Pastor Rick, Hitler, Lenin, Mao et al

Clemens Heni, a post-doctoral fellow at Yale, writes here (scroll down for the English text) about a sermon preached by Rick Warren in April 2005 in which Warren praised Hitler Youth. In that sermon he also lauded the ability of Lenin and Mao to mobilize large numbers of people. Warren says that a similar mobilization, or revolution, is needed to fill today's sense of spiritual emptiness.

Heni cites a January 15, 2009 entry on the Huffington Post blog by Bruce Wilson that includes this video about the sermon. The sermon was given to a crowd of 30,000 in Anaheim; at the end of it, they all held up signs saying 'Whatever it takes.'

The video contains several audio excerpts from Warren's speech; it is possible that the omitted passages would provide a different, extenuating context. Nevertheless, it's a shock to hear such a prominent pastor praising the ability of the 20th century's worst sociopaths to mobilize the masses - and getting his flock to stand as one and hold up the same sign (that moment is shown in the video).

Hitler, Lenin and Mao were geniuses at filling what was perceived then as a spiritual void; they succeeded in getting many people to abandon their own consciences and murder millions of others. In Hitler's case, anti-Semitism was a core element of his philosophy; for Lenin and Mao, it was 'class enemies.' The burden of proof must be on anyone who thinks he or she can use these techniques for good rather than evil.