← Autodidact Archive · Original Dissent · Hilaire Belloc
Thread ID: 10824 | Posts: 12 | Started: 2003-10-29
2003-10-29 18:56 | User Profile
This website has the complete text of Martin Luther's book "On the Jews and their Lies" [url]http://www.awitness.org/books/luther/index.html[/url]
One the Jews and their Lies The Complete Text
Introduction
Jewish ancestors Luther attempts to keep the authority of the Bible, while at the same time denying the Jews any connection to the stories of their ancestors, such as Abraham. In general, Luther will rely on Paul's argument from Romans that 'not all Jews are really the children of Abraham'.
Circumcision Luther attacks the Jews for boasting about circumcision as 'the sign of their covenant with God.' Once again Luther will be recycling Paul's argument from Romans as well as other similar letters...
Moses Luther attacks Jews based on certain passages where Moses also criticizes Jews in an attempt to carry on the argument that 'today's Jews are not real Jews but rather devils.'
Canaan Luther attempts to nullify claims Jews were making to the promises of God as illustrated in the Canaan stories.
Prophecy Luther quarrels with Jews over traditional Christian interpretations of prophecy.
Jacob and David Once again Luther attempts to make the case that promises made to Jacob or David have nothing to with the Jews of his time.
Jeremiah Jeremiah was a Christian, and not Jewish, according to Luther.
Eternally Once again Luther is recycling the argument from Romans, in this case insisting that Jews have no right to insist that the passages regarding an 'eternal covenant' have anything to do with the Jews of his time.
Goyim Luther accuses the Jews of being bigots.
Haggai and the temple Luther once again quarrels with the Jews over the traditional Christian interpretation of prophecy.
Daniel Luther quarrels with the Jews over the interpretation of the book of Daniel, using arguments that remain standard fare to this day.
Poor Jesus Luther accuses the Jews of persecuting Jesus and his 'poor Mother' for no reason.
Jews persecuting Christians Luther insists that Christians must endure wide spread persecution, bigotry and oppression at the hands of the Jews. These sorts of arguments will be recycled centuries later by Hitler.
Luthers final solution ot the Jewish problem Point by point Luther gives advice to the political leaders and the pulpit on how to go about persecuting Jews. His advice will be taken literally by Hitler and the Nazi party resulting in the Holocaust.
New Testament Luther reveals the true nature of his doctrine of 'justification by faith.' Faith means belief in orthodox doctrines, as Luther reveals when he attacks the Jews for not believing in the Church Testament, which is continuation of his earlier attacks on the Jews for not interpreting the Jewish Testament according to Orthodox Christian belief.
The final solution reprised. Luther repeats his demands for persecution of the Jews by the political powers and from the pulpit, on the pains of eternal damnation for sharing in their unbelief by tolerating their differences in faith (the flip side, the dark side, of Luthers doctrine of 'justification by faith' which in practice means justification by belief in certain doctrines).
Jewish Messiah is a sow Using a deliberately insulting analogy to 'pork' (an 'unclean food') Luther insists that belief in the Jewish Messiah makes one a sow, in otherwords an 'unclean pig'.
Miracles and conclusion Luther goes on about the miracles constantly being done by the church, and then concludes his diatribe.
2003-10-29 19:32 | User Profile
Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod's 1983 resolution on Luther's statements:
WHEREAS, Anti-Semitism and other forms of racism are a continuing problem in our world; and
WHEREAS, Some of Luther's intemperate remarks about the Jews are often cited in this connection; and
WHEREAS, It is widely but falsely assumed that Luther's personal writings and opinions have some official status among us (thus, sometimes implying the responsibility of contemporary Lutheranism for those statements, if not complicity in them); but also
WHEREAS, It is plain from scripture that the Gospel must be proclaimed to all people--that is, to Jews also, no more and no less than to others (Matt. 28:18-20); and
WHEREAS, This Scriptural mandate is sometimes confused with anti-Semitism; therefore be it
Resolved, That we condemn any and all discrimination against others on account of race or religion or any coercion on that account and pledge ourselves to work and witness against such sins; and be it further
Resolved, That we reaffirm that the bases of our doctrine and practice are the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions and not Luther, as such; and be it further
Resolved, That while, on the one hand, we are deeply indebted to Luther for his rediscovery and enunciation of the Gospel, on the other hand, we deplore and disassociate ourselves from Luther's negative statements about the Jewish people, and, by the same token, we deplore the use today of such sentiments by Luther to incite ant-Christian and/or anti-Lutheran sentiment; and be it further
Resolved, That in our teaching and preaching we take care not to confuse the religion of the Old Testament (often labeled "Yahwism") with the subsequent Judaism, nor misleadingly speak about "Jews" in the Old Testament ("Israelites" or "Hebrews" being much more accurate terms), lest we obscure the basic claim of the New Testament and of the Gospel to being in substantial continuity with the Old Testament and that the fulfillment of the ancient promises came in Jesus Christ; and be it further
Resolved, That we avoid the recurring pitfall of recrimination (as illustrated by the remarks of Luther and many of the early church fathers) against those who do not respond positively to our evangelistic efforts; and be it finally
Resolved, That, in that light, we personally and individually adopt Luther's final attitude toward the Jewish people, as evidenced in his last sermon: "We want to treat them with Christian love and to pray for them, so that they might become converted and would receive the Lord" (Weimar edition, Vol. 51, p. 195).
