The On Jews And Their Lies

The history of Jews in host cities often depict a story of success or of failure when it comes to relations between the Jews and the Christians in Europe. Historian Jonathan Elukin, author of Living Together, Living Apart, presents the integration as a success process with rare, and special cases, of failure. On the other side of the spectrum is historian Raymond P. Scheindlin. Scheindlin’s novel, A Short History of the Jewish People, presents many cases of integration between the Christians and Jews that led to massacres and brutal endings for the Jewish community. There are many monumental events that take place during the long span of time that oversees European Jewish history, and both historians study and evaluate the events, however, they do so through different lenses.

Luther the Reformer: The Story of the Man and His Career by James M. Kittelson is a biography of the famous German monk turned theologian and reformer, Martin Luther. This is one of the most influential men in history, and as a matter of fact, “In most big libraries, books by and about Martin Luther occupy more shelf room than those concerned with any other human being except Jesus of Nazareth” (Kittelson 9). This fame of Luther’s isn’t only postmortem, “This extraordinary interest in an extraordinary man reaches back almost half a millennium. Even in his own time Luther was a ‘media personality’ the first of such in three thousand years of human history” (Kittelson 9). Luther was a subject of great controversy in his own time, as well as in our, and it has only driven his name and message into the spotlight. No matter or what one aligns himself with, “People still find themselves taking sides on the question of Luther” (Kittelson 9). It is for this reason that James M. Kittelson wrote this survey. He tells us that “The primary purpose of this book is to tell the story of Martin Luther to readers who are not specialists in the field of Luther studies” (Kittelson 10). This book is a general overview of all aspects of Luther, not just a precise dissection of one aspect, which allows for “as faithful a picture as possible of the whole man” (Kittelson 11).

G. Schwiebert and Martin Luther: His Life and Work by Hartmann Grisar. In his review, he points out that Grisar “criticizes adversely many Catholic controversialists, and writes frankly of ecclesiastical abuses.” Like Grisar, Bainton is able to recognize the abuses of the Catholic doctrines. However, he is not offensive in his critique and therefore is able to keep the reader engaged in his premise. Bainton and Schwiebert are similar in their use of illustrations. In G. Evert Arden review of Schwiebert’s book he denotes, “One of the most interesting features of Schwiebert's volume is the liberal use of photographs, woodcuts, drawings, and maps scattered throughout the entire book.” Likewise, Schwiebert is praised by Sellery for his expertize on the Lutheran movement. In fact, Sellery states that Schwiebert “offers the reader the most comprehensive Protestant account of the Lutheran revolt in English.” While this may be an accurate assessment, Sellery also acknowledges that Bainton is “a productive scholar in his field.” Although not the most comprehensive work, Bainton’s efforts to provide a scholarly evaluation of Luther’s life is evident by his illustrations and extensive quoting of

In Luther’s Address to the Christian Nobility, he states, “God has given us a young and noble sovereign, and has roused great hopes in many hearts; now it is right that we too should do what we can, and make good use of time and grace.” This establishes what he wants the German Nobility to do. He wants them to confront the church and make it stop the wrong it is doing. Luther is saying that God has given them the obligation to correct what the church has corrupted. God has given the

"... , for no such crime has come in the memory of men and there are no laws to provide for it." (Page 5)

Before the beginning of World War II the Nazi party took over in Germany. At its head was a man named Adolf Hitler. For some reason Hitler hated the Jews, we see this in World War II with the Holocaust. The Holocaust started in 1933 when Hitler rose to power; he made a plan in 1941 which was to eradicate the whole Jewish population. Hitler called this plan the “Final Solution” (An Introductory History of The Holocaust). Why did Hitler and the Nazis single out the Jews for genocide? And in what ways did the Nazis single them out?

Anti-Semitism is the discrimination against Jewish people as individuals and as a group. (A Brief History of Anti-Semitism) People may think that anti-Semitism began with Adolf Hitler but they are mistaken. There is so much evidence of anti-Semitism as far back as the ancient world. (History.com, n.d.) There are three examples of anti-Semitism in Europe prior to World War One that I will discuss.

