Day 10
Apologetics: We don't just appeal to facts as if they were neutral, for behind every interpretation of the facts is a worldview that shapes our interpretation. Our hearts actively rebel against the creator and only because reality is so unavoidable in areas such as mathematics, hard sciences, and engineering is the rebellion subdued to a large degree. Socrates is reported to have said t...hat "The unexamined life is not worth living" and Santayana observed "he who does not remember the past is condemned to repeat it." Few of us ever consciously examine the basic assumption by which we live life, yet these assumptions fall into common categories. Most worldviews have flaws that are self-contradicting, and eventually they show through. For instance, Sigmund Freud exposed the flaw in his world view in a simple statement in a love letter: "Let's not talk about philosophy, just love me irrationally." Materialism fails when it tries to claim a universal negative ("There is no ...") and especially when it speaks to the non-existence of the non-material, which by definition lies outside the realm of the material. John Cage was an American composer and musical theorist who pioneered indeterminacy in music. The purpose of the universe, he said, is purposeless play. He has authored pieces such as 4:33 where the pianist closes the lid of the piano for 4:33. He also was a hobby mycologist (someone who studies fungi), where he admitted "If I approached my mushrooms the way I approached my music, I would die." And finally, postmodern architects may do unusually things in their designs (like staircases that go nowhere), but foundations of houses are never done to such post-modernist musings, but standards where there is a right and wrong way to do them. We play at the edges of absurdity with our worldviews, but there is always something we do to belie that we know the truth ... Our desires point to the reality of fulfillment, and the saddest moment of an atheist's (or non-theist's) life is when they feel thankful, but believe there is no one to thank ...
Church History: There is a tendency for us to look back at history anachronistically, that is, by assuming that time is like ours and that the sensibilities of today are the same as they once were. We can easily go into the examination of this history with a tendency to assume either that Luther definitely contributed to the Anti-Semitic fray that led to the Holocaust, or to assume he did not. Because the Holocaust is catastrophic evil, it is hard for us not to look back through history and see it building up to that moment in time. William Shirer's thesis in "The Rise and Fall of the 3rd Reich" sees Luther as the source of German Anti-Semitism, and he links together Luther, Wagner, Huston Chamberlain, Hitler, and Gorbineau - thus linking Luther with the hideous "final solution." Thus, the issue for Shirer is the Pathological Anti-Semitism of Germany and Luther is the source. But we must be aware of the logical fallacy of anachronism!
First, Anti-Judaism doesn't start with Luther - Edward I in 1290 expelled the Jews from England. The Puritans were split on the idea of bringing them back. By the 12th century, there was the common slander of blood libel against the Jews (for which there is no evidence), which becomes part of anti-Jewish writings. Nothing in Luther's writings were original with him. Second, Luther does have a cross-centered piety, which did cause speculation on "who" put him there (my answer: I did). Third, there were not such strong national identities at that time, so that those who were outside the Catholic (and then what became the Lutheran) Churches were "outside society" (along with other groups such as the Anabaptists). This persecution was not really a racial issue (it is questionable whether they would have even looked at race the way we do today), but primarily a religious problem. Fourth, It was not until the 19th century when the anti-Judaism was more racial in character, which can be shown by looking at the Nuremburg laws, which did not care whether the Jews religiously converted, where in Luther's time that would have settled the issue for most.
Finally, as we consider two of Luther's writings, we must remember a historical principle: "What is normal for the time does not need explanation, but the abnormal does." In 1523, Martin Luther wrote a piece explaining the Jewishness of Jesus - this was highly unusual for the time. But in 1543, Luther wrote his piece "The Jews and their Lies," which was (unfortunately) not that unusual in those times. So, in reality, it is the 1523 piece that needs the explanation - so why did Luther write it? Luther had a very strong sense that the Reformation was bringing about the end times, and he thought that evangelism would prosper and the Jews would accept the gospel. But during the following years of the 1530's and 1540's, he becomes discouraged, realizing that the end times are not being ushered in, and he looks for someone to blame. His dreams are not coming to pass, and he becomes in many ways a bitter old man who reverts to the attitude of his surrounding culture with a vengeance.
So we must not be simplistic in our answer to the question: "Did Luther cause the Holocaust?" But we must not shrink back from saying "yes" and "no." It is clear that his writings are used to justify the horrors of what was later done. And it does seem that his anti-Semitism helped the line of metamorphosis that became the devilish hatred of the Jews. But Martin Luther was not the source of such anti-Semitism, and he did not always hold such views. And he is certainly not responsible for the evil in the hearts of those that followed him and took his writings further than we might hope he ever wanted to go. But Luther stands in church history as a great reformer, but as a deeply flawed man who faced his God at death with a less than stellar record in his final years. God does not cover up the flaws of faithful men and women in Scripture (Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Rahab, David, Paul, etc.), and neither should we. Because of his belief in the Jewish Messiah Jesus, even the sins of Martin Luther were placed on Him and He received the full punishment for them. And Martin Luther - and I - will be eternally grateful for such mercy and grace.