2003-10-29 19:55 | User Profile
[QUOTE]The owner of OD is a loonier than a sh*thouse rat fundamentalist Kierkegaardian calling himself TexasDissedent with no plausible motivation for running such a message board. Paleocons are worthless. - Vanguard News Network[/QUOTE]
We still love ya, TD. Remember the bell curve. In everything, there is a 20/60/20 ratio. 20% actually 'get' what's going on, 20% are polar opposites trying to discredit the first 20% (ivory tower self appointed illuminati) and 60% don't care/jump on the bandwagon as the fit takes them. They're cannon fodder, and deep down, they know it.
Ausonius
2003-10-29 20:01 | User Profile
Thanks, A. Someone sent me a heads-up on that quote. I thought it was pretty funny so I thought I'd have some fun with it myself. One is best served not to take a good bit of this stuff too seriously.
And Kierkegaard was a Danish Lutheran, as well.
2003-10-29 20:56 | User Profile
[QUOTE=Ausonius]We still love ya, TD. Remember the bell curve. In everything, there is a 20/60/20 ratio. 20% actually 'get' what's going on, 20% are polar opposites trying to discredit the first 20% (ivory tower self appointed illuminati) and 60% don't care/jump on the bandwagon as the fit takes them. They're cannon fodder, and deep down, they know it.
Ausonius[/QUOTE]
I also respect TD for the most part, although I didn't appreciate his recent remarks about us Eastern Christians as "dumbass serfs" or about Lermontov on my signature looking like Ferris Bueller!
2003-10-29 21:09 | User Profile
[QUOTE=perun1201]I also respect TD for the most part, although I didn't appreciate his recent remarks about us Eastern Christians as "dumbass serfs" or about Lermontov on my signature looking like Ferris Bueller![/QUOTE]
For the record, I never referred to Eastern Christians as "dumbass serfs". But c'mon, you can't tell me that guy in your signature pic doesn't bear a strong resemblance to Matthew Broderick.
2003-10-29 21:19 | User Profile
[QUOTE=Texas Dissident]For the record, I never referred to Eastern Christians as "dumbass serfs".
Tex you said this about us Eastern Christians: ** In other words, sit down, shut up and do what the priest/government minister/fuedal lord tells you to do and be happy about it, serf! **
So you didn't say "dumbass serf" per se, but you did imply it! However I apologize for mis-quoting you.
It should be noted that many Protestant leaders(including Luther himself) were both impressed and influenced by Eastern Christianity. Even the recent movie "Luther" shows Luther relying more on Greek manuscripts than on Latin ones, even commenting how more loving of God the "Greek Christians"(the term he uses to describe the Eastern Church) are than their Latin brethern.
But c'mon, you can't tell me that guy in your signature pic doesn't bear a strong resemblance to Matthew Broderick.[/QUOTE]
Maybe, but thats besides the point. You clearly said that in a knee-jerk manner and could've provoked a flame war. Randy Travis(your avatar) aint exactly the handsomest duck in the pond either!
And remember, the guy's name is Lermontov, Mikhail Lermontov [url]http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Mikhail-Lermontov[/url]
2003-10-29 21:41 | User Profile
[QUOTE=perun1201]Randy Travis(your avatar) aint exactly the handsomest duck in the pond either![/QUOTE]
The big difference is that I can laugh about it.
But I don't think Randy Travis is that bad looking a guy. I will say that his 1986 release 'Storms of Life' is one of the greatest country albums of all time. With classic songs like '1982', 'On the Other Hand' and 'Diggin' up Bones', it almost singlehandedly returned popular country music back to its roots for years to come. Nothing he's done since then ever matched that great debut album, in my opinion. I still pull it out and give it a spin every now and then.
2003-10-30 02:05 | User Profile
[QUOTE=Texas Dissident]The big difference is that I can laugh about it.
[/QUOTE]
:furious: damn you Texan!(just joking)
Although I don't know why you people don't ever notice it when I do laugh. If I get pissed I'm told to lighten up, yet when I do lighten up you people get pissed at me. Yolkie Palki!
2003-10-30 14:44 | User Profile
[QUOTE=Texas Dissident]'Storms of Life' is one of the greatest country albums of all time[/QUOTE]
I heartily and mightily concur, with one caveat. It's one of the greatest mainstream country albums of all time. People's ears have been detuned to real country music.
"Little Movies" by Bell and Shore is one of my favorite country records of all time.
Just to keep on topic...
Thanks for the Luther link.
2003-10-30 16:34 | User Profile
[QUOTE=Otho_Isch] Thanks for the Luther link.[/QUOTE]
This is the first time somebody's actually thanked me for providing the link. You're welcomed!
2003-10-31 23:53 | User Profile
Even the recent movie "Luther" shows Luther relying more on Greek manuscripts than on Latin ones, even commenting how more loving of God the "Greek Christians"(the term he uses to describe the Eastern Church) are than their Latin brethern.
The Greek text that Luther used as the basis for the Luther Bibel was compiled by Erasmus, a papist:
[url=http://www.lutherproductions.com/historytutor/basic/basic/reformation/story/luther_german.htm]Luther's German Bible[/url]