Hitler, Evolution, and Christianity

Robin,It's been a decade or more since I read about WW 1&2 or watched PBS or History channel programs on them, so all this is dusty and cob webby.
I'd guess it is available somewhere on the net. There were psuedo scientific theorist at that time along with astrologers and clairvoyants. I think Theosophy which had come up with a bizarre history of root races from Atlantis and Lemuria was involved. I think that somehow the notion of Aryan was brought in from India with it's obvious role in the caste system there.There were a lot of shadowy shady con artists, crackpots, mad scientists with a lot of bizarre ideas about race, Jews, etc. I don't recall if Christianity or Darwinism was involved. It was a sordid stew pot of wild theories. I know there are books that go into this but I don't know what they are.In the end it's just sick madness and I've seen no value in retaining this information. I may see if it's easily available on the net.Otoh, the ToE has been a paradign that has been used in thinking about society, economics, business, probably fashion. Before Darwin it was the paradign of Newton's clockwork universe. This is inevitable although quantum mechanics is probably too difficult to understand to ever be a widely applied paradign.Remember after we went into space people even sold Astro Burgers, and on and on same with the atom bomb. Yes scientific theories and landmarks get incorporated in popular culture, politics, arts, etc.
"If it's not one thing it's something else."(who said that?)lfenABE: Okay, of course what was I thinking, the WWW is the home for every known crackpottery of humanity. The first site I googled also links Free Masonery and the Ottoman empire to Nazism. I'm making this up but I'll guess about a quarter of the crackpot theorist out there link their favorite hobbyhorse villian to Nazism.This message has been edited by lfen, 06-05-2005 03:54 PMABE:http://www.shoaheducation.com/aryan.htmlOkay, check that out. I myself don't see where the idea of blood line purity and impurity comes from Darwin. Yes, it's genetics but it's not evolution. In any event the roots of Nazis race theory lie is some real (as in stinking with madness and psychopathology) crackpot theories.One would also have to check out the thinking about syphillis at the time. The author of the book POX, and it's an interesting book to read, thinks Hitler had contracted syphilis from a Jewish prostitute and that was the basis of his hatred. On the other hand the Christians had spread horrible stories about the Jews long before the time of Darwin.I think ToE could have played only a marginal role in this phenomena. It was not central stage but I'm not going to muck about further in the cesspool of Nazism. I've better things to do today. I just think you are mistaking the uses of ToE in all this. lfenThis message has been edited by lfen, 06-05-2005 04:07 PM

Well, check that website:http://www.shoaheducation.com/aryan.html
They have a lot on Nazism. But the subject is just far more complex than ToE. It really appears to have only a minor supporting role.I think the Bible is the prime source of the notion of ethnic cleansing as a God pleasing activity. I doubt that the Isrealites actually did it but it's a horrible irony that they were subject to an ethnic cleansing on quasi religious grounds to make way for a Master Race. I don't think Darwin had anything to say about a Master Race from Atlantis.Some conservative Christians on this forum like Faith think only good comes from Christianity and all bad comes from non Christian stuff. She seems to have started this idea that Darwin's theory is responsible for the moral situation of this day. But I'm reading GOD AGAINST THE GODS and the amazing thing is that after the Christians became the official religion of the Roman Empire they began persecuting and killing one another wholesale over various claims of heresy, so I'm getting really sick and tired of this notion that science is responsible for all the evils Christians do and then claim they are innocent and blame aethists for.The only thing that is really clear is that the early church lacked the technology for mass killing and science and technology have given us that. International Communism and Marxism is something I've always hated and it is a scourge but I don't see how Darwin inspired it at all.lfenlfen

jar,You raise an important point I think. Without the widespread antisemitism that seems to have been a fixture of many Christian denominations would there have been a holocaust at all? I don't think the connection was direct but I think there is a valid argument that Christian anti semitism provided the basis that was developed into the holocaust. There had been pograms and purgings and persecutions of Jews prior to Hitler.lfen

Well, the USA is The Imperial Power in the world today. I'd call that achieving our place in the sun. Empire with all the perks is addicting but like all addictions it's very expensive and it won't last. All empires have exhausted themselves, most recently it was the British. It will happen with us. That is not such a bad thing really, but it does mean living more soberly with out the power rush and some people will be bitter about that.lfenThis message has been edited by lfen, 06-07-2005 07:38 PM