This document contains a question and answer section about how China became great without Christianity, followed by a short summary of how God judges people based on the revelation they have received. It then provides a summary of the political and religious context in Judea during the time of Daniel, including the various empires that dominated the region and how Daniel and his friends were taken to Babylon. The final section discusses whether Hitler could truly be considered a Christian given his actions and the influence of Nietzsche's philosophy on Nazi ideology. It argues that Hitler suppressed Christianity and banned the Bible and cross, so he did not genuinely follow Christianity.

1. VOLUME 01 ISSUE 06________ ____________________________________JULY 2017

2. Q: How did China
become so great yet never heard of God?
A: This question is not unique to China, but is like a more general question, “what
about people who have never heard of God”. It is a common misconception by those
who see Christianity only as an historical religion. Christianity actually came to China
during the Tang Dynasty around 618AD, but was largely stamped out by persecution
in the 1300’s.
God has revealed Himself in nature and conscience in an unmistakable way to all persons at all times in all lands
(Romans 1-2). God, as a just and loving God Who wants all persons to come to know Him, judges people on the basis of
the information that they have. So people in China, or other areas before Christianity, will not be judged on the basis of
whether they have believed in Christ. Rather, like people in ancient Israel, they will be judged by God on the basis of
their faith-response to the revelation that God has given them (Romans 4).
Prelude
In Daniel’s time, Judah was located
at a geographical nexus in the ancient
Middle East, where the interests of
the great powers frequently clashed,
and so it lived under constant threat
of invasion. Some 50 years prior to
Daniel’s birth, the region was
dominated by the superpower Assyria.
In the days of Hezekiah, one of the
better kings of Judah, the Assyrian
emperor Sennacherib marched on
Judah (701BC). Suddenly and
unexpectedly Sennacherib
withdrew, and Jerusalem was
temporarily spared.
Eventually the Assyrian capital
of Nineveh fell (612BC) to the
Babylonian and the Mede armies,
who subsequently continued the
tradition of threatening to snuff
Judah out completely. On top of
all this, there was always Egypt in
the south – no longer a
superpower, but nevertheless a
constant irritant. Earlier one of
the reformist kings of Judah,
Josiah, embarked on a mission to
assist the Babylonians in their
attempt to take on the might of
the Egyptian army. His attempt
backfired and he was killed.
Pharaoh quickly deposed Josiah’s son, Jehoahaz, and
deported him to Egypt, installing as a puppet ruler
Jehoahaz’s brother Eliakim, now called Jehoiakim.
Pharaoh then imposed a staggering fine on Judah of
100 talents of silver and one of gold.
Jehoiakim proved ineffective, and it was not long
before he too was removed; not by the Egyptians, but
by the emperor of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar II.
Earlier, in the summer of 605BC Nebuchadnezzar had
defeated the Egyptians at the decisive battle at
Carchemish on the Euphrates far to the north-east of
Jerusalem. Not long after, Nebuchadnezzar’s father
Nabopolassar died and Nebuchadnezzar returned to
Babylon as king. Thereafter
he made regular visits to his
conquered territories in the
west, to take tribute and
personnel from them. It was
one of those visits that
permanently changed the
lives of Daniel and his
friends.
As part of his policy for
dealing with conquered
nations, Nebuchadnezzar
took the best of their young
men to Babylon to have
them trained to serve in his
administration. Daniel and
his friends were judged to be
suitable material for that
training, and so they were
taken from their families,
society, and culture, and
transported to a strange and
unfamiliar land many miles
away. They had to cope not
only with the emotional
trauma, but also with the
sheer strangeness of their
new surroundings.
[continued next month]

