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Christianity's persecution of the J*ws has dominated the J*wish history since the Christianization of the Roman Empire under the Emperor Constantine in the early fourth century AD. To the J*ws, the cross has been as much a symbol of persecution and terror as the swastika, only provoking dread. The J*ws know the history of Christianity.
Most people are familiar with the persecution of the J*ws by the Roman Catholic Church. The Spanish Inquisition from 1481 to 1808 is the most notorious example. Roman Catholic historian, Malcolm Hays, writes:
Yet what the J*ws suffered at the hands of the Protestants is largely forgotten. Under the banner of the cross and in the name of Christ, the J*ws have been cast out of nations,
confined to ghettos, lost their possessions and frequently their lives. They have been forced to convert to a Christianity which compelled them to break the Sabbath, to not circumcise their children, and to eat
unclean meat. They had to disobey the Bible to become Christians.
It is frightening that this hatred of the J*ws is only cultured over in Christianity today. Neither the Roman Catholic Church nor any of the Protestant denominations have repented of it. Today, everyone blames the
Nazis for the Holocaust and not Christianity, yet it is willful, historic blindness to not see that all the Nazis did was rooted in the Christianity that shaped the German nation. Even though later generations may not have seen the connection with Christianity, you can be sure the Germans did, and the J*ws still do.
It has to be remembered that the Nazi Holocaust was nurtured in the land of the Protestant Reformation. In fact the seed of all that Adolf Hitler would do was carefully transplanted from Catholicism
into Protestantism by none other than Martin Luther, the greatest spokesman of the Reformation and one of the most influential men in all of history.
This is a shocking accusation! What could such
a hero of the faith have to do with the nightmare of the Third Reich and the demonic figure of Adolf Hitler? Surely, the man who liberated the Gospel from the grasp of meaningless tradition and restored the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith alone would not be guilty of such things,
would he? Yet Martin Luther's violent, venomous views and bitter treatment of the J*ws was not something he sought to hide. Far from it. By every means at his disposal --the pen, the pulpit, and persuasion --he sought to gain not merely acceptance of his views but concrete, violent action against the J*ws.
His Three Treatises
Martin Luther was certainly not ashamed of his words. He wanted them to be remembered and obeyed. It is only his followers who would like to have his words for
gotten, since they seemingly invalidate all that he stood for. And so the chances are almost certain that you have never heard of the three treatises Martin Luther wrote against the J*ws in 1543: On the J
*ws and Their Lies, On the Ineffable Name, and On the Last Words of David.
These treatises represented a lifetime of thought on his part concerning the J*ws. His first attempt to win them was by persuasion. He wrote these words when he was a younger man:
It was only when such preaching and persuasion failed ("soft mercy" in Luther's theology) tha
t more forceful measures were taken. For over the course of Luther's life it became apparent to him that the prejudices against the J*ws he had sought to combat in his earlier writing were in fact true. In his mind they were accursed blasphemers whose Lord was the devil. He now saw it was nearly impossible to convert them, and any suffering inflicted upon them would remind them that they were God's rejected people. Only the keen awareness of that would soften a few of their hearts.
Christianity's persecution of the J*ws has dominated the J*wish history since the Christianization of the Roman Empire under the Emperor Constantine in the early fourth century AD. To the J*ws, the cross has been as much a symbol of persecution and terror as the swastika, only provoking dread. The J*ws know the history of Christianity.
Most people are familiar with the persecution of the J*ws by the Roman Catholic Church. The Spanish Inquisition from 1481 to 1808 is the most notorious example. Roman Catholic historian, Malcolm Hays, writes:
[Gary E. McCuen, "Religion and Politics, Issues in Religious Liberty," pages 37-38 (1989)]The machinery of propaganda was entirely in the hands of the church officials. Preaching, chronicles, mystery plays, and even ecclesiastical ceremonies were the princip
le agencies available for the dissemination of hate. Preachers dwelt with morbid and sometimes sadistic realism upon the sufferings of Christ, for which they blamed all J*ws of the time and all their descendan
ts. For many centuries the bishops of Beziers preached a series of sermons during Holy Week, urging their congregations to take vengeance on the J*ws who lived in the district. Stoning them became a regular part of the Holy Week ceremonial.
Yet what the J*ws suffered at the hands of the Protestants is largely forgotten. Under the banner of the cross and in the name of Christ, the J*ws have been cast out of nations,
confined to ghettos, lost their possessions and frequently their lives. They have been forced to convert to a Christianity which compelled them to break the Sabbath, to not circumcise their children, and to eat
unclean meat. They had to disobey the Bible to become Christians.
It is frightening that this hatred of the J*ws is only cultured over in Christianity today. Neither the Roman Catholic Church nor any of the Protestant denominations have repented of it. Today, everyone blames the
Nazis for the Holocaust and not Christianity, yet it is willful, historic blindness to not see that all the Nazis did was rooted in the Christianity that shaped the German nation. Even though later generations may not have seen the connection with Christianity, you can be sure the Germans did, and the J*ws still do.
It has to be remembered that the Nazi Holocaust was nurtured in the land of the Protestant Reformation. In fact the seed of all that Adolf Hitler would do was carefully transplanted from Catholicism
into Protestantism by none other than Martin Luther, the greatest spokesman of the Reformation and one of the most influential men in all of history.
This is a shocking accusation! What could such
a hero of the faith have to do with the nightmare of the Third Reich and the demonic figure of Adolf Hitler? Surely, the man who liberated the Gospel from the grasp of meaningless tradition and restored the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith alone would not be guilty of such things,
would he? Yet Martin Luther's violent, venomous views and bitter treatment of the J*ws was not something he sought to hide. Far from it. By every means at his disposal --the pen, the pulpit, and persuasion --he sought to gain not merely acceptance of his views but concrete, violent action against the J*ws.
His Three Treatises
Martin Luther was certainly not ashamed of his words. He wanted them to be remembered and obeyed. It is only his followers who would like to have his words for
gotten, since they seemingly invalidate all that he stood for. And so the chances are almost certain that you have never heard of the three treatises Martin Luther wrote against the J*ws in 1543: On the J
*ws and Their Lies, On the Ineffable Name, and On the Last Words of David.
These treatises represented a lifetime of thought on his part concerning the J*ws. His first attempt to win them was by persuasion. He wrote these words when he was a younger man:
["That Jesus Christ Was Born a J*w," published 1523]If we wish
to help them, we must practice on them not the papal law but rather the Christian law of love, and accept them in friendly fashion, allowing them to work and make a living, so that they gain the reason and opportunity to be with and among us and to see and to hear our Christian teaching and life.
It was only when such preaching and persuasion failed ("soft mercy" in Luther's theology) tha
t more forceful measures were taken. For over the course of Luther's life it became apparent to him that the prejudices against the J*ws he had sought to combat in his earlier writing were in fact true. In his mind they were accursed blasphemers whose Lord was the devil. He now saw it was nearly impossible to convert them, and any suffering inflicted upon them would remind them that they were God's rejected people. Only the keen awareness of that would soften a few of their hearts.