This is some of the most vile, hateful shit I’ve read in a while. Thanks for the added context. It’s tempting to think of Martin Luther as almost progressive for his time, but even given his time, his bilious rants against Jewish people are beyond the pale. Copy pasting from your link here, just in case anyone is on the fence:
In the treatise, he argues that Jewish synagogues and schools be set on fire, their prayer books destroyed, rabbis forbidden to preach, homes burned, and property and money confiscated. Luther demanded that no mercy or kindness be given to them, afforded no legal protection, and “these poisonous envenomed worms” should be drafted into forced labor or expelled for all time. He also advocates their murder, writing “[W]e are at fault in not slaying them”.
One can see how writing like this no doubt contributed to harm and pain inflicted against real people.
Yup it’s really terrible. But he was also thinking about a Jewish religion rather than as an ethnicity. His work was co-oped to be about ethnicity by the Nazis later. But it’s still really bad and vile.
Oh thanks for the correction. I suppose that shows that I’ve got most of my religious education from Protestants.
Always helps to give perspective on Martin Luther by reminding folks about the antisemitic book he wrote.
This is some of the most vile, hateful shit I’ve read in a while. Thanks for the added context. It’s tempting to think of Martin Luther as almost progressive for his time, but even given his time, his bilious rants against Jewish people are beyond the pale. Copy pasting from your link here, just in case anyone is on the fence:
One can see how writing like this no doubt contributed to harm and pain inflicted against real people.
Yup it’s really terrible. But he was also thinking about a Jewish religion rather than as an ethnicity. His work was co-oped to be about ethnicity by the Nazis later. But it’s still really bad and vile.