Martin Luther

and the

Holocaust

I am writing this post not to suggest that Martin Luther was not a saved man, I believe he was. But his words against the Jews were profoundly hateful and disgustingly unchristian. Here are just a few:

“Therefore the blind Jews are truly stupid fools...”

“Now just behold these miserable, blind, and senseless people.”

“Therefore be on your guard against the Jews, knowing that wherever they have their synagogues, nothing is found but a den of devils in which sheer self-glory, conceit, lies, blasphemy, and defaming of God and men are practiced most maliciously and veheming his eyes on them.”

“Moreover, they are nothing but thieves and robbers who daily eat no morsel and wear no thread of clothing which they have not stolen and pilfered from us by means of their accursed usury. Thus they live from day to day, together with wife and child, by theft and robbery, as arch-thieves and robbers, in the most impenitent security.”

“One should toss out these lazy rogues by the seat of their pants.”

“Eject them forever from this country. For, as we have heard, God's anger with them is so intense that gentle mercy will only tend to make them worse and worse, while sharp mercy will reform them but little. Therefore, in any case, away with them!”

“Do not grant them protection, safe-conduct, or communion with us. . . . With this faithful counsel and warning I wish to cleanse and exonerate my conscience.”

“Therefore we Christians, in turn, are obliged not to tolerate their wanton and conscious blasphemy.”

“My advice, as I said earlier, is:
First, that their synagogues be burned down, and that all who are able toss sulphur and pitch; it would be good if someone could also throw in some hellfire...
Second, that all their books-- their prayer books, their Talmudic writings, also the entire Bible-- be taken from them, not leaving them one leaf, and that these be preserved for those who may be converted...
Third, that they be forbidden on pain of death to praise God, to give thanks, to pray, and to teach publicly among us and in our country...
Fourth, that they be forbidden to utter the name of God within our hearing. For we cannot with a good conscience listen to this or tolerate it...”

“If I had power over the Jews, as our princes and cities have, I would deal severely with their lying mouth.”

“The government must act like a good physician who, when gangrene has set in proceeds without mercy to cut, saw, and burn flesh, veins, bone, and marrow. Such a procedure must also be followed in this instance. Burn down their synagogues, forbid all that I enumerated earlier, force them to work, and deal harshly with them, as Moses did...”

** All taken from Luther’s Book “The Jews and Their Lies”.

I have published these statement for two reasons. The first is so that you can see how idolatrous it is to revere a man, and Luther is a prime example of a carnal man, given to wine and temper, and a hater of men. Without the grace of God, John’s first epistle would render Luther unregenerate. To use his name as someone whose example we should follow is breathtaking in its ignorance, and it disregards many of the commandments of God. Luther was used of God as a conduit for the Reformation, however his life and practice were decidedly unbiblical and a misrepresentation of Jesus Christ Himself. While boldly defending a doctrine on paper, his life and practice denied Christ. Much of that goes on today as well.

Secondly, Luther’s anti-Semitism contributed greatly to the climate which gave rise to the mistreatment of the Jews, and which ultimately led to the Holocaust. Martin Luther bears some significant responsibility for what happened to the Jews in Nazi Germany, and it is important to note that there were approximately 35 to 40 million Lutherans in Germany among a population of approximately 65 million. O course there were many Lutherans who would have strong objections to what happened in Nazi Germany, but the climate that Luther ushered in allowed anti-Semitism to incubate and fester.

Does it strike you odd that those who follow and rever Luther are so silent about the horror of his language and hatred? That is symtamatic of huamn idolatry when one attempts to dismiss or whitewash a man's detestible transgressions. The words of Luther make Louis Farrakhan blush. And his overt hatred for the Jews was contagious in Germany and embedded itself in the fabric of their culture. Building upon that deep seeded hatred Adolf Hitler murder 6 million Jews, and in fact Hitler openly expressed his admiration for Martin Luther. While it is true that Hitler's disgust for the Jews came from Roman Catholic upbringing, Luther influenced the German populace. Hitler said:

"Hence today I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator: by defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord."

So the next time you see a church that bears Luther’s name instead of one of God’s names, remember that Luther’s hands have much Jewish blood upon them. Luther is not an example of Christlikeness and Christian charity; he is more an example of God's amazing grace.