Is it Christian to kill Hitler? Dietrich Bonhoeffer clearly thought so. Millions of Christians took up arms to fight the Axis. Were they wrong? Had they reached the end of Christiianity, as Tucker Carlson seems to be saying here.

I like Tucker. I believe the past few years he’s been on a journey into his Christian faith, which he’d never taken seriously before. That’s not a knock. I think he’s said essentially that.

Did Dietrich Bonhoeffer reach the end of Christianity and then act outside his faith to attempt to kill Adolf. I’d think Bonhoeffer would say that his faith motivated his actions. I think most would see that.

I understand Tucker’s point here. Calling someone a Nazi has ramifications. If you believe you should kill baby Hitler, which many people do, then calling someone a Nazi could well serve as a preamble to violence. So he’s saying be careful with your words.

Ironically, I’m not sure Tucker was careful with his words here unless he believes that Christianity requires pacifism. But I don’t think he actually believes that.

According to Catholic Answers, Pope Pius XII supported efforts to assassinate Adolf Hitler during World War II.

Tucker will be attacked over this. He’s a lightning rod. I think he knows that. I suspect that this wasn’t a well thought out part of what he was saying. In short, he was warning us against labeling others and dehumanizing one another. I think that’s a very important lesson. But to say we must leave Christianity behind in order to defend ourselves and others from a brutal dictator is, I think, misguided.

I don’t think he really believes that every man and woman who’s gone to war has committed a sin. I suspect this was an unforced error on his part. Ironically, I think his misstatement will lead many to labeling him something hateful. I hope not.