Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 2
When Dean recounts the older German man saying Nazism “was like a revival” that “swept over us like a spirit,” what does that suggest about the reality of spiritual deception, and how does it challenge the modern assumption that sincere religious enthusiasm is automatically from God?
Another way to ask: If Nazism felt “like a revival” and “like a spirit,” what does that say about being spiritually fooled, and why doesn’t strong religious excitement always mean it’s from God?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
The transcript suggests spiritual deception can feel powerful, communal, and even “revival-like,” yet still be a tragic failure. It challenges the idea that strong religious emotion or momentum is proof of God’s approval.
- The older man (in his 70s) described the rise of Nazism: “It was like a revival… it just swept over us like a spirit.”
- He admitted participation and regret: his father painted a barn symbol “meaning to vote for the Nazi Party.”
- He kept that symbol to remember “that we failed in this and that we took on the spirit.”
- Dean connects this “spirit” language to danger: “too many of our people are imbibing… this whole way of thinking of the current presidency. And that’s very scary.”
- Dean labels the problem as “bad leaven… We’ve been down that road.”
- He later warns that misplaced political hope can lead believers to “end up giving our support to an antichrist and not even know it.”