NR | 1h | Documentary | 2024
Many Americans consider the recent COVID-19 “emergency” powers that the government had enacted to be downright tyrannical in nature. If you’re like most people, 2020 was a year you’d like to forget. However, if we look back and investigate it, we’ll notice some interesting details.
For instance, in California, I distinctly remember that all churches were closed down. However, establishments such as strip clubs and liquor stores stayed open. Apparently, churches, long known to be central hubs for communities to draw upon for spiritual and mental health, and other needs, were considered “non-essential.”
After seeing the insightful new documentary “Letter to the American Church,” this reaction starts to make sense. The film is based on a best-selling book of the same name by author and radio show host Eric Metaxas.
The film compares and contrasts many of the issues that afflict the Western world today, beginning with the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in the early 1930s. On Feb 1, 1933, two days after Hitler was elected chancellor of Germany, a young German pastor named Dietrich Bonhoeffer delivered a radio address titled, “Führer Principle” (The Leadership Principle).
Since Germany was morally and economically defeated after World War I, Hitler presented himself as a messianic figure who could lift up the German people. However, there was a caveat: The Führer’s every wish and command was to be obeyed as though they were divine decrees.
Bonhoeffer saw through this veiled seizure of totalitarian power, and his speech demonstrated what was wrong with the ideas set forth by Hitler. Mr. Metaxas describes what ultimately happened that fateful day: “It was a speech that challenged the idea of what a leader—a Führer—should be, and what it means to be a godly leader. That speech boldly and directly challenged Hitler and his new position as Führer. Now, before Dietrich could finish the speech, the radio signal was cut off.”
Shortly after that, on Feb. 27, 1933, the “Reichstag Fire” event happened in which the German equivalent of the U.S. Capitol (the Reichstag) was set ablaze. Its timing was very interesting. Although the fire was blamed on a random “Dutch madman,” Hitler and the Nazi Party used the event (which many believe to be a false flag) to enact sweeping “emergency” powers that allowed him to bypass the German parliament. Hitler immediately took control of the media’s narrative with the goal of instilling fear into anyone who dared object to the Nazi Party’s subsequent campaign of state-sponsored terrorism.
Of course, in order to consolidate his power, Hitler had to bring the German Church under his complete control. A pro-Nazi German Church was suddenly formed, while those who opposed it, such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer, were part of the Confessing Church. The Confessing Church argued that the ultimate authority of man rested in God’s hands, not in those of a single human being such as Hitler.
Mr. Metaxas explains that, among Germany’s roughly 18,000 Protestant pastors, about 3,000 were pro-Nazi and another 3,000 were anti-Nazi (Confessing Church). Alarmingly, the remaining total of 12,000 pastors chose to sit things out on the sidelines, despite the obvious moral and theological threat to the principles of the Christian faith. Mr. Metaxas draws a direct parallel to the strange sense of apathy that pervades the American Church today.
He also states that part of the problem lies with the failure of modern Christian leaders to realize that cultural Marxism has infiltrated American churches. Many of the ideas of cultural Marxism that are so prevalent these days are intrinsically atheistic and diametrically opposed to the basic tenets of Christianity, let alone any other religion, such as Judaism or Islam.
Charlie Kirk, founder and CEO of Turning Point USA, explains: “Marxists must destroy the family, religion, and property. That’s it. They are focused on those three things.”
“So, they must destroy people’s connection to the divine, they must destroy the nuclear family, and they must destroy your ability to own stuff.”
Mr. Kirk goes on to describe how Hitler similarly crushed the authentic Protestant church and installed a Nazi-controlled doppelgänger institution in its stead, similar to how the state always replaces the church in any communist-controlled country. Hitler attacked the idea of family, encouraged community-based snitching for the Nazi Party, and either seized or destroyed the citizenry’s private property.
As the film points out, pure economic Marxism was never enough for the tyrants of the world. A more sinister and, frankly, effective method of subverting the masses is to infiltrate the world’s cultures and denigrate their traditions, which is why we see so much anti-family, anti-male, anti-Christian, and anti-tradition depravity being disseminated by the powerful institutions that cultural Marxism has usurped, including the legacy media, academia, film and television, and yes, even churches.
One of the things that I enjoyed about this thought-provoking production is that, although it is information-heavy and delves into many hot-button topics, it does so in an entertaining and engaging way. Instead of coming off like a dry textbook, the film’s brisk pace, coupled with its clearly delivered facts, draw the viewer in.
The film sidesteps a common mistake that documentary filmmakers make. Instead of merely identifying societal problems, this one offers some actual solutions. The film not only throws down the gauntlet and challenges Christians to rise up and take peaceful action in truly meaningful ways, but also provides many actionable takeaways. I much prefer this method to the ubiquitous “hoping and praying” comments on social media these days.
First they came for the Communists And I did not speak out Because I was not a Communist Then they came for the Socialists And I did not speak out Because I was not a Socialist Then they came for the trade unionists And I did not speak out Because I was not a trade unionist Then they came for the Jews And I did not speak out Because I was not a Jew Then they came for me And there was no one left To speak out for me.
“Letter to the American Church,” releases on EpochTV on Feb. 8.
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