Bob Enyart concludes his post-Charlottesville discussion of the six main reasons for racism, including of anti-Semitism. Today focuses on the sixth which only applies to Christians. As a protestant minister himself, pastor of Denver Bible Church, Bob presents the Protestant Reformer, Martin Luther, as one of the most vicious Christian racists in history, and explains why the virulent anti-Semitism has existed in the church for centuries. For the disease, see kgov.com/luther and for the cure see kgov.com/the-plot. Here's an excerpt from kgov.com/luther: * Luther's "On the Jews and their Lies": As a Protestant myself, I'll begin with the racism of a Protestant hero, Martin Luther. My review of Luther's book, On the Jews and their Lies (if you click over to there and appreciate the review, please Rate It accordingly), appears over at Google Books. From that review, and from my book The Plot, consider: Luther's Critical Collection in German As the Pastor of Denver Bible Church, before quoting the following excerpts from Luther's book, I asked Alfred, a friend from Germany, to go with me to the University of Colorado's library in Boulder to confirm that the following English passages accurately translate Luther's original German. Alfred opened Vol. 53 (of 67) of Kritische Gesamtausgabe (Critical Collection, publishing in Weimar, Germany, began with H. Böhlau in 1883). He read words showing a horrifying depth of racism and hatred. Alfred's hands shook and he choked back tears, but translated essentially these same words that you can read here. I took the following excerpts from the English version, Volume 47, of Luther's Works translated by Martin H. Bertram, Philadelphia, Fortress Press, 1971. Luther opens his book like this: "I had made up my mind to write no more either about the Jews or against them… these miserable and accursed people… Much less do I propose to convert the Jews, for that is impossible." -Luther, p. 137 "Listen, Jew, [your] Jerusalem… temple and priesthood have been destroyed for over 1,460 years... Let the Jews bite on this nut…" -Luther, p. 138 The more he wrote, the less inhibited he became and the more obvious his own sin became. Essentially, Martin Luther eventually advocated the genocidal slaughter of the Jews: "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." -Luther, p, 267 This wickedness does not have to be understood, but only condemned. However, understanding a primary factor in this evil can help prevent it from surfacing in others. Those who read or listen to our overview of the Bible called The Plot understand immediately why Martin Luther (like many other Christians who have missed the sweeping plot of the Old and New Testaments) eventually gave public expression to his vile sin of hatred of the Jews. Then, as a little leaven leavens the whole lump, over time Luther's hatred infected most of Germany. Adolf Hitler writing in Mein Kampf later echoed Luther's sentiments: "Hence today I believe that I am acting in accordance with the Almighty Creator: by defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord." -Adolph Hitler, p. 65 (translated by Ralph Manheim, Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1971) Martin Luther went on to claim that the Jews have a plan of: "…finally overcoming us, killing us all… and robbing us of all our property (as they daily pray and hope)." p. 267 Luther chose to believe and spread the lies he had heard about the Jews. In 1994, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America repudiated Luther's anti-Jewish statements. Some though seek to dilute Luther's guilt by quoting friendly statements from his 1523 work, That Jesus Christ Was Born a Jew. However, in the 1520s, the reformer had high
