Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

history

Some New Books That Discuss the Holocaust

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I recently read some new books that directly or indirectly discuss the Holocaust. All of them are worth reading. In different ways they open our eyes to how heinous humans can be, and they lead us to pray with John, “Come, Lord Jesus!” (Rev 22:20).

My favorites = books 5 and 6.

1. Neal Bascomb. Hunting Eichmann: How a Band of Survivors and a Young Spy Agency Chased Down the World’s Most Notorious Nazi. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009. Intriguing story. Excessively detailed. Would make a good modern movie.

2. George W. Bush. Decision Points. New York: Crown, 2010. Fascinating account of Bush’s life and presidency. Discusses the Middle East political quagmire, including Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s denial of the Holocaust.

3. Paul Johnson. Churchill. New York: Penguin, 2010. Swashbuckling. Cf. my previous posts.

4. Ben Macintyre. Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory. New York: Crown, 2010. Not as thrilling as I thought it’d be. Excessively detailed. Second half is much better than first half. Suggestion: Read Malcolm Gladwell’s “Pandoras Briefcase” instead.

5. Eric Metaxas. Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy. Nashville: Nelson, 2010. Gripping, inspiring story. Filled with theological insights.

6. J. K. Rowling. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Vol. 7 of Harry Potter. 7 vols. New York: Levine, 2007. The Ministry of Magic : Lord Voldemort and non-pure-bloods (esp. Muggles) :: “The Ministry” of the Third Reich : Satan/Adolf Hitler and non-Arians (esp. Jews). (Jenni and I enjoyed listening to this audiobook again.)

7. Carl R. Trueman. Histories and Fallacies: Problems Faced in the Writing of History. Wheaton: Crossway, 2010. Proves why Holocaust Denial is nonsense by distinguishing between neutrality (which is “practically impossible” and “logically inconceivable”) and objectivity (pp. 17–21, 25–68; cf. “Example Two: Was Luther a Racist?” pp. 129–38).

Linda McMahon’s WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment)

Five Lessons from Churchill’s Life

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Paul Johnson, Churchill (New York: Penguin, 2010), 122–25 (numbering added):

Winston Churchill led a full life, and few people are ever likely to equal it—its amplitude, variety, and success on so many fronts. But all can learn from it, especially in five ways. . . .

  1. Always aim high. . . . He did not always meet his elevated targets, but by aiming high he always achieved something worthwhile. .  .
  2. There is no substitute for hard work. . . . The balance he maintained between flat-out work and creative and restorative leisure is worth study by anyone holding a top position. . . .
  3. Churchill never allowed mistakes, disaster—personal or national—accidents, illnesses, unpopularity, and criticism to get him down. His powers of recuperation, both in physical illness and in psychological responses to abject failure, were astounding. . . . He had courage, the most important of all virtues, and its companion, fortitude. . . . In a sense his whole career was an exercise of how courage can be displayed, reinforced, guarded and doled out carefully, heightened and concentrated, conveyed to others. . . .
  4. Churchill wasted an extraordinarily small amount of his time and emotional energy on the meannesses of life: recrimination, shifting the blame onto others, malice, revenge seeking, dirty tricks, spreading rumors, harboring grudges, waging vendettas. Having fought hard, he washed his hands and went on to the next contest. . . . There is nothing more draining and exhausting than hatred. And malice is bad for the judgment. Churchill loved to forgive and make up. . . . Northing gave him more pleasure than to replace enmity with friendship, not least with the Germans. . . .
  5. The absence of hatred left plenty of room for joy in Churchill’s life. His face could light up in the most extraordinarily attractive way as it became suffused with pleasure at an unexpected and welcome event. . . . He liked to share his joy, and give joy. It must never be forgotten that Churchill was happy with people. . . . He got on well with nearly everyone who served him or worked with him, whatever their degree. . . . He showed the people a love of jokes, and was to them a source of many. No great leader has ever laughed at, or with, more than Churchill. . . . . He liked to sing. . . . He was emotional, and wept easily. But his tears soon dried, as joy came flooding back.

You can get a good flavor of what Churchill was like by watching Into the Storm: Churchill at War (HBO, 2009). (Warning: It has some strong language.) HT: Owen Strachan.

Paul Johnson, Churchill (New York: Penguin, 2010), 94:

Britain alone was not capable of crushing Germany. . . . However, he [i.e, Winston Churchill] clinched matters by persuading Roosevelt and his advisers that priority should be given to defeating Germany first. This was perhaps the most important act of persuasion in Chuchill’s entire career, and it proved to be absolutely correct.

Indeed . . . Churchill had an uncanny gift for getting priorities right. For a stateman in time of war it is the finest possible virtue. “Jock” Colville, his personal secretary, said, “Churchill’s greatest intellectual gift was for picking on essentials and concentrating on them.”

“Getting priorities right”—picking and concentrating on essentials—is also a virtue for theologians.

Prioritizing

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Paul Johnson, Churchill (New York: Penguin, 2010), 94:

Britain alone was not capable of crushing Germany. . . . However, he [i.e, Winston Churchill] clinched matters by persuading Roosevelt and his advisers that priority should be given to defeating Germany first. This was perhaps the most important act of persuasion in Chuchill’s entire career, and it proved to be absolutely correct.

Indeed . . . Churchill had an uncanny gift for getting priorities right. For a stateman in time of war it is the finest possible virtue. “Jock” Colville, his personal secretary, said, “Churchill’s greatest intellectual gift was for picking on essentials and concentrating on them.”

“Getting priorities right”—picking and concentrating on essentials—is also a virtue for theologians.

The Past Is a Foreign Country

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“The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.” –L. P. Hartley, The Go-Between

Carl Trueman’s Histories and Fallacies: Problems Faced in the Writing of History (Wheaton: Crossway, 2010) devotes chapter 3 to the problem of anachronism (pp. 109–40) and concludes the book with this useful insight:

One notable thing about immigrating to a foreign country is that the very difference of the culture to which one moves allows one to see both the idiosyncrasies of one’s new culture and of that from which one has departed. When one only ever lives in one culture, the assumption is that everything one sees and experiences is nature, the norm, and that everybody else, to the extent that they do not conform, is deviant, subnormal, etc. Cross-cultural experience is excellent for disabusing one of such instincts.

History can be like that . . . .

I have already mentioned my childhood antipathy to the Welsh rugby team, but many other things in my life, from taste in music to personal political convictions, are all more comprehensible in the light of wider historical factors. (pp. 172–74)

Manhunt

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Justin Taylor just posted on this book:

James L. Swanson, Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer. New York: William Morrow, 2006. 448 pp. Available in the following formats: paperback, hardcover, Kindle, audio CD, and audio download.

Jenni and I loved listening to the nine-hour (abridged) audio book last month (HT to JT again for recommending it to me!). It was so fascinating that we ended up listening to the whole audio book in just two evenings!