Apologetics: We don't just appeal to facts as if they were neutral, for behind every interpretation of the facts is a worldview that shapes our interpretation. Our hearts actively rebel against the creator and only because reality is so unavoidable in areas such as mathematics, hard sciences, and engineering is the rebellion subdued to a large degree. Socrates is reported to have said t...hat "The unexamined life is not worth living" and Santayana observed "he who does not remember the past is condemned to repeat it." Few of us ever consciously examine the basic assumption by which we live life, yet these assumptions fall into common categories. Most worldviews have flaws that are self-contradicting, and eventually they show through. For instance, Sigmund Freud exposed the flaw in his world view in a simple statement in a love letter: "Let's not talk about philosophy, just love me irrationally." Materialism fails when it tries to claim a universal negative ("There is no ...") and especially when it speaks to the non-existence of the non-material, which by definition lies outside the realm of the material. John Cage was an American composer and musical theorist who pioneered indeterminacy in music. The purpose of the universe, he said, is purposeless play. He has authored pieces such as 4:33 where the pianist closes the lid of the piano for 4:33. He also was a hobby mycologist (someone who studies fungi), where he admitted "If I approached my mushrooms the way I approached my music, I would die." And finally, postmodern architects may do unusually things in their designs (like staircases that go nowhere), but foundations of houses are never done to such post-modernist musings, but standards where there is a right and wrong way to do them. We play at the edges of absurdity with our worldviews, but there is always something we do to belie that we know the truth ... Our desires point to the reality of fulfillment, and the saddest moment of an atheist's (or non-theist's) life is when they feel thankful, but believe there is no one to thank ...
Church History: There is a tendency for us to look back at history anachronistically, that is, by assuming that time is like ours and that the sensibilities of today are the same as they once were. We can easily go into the examination of this history with a tendency to assume either that Luther definitely contributed to the Anti-Semitic fray that led to the Holocaust, or to assume he did not. Because the Holocaust is catastrophic evil, it is hard for us not to look back through history and see it building up to that moment in time. William Shirer's thesis in "The Rise and Fall of the 3rd Reich" sees Luther as the source of German Anti-Semitism, and he links together Luther, Wagner, Huston Chamberlain, Hitler, and Gorbineau - thus linking Luther with the hideous "final solution." Thus, the issue for Shirer is the Pathological Anti-Semitism of Germany and Luther is the source. But we must be aware of the logical fallacy of anachronism!
First, Anti-Judaism doesn't start with Luther - Edward I in 1290 expelled the Jews from England. The Puritans were split on the idea of bringing them back. By the 12th century, there was the common slander of blood libel against the Jews (for which there is no evidence), which becomes part of anti-Jewish writings. Nothing in Luther's writings were original with him. Second, Luther does have a cross-centered piety, which did cause speculation on "who" put him there (my answer: I did). Third, there were not such strong national identities at that time, so that those who were outside the Catholic (and then what became the Lutheran) Churches were "outside society" (along with other groups such as the Anabaptists). This persecution was not really a racial issue (it is questionable whether they would have even looked at race the way we do today), but primarily a religious problem. Fourth, It was not until the 19th century when the anti-Judaism was more racial in character, which can be shown by looking at the Nuremburg laws, which did not care whether the Jews religiously converted, where in Luther's time that would have settled the issue for most.
Finally, as we consider two of Luther's writings, we must remember a historical principle: "What is normal for the time does not need explanation, but the abnormal does." In 1523, Martin Luther wrote a piece explaining the Jewishness of Jesus - this was highly unusual for the time. But in 1543, Luther wrote his piece "The Jews and their Lies," which was (unfortunately) not that unusual in those times. So, in reality, it is the 1523 piece that needs the explanation - so why did Luther write it? Luther had a very strong sense that the Reformation was bringing about the end times, and he thought that evangelism would prosper and the Jews would accept the gospel. But during the following years of the 1530's and 1540's, he becomes discouraged, realizing that the end times are not being ushered in, and he looks for someone to blame. His dreams are not coming to pass, and he becomes in many ways a bitter old man who reverts to the attitude of his surrounding culture with a vengeance.
So we must not be simplistic in our answer to the question: "Did Luther cause the Holocaust?" But we must not shrink back from saying "yes" and "no." It is clear that his writings are used to justify the horrors of what was later done. And it does seem that his anti-Semitism helped the line of metamorphosis that became the devilish hatred of the Jews. But Martin Luther was not the source of such anti-Semitism, and he did not always hold such views. And he is certainly not responsible for the evil in the hearts of those that followed him and took his writings further than we might hope he ever wanted to go. But Luther stands in church history as a great reformer, but as a deeply flawed man who faced his God at death with a less than stellar record in his final years. God does not cover up the flaws of faithful men and women in Scripture (Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Rahab, David, Paul, etc.), and neither should we. Because of his belief in the Jewish Messiah Jesus, even the sins of Martin Luther were placed on Him and He received the full punishment for them. And Martin Luther - and I - will be eternally grateful for such mercy and grace.
