Martin Luther and the Jews

Michael Streich

September 11, 2011

 

Martin Luther’s frequently harsh language regarding the Jews is often attributed to the “old Luther,” while most biographies published before the latter part of the 20^th Century never mention such writings like his treatise Concerning the Jews and Their Lies (1543). Casual observers point out Luther’s influence in Nazi Germany as a rabid anti-Semite, a view of Luther discredited by historians and theologians. Others argue for a psychological explanation, looking for signs of senility. The true or real Luther, however, seen within an historical context, argues for an intensely passionate man completely devoted to St Paul’s message of justification by faith; conversion of the Jews and the notions of “apocalyptic prophecy” flow out of this baseline convictions.

 

The Reformation as an End Times Event

 

Luther scholar Heiko A. Oberman demonstrates that for Luther, the Reformation was part of a larger divine plan that would result in the return of Christ in fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. This view conflicts with general assumptions linking the Reformation to subsequent decades that featured a Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment. If the Reformation was seen within the scope of eschatological prerogatives per Luther, the Jews were as threatening to God’s people as were the Turks and the papacy.

 

Luther was a product of the Middle Ages, a period peppered with Jewish discrimination and persecution. During Luther’s lifetime, Jewish communities were uprooted and forced to migrate out of the principalities of the Holy Roman Empire. Luther’s own writings on the Jews are filled with scatological references and the recommendation to burn their houses of worship and sacred writings.

 

Did Luther hate the Jews? Could he be deemed an anti-Semite?  (the term itself is anachronistic). Oberman characterizes a different Luther: “The insistence upon Jewish toleration, to be sure a toleration only in the sense of a coexistence strictly predicated upon conversion, remains a lifelong concern for Luther.” Luther was also aware that in the Last Days, the Jews would convert, accepting Jesus as their Messiah.

 

Reformation Political and Social Conditions Impacting Luther’s Views

 

Luther believed that the purity of the Reformation message was being perverted by heretics, detractors, and Jews. Some Christians, for example, were even being converted to Judaism. Historian Mark Edwards comments that, “Having encountered Jewish propaganda and received report of active Jewish proselytizing, Luther became convinced that the Jews and their blasphemy were a threat to the public good.”

 

At the same time, the Reformation message was being obscured by politics as princes in the Holy Roman Empire became more concerned with the political implications and opportunities of the movement rather than the theological truths. Even the common folk used the opportunity to vent their aggressions as witnessed by the 1524-1525 Peasants’ revolt.

 

Within the fluid social and political climate, exacerbated by the latest onslaught of Islamic forces besieging Vienna, Luther’s writings against the Jews could well have led to popular incitement resulting in violence similar to the massacres of Jews at the time of the Crusades. According to Edwards, Luther’s more vehement writings were not republished in many areas with the same frequency as his other works, perhaps to avoid bloodshed.

 

Conversion of the Jews a Primary Goal for Luther

 

Luther scholars like Oberman have identified several phases that describe Luther’s response to the European Jewish presence. His 1523 writing, That Jesus Christ was Born a Jew, is believed to be sympathetic to the Jews, written with the hope that the Jews would see the errors of their Old Testament exegesis and convert.

 

In contrast, Luther’s February 15, 1546 An Admonition Against the Jews, written just before his death, reiterates other “old Luther” writings that refer to the Jews as blasphemers who had perverted God’s truth. Although Luther acknowledged that a few might convert, he had all but given up on the Jews as a group.

 

Explanations for Luther’s Polemics Against the Jews

 

Edwards maintains that excusing Luther strictly on the basis of a theological explanation is open to debate. Scholars opposing this view note that a purely theological explanation is merely a rationalization that ignores the entire context of historical scrutiny and analysis. Eric Gritsch, a Lutheran Church Historian, wrote that, “Luther was but a frustrated biblical scholar who fell victim to what his friend Philipp Melanchthon called the ‘rabies of theologians’: drawing conclusions based on speculations about the hidden will of God.”

 

Contrary to Gritsch’s seemingly simplistic evaluation, however, Luther did understand God’s will in regard to the preaching of the Gospel and for Luther, the Gospel message fell on deaf ears when it came to the Jews. Like contemporary evangelicals, Luther also understood the Jews in prophetic terms. Unlike modern evangelicals that still view Israel as God’s chosen (Hal Lindsey, for example, addressed this in at least one of his books in which he devotes a chapter on Luther), Luther believed that the “New Israel” was the Protestant movement.

 

In Concerning the Jews and Their Lies, Luther addressed obedience to the law and circumcision as the sign of that obedience. But, as Luther writes, the faith of the patriarchs like Abraham was not based on the act but on the obedience to God’s promises incorporated within the law: faith in the coming Messiah who was Jesus.

 

Luther’s final writings, notably his coarse language, are also taken to suggest signs of old age. Yet, as Oberman demonstrated in 1988, “One should not apologize, by way of psychogrammatic history or periodizations of Luther’s life, to explain away verbal vituperation as that of an old and unhappy man.” Oberman demonstrates, for example, that Luther was using scatological language in 1515 during a sermon reflection on backbiters and the devil.

 

Luther and the Jews in Context

 

Luther’s view toward the Jews must be seen within the context of history. This includes the myriad influences on Luther that were social, political, cultural, and religious. Modern observers tend to focus on only one aspect of these influences, resulting in questions such as whether Luther was an anti-Semite, whether he should be held responsible for Nazi Germany, etc. Such questions are like asking if Columbus should be held responsible for the subsequent annihilation of millions of Native Americans.

 

For Luther, the Jews had rejected Christ as Messiah and their on-going presence was as much a hindrance to the Gospel message of the Reformation as the papacy and the Turks (Islam). He didn’t single them out as a race. Luther’s final admonitions against the Jews can be viewed within the context of the historical moment, which included his theological convictions as well as the prevailing social views of the exiled people.

 

References:

 

Edwards, Mark U., Jr. Luther’s Last Battles. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1983.

Gritsch, Eric W. “Was Luther Anti-Semitic?” Christianity Today, Issue 39, July 1, 1993.

Luther, Martin. On the Jews and Their Lies. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1971.

Oberman, Heiko. “Teufelsdreck: Eschatology and Scatology In the ‘Old’ Luther,” Sixteenth Century Journal, Volume 19, No. 3, 1988.

Oberman, Heiko. The Roots of Anti-Semitism In the Age of Renaissance and Reformation. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1981.

[First published in Suite101. Copyright owned by Michael Streich. Any reprints require written permission]