Hitler, where did he go...?

[dreamhacker]

Well, as I'm the school's Christian, I often get into such religious discussions...
Today, it was about what happened to Hitler. If he really believed in Christ, the others had a problem with accepting that after killing 6 million people he would get into Heaven, while someone who only was kind and good, should get to hell because he wasn't saved by Jesus. Just a bit funny, that thought, it sounds a bit crazy

[Destroyer2000]

This will probably get locked due to it's theological significance, but when did Hitler accept Christ?

[Nate]

The thing about grace is that it's a wonderful thing, but people don't want to believe that it's wonderful.

People think in human terms, and in human terms, they are way better than Hitler, because they've never attempted genocide. However, God doesn't deal in human terms. And to God, a person who steals a cookie and then lies to their mom is equally as deserving of Hell as a person who kills 6 million people. Because all have sinned and fallen short of His glory.

Again, the problem is, people don't see it that way. And so the complete and wonderful AWESOMENESS of God's grace, to cover any and every sin, seems "unfair" to them. After all, they're "better" people than Hitler, and so God's grace shouldn't cover Hitler's sins.

Of course, as far as we know Hitler was not a Christian, so it's probably safe to assume that yes, he is in Hell, but we are not allowed to say that. Only God truly knows where Hitler is.

The thing is, until they accept that they are just as stained with sin as Hitler is, they're never going to understand why they need God's grace, or why God would allow Hitler into Heaven had Hitler accepted Christ.

[ChristianKitsune]

I agree with Kae, IF Hitler accepted Christ...then he is in heaven... and Like Kae said, God doesn't deal with punishment the way we do... Once you slip up, you slip up there is no varient in the punishment. ITs always gonna be the same..Same with the redemtion...you are never halfway saved...

There are two destinations Heaven or Hell... Two Decisions Sin, eternal death, temporary happiness OR Jesus, Eternal Life, Eternal Joy.

[Tringard]

My pastor often tells a story that goes something like this:
There's this drunk looking out from a pier at catalina island. After some time he slurs, "I bet I could jump there." Then stumbles to the end of the pier, falls off and makes it 2 feet out. A business man standing there in a full suit looks at that and says, "Well that was pathetic, I can do better than that." He proceeds to run to the end of the pier and jumps off and makes it 5 feet, more than double what the drunk could do. A professional long jumper just happens to be standing there. He looks at them and says, "Amateurs, this is how it's done." He runs off, jumps and sets a new record, 30 feet! Six times further than the business man. Yet all three of them effectively jumped the same distance when compared to the 20+ miles they needed to make it to reach the island.

So are our attempts to reach God through our own power, our own works bring us effectively no closer to God than when we started.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

The real question is: Was Hitler really Christian? No. He did use a lot of christian "termonology" to seem Christian, but generally he was not a christian. Opponents say that a certain sash or belt (or helmet?) that soldiers wore had christian symbols on it, but that was used because they ran out of supplies, thus reused old ones.

His words seem to be contradictory. Sometimes he says things that seem to support christianity, and other times he tends to deny and go against it. He most likely used religion as a means for control. Anyway here is a good site
http://answers.org/apologetics/hitquote.html

[Arnobius]

This view is correct as far as it goes, but we need to also remember James 2: 14-26 so neither too much emphasis on works or faith is done

[Yumie]

None of us can say whether Hitler is in heaven or not. He might have accepted Christ minutes before he died. He might not have. There's no way we'll know for sure this side of eternity. But Jesus's blood can cover anyone's sins, Hitler's and mine included.

(On a mod note: Please remember to keep this civil, and avoid deep theological debate. Thank you.)

[Slater]

It is not for man to judge the heart and soul of any human, for only God and the one who owns the heart know its depths.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

It's not right for us to judge, I don't know if he did. But I know that only faith in Jesus alone admits one into heaven.

[Sweet Mercury]

The real question is: Was Hitler really Christian? No. He did use a lot of christian "termonology" to seem Christian, but generally he was not a christian. Opponents say that a certain sash or belt (or helmet?) that soldiers wore had christian symbols on it, but that was used because they ran out of supplies, thus reused old ones.

His words seem to be contradictory. Sometimes he says things that seem to support christianity, and other times he tends to deny and go against it. He most likely used religion as a means for control. Anyway here is a good site
http://answers.org/apologetics/hitquote.html

The thing anyone thinking this over has to realize is that Hitler wasn't any one religion, he was a demagogue. He effectively used rhetoric to whip the population into a frenzy, and that sometimes involved demonizing Jews, Poles, or Gypsies, and that sometimes involved using religious aruments. He was a man who coveted power, and only power. As a result physical means to gain power by intimidation, political means by persuasion, and even spiritual means by way of various mysitic and occult activities. He dabbled in all sorts of mysticism, including a search for the "Holy Lance," because he thought it would give him some sort of divine or magic power. To assume solely from his speeches that he was "Christian" in any sense is a mistake.

That said, the other point has been made, that know one really knows what was in his heart, so no one in our position has the right to make that call. If we play the odds, however, we can say that Hitler was one for humility, in any sense.

[mitsuki lover]

I personally believe that Hell is divided into levels.Hitler went to Tartarus the lowest of the levels where all the most wicked people end up.
As far as it goes though we must remember that God does not judge everyone the same way.Certainly people like Plato who lived before Christ will be judged on a different level than those of us who live now and I do expect such righteous pagans as Socrates to be in heaven.

[That Dude]

I think that this subject has pretty much been well covered. Anyone who doesn't accept Christ as thier saviour, now matter how "good" they are will go to hell. I think that that fact should motivate us to go out and tell more people about Him.

[Arnobius]

I think that this subject has pretty much been well covered. Anyone who doesn't accept Christ as thier saviour, now matter how "good" they are will go to hell. I think that that fact should motivate us to go out and tell more people about Him.

So what of the areas of the world where there are no Christians and the individuals have never heard of Christ?

[Nate]

Uh...shouldn't that be discussed on T-Web? >.>;;

[ChristianKitsune]

So what of the areas of the world where there are no Christians and the individuals have never heard of Christ?

There is a verse that covers this in the Bible..about how mere creation is enough to prove God's existence...

But I believe that God is strong enough to know our hearts....

[That Dude]

Yes I believe that God is big enough to reveal himself to the people in remote places who've never had outside contact...

[Yumie]

OK, well, this thread seems to be devolving into debates that will probably just cause strife here, so I'm going to go ahead and close it. If anyone still has questions that remain unanswered, I suggest T-web like Nate mentioned, or PMs.