‘But know this, that in the last days, perilous times will come:  For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,  unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good,  traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,  having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!’ (1 Tim 3:1-5)

In 1933, the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, abbreviated NSDAP, or better known as the Nazi Party, was voted into power in Germany with Adolf Hitler as the Bundes Chancellor. What is significant about this is that at that very time the Germany nation was burdened and crushed by an unrealistic war reparations debt which the allied forces demanded that Germany pay for all the damage Germany had inflicted on Europe during WW1.

The defeat of the German people and the German Empire during WWI, combined with this war debt, crushed the spirit of a once proud and prosperous nation into a humiliated, hopeless, angry, bitter and resentful people.

The German Propaganda War

Hitler and his party leaders saw this as an opportunity. They would launch a strategy to change the way the German people thought about themselves and about everyone else! Years before the annexation of Austria and the start of WW2, this strategic war effort was initiated: The war on the human mind and German culture – the Propaganda War.

To control a population, you must first control the population’s minds.

In the 1930s there was no social media, Internet and rapid dissemination of information. However, what was available were books (‘Mein Kampf’ – My Struggle), radio, newspapers and billboards, and not to forget movies and cinemas. Hitler used these very effectively to change the way in which the German people thought about themselves and about others. He instilled pride in the people through stirring speeches at mass rallies. He made a people, a defeated, inferior, ridiculed and crushed people, feel good about themselves, about being German, about their potential, about them being part of a superior race of man: the Übermensch!

In this whole process, the blame for the failing German economy and all its other ailments was shifted onto another people group, a people (as they saw it) of an inferior race, which had infiltrated the German nation. These people were the Jews. The Propaganda War shifted its focus onto them and the all-important need to rid the German nation of these undesirables. The rest, sadly, is history.

Controlling a Population

To control a population, you must first control the population’s minds. Adolf Hitler knew this well — and knew that propaganda was a politically expedient instrument to impose anti-Semitism onto the German populace. As he wrote in Mein Kampf, “Propaganda works on the general public from the standpoint of an idea and makes them ripe for the victory of this idea.” The Nazi Party utilised highly artistic (sometimes even beautiful) posters to promote ideas of hatred and fear of the ‘Other’, and allow them to “ripen” in the minds of young army recruits and civilians. These Nazi propaganda posters remind us that the most insidious movements often cloak their ugliness in beauty.[1]

Even though the Nazi Party had small beginnings, under Hitler’s rule, Germany was transformed into a totalitarian state where nearly all aspects of life were controlled by the government.[2]

Propaganda War on Judeo-Christian Values

‘Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.’ [3] Over the last 2 decades, a relentless Propaganda War has been waged especially in the Western World (but not exclusive to it) and has been directed against the Judeo-Christian[4] Foundation of Western Society. The proponents of this war are also made up of a very small group, but with the help of influential celebrities, politicians, and financiers, they are making a steady inroad into every aspect of society. There is hardly a day that their mantras aren’t on the news, internet, social media and even in the political and judicial arena of almost every country in the Western World.

Their aim is cunningly alike the Nazi Party’s aims: “Propaganda works on the general public from the standpoint of an idea and makes them ripe for the victory of this idea.” What are the aims of this propaganda war and how should we respond to this? They aim to slowly, subtly but relentlessly chip away the moral foundation, values and beliefs of Judeo-Christian Society and replace these with a new set of values and beliefs. The Propaganda War is rapidly gaining momentum and it is not difficult to see what it is targeting – everything to do with Judeo-Christian Values.

Holding to strong biblical, Judeo-Christian values and beliefs is suddenly castigated as intolerant, unloving, bigoted and even unChristlike.

What happens is that the philosophy behind this slowly starts to chip away people’s resolve against it. What they once believed to be an absolute right or wrong becomes negotiable, and even theologians and preachers have joined the bandwagon. Holding to strong biblical, Judeo-Christian values and beliefs is suddenly castigated as intolerant, unloving, bigoted and even unChristlike.

The proponents of this target those who they are at war against within Western Society: Christian bakers, schools, media and film producers, lawmakers, politicians and churches. Not the churches that are falling into line with this propaganda themselves but those who hold steadfastly to the Word of God. They target those who follow their Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, who not only made it possible for fallen man to be reconciled to its Creator and God, but who has shown us how to live, in the power of His Spirit, in a culture that is hostile to Him and His message.

Standing Against the Tide

Will we follow Him? Will we risk it all for Him and reach out to the lost who are ensnared in this Propaganda War? We must raise the banner and stand against this tide of dissipation. Perilous times are at hand, Paul warned Timothy 2000 years ago. We live in these very times. Though Paul warns that Timothy should not spend time with the people mentioned above, I believe that he refers to people who call themselves believers. Surely turn away from them! But to the lost we must reach out with love, forgiveness, hope and redemption, without compromising on the consequences of rejecting God’s offer of salvation.

What will happen if we do not rise up and raise the banner?

What will happen if we do not rise up and raise the banner? If we are simply living our lives and don’t push against the apple cart out of fear we may upset it? History will be repeated once again. The proponents of the Propaganda War will not rest until the light of the Gospel is snuffed out, every radical follower of Jesus is targeted and, even worse, every authentic Bible-believing community is shut down.

This is WW3: A Propaganda War on the Saints.

Related Resources: 

• Deception & Compromise
• Counterfeit Christianity
• The Role of Reason
• Falling Away Through False Teaching
• Signs of Immaturity

References:

[1] https://allthatsinteresting.com/nazi-propaganda-posters

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_Germany

[3] The quote is most likely due to writer and philosopher George Santayana

[4] This is a society built on the values, beliefs and moral foundation as set forth in the Bible with their legal system based on the Ten Commandments.