Growing up, people learn about the past of their own kind and of the world they live in. One reads history in books, hears history from parents, and studies history at schools. Knowing the history of one's ancestors allows one to understand the past and change for a better future. Significant battles, civil movements, and reformations teach people valuable lessons and help the society to improve. The Holocaust, one of the most well-known history events, represents a perfect historical example of discrimination and racism. However, a number of people started to deny the known facts of the Holocaust and even the event itself. Despite of what these people say and how convincing their reasons are, this piece of history is to be protected from

            One possible explanation might focus on the recurring theme of patricide in Christian doctrine.  Luther, in order to establish Protestantism as an independent theology must destroy it's parents: Catholicism and Judaism. This question, however, should be dealt with in it's own right in another paper. The fact remains that Luther's essay "Concerning the Jews and their Lies" was written and its historical impact must be dealt with.

Levine’s book titled The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus proves to be a highly informative resource when trying to understand the intricate relationship between Christianity and Judaism. Levine’s primary objective seems to be a desire to address the idea that there is a vast, irreconcilable disparity between the beliefs and practices of Christians and Jews. Levine’s central argument focuses upon a common misperception of this dissimilarity: it is the result of Jesus being in direct opposition to Judaism. Furthermore, she contends that only a decided openness and interfaith dialogue between Christianity and Judaism can truly provide the most complete and compelling portrait of Jesus’s life and work. To me, the most edifying facet of Levine’s argument was her call to anchor Jesus within the historical and cultural context in which he was teaching in order to best understand his work and his message. Levine not only provides support for this idea throughout The Misunderstood Jew, but near the end of the novel also offers up ways in which both Christians and Jews can reconcile these two ostensibly conflicting perceptions of Jesus. Therefore, in this essay, I will analyze Levine’s arguments regarding the importance of historical/cultural context in Chapter One and Chapter Four while synthesizing it with her solutions presented in Chapter Seven.

During the Nazi German era, which took place from 1933 until 1945, Christianity played a very important role in the rise of Hitler’s regime. The Christian churches greatly influenced not only the formation of the Nazi regime, but also the German folk. The most influential churches were the Roman Catholic Church and the Protestant Church. Even though Christianity itself faced a state of decline in the early 1930s, the higher clergy of the Christian churches in Germany still managed to make a significant impact. The amount of influence that the churches exerted can be measured not only through the impact of their resistance towards the Nazis, but conversely through the resistance carried out by

In summary, Eckart suggests that it was the religious zealotry by which the German church taught the population that planted the initial seeds of the Holocaust . Throughout the recorded history of the church it has been the religious zealotry that was taught to various populations that has been the cause of numerous bloody conflicts and acts of inhumane cruelty. From the Crusades to the Salem witch hunts and various other historical incidences it has been religious zealotry, the Christian feeling of spiritual superiority and the claims of the church to possess the only sure means of forgiveness, grace and salvation that such incidents happened in the first place.

“One is astonished in the study of history at the recurrence of the idea that evil must be forgotten, distorted, skimmed over. The difficulty, of course, with this philosophy is that history loses its value as an incentive and example; it paints perfect men and noble nations, but it does not tell the truth.”

Martin Luther (November 10, 1483 - February 18, 1546) was a Christian theologian, Augustinian monk, professor, pastor, and church reformer whose teachings inspired the Lutheran Reformation and deeply influenced the doctrines of Protestant and other Christian traditions. Luther began the Protestant Reformation with the publication of his Ninety-Five Theses on October 31, 1517. In this publication, he attacked the Church's sale of indulgences. He advocated a theology that rested on God's gracious activity in Jesus Christ, rather than in human works. Nearly all Protestants trace their history back to Luther in one way or another. Luther's relationship to philosophy is complex and should not be judged only by his famous

In New Testament times, it was this Old Testament law against blasphemy that the Scribes, Pharisees, Chief Priests and rulers of the people used in order to condemn anyone who spoke out against the corruption of their religious order (Truth in history, n.d).