Atheists and Nazis

A surprising conflation of Nazism and 20th century aggressive atheism by the Pope yesterday gives me pause to think. Although, with this current weather, I don't really want to pause anywhere. It's suddenly turning into one of those autumns where you keep moving to keep the cold out. I noticed the woodsmoke creeping from at least a couple of the houses on the estate yesterday as those people that long for it to be Christmas welcomed the cold weather.

But back to Pope Benedict. The Nazis and the 20th century atheist monsters - Stalin, Mao, Michael Foot - have in common only that a British Christian who could still remember whose side they were on during the war could be expected to be against both. It's just as well that Mel Gibson hasn't done a Second World War film, as if he did the Battle of Britain would be the RAF and Luftwaffe fighting against the daring Americans at Pearl Harbour. And since the average American cinematographer has about the same awareness of history as the rabbits in the spinney, to whom the Battle of Britain was 70 generations ago, it's probably only a matter of time till somebody does make that film.

The Nazis, a mixture of Catholics and pagan revivalists, have really this in common with the Communist monsters - that they should both have read the Magnificat with fear:

He hath shewed might in his arm:

he hath scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.

He hath put down the mighty from their seat,

and hath exalted the humble.

He hath filled the hungry with good things;

and the rich he hath sent empty away.

It is the reminder that human rule does not last forever. Every monster falls. Put up all the statues to yourself that you like, but one day someone will blow the heads off them or pull them down with tractors or cart them off to a museum in Kensington. No matter how high the mighty may be, they die one day. They become one with Great Ozymandias.  And when every monster and tyrant and worshipper of self and oppressor of others is dead, God will still be God just as he was before they rose to power. Rabbits will still gnaw the bark off the trees and young men and young women will still fall in love, the sun will still rise and nobody will weep for the tyrants when they are gone.