SUFFER, LITTLE GERMAN CHILDREN

 There is a Greek word in the New Testament that tells us that things don't "just happen." That word is "kosmos," which indicates that the world since the Fall of man in Genesis 3 is a system, and is deliberately arranged in such a way so as to leave God out.

II Corinthians 4:4 describes one aspect of this system: "The god of this world [Satan] has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." All you need to see this blindness is to have a five-minute conversation with the average church-goer about the content of the gospel and you'll find that he inflates it with works.

"Kosmos" indicates there is a conspiracy, that things just don't happen. Kosmos and II Corinthians 4:4 rip off the curtain and show that there is an intelligence behind the conspiracy.

A blindness to the gospel is only one of the aspects of the way Satan has organized the fallen world. Germany in the 1930's furnishes us with a case study of the organized way in which Nazis left God out. 

THE GERMAN CHILD AT PRAYER

German children were the primary target of Nazism: Children were taught to pray to Hitler instead of God.  The Nazi Welfare Committee taught the children of the poor to pray before meals and to end their prayer with: ‘For this food, my Fuehrer, my thanks I render.'  

Another official child's prayer ended: "My Fuehrer, by Fuehrer, my faith and my light, Heil my Fuehrer." 

ASPECTS OF THE CONSPIRACY

They taught the Hitler Youth (an official organization) to rebel against their parents, to be contemptuous of religion, and to use crude and offensive language. The Nazis forbade parents to give their children Christian names and ordered parents to give them names like Dietrich, Otto or Siegfried. The government prohibited parents from teaching Christianity in the home. These things organized attempts to leave God out; the Kosmos at work.

In addition, the remedy proposed by the Nazis to solve their enemy of Christianity was to take Christian children, whose parents insisted on teaching them Christian virtues, away from their parents.  

WAIT. WHAT?

Some of these aspects of the conspiracy have a familiar ring. For example, "they encouraged the youth to be rebellious against their parents." That sounds familiar, doesn't it? Such encouragement comes to us today via the media which portrays parents as dim-witted and hopelessly irrelevant. Who wouldn't rebel against such pathetic people; they aren't worth listening to. Then the media portrays the youth as sullen, pouting, and, in the end, disobedient as their parents stand helpless to stop the rebellion. This gives the indication to the youth and to the parents that an attitude and such behavior are normal.

The Nazis encouraged coarse language, right? That sounds familiar too. Movies are literally crammed full of it, from the mouths of every character in the movie--men, women, youth, and even children. What this does is to communicate to the youth that this type of language is normal, that is, that's what normal people do and if you don't, you aren't normal, you're weird, you don't fit in.

AN INCIDENT IN 2013

"The German government forcibly seized four children from their parents in a raid in Darmstadt. Why? Because the Wunderlich children were home schooled – an illegal activity viewed by the German government as 'child endangerment.' (Notice that the Kosmos gives "moral" reasons for what it does.)

"Police were armed with a battering ram, and held the father, Dirk Wunderlich, to a chair while they removed the children. A team of 20 social workers, police, and special agents entered the home. The children were taken to unknown locations and officials told the parents they would not be seeing their children 'anytime soon.'

"Not only did the German government seize the children – they seized the children’s passports as well. This prevented the family from attempting to move to another country where homeschooling is permissible. According to Wunderlich, the children could be taken from them permanently if they made such an attempt. 'Our children are prisoners of the German government,' he said."*

This world-system is organized in its rebellion against God. And it is strong. But Christ said, "Be of good cheer; I have overcome the Kosmos." It's coming judgment is certain. In the meantime, suffer, little German children. The Kosmos is at work.
_____________________________________________________________________________
* After a hearing, the children were allowed to go home as long as the parents put them back into the government school system. At least their children have been allowed to return home; however, the larger issue of the lack of parental freedom in Germany is still a large obstacle.