. Ryan
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Nice to have someone comment love!
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