Kathryn A. Frazier
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Martin Luther Quotes About Jews
October 31st, 1517 — All Saints Eve: Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the door of the Wittenberg church. The document (written in Latin for his fellow priests) challenged teachings of the politically powerful Roman Catholic church. Later, with his safety assured by the emperor, Luther appeared before the Council at Worms, declaring, “I can not recant!”
On October 31, Catholics still commemorate all saints–known and unknown–with All Saints Day. Protestants commemorate Martin Luther with Reformation Day.
[Don’t confuse Martin Luther with civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.]
For want of a human hero, too many Protestants revise history, venerating Luther as nobler than he actually was. It’s as if they cannot fathom the power of God’s word. They must give credit to a man for the Reformation. In their devotion to Protestantism, they dismiss Luther’s hateful, raging Antisemitism. Every year, at least one Luther fan refers me to the writings of a modern historian or theologian or some other guy with letters in front of his name, saying so-and-so can teach me what Luther really said.
The man wrote books. I can read what he really said for myself.
You can read what he said for yourself, too. Most of the following quotes are taken from Martin Luther’s book, On the Jews and Their Lies, translated from his native German to English by Martin H. Bertram. Read it online in its entirety HERE.
This Reformation Day, when you’re looking for Martin Luther quotes to post on your Facebook wall, consider these.
MARTIN LUTHER QUOTES ABOUT JEWS
- “If I had to baptize a Jew, I would take him to the bridge of the Elbe, hang a stone around his neck and push him over with the words, ‘I baptize thee in the name of Abraham.'”
- “They are real liars and bloodhounds who. . . continually perverted and falsified all of Scripture. . .”
- “Oh how fond they are of the book of Esther, which is so beautifully attuned to their bloodthirsty, vengeful, murderous yearning and hope.”
- “The sun has never shone on a more bloodthirsty and vengeful people. . .”
- “They are very conceited because God spoke with them and issued them the Law of Moses on Mount Sinai. Here we arrive at the right spot, here God really has to let himself be tortured, here he must listen as they tire him with their songs and praises because he hallowed them with his holy law, set them apart from other nations, and led them out of Egypt.”
- “The worse a Jew is, the more arrogant he is, solely because he is a Jew.”
- “Be on your guard against the Jews, knowing that wherever they have their synagogues, nothing is found but a den of devils. . . Where you see or hear a Jew teaching, remember that you are hearing nothing but a venomous basilisk who poisons and kills people merrily by fasten. . .”
- “The devil with all his angels has taken possession of this people. . .”
- “Whenever you see a genuine Jew, you may with a good conscience cross yourself and bluntly say, ‘There goes a devil incarnate.'”
- “In their synagogues and in their prayers they wish us every misfortune. They rob us of our money and goods through their usury, and they play on us every wicked trick they can. . . no one acts thus, except the devil himself, or whomever he possesses, as he has possessed the Jews.”
- “He [God] does not care to see or have anything to do either with them or their pious conduct, which is so thickly, thickly, heavily, heavily coated with the blood of the Messiah and his Christians.”
- “They are a heavy burden, a plague, a pestilence, a sheer misfortune for our country.”
- “. . . they have poisoned wells, made assassinations, kidnapped children. . .”
- “Set fire to their synagogues or schools and . . . bury and cover with dirt whatever will not burn, so that no man will ever again see a stone or cinder of them. This is to be done in honor of our Lord and of Christendom, so that God might see that we are Christians, and do not condone or knowingly tolerate such public lying, cursing or blaspheming of his Son and of his Christians.”
- “I advise that their houses also be razed and destroyed.”
- [I advise] “. . . all their books, their prayer books, their Talmudic writings, also the entire Bible, be taken from them. . .”
- “I advise that their rabbis be forbidden to teach henceforth on pain of loss of life and limb.”
- “. . . that they be forbidden on pain of death to praise God, to give thanks, to pray, and to teach publicly among us and in our country.”
- ” . . . that they be forbidden to utter the name of God within our hearing. . .”
- “I advise that safe-conduct on the highways be abolished completely for the Jews.”
- “I advise that. . . all cash and treasure of silver and gold be taken away from them. . .”
- “I recommend putting a flail, an ax, a hoe, a spade, a distaff, or a spindle into the hands of young strong Jews and Jewesses. . . “
- “. . . Eject them forever from the country. . . gentle mercy will only tend to make them worse and worse, while sharp mercy will reform them but a little. Therefore, in any case, away with them!”
