Reformation Day - Martin Luther Was Anti-Semitic

Today marks the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.

Like so many people we use to celebrate October 31 not with Halloween (a pagan holiday) but with Reformation Day....the celebration of Martin Luther nailing the 95 theses to the door of the church.   You know, Martin Luther...the guy who starts the Reformation and why we have a Protestant faith in the first place.  

He's a big deal...except...I started finding out some pretty unpleasant and downright disgusting stuff about him AND what he wrote about Jews.  Need some proof?....I know what you might be thinking...Hey that's Wikipedia...anybody can write that stuff...Um...except the original is here.   He's basically talking about genocide...and we celebrate him? This is the same pamphlet that would get reprinted during Nazi Germany over and over...need I say more?

As I started searching I found a lot of very knowledgable people trying to explain away the spewing of hatred in that pamphlet (and Martin Luther wrote others).  But here is the best essay I've seen about Martin Luther's "On The Jews and Their Lies" that points to the fact that he WAS  both anti-semitic and anti-Judaic.   

Now if the Martin Luther thing isn't horrible enough...there is actually a sculpture (more like a bas relief) of something called a “Judensau” or “Jew pig” carving at the Wittenberg church where Martin Luther preached!  Here's an article about these anti-semitic sculptures....because there is more than one!  


I think it's time we actually start teaching the truth about what our "church" leaders were really up to and the real church history.  I mean something is seriously broken when we make someone a hero (and teach it to our kids) who is capable of saying and inspiring such horrendous stuff.


The best quote I think is from Dr. Christopher Probst, the author of the rebuttal article, on how to deal with this:

If Protestant Christians are to sincerely proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all peoples, including Jews, such an enterprise must be entered into with full knowledge of the horrendous mistakes – indeed sins - of Christian forebears, including Luther’s.  They cannot breezily dissociate themselves from their Christian past when it saves them embarrassment and shame to do so.  Protestant Christians also believe that Jesus died for sinners.  Public acknowledgement and confession of such sins can serve as an example of integrity and humility to others and be a means to make the Good News of Christianity attractive to them.

 "But you, explain what kind of behavior goes along with sound teaching. 2 Tell the older men to be serious, sensible, self-controlled and sound in their trust, love and perseverance.

6 Similarly, urge the young men to be self-controlled, 7 and in everything set them an example yourself by doing what is good. When you are teaching, have integrity and be serious; 8 let everything you say be so wholesome that an opponent will be put to shame because he will have nothing bad to say about us."

Titus 2:1-2, 6-8