It’s Luther party time!
In 1517, the German monk Martin Luther collected 95 points to stoke discussion about the corruption of the medieval Church. He then nailed his famous “95 Theses” to the door of his hometown church in Wittenberg — unleashing a storm of change and kicking off the Protestant Reformation.
I’m honored and thankful to make a small contribution to the celebration of the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation with a new documentary. Rick Steves’ Luther and the Reformation is airing now on public television (check your local listings) and streaming online for free. This is a story of power, rebellion, and faith that you’ll never forget.
Earlier this year, we sent free copies of the DVD to 8,000 Lutheran churches (ELCA) across the country. It’s been a lot of fun to hear about Luther viewing parties in many of these churches, from a “soup supper” viewing in Kempton, PA to a morning viewing with coffee in Douglasville, GA. (If you haven’t told me about your party yet, please share details in the comments below.)
If you’d like to host your own screening event for your friends, family, community group, or congregation, pick up a copy of the DVD and use this viewing party toolkit.
Enjoy the show!
I was raised Lutheran and our church naturally celebrated an annual Reformation Day. I later left that church for reasons unrelated to Martin Luther. Anyway, can anyone address the notion that Luther was wildly anti Semitic? I honestly don’t know if that’s a horrible rumor or if there’s some truth to it. Thanks.
Hi Sara – I’m a lifelong Lutheran (LCMS), and have shared your concerns in the past regarding Luther’s anti-Semitic remarks Check out the link below for some information:
http://www.lcms.org/faqs/denominations#anti-semitic
Quick synopsis: While The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod holds Martin Luther in high esteem for his bold proclamation and clear articulation of the teachings of Scripture, it deeply regrets and deplores statements made by Luther which express a negative and hostile attitude toward the Jews. It’s not really accurate to characterize him as “rabid”, but he did make anti-Semitic statements late in life. At the same time, he stated in his last sermon, “”We want to treat [Jews] with Christian love and to pray for them, so that they might become converted and would receive the Lord”
Jon, thank you for your thoughtful response.
Sara I have posted about Luther’s antisemitism many times before but the Steves Snowflake Squad has always removed them, maybe this time,,,?
Luther had the great misfortune of living beyond his common sense. He seems to get more vulgar and bitter as he lives, you can’t blame it all on his hemorrhoids.
Was Luther wildly anti-Semitic? Read some Luther quotes and decide for yourself:
“SET FIRE to their synagogues or schools,” Martin Luther recommended in On the Jews and Their Lies. Jewish houses should “be razed and destroyed,” and Jewish “prayer books and Talmudic writings, in which such idolatry, lies, cursing, and blasphemy are taught, [should] be taken from them.” In addition, “their rabbis [should] be forbidden to teach on pain of loss of life and limb.” Still, this wasn’t enough.
Luther also urged that “safe-conduct on the highways be abolished completely for the Jews,” and that “all cash and treasure of silver and gold be taken from them.” What Jews could do was to have “a flail, an ax, a hoe, a spade” put into their hands so “young, strong Jews and Jewesses” could “earn their bread in the sweat of their brow.”
Luther’s words “We are at fault in not slaying them” amounted to a sanction for murder. “God’s anger with them is so intense,” Luther concluded, “that gentle mercy will only tend to make them worse, while sharp mercy will reform them but little. Therefore, in any case, away with them!”
Would there have been a Third Reich without Luther’s writings? Is it a simple coincidence that Krystallnacht happened on November 10, the birthdate of Luther?
The prevailing view among historians is that Luther’s anti-Jewish rhetoric contributed significantly to the development of antisemitism in Germany, and in the 1930s and 1940s provided an ideal foundation for the Nazi Party’s attacks on Jews. Reinhold Lewin writes that “whoever wrote against the Jews for whatever reason believed he had the right to justify himself by triumphantly referring to Luther.” According to Michael, just about every anti-Jewish book printed in the Third Reich contained references to and quotations from Luther. Diarmaid MacCulloch argues that Luther’s 1543 pamphlet On the Jews and Their Lies was a “blueprint” for the Kristallnacht.
The city of Nuremberg presented a first edition of On the Jews and their Lies to Julius Streicher, editor of the Nazi newspaper Der Stürmer, on his birthday in 1937; the newspaper described it as the most radically antisemitic tract ever published. It was publicly exhibited in a glass case at the Nuremberg rallies from then on.
Regarding Luther’s treatise, On the Jews and Their Lies, the German philosopher Karl Jaspers wrote: “There you already have the whole Nazi program”.
The quotes continue, but you make up your own mind.
In any event you gotta love Mighty Fortress.
Hi Krueger. Where did you find these quotes?
Sara, just do any search on Luther’s anti-semitism and follow the results.
I am a bit surprised that Rick would compare our President with Hitler and then elevate Luther to such a high standing. Luther most certainly will be forever connected with Hitler but never a mention of that from Rick.
“Luther also struggled with all sorts of mental anxieties, “frequent bouts of depression”, his “death-wish”, his “vulgar and scatological language”, his “outbursts of rage and vilification”, and his “visions of and contests with the devil.””
But he drank enormous quantities of beer which should have made him a lot more fun,,,maybe?!?
This is by no means a justification for luther’s appalling comments about Jewish people, but I wonder if those comments are representative of the prevailing culture during his time. Again, not a justification!I’m just thinking of the way our country on the whole takes a kind view of Thomas Jefferson even though he owned slaves, something absolutely disgusting by modern standards.
…and you’re right about the beer, Krueger!
Sara, big difference that Jefferson’s opinions do not still influence millions to enslave people today where as Luther’s opinions are in fact still being used by anti-semites, skin heads, and other neo nazi nut jobs.
But without Luther I would have never experienced the joys of Davey and Goliath on the Sunday mornings of my youth!
Interesting point, Krueger, although perhaps one could argue that the kind of slavery in which Jefferson participated in contributed to our current issues with race relations. On another note, I was never a fan of D & G but I appreciate the reference!