[Cronos]

Luther’s writings on Jews was a characteristic of his time.

[Cronos]

The root cause of anti-semitism is a lot more profound than we think. Remember that it plays both ways and also that if there is a distinctive minority and one or a few members are bad, then the entire community gets labelled as such.

Luther started in 1523 when he wrote That Jesus Christ Was Born a Jew, then he changed his position after he found he could not convert them.

I do not defend his actions, only point out that Luther was a man with failings -- his strongest and weakest point was his passion, his enthusiasm and his impatience.

If he had been patient and reformed from inside, he may have become a saint. If he realised that his fervour would not mean instant conversion of the Jews, his anti-semitic tracts might have been avoided, but he displayed human failings. The real problem is that he was such a pivotal figure in the life of Germany and his towering influence led to repercussions I don't think he fully understood.

[Natural Law]

"Luther’s writings on Jews was a characteristic of his time."

True revolutionaries and men of God are not merely reflections of their times, but men who break away from the constraints and biases of their times and lead on to a new and better world. Luther, as illustrated by his books on Jews, was a highly flawed individual who was used by the German princes to enable their break with the Holy Roman Empire and facilitate and justify their seizing of the assets of the Church and wealthy Jews. He was instrumental for their violent put down of peasant revolts. He was rewarded handsomely for these sins in this life. Do you really believe that he was rewarded in the next?.

[Tribemike1]

So he gets a pass for this? BS. He wanted to exterminate them.