Lately, I have been giving much thought on issues revolving around the Church and Tradition. When I think of the Protestant reformation for some reason I see it as going against much of the Tradition which the Church held from its earliest days. I would like to believe that when Martin Luther wrote The Ninety-Five Theses back in 1517 that he had great intentions, but in reality just because someone writes something down it does not necessarily mean that they firmly believe it to its core. Martin Luther, indeed, made valid points and exposed the Western Roman Catholic Church of the time in its wrongdoings which needed correction, and many of these matters were corrected over time; therefore, it was a good thing that he took the risk and wrote The Ninety-Five Theses. Now, The Ninety-Five Theses’ was a good thing, but just because one does good it does not mean that all one does is good since Luther kept on writing more and more.
In 1543 Luther wrote On the Jews and Their Lies. One can buy this book today. You can get it at Amazon books or even downloaded in PDF form from the internet. I have a PDF file of it and it is about 77 pages long; however, I do not recommend reading it to anyone unless you like reading about racism and hate. In fact, to say that On the Jews and Their Lies is filled with racism and hatred could perhaps be an understatement. Moreover, Luther makes statements that are filled with so much hatred that I personally will not quote his word on this blog. Some people even believe that Hitler acted out many of the suggestions Luther made in this writing of his, and I wouldn’t doubt that it is true. Now, I wouldn’t be the first to say some of these things about Luther and perhaps wouldn’t be the last; however, Luther was wrong. In defense of Christianity, I have to say that Jesus himself never taught hatred. Jesus taught the hatred of evil. Jesus said things such as the following statement which promoted love and not hate:
"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with your entire mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets (Holy Bible, ESV, Mathew 22:37-40).”
Christianity is about loving ones neighbor unconditionally, so perhaps the only good that comes from Martin Luther’s writing On the Jews and Their Lies is that I just had a chance to clarify that it does not teach what Jesus commanded us to do.
References:
Holy Bible, ESV
Luther, Martin. (1517) The 95 Theses on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences.
Luther, Martin. (1543) On the Jews and Their Lies.
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One of the things I think about regarding this issue of anti-Semitism and Luther is when did this racist view actually begin? Furthermore, did this racism actually begin much earlier in his life? Perhaps, part of the reason he placed the 95 Theses was because he also did not want southern Europeans running the Church, and maybe he thought Germans were better? I cannot answer these questions; however, I do feel that more analysis and thought should be given to the psychology of what may have driven Luther to act out and do the things he did.
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