Therefore, Hitler's atrocities were motivated by his belief in God and Christianity. If Hutchinson's reasoning is sound, then so is mine. If Hutchinson doubts that Hitler held Christian beliefs, I will gladly send him a long list of quotations from Hitler's speeches and writings that show that he did. In all probability, Hitler's atrocities had little to do with his religious beliefs, just as the Cambodian, Chinese, and Soviet atrocities had little to do with the religious views of the leaders of these nations. It is far more likely that they were all driven by political motivation and were willing to do whatever was necessary to secure their dictatorial holds over their respective nations.
Political purges are quite different from inquisitions and religious persecutions.
We would hardly think that Jehoram's belief in Yahweh was the motivation behind this atrocity but that it was instead a purely political act. He wanted to secure his throne by eliminating the most likely threats to his reign. Second Kings 9-10 relates the story of Jehu's massacre of the royal family of Israel, after which he became king of the Northern Kingdom. As the story is related, Jehu committed the massacre in obedience to a divine decree, but if any such incident as this actually happened, it is far more likely that it was motivated by political ambition rather than divine injunction. Jehu may have been a believer in Yahweh, who alleged divine decree in order to justify his actions, but it wasn't very likely that his faith motivated him.