10/17/2007

Shameful

"First to set fire to their synagogues or schools and to bury and cover with dirt whatever will not burn, so that no man will ever again see a stone or cinder of them. ..."
"Second, I advise that their houses also be razed and destroyed. ..."
"Third, I advise that all their prayer books and Talmudic writings, in which such idolatry, lies, cursing and blasphemy are taught, be taken from them. ..."
"Fourth, I advise that their rabbis be forbidden to teach henceforth on pain of loss of life and limb. ..."
"Fifth, I advise that safe-conduct on the highways be abolished completely for the Jews. ..."
"Sixth, I advise that usury be prohibited to them, and that all cash and treasure of silver and gold be taken from them. ... Such money should now be used in ... the following [way]... Whenever a Jew is sincerely converted, he should be handed [a certain amount]..."
"Seventh, I commend putting a flail, an ax, a hoe, a spade, a distaff, or a spindle into the hands of young, strong Jews and Jewesses and letting them earn their bread in the sweat of their brow... For it is not fitting that they should let us accursed Goyim toil in the sweat of our faces while they, the holy people, idle away their time behind the stove, feasting and farting, and on top of all, boasting blasphemously of their lordship over the Christians by means of our sweat. No, one should toss out these lazy rogues by the seat of their pants."
"If we wish to wash our hands of the Jews' blasphemy and not share in their guilt, we have to part company with them. They must be driven from our country" and "we must drive them out like mad dogs."

Who would possibly write such heinous and hateful words toward God's chosen people. Who would come up with such a plan to rid the area of Jews? Surely this must be the words of Adolf Hitler or perhaps the Klan. Unfortunately the answer to this is no. These are the words of Martin Luther whom many regard as a pillar of christianity. These words fill me with deepest sorrow and burning rage. Christians, let us never forget that the only pillar of christianity is Christ. Let us live as he lived and love as he loves. Please join with me in humbly asking for the forgiveness of our Jewish brothers and sisters and promising to stand vigilant against all who would hate them.

5 comments:

Yehudi said...

Thank you for that, Jason. You should know that even today there is much anti-semitism coming from the pulpits of christian America, some of it disguised in the form of "Replacement Theology," and other forms less subtle. It makes me sad and makes me yearn to live in Israel...our land that G-d gave us so that we can have our own inheritence. Can't wait to get there....

Papa Frank said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
motherofmany said...

A very good argument as to why we should follow God and not man, as there is no man who is righteous.

"What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. As it is written:
"There is no one righteous, not even one;
there is no one who understands,
no one who seeks God.
All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one."
"Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit."
"The poison of vipers is on their lips."
"Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness."
"Their feet are swift to shed blood;
ruin and misery mark their ways,
and the way of peace they do not know."
"There is no fear of God before their eyes." Romans 3:9-17

Papa Frank said...

Greetings Mothofmany! Welcome to our humble blog. Make yourself at home, we're all friends here!

Michael said...

Frank Family:
Interesting reminder here.
It's also interesting to note that Luther wrote those words after the Jewish community had refused to convert en masse to Lutheranism.

He didn't take rejection very well, or give much stock in the notion of "live and let live."