Synopses & Reviews
Luther's anti-Semitic comments and their use within Nazi Germany are well known, yet there is sometimes still a reluctance to acknowledge this blot on a beloved Reformer's character. Here Eric W. Gritsch, Lutheran and distinguished Luther scholar, faces the glaring ugliness of Luther's anti-Semitism head-on.
Comprehensively laying out the evidence, Gritsch explores the development of Luther's thinking about Jews from his early attempts at converting them to later statements that would incite violence against them and traces the tragic fallout of his words in subsequent centuries. He also sets Luther's anti-Semitism within the historical context of European anti-Semitism from its Greco- Roman origin to its furtherance among the church fathers and during the Middle Ages yet refuses to exonerate Luther. In so doing, Gritsch offers this considered and honest historical study as a further stimulus for international discussion and another blow against the suppression of truth.
Synopsis
In this book Eric W. Gritsch, a Lutheran and a distinguished Luther scholar, faces the glaring ugliness of Martin Luther's anti- Semitism head-on, describing Luther's journey from initial attempts to proselytize Jews to an appallingly racist position, which he apparently held until his death.
Comprehensively laying out the textual evidence for Luther's virulent anti-Semitism, Gritsch traces the development of Luther's thinking in relation to his experiences, external influences, and theological convictions. Revealing greater impending danger with each step, Martin Luther's Anti-Semitism marches steadily onward until the full extent of Luther's racism becomes apparent. Gritsch's unflinching analysis also describes the impact of Luther's egregious words on subsequent generations and places Luther within Europe's long history of anti-Semitism.
Throughout, however, Gritsch resists the temptation either to demonize or to exonerate Luther. Rather, readers will recognize Luther's mistakes as links in a chain that pulled him further and further away from an attitude of respect for Jews as the biblical people of God. Gritsch depicts Luther as a famous example of the intensive struggle with the enduring question of Christian-Jewish relations. It is a great historical tragedy that Luther, of all people, fell victim to anti-Semitism -- albeit against his better judgment.