Dear John Hagee,
I'm guessing you’re a bit perplexed by the recent hullabaloo about comments you made almost 10 years ago about Hitler and the Jews. Yeah, yeah, I know. Your recent persecution by the media is all a devilish plot that Jesus himself promised would plague those who preach the truth ("You will be hated for my sake" and all that), but I'm guessing you'd still like to know why this particular statement--a statement that, unlike many of your pronouncements, is at least defensible as a "Biblical" worldview--would be the one causing you the most trouble. Right? Maybe?
Well, I have no idea why the Hitler statement was chosen as Teh Cra8ziesT Thang EvaR, but as someone who's been following your career for about 15 years now, I think I can offer some insight into why people are upset by it. First of all, I know what you were trying to say. You never meant that Hitler was a "good" person or that God willed the Holocaust (though for all the world it sounds like that's what you're saying). You were simply stating that even the Holocaust was a part of God's plan for his chosen people. According to your interpretation of Jeremiah 16, God sends fishers to entice the Jewish people to live in Israel and hunters to drive them to Israel. Though you didn't phrase it well, I have no trouble believing that you were simply restating a classic religious (and not just Christian) response to the Problem of Evil. God doesn't will bad things to happen--he certainly didn't ordain Hitler--but He reclaims the Evil for "good" purposes, like returning the Jews to Israel (I guess). Even though it sounds horrible to say God "sent" Hitler to hunt the Jews, driving them to Israel, the Bible itself affirms that God does indeed punish His chosen people. 40 years in the wilderness was certainly punishment for something, and the Bible asserts that God didn't just allow it, but caused it to happen. So you see, unlike the political pundits yakking away about how horrible you are, I understand that your statements can be traced back to a legitimately Biblical worldview--a worldview that millions of Americans tacitly accept, including many of those cretinous pundits.
So why are you being demonized while millions of Americans affirm that God is responsible for lots horrible things, including flooding the whole goddamn world? Well, part of it is that the Holocaust is just too recent of an event . Some survivors are still around, so we can still feel the destruction it caused. Sure, it's disingenuous to believe God almost wiped out the human race but take offense to the notion that he killed your grandfather, but it's just human nature. Whether we want to admit it or not, The Flood to us is just a story. It didn't really happen. Millions of us may say we believe it, but we don't. It's just a fable ancient people told that may or may not tell us something important about ourselves or God or the nature of the universe.
I think the real reason people are upset is that it reveals what an asshole you truly are. The fact that you can't understand that it's too soon to talk this way about the Holocaust shows your true and total disregard for the feelings of the Jewish community that you profess to love. Sure, you affirm that the Jews are God's chosen people, and you support the defense of the state of Israel, but Jewish people to you are just pawns in a great celestial war between God and Satan. And it's this great celestial war that you've built your theology and your megachurch on. I have no doubt you truly believe that the Jewish people play a role in the Second Coming of Christ and that you, John Hagee, have a glorious reward waiting for you in Heaven if you can help pull the whole caper off a few years sooner. You're dying to get a piece of the action, Mr. Hagee, and that makes you a Monstrous Douche. Maybe that's a little harsh, but you're the one who threw your hat into the political ring by endorsing John McCain. You've opened yourself up to all sorts of criticism, and I'm pretty sure you're loving it--each malicious criticism is a shiny new jewel in your crown. Just be careful your crown doesn't become a millstone.
Yours,
Jonathan
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