Apprenticeship Lessons Before, During and After the Second World War, with Relevance to the Context of Contemporary Christianity

Abstract

In the context of the Second World War, in which atrocities were committed, Christianity had to take a stand or remain indifferent, protest or not protest, act or not act, suffer, sacrifice or compromise, save one's life at the expense of another's life or lose one's life saving another's life, be a victim or a murderer. These poles are not always taken to extremes, sometimes, there are middle paths whereby the distances are narrowed and therefore these paths are to be recommended. However, the vicious circle of the power of darkness repeats itself at certain intervals in history, revealing that human beings sometimes remain cornered in learning certain lessons. If in the human dimension life is a common good, a priority, and being a disciple of Jesus Christ implies that the life of the other is sacred and the sacredness of life is above all else, in the human-divine dimension expressed by the term conscience, to affect one's life implicitly leads to affecting the divine being itself, so that the expression to annihilate conscience is in fact to annihilate the very presence and participation of God in humanity.