everyone knows about Martin Luther, and the good he did. his exposing the coruption of the church.
I seen the movie called "Luther" which is about Martin Luther, in the beginning of his life. how he became a monk, and how he lived his monastic life, his 95 thesis written to challenge the corruptness of the church... one of which is thesis 86, which asks: "Why does the pope, whose wealth today is greater than the wealth of the richest Crassus, build the basilica of St. Peter with the money of poor believers rather than with his own money?", and his other struggles... but the movie ends after he gets married and then you assume he lives happily-ever-after.
what the movie doesnt get into, and what most people dont know about him is his bad side that came out after his failed attempt to convert the jews "peacfully"
after he failed to convert the jews, he turned bitter towards them. he wrote a treatise called "on the jews and their lies." you wont hear this bad side of luther in church... I didnt, all i heard was the good stuff about him in church. i think he did a lot for the church... but i think Martin makes a better "two face" then does the villian in the new batman movie. most people would argue that it was him who paved the way for the nazis. Hitler used many of luthers sayings to justify his actions against the jews. i have no idea how many jews hitler murdered, but if you confronted him on it, he would say "for every jew i kill, i am guiltless"
here are some of the examples from "on the jews and their lies"
He refers to Jews as "a brood of vipers and children of the devil" (from Matthew 12:34), "miserable, blind, and senseless," "truly stupid fools," "thieves and robbers," "lazy rogues," "daily murderers," and "vermin," and likens them to "gangrene." He then goes on to recommend that Jewish synagogues and schools be burned, their homes razed and destroyed, their writings confiscated, their rabbis forbidden to teach, their travel restricted, that lending money be outlawed for them, and that they be forced to earn their wages in farming. Luther advised "[i]f 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."
In conclusion, he wrote:
There is no other explanation for this than the one cited earlier from Moses � namely, that God has struck [the Jews] with 'madness and blindness and confusion of mind.' So we are even at fault in not avenging all this innocent blood of our Lord and of the Christians which they shed for three hundred years after the destruction of Jerusalem, and the blood of the children they have shed since then (which still shines forth from their eyes and their skin). We are at fault in not slaying them. Rather we allow them to live freely in our midst despite all their murdering, cursing, blaspheming, lying, and defaming; we protect and shield their synagogues, houses, life, and property. In this way we make them lazy and secure and encourage them to fleece us boldly of our money and goods, as well as to mock and deride us, with a view to finally overcoming us, killing us all for such a great sin, and robbing us of all our property (as they daily pray and hope). Now tell me whether they do not have every reason to be the enemies of us accursed Goyim, to curse us and to strive for our final, complete, and eternal ruin! [32]
Luther advocated an eight-point plan to get rid of the Jews either by religious conversion or by expulsion:
1 "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. ..."
2 "Second, I advise that their houses also be razed and destroyed. ..."
3 "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. ..."
4 "Fourth, I advise that their rabbis be forbidden to teach henceforth on pain of loss of life and limb. ..."
5 "Fifth, I advise that safe-conduct on the highways be abolished completely for the Jews. ..."
6 "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]..."
7 "Seventh, I commend putting a flail, an ax, a ho, 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 far**ng, 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."
8 "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." [33]
Hitler made many references to Luther.
luther died with these beliefs. before he died he had many sicknesses and the more sick he got, the harsher were his words. his wife was overheard saying to him "Dear husband, you are too rude" and he responded "they are teaching me to be rude"
so, yea i was shocked when i heard of this... i always heard about the good Luther did... in church, in the movie. but my main point is... does his sins send him to hell? or did God forgive him? after all, he did believe Christ was his savior, and though his sin caused many problems, was God not willing to forgive him for that sin? though Jesus died on the cross for that sin... or did he not? did Martin Luther go to hell?
I just wondered what makes us go to heaven? Morals or Jesus?
So Luther did believe in Jesus Christ, as said before, you can find out by reading his songs and books.
He certainly was somehow a bit rebelious, but I think to the most part in a positive way. He did not back from the power of Pope and Emperor. The whole Western Europeanpowers stood against him, it was not sure if his king could guarantee his safety, after all, he stayed Catholic himself and would certainly not win a war against the rest.
Nonetheless Luther stood before the Emperor saying he wouln't condemn his writings...
So he valued what he had found out about God higher than his life.
In there days, Antijudaism was common. I do not consider this a good thing at all, but I wonder if there was any chance for a man to have positive thoughts about Jews at all, because all he'd hear would be condemnation...
So Luther was a child of his times, an I think we are asking way too much from him if we want him to not only put clear that the salvation comes from faith rather than deeds, but also being outspokenly pro-jewish. Adding to this one might also say what has been said about his sicknesses, his pains, his age.
He was a man, and a man is not perfect. No man ever. For us it is easy to see toay what he did wrong. Not only in his attacks on the Jews, but also in his attacks on all kind of people and groups. In the peasant uprisings of his days he favoured the aristocracy, telling them to kill all rebels, he supported persecution of every religious group that had different ideas than he had, I am thinking about Baptists before all. There was even a crack between the two major flavors of Protestantism which lead to Lutheran and Reformed/Calvinist denominations. This crack is still there worldwide, even in Germany we have not come over it at all, though we are closer than in America or Skandinavia I guess...
So I do believe that Luther is rather in heaven, then in hell, because after all I have read and learned about him I get a very deep impression that he trusted God, and this is the way up there.
