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Libel
Against Luther
Our
article “How
the Reformation Changed the World” received many
responses from around the world, mostly very positive. However,
there were also numerous friends who responded in surprise
that we could have so positively quoted from Martin Luther,
because from what they had heard, he was anti-Semitic and
responsible for terrible atrocities against God’s people,
the Jews.
I
was even directed towards websites that are dedicated to
depicting Luther as an anti-Semite who laid the foundations
for the holocaust!
The
accusation that Martin Luther was an anti-Semite, responsible
for massacres, reveals an ignorance of history. Luther was
pro-Christ and he was zealous in evangelism. For decades
he lovingly and patiently reached out to the Jewish people
in his area with the Gospel. In 1523, Luther accused Catholics
of being unfair to Jews in treating them “as if they
were dogs”. Luther was outraged and declared that such
mistreatment made it even more difficult for Jews to convert
to Christ.
Luther
wrote: “I would request and advise that one deal gently
with the Jews … 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, 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”.
Fifteen
years later, however, the persistent rejection of Christ
and repeated blasphemies of those Jewish people in his community,
provoked Luther to write: “On the Jews and their Lies”.
In this pamphlet, Luther wrote against the “madness
and blindness that blasphemes Christ” in the Rabbinic
teachings. Luther declared that he could not “have
any fellowship or patience with obstinate blasphemers and
those who defame our dear Saviour.” These blasphemies
included describing our Lord Jesus Christ as “the bastard
Son” of “that whore, Mary”, and even worse.
Blasphemy was a civil crime. Luther taught that to tolerate
such blasphemy was to share in the guilt for it. Therefore,
he proposed measures of “sharp mercy” which included
confiscating all Jewish literature which was blasphemous
and prohibiting Rabbis to teach such blasphemy.
However,
to quote these reactions of Luther without explaining their
local context of opposing the repeated blasphemies of Jewish
individuals in his community, and then to project guilt
for the continent-wide, anti-Christian holocaust of World
War II upon the great 16th century Reformer is ludicrous.
How can any Christian Reformer of the 16th century be blamed
for the evils perpetrated by those humanists (who clearly
rejected his teachings) 400 years after his death!
Hitler
was a disciple of the atheist Nietzsche (the philosopher
who declared: “God is dead!”) – not Luther.
Luther was not an anti-Semite. His arguments against Jewish
individuals were theological, not biological or cultural.
He was speaking out against blasphemy and heresy, not opposing
an entire race or nation of people.
Nevertheless,
the harsh and extreme terminology used by Luther in his
writings leave many of his supporters embarrassed and confused
as to how a man, who so wondrously preached the grace of
God, could have been so ungracious in his writings on the
Jews.
By
his own admission, Martin Luther was often harsh in opposing
those who rejected Christ. “I cannot deny that I am
more vehement than I should be …” he wrote. “But,
they assail … God’s Word so atrociously and criminally
that … these monsters are carrying me beyond the bounds
of moderation.”
Luther
once asked: “What do you think of Christ? Was He abusive
when He called the Jews an adulterous and perverse generation,
an offspring of vipers, hypocrites and children of the devil?
… the truth … cannot be patient against its obstinate
and intractable enemies” (Matthew 23).
Of
course, the few pamphlets which Luther wrote against Jewish
blasphemies, pale when compared to the many books produced
by Luther against the Papacy. “We should take him –
the Pope, the Cardinals and whatever riff-raff belongs to
his idolatrous and papal holiness, and as blasphemers, tear
out their tongues from the back and nail them on the gallows.”
On
another occasion Luther wrote: “Why should we hesitate
to use arms against these teachers of perdition, the cardinals,
popes and the whole Roman Sodom, which corrupts the Church
of God without end, and wash our hands in their blood?”
Luther
admitted that he was, on occasion, bull-headed, coarse-tongued
and intemperate.
His
speech and actions were frequently intense. Luther wrote:
“I was born to go to war and give battle to sects and
devils, that is why my books are stormy and war-like.”
“What
good does salt do if it does not bite? What good does the
edge of the sword do if it does not cut?”
“How
often must I cry out to you, coarse, stupid papists, to
quote Scripture sometime? Scripture! Scripture! Scripture!
Do you not hear you deaf goat and coarse …?”
On
another occasion, when he was being publicly criticised,
Luther declared: “I’m a tough Saxon, a peasant.
I’ve grown a thick skin for this kind of … ”
The
Reformer did sometimes, however, regret his outbursts. He
explained to his wife, Katie: “Why, I sometimes rage
about a piddling thing not worthy of mention. … Isn’t
that a shameful thing?” Luther could repent and apologise
with a wholeheartedness unlike any other. He could also
laugh at himself, and was often cheerful and witty when
everyone around him was desperate.
Unlike
many of his time, Luther did not, however, hold Jews responsible
for the death of Christ. As he wrote in a hymn: “We
dare not blame … the band of Jews; ours is the shame.”
Luther frequently emphasised that the blame for the death
of Christ was upon each individual sinner, not least himself.
Luther continued to the end of his life to maintain an eagerness
and desperate longing that Jews might be won for Christ.
It
is most disturbing that such a humble and God-fearing man,
who, against all odds, gave to the church, and the world,
the Bible, freely available in the common tongue; who introduced
congregational singing; championed justification by God’s
grace, received by faith, on the basis of the finished work
of Christ; who stood for Sola Scriptura – that Scripture
alone is our ultimate authority; and who was so wonderfully
used of the Lord to bring about the greatest Biblical Reformation
and birth of freedom that the world had ever known, could
be the target of such vicious slander.
The
Scriptures implore us: “Brothers, do not slander one
another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges
him speaks against the Law and judges it.” James 4:11
Even
more, the Scriptures continually command us to respect our
elders, especially our spiritual fathers. “Rise in
the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly …”
Leviticus 19:32
“Do
not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he
were your father …” 1 Timothy 5:1
(Exodus
20:12; Leviticus 19: 3; Deuteronomy 27:16; Proverbs 30:17;
Matthew 15:4).
“Therefore,
rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy,
envy and slander of every kind.” 1
Peter 2:1
There is a disturbing tendency throughout the church, seen
regularly in those homes where they have “roast pastor
for Sunday lunch”, to continually set ourselves up
as judges of those who are better than us.
Many
have the gift of criticism and a ministry of discouragement.
As
the Scripture so plainly shows us, slander of every kind
is inseparable from malice, deceit, hypocrisy and envy.
The middle letter of pride is “I”, the middle
letter of lie is “I”, the middle letter of sin
is “I”, so too the middle letter of Lucifer is
“I”. Self-centered pride is often at the root
of our desire to slander great men and women of the past,
and to drag down others whom God has raised up.
Do
those who so confidently condemn Martin Luther really believe,
in the light of eternity, in the sight of God, that they
have served God’s people and God’s cause and Kingdom
with even 1% as much dedication and effectiveness as Martin
Luther? If they do, it betrays an ignorance of history and
a blindness to their own weaknesses.
It
is most encouraging that while Jesus was being crucified
on the Cross, he prayed: “Father, forgive them, for
they do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34
Dr.
Peter Hammond
Sources:
Luther and the False Brethren by Mark Edwards, Stanford
Luther’s
Last Battles: Politics and Polemics (1531 – 1546) by
Mark Edwards, Cornwell
Martin Luther: The Preservation of the Church by Martin
Brecht
Martin Luther: The Great Reformer by J.A. Morrison, Christian
Liberty Press
Luther: An Experience in Biography by H.G. Haile, Princeton
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