- “But what will happen even if we do burn down the Jews’ synagogues and forbid them publicly to praise God, to pray, to teach, to utter God’s name? They will still keep doing it in secret. . . They must be driven from our country.”
- “I wish and I ask that our rulers who have Jewish subjects. . . act like a good physician who, when gangrene has set proceeds without mercy to cut, saw, and burn flesh, veins, bone and marrow. Such a procedure must also be followed in this instance. Burn down their synagogues, forbid all that I enumerated earlier, force them to work, and deal harshly with them, as Moses did in the wilderness, slaying three thousand lest the whole people perish.”
And that’s why I’m not so enamored with the ‘great’ Martin Luther. By the way, I am Protestant, and it’s OK to say that.
6 Comments on “Martin Luther Quotes About Jews”
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Kathryn A. Frazier 
Hi, there – i’ve been reading your posts with some interest. They are very well done and very thought provoking – my own religous education is lacking; when I was about eight years old, my Mother took us out of the Lutheran church because our reverend was giving sermons very similar to the sentiments expressed above my Mr, Luther himself – she felt anti-semitism was contrary to the reasons for going to church. I am now 53 years old and believe in God, but I am having more and more issues with modern Christianity, at least how ii is currenttly being practiced in the U.S. You seem to be serious in your explorations of your faith, and I find that commendable.
I am 53 years old and have Parkinson’s disease, and people are frequently surprised when I tell them I don’t pray and don’t belong to any organized religion – I do consider myself to have a spiritual side, and I am very interested in exploring the things that my condition is revealing to me – in short, I have come to believe that both Heaven and Hell are for the living, not the dead, and they are both constantly within our reach, and if we were able, to paraphrase William Blake, to open the doors of perception, then everything would appear to us as it is – infinite.
I am also a fellow blogger and would be writer who has written a memoir collection that I am currently shopping for an agent to represent. In the meantime, I post whatever drivel I feel like posting on my blog – if you are bored, feel free to check it out: http://djgourdoux.wordpress.com/
Thanks for making me think
djgourdoux- Thank you for stopping by, and for the kind words. It sounds as if your mother was a wise and caring woman who taught you well the difference between organized religion and true spirituality. From my point of view as a Christian, I believe that God interprets our longings, our sighs and our hopes, even without formal prayers. He knows our hearts. So maybe–just maybe–you do pray. You just don’t realize it.
I checked out your blog. Well done. Best wishes on finding an agent. I hope to see you more around the blogosphere.
I think you are a liar. And I am Lutheran and proud of the faith. Luther said what people thought. Jesus even called them the synagogue of Satan. Some were good and many were evil. After all they got Christ crucified and to this day these Jews call Jesus Virgin Mother a Whore and him a bastard. How about some truth there!
Thanks for sounding your opinion, Mark. I welcome debate and differing opinion. I believe that by hearing each other out can we gain a fuller perspective of the truth of God’s word. And, yes, as with all human beings, some are good and many are evil. That is something I agree with 100%.
I have been wrong before, but I am doing my best to research and share what I believe to be true, and not deliberately lying.
When you refer to the “synagogue of Satan,” I think you are referring to those unbelieving false Jews referred to in Revelation 2:9. Jesus said of them, “I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.”
As for Jews “getting Christ crucified,” the Bible does not support that doctrine. Jesus himself said, “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again.” (John 10:17-18) It was Jesus’s choice. No one took his life from him.
After the resurrection, Peter and John (both Jews), prayed in the Holy Spirit saying, “In fact, this is the very city where Herod and Pontius Pilate conspired with the Gentiles and the people of Israel against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed. They carried out what Your hand and will had decided beforehand would happen.” (Acts 4:27-28). It was both Jews and Gentiles who conspired against Jesus to fulfill what God the Father had already decided to allow for the payment and forgiveness of our sins.
Lastly, yes. Those who practice Judaism do not believe in the virgin birth of Jesus. I haven’t heard such harsh words as “whore” and “bastard” used against Mary and Jesus in this day and age, but I suppose that’s not really the point. Kind of divisive, though, in my opinion.
Again, I thank you for your perspectives. I enjoy a good Bible discussion.
These quotes make me realize he is far more heroic than even I imagined.
You would rather be enamored with murderous antichrists. That tells us everything.