Luther and the Jews

Luther quotes taken from Wikipedia article

In his early writings, Luther expressed compassion for Jews and expected to convert them with pure gospel teaching that wasn’t like popish errors. Luther wrote against anti-Semitism. In 1519 he wrote, “Absurd theologians defend hatred for the Jews. ... What Jew would consent to enter our ranks when he sees the cruelty and enmity we wreak on them—that in our behavior towards them we less resemble Christians than beasts?” “We ought...not to treat the Jews in so unkindly a spirit, for there are future Christians among them.”

In his 1523 essay That Jesus Christ Was Born a Jew, Luther declared,

If I had been a Jew and had seen such dolts and blockheads govern and teach the Christian faith, I would sooner have become a hog than a Christian. They have dealt with the Jews as if they were dogs rather than human beings; they have done little else than deride them and seize their property. When they baptize them they show them nothing of Christian doctrine or life, but only subject them to popishness and monkery...If the apostles, who also were Jews, had dealt with us Gentiles as we Gentiles deal with the Jews, there would never have been a Christian among the Gentiles ... When we are inclined to boast of our position [as Christians] we should remember that we are but Gentiles, while the Jews are of the lineage of Christ. We are aliens and in-laws; they are blood relatives, cousins, and brothers of our Lord. Therefore, if one is to boast of flesh and blood the Jews are actually nearer to Christ than we are...If we really want to help them, we must be guided in our dealings with them not by papal law but by the law of Christian love. We must receive them cordially, and permit them to trade and work with us, that they may have occasion and opportunity to associate with us, hear our Christian teaching, and witness our Christian life. If some of them should prove stiff-necked, what of it? After all, we ourselves are not all good Christians either.

In 1528 Luther’s prince Frederick banned Jews from doing business or traveling through his territory. Luther was asked to intercede on behalf of the Jews, but he refused. He said he didn’t want any kindness of his to make them comfortable in their refusal to convert.

In 1543 Luther wrote On the Jews and their Lies, in which he said,

God has struck [the Jews] with 'madness and blindness and confusion of mind.' So we are even at fault in not avenging all this innocent blood of our Lord and of the Christians which they shed for three hundred years after the destruction of Jerusalem, and the blood of the children they have shed since then (which still shines forth from their eyes and their skin). We are at fault in not slaying them. Rather we allow them to live freely in our midst despite all their murdering, cursing, blaspheming, lying, and defaming; we protect and shield their synagogues, houses, life, and property. In this way we make them lazy and secure and encourage them to fleece us boldly of our money and goods, as well as to mock and deride us, with a view to finally overcoming us.

Luther advocated an eight-point plan to get rid of the Jews either by religious conversion or by expulsion:

    1. "First to set fire to their synagogues or schools and to bury and cover with dirt whatever will not burn, so that no man will ever again see a stone or cinder of them. ..."
    2. "Second, I advise that their houses also be razed and destroyed. ..."
    3. "Third, I advise that all their prayer books and Talmudic writings, in which such idolatry, lies, cursing and blasphemy are taught, be taken from them. ..."
    4. "Fourth, I advise that their rabbis be forbidden to teach henceforth on pain of loss of life and limb. ..."
    5. "Fifth, I advise that safe-conduct on the highways be abolished completely for the Jews. ..."
    6. "Sixth, I advise that usury be prohibited to them, and that all cash and treasure of silver and gold be taken from them. ... Such money should now be used in ... the following [way]... Whenever a Jew is sincerely converted, he should be handed [a certain amount]..."
    7. "Seventh, I commend putting a flail, an ax, a hoe, a spade, a distaff, or a spindle into the hands of young, strong Jews and Jewesses and letting them earn their bread in the sweat of their brow... For it is not fitting that they should let us accursed Goyim toil in the sweat of our faces while they, the holy people, idle away their time behind the stove, feasting and farting, and on top of all, boasting blasphemously of their lordship over the Christians by means of our sweat. No, one should toss out these lazy rogues by the seat of their pants."
    8. "If we wish to wash our hands of the Jews' blasphemy and not share in their guilt, we have to part company with them. They must be driven from our country" and "we must drive them out like mad dogs."

 In the treatise, Luther writes that the Jews are a "base, whoring people, that is, no people of God, and their boast of lineage, circumcision, and law must be accounted as filth." Luther wrote that they are "full of the devil's feces ... which they wallow in like swine," and the synagogue is an "incorrigible whore and an evil slut ..." He argues that their synagogues and schools be set on fire, their prayer books destroyed, rabbis forbidden to preach, homes razed, and property and money confiscated. They should be shown no mercy or kindness, afforded no legal protection, and these "poisonous envenomed worms" should be drafted into forced labor or expelled for all time. He also seems to advocate their murder, writing "we are at fault in not slaying them."


David Feddes comment:

Luther said some atrocious things about Jews and suggested ways of treating them that were awful. He also encouraged extreme and vicious reaction by rulers against rebel peasants. Because of Luther's enormous stature and influence in Germany, his hot temper and harsh language helped prompt the massacre of many. His insights into God's grace remain sound, and we can thank God for Luther. But we also need to understand why some Jewish people (especially after the Nazi Holocaust) decry Luther's impact on history. Great people have a huge impact, for better and for worse. When they are right by God's grace, they can bring enormous breakthroughs. When they are wrong, theirs flaws and sins do more widespread damage than the faults of people who are not so extraordinary. Luther's own flaws, even after his conversion, show that all of us desperately need God's grace and pardon.

Last modified: Tuesday, August 7, 2018, 8:14 AM