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Praeger said: "In fact, it was a secular Jew, the great German Jewish poet Heinrich Heine, who understood that despite its anti-Semitism and other moral failings, Christianity in Europe prevented the wholesale slaughter of human beings that became routine with Christianity's demise. In 1834, 99 years before Hitler and the Nazis rose to power, Heine warned:
"'A drama will be enacted in Germany compared to which the French Revolution will seem harmless and carefree. Christianity restrained the martial ardor for a time but it did not destroy it; once the restraining talisman [the cross] is shattered, savagery will rise again. . . . '"
Heinrich, himself, converted to Christianity; however, according to the Columbia Encyclopedia (2001), "Jewish themes frequently figure in his works, as does the influence of English and French literature. His Buch der Lieder (1827, tr. Book of Songs, 1846), which contains the lyric cycles “Nordsee” and “Lyrisches Intermezzo,” shows his indebtedness to the romantic folk-song poets. Other collections of poems are Neue Gedichte (1847), Romanzero (1851), and Letzte Gedichte (1853). Schumann composed music for Heine’s poems, as did Schubert, Mendelssohn, Liszt, and many others. His lyrics have been used in more than 3,000 compositions, the most popular perhaps being “Die Lorelei,” with melody by Friedrich Silcher (1789–1860)."
We might note that in 1933, Hitler's great "burning of the books" included the burning of the works of Heinrich Heine, even the banning of the harmlessly haunting, lovely, and popular "Lorelei."
Are you listening, American Left?
The suppression of the ideas of liberty (what the 1830's U. S. Historian Frothingham called "The Christian Idea of Man")--whether in the late 20th Century under cover of claims of "separation of church and state" through silently censoring them out of textbooks and the public square, or in 1933 by public burning with fire, as did Hitler--cannot quench the Idea and the ideas of liberty, once they have taken hold in the heart and mind of man.
There it is again that annoying "Judeo-Christian" phrase, dishonestly suggesting a connection between judaism and the founding of America. Please be more accurate in your word usage: "Protestant-Christian" is the right phrase. Thank you very much.
bttt