By David Wright
On Saturday afternoon I called my mother, who lives in Montgomery, Alabama. At one point in the conversation, I mentioned that I was about to begin reading The Years of Persecution 1933-1939, a book about Nazi Germany written by historian Saul Friedlander. My mom commented that Holocaust deniers astonished her. How could people deny a historical reality supported by so much evidence?
Good question. But the answer is plain enough. Holocaust deniers have a strong motive for dismissing all the evidence of Nazi atrocities: They hate Jewish people. Consider, for instance, the brutal dictator of Iran. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad openly acknowledges his desire to annihilate the Jews. His hot pursuit of nuclear weapons is an ominous threat against Israel. Since the Holocaust arouses sympathy for the Jewish people, minimizing its extent or denying it altogether is a way of eroding support for Israel among the nations that might oppose Iran’s evil purposes.
Denying the reality of the Holocaust is rather like denying the existence of God. Evidence for the Creator positively shouts for attention. His handiwork is evident everywhere—in the soaring of the eagle, the grace of the deer, the sweet fragrance of the rose, the splendor of a sunset, the growth of a child in its mother’s womb. Paul says that “ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse” (Rom. 1:20).
So, why do atheists spurn all the evidence? Like Holocaust deniers, they have a strong motive: They either hate God or hate the idea of yielding to him. Denying God’s existence is perceived as the easiest way to dismiss any obligation to live according to a standard higher than personal opinion.
