Thread by @RabbiHarvey

Since certain Christians have been attempting to give Martin Luther the "benefit of the doubt" regarding his historic antisemitism because of his "old age" or "senility", I thought maybe I'd do a little review of Martin Luther's views as a WHOLE. #Threads #thread

Yes, Martin Luther (1483-1546 CE) was key player in the Reformation, but also as an antisemite from the start to the finish. This cannot and should not be skirted under the rug, forgotten because of his "ideas" or ignored to give him "the benefit of the doubt. /2

Luther wrote some of the most egregious claims against the Jews, especially later in his life. The fact that S.S. officers on trial at Nuremberg used Luther’s writings as defensive arguments, only confirm the antisemitic nature within. The view of the Jew during the time.../3

...of the Reformation was full of traditions soaked in superstition and xenophobia. Since the time of the middle ages, Jews were forced into professions that led to economic distaste for them. As a result of Canon Law, Christians were unable to fill jobs.../4

...such as those in money lending or usury, leaving the Jews to do so. Because of the lack of money in circulation, especially in areas of Central Europe, Christians who were forced to rely upon Jews for money lending developed an economic antisemitism for them. /5

However, economics were not the only reason for the attitudes towards the Jews during that time; the isolation and separatism practiced by the Jewish population also had ramifications. The Jews, “were a strange people with alien customs and a strange language that bore.../6

...a mystic sanctity as emblem. They seemed to be hemmed in by an unscalable (sic) wall which only the imagination could penetrate”. To make matters worse, Jews often pursued careers in medicine, and during the Middle Ages, “medicine and magic were Siamese twins”. /7

What resulted from the communities’ fear of the unknown was a series of charges of well poisonings, ritual murders, and kidnapping of Christian children. These charges return again and again throughout medieval Christian European history, including during Luther’s time. /8

...though Luther goes back and forth on the validity of these claims throughout history, his antisemitic views clearly stem out from being enwrapped in this culture as seen in his writings such as: /9

In terms of economic views of the Jew, the influence of those ancient prejudices on Luther can bee seen in his “Table Talk” written in 1536, where he states “Where did they get the money? By charging high interest rates of the subjects, making them beggars!.../10

...They came to Germany as refugees, but after wrestling away the money and property of the Germans, they now governed them with that aid in the Germans own country”. The type of economic antisemitism, driven typically by bad economic climates, was not uncommon in the.../11

..years preceding Luther’s time, and the Jew had frequently been the scapegoat in similar situations. The fact that Luther spoke out vehemently about these subjects does not make his particular antisemitism original, only that he agreed with the cultural repertoire around him./12

Sections of The New Testament contain passages that spoke poorly of Jews, accusing them of the most horrific crime of deicide. Luther unfortunately “inherited a tradition, both theological and popular, of hostility towards them”. Therefore, it is clear that Martin Luther’s.../13

...views towards the Jews were infected by the culture around him, a culture deeply seeded in antisemitism wherein “Christianity now represented God and truth, while Judaism was the ultimate evil and the Jews were congenital liars and murders”./14

...Because of Luther’s devotion to the study of the NT, any antisemitic views within become transparently reflected in his works. Luther’s antisemitic view towards the Jews can be seen in nearly every volume of his complete works, though one would hardly call them original.../15

...in fact, it seems as though the negative view of Jews are simply a natural part of speech. In Luther’s “Commentary on the Sermon on the Mount”, Luther casually mentions the Jews as “drowned in their own greed”; in the same commentary, Luther goes on to describe the Jews.../16

...as having no understanding of Matthew’s words regarding “works of mercy”: he states, “The arrogant Jewish saints knew nothing about this aspect either. There was nothing in them but ice and frost –yes, a heart as hard as a block of stone-and not a single loving drop of.../17

...blood that took pleasure in doing good for a neighbor, nor any mercy that forgave sin”. In his “Open Letter on the Harsh Book Against the Peasants”, Luther compares the peasants of the time to have “nothing but offense, as the Jews had in Christ-because their hearts.../18

...are so full of wicked wiles that they desire nothing more than to be offended." Even in Luther’s most moderate writing towards the Jews, “That Jesus Christ was Born a Jew”, where many historians focus on words such as, “I would request and advise that one deal gently.../19

...with them [the Jews] and instruct them from Scripture” Luther still states firmly in his belief that the Jews crucified Jesus, and is not afraid to blame them for doing so. Luther’s original methods in dealing with the Jews kindly to lead them towards conversion may have.../20

...been different from some of his predecessors, but underneath the words of his works lay a deep sea of mistrust and agenda for the Jews. Historians make a distinct differentiation between Luther’s early works and those from later in his life.../21

... “Late in life Luther turned bitter against the Jews. The causes were many: the Jews did not flock to his new Christianity; on the contrary, they even presumed, occasionally to convert Christians and dared to argue even with him on matters theological”. /22

“On the Jews and Their Lies” contains some of the most horrific and merciless rants on the Jews. It is important to note that this later work emerged in Luther’s frustration in the failure of his original plan for the peaceful conversion of the Jews. The contrast between.../23

...Luther’s earlier works and later works are incredibly clear, but it is important to note that Luther’s view towards the Jews did not change, merely his attitude.
This angry writing did not originate late; in a Table Talk, Luther calls the Jews a “wretched people” /24

...who “put their own flesh and blood to shame when they defame Christ. They bear a grudge against us, who believe in him who was born from their blood”. Considering the fact that Luther rarely met Jews in his lifetime, the basis on the latter claims is unknown./25

Though it can be said that none of Luther’s predecessors laid out these claims in such a fashion, the charges against the Jews seem to be parallel with medieval antisemitic views. In this 1543 work, Luther accuses the Jews of more than just these above lies. /26

He calls the Jews “liars” and “bloodhounds”, and speaks of their “arrogance” and “boasts”; this work is sometimes called a “homiletic massacre”, in that it contains some of the most violent and merciless imagery. It is clear by the writing that Luther, at this point in his.../27

...life, has given up on the peaceful conversion of Jews, and instead wishes to impart upon his followers a different approach, “First their synagogues or churches should be set on fire…secondly their homes should likewise be broken down and destroyed…thirdly they should.../28

...be deprived of their prayer-books…fourthly, their rabbis must be forbidden under threat of death to teach any more…”. The way in which Martin Luther displayed his antisemitic views may have seemed new in that it differed perhaps from the Catholic ways, however.../29

...the views that Luther expressed were in no way unique. Luther focused a long history of antisemitic legends, myths, and assumptions through a new lens in his passionate attempt to reform Christianity. The fact that Luther’s antisemitic views range from economics to.../30

...religion further show that his upbringing was soaked in the cultural repertoire from which he could not escape. One can certainly argue that his writings are more accusatory, and charismatic than some of his predecessors, perhaps even more concentrated considering it was.../31

...one individual stating these views instead of a many spread across history. However, Luther’s antisemitism originated from the same sources as it always had, from the writings in The New Testament, myths about violence towards Christians, and a personal frustration.../32

...in his own failure to convert them. As a Christian he and all of Christianity of his day and all preceding him had always been taught the two principle tenets of Christian belief, the two pillars upon which Christianity had always rested: /33

...Love for all mankind and hatred for the Jews.

Luther deserves no quarter, no benefit of the doubt, and no excuses for his antisemitism. He is one in a long line of those that caused genocide, torture, rape, theft, and discrimination against Jews even in today's world.
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