3. ABOUT THIS PUBLICATION
To make information more portable, Church on the Net Today is published monthly as a downloadable PDF. The information is gleaned
from 40+ years of Christian service and 30+ years as a BBS and web developer.
If you have a question, email it to me at dlwyer@churchonthenet.com
Also, more information can be found at churchonthenet.com or mag.churchonthenet.com
Hitler-style ChristiansA common mistake among
unbelievers is to deny Christ
because of the evil acts of
certain people or groups in the
name of Christianity. Jesus said
in Matthew 13:31-33, “31“The
kingdom of heaven is like a
grain of mustard seed that a
man took and sowed in his
field. 32 It is the smallest of all
seeds, but when it has grown it
is larger than all the garden
plants and becomes a tree, so
that the birds of the air come
and make nests in its
branches.”” In this way He
warned us there would be evil
people who would seek refuge
in the church and, rather than
seeking change for themselves,
they would seek to manipulate
the Church.
Hitler did indeed profess to
be a Christian in a 1922 speech
wherein he referred to Jesus as
“my Lord and Savior”.
The question then becomes,
must we accept that a person is
a Christian just because he or
she says all the right words? An
often-ignored passage by Paul
says, “For what have I to do
with judging outsiders? Is it not
those inside the church whom
you are to judge? God judges
those outside. “Purge the evil
person from among you.”” (1
Corinthians 5:12-13)
Clearly church leaders have a
mandate as shepherds to
protect the flock against
enemies, wolves in sheep’s
clothing, as it were.
Hitler and his Nazi regime
were much influenced by the
ideology of German
philosopher, Friedrich
Nietzsche (1844-1900). Hitler
was consumed by the idea of
“Superman” (who has a great
“will to power” and would reign
over other humans) that was
taken from Nietzsche’s work
“Thus Spoke Zarathustra.”
Nietzsche’s sister, Elizabeth
Forster-Nietzsche was married
to Bernhard Forster, a
prominent leader of the
German anti-Semitic
movement. Elizabeth was a
friend of Hitler. Elizabeth
influenced the Nazi regime to
an extent that Hitler was
influenced by the Nietzschean
ideology.
Hitler was so fascinated by the
Nietzschean ideology that he
had copies of “Thus Spoke
Zarathustra” given to all his
soldiers between 1933 and
1945. Hitler often visited the
Nietzsche museum in Weimar
at the invite of Elizabeth and
proudly posed for photographs
of him staring at the bust of
Nietzsche.
When Hitler began his
career, Germany was mostly a
Christian nation. So Hitler often
referred to himself as a
follower of Christ.
However, Hitler either imprisoned or
executed more than 6000 clergymen on
the charge of treasonable activity.
Significantly, after establishing the
“National Reich Church” that projected
Hitler as superman / god, Hitler banned
the Bible and the cross. Bibles were
replaced with copies of Mein Kampf and
the cross was replaced with swastika.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German
theologian and pastor who sought to
establish the true identity of the Church.
Ultimately, Bonhoeffer was executed by
hanging. Christians subscribing to
Historic Christianity fervently opposed
Hitler to an extent that they risked their
own lives. They were either imprisoned
or executed for their anti-Hitler
rebellion.
If an unbeliever raises such a
question, they should be asked, was this
person or group genuine? Answer the
inevitable, “you’re not supposed to
judge” objection with the verses above
and remind them Christians must act in
accordance with their repentance (Acts
26:19-20).

4. “Tactics” is a book written by
Greg Koukl. Greg demonstrates
how to get in the driver’s seat,
keeping any conversation moving
with thoughtful, artful diplomacy.
You’ll learn how to maneuver
comfortably and graciously
through the minefields, stop
challengers in their tracks, turn
the tables and—most
importantly—get people thinking
about Jesus. Soon, your
conversations will look more like
diplomacy than D-Day.
Drawing on extensive experience
defending Christianity in the
public square, Koukl shows you
how to:
- Initiate conversations
effortlessly
- Present the truth clearly,
cleverly, and persuasively
- Graciously and effectively
expose faulty thinking
- Skillfully manage the details of
dialogue
- Maintain an engaging, disarming
style even under attack
Tactics provides the game plan
for communicating the
compelling truth about
Christianity with confidence and
grace.
http://cotn.in/tacticsbook
Being prepared to make a defense of the hope you have within
you.
(1st Peter 3:15)
By and large we tend to be confused
about what evangelism is.
When evangelism is discussed, it tends
to focus on how churches mobilize their
people to get out and connect with
unbelievers. But when we think in these
terms, the definition can be mistaken as
a maneuver, rather than proclamation.
To evangelize simply means to herald
the good news of Jesus. The evangelist
is anyone who says, “Jesus has given his
life on your behalf as the punishment
for your sins so that you may experience
a new and eternal life.” It is not difficult
to see that this requires some personal
passion. We will have a hard time
proclaiming someone who doesn’t
impress us.
Foundational to evangelism is our own
personal relationship with Christ. All
the tactics in the world cannot mask
insincerity.
When we share the Gospel, we often come
at it from the angle of being saved from
hell or being able to go to heaven. Too
often we leave out just what that means to
us now.
Jesus prayed, “Now this is eternal life: that
they may know You, the only true God,
and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”
(John 17:3)
The word “know” is the same one used to
describe the intimacy between a husband
and wife. Evangelism isn’t simply getting
people through the gates. Evangelism is
having an intimate relationship with our
creator—knowing and being known by
Him.
As evangelists, people who share the love
of Christ, we should first be acquainted
with God ourselves through time in His
Word, in prayer and solitude with God.
Then we start evangelizing by
demonstrating the love we found to
others.
“There is no such thing as the gift of
evangelism.”
Church on the Net Today
JULY 2017 Vol.1 Issue 06
Edited by: D.L. Wyer
A digital publication from ChurchOnTheNet.com Ministries and D.L. Wyer Evangelism
Church on the Net Today is published monthly by Church on the Net, 11 Erman Drive, Sod, WV 25564. Digital
subscriptions are always available free of charge.
-Ed Stetzer