A "great Christian leader chosen by God"... and it ain't Bush either.

Someone sent me a link to an interesting article by Maureen Farrell titled "'God Is With Us': Hitler's Rhetoric and the Lure of 'Moral Values'". I know nothing about Maureen Farrell at all, but this is a pretty scary read in that she notes the uncanny parallels between the semantics of the Third Reich and what George W. Bush says (which his followers parrot). The gist of Farrell's piece is that anyone can say the right words and make the correct gestures and come across as a devout and God-honoring Christian. That... and also that people are foolish to blindly follow such a person without also examining his underlying character (you know: the things and beliefs that really define what a man is). The German people got hoodwinked by Hitler because of his rhetoric, and now many Americans are following suit behind another man and judging him by slick packaging, instead of taking the time to size him on their own.

I dunno about you, but I'd rather let my conscience before God and my understanding of scripture be my guide as to whether any man is worth considering as my leader. Why should I let Karl Rove be a substitute for that?

But anyhoo, after reading this and finding some photos on sites that Farrell linked to, they made me recollect a few things that I'd seen over the past couple of years. Since pictures speak a thousand words, I found the following juxtapositions to be curious, to put it mildly...

LEFT: Hitler prays at Nazi rally in Vienna circa 1940
RIGHT: Bush prays at prayer service circa 2004

LEFT: Hitler signs Bible for Christian supporter at Nazi gathering, date uncertain
RIGHT: Bush signs Bible for Christian supporter at Republican gathering in West Virginia, August 2004

LEFT: Hitler leaves the Marine Church in Wilhelmshaven
RIGHT: Bush leaves... well actually, there are no photos of Bush leaving church to be readily found. Probably because despite Christians being admonished to not forsake the assembly of their fellow believers, Bush is not known to regularly assemble with believers (whether they're his "fellows" or not is left as an exercise for the reader).

LEFT: Hitler gives the Nazi salute in front of a holy edifice in Nuremburg in 1934.
RIGHT: Bush gives an unholy salute in front of Barney the dog in 2003 (approx. date).

"Submitted for your approval."