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Martin Luther: A Jewish Messiah?

PostPosted: Sun Nov 22, 2015 8:47 am
by EzraLB
The jews can't seem to make their mind up about Martin Luther and the Reformation. On the one hand, they recognize that the Reformation was instrumental in the emancipation of the jews and the promotion of religious tolerance, splintering the Christian faith and any hegemonic opposition to them. But on the other hand, they can never forgive Luther for writing, "On The Jews And Their Lies".

Among certain circles of jews at the time of the Reformation, Luther was actually seen as a jewish messiah. According to H.H. Ben-Sasson, in "The Reformation in Contemporary Jewish Eyes," some jews believed that Luther's revolution was a fulfillment of jewish prophecy:

"In a "prophecy" ascribed to "the sage and astronomer R. Abraham *Zacuto," Abraham b. Eliezer includes "what a great astrologer in Spain, named R. Joseph, wrote in a forecast on the significance of the sun's eclipse in the year 1478. He states: 'Having no desire to favor any particular religion or mores I say that a man will arise who will be great, valiant, and mighty. He will pursue justice and loathe butchery. He will marshal vast armies, originate a religion, and destroy the houses of worship and clergy. In his days Jerusalem shall be rebuilt.'" Abraham b. Eliezer adds that "at first glance we believed that the man foreshadowed by the stars was Messiah b. Joseph [see *Messiah]. But now it is evident that he is none other than the man mentioned [by all; i.e., Luther, according to the general trend of Abraham b. Eliezer's thought at this time], who is exceedingly noble in all his undertakings and all these forecasts are realized in his person."

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/js ... 16560.html

Re: Martin Luther: A Jewish Messiah?

PostPosted: Mon Nov 23, 2015 12:43 pm
by Nayto
EzraLB wrote:The jews can't seem to make their mind up about Martin Luther and the Reformation.


Indeed! Just the other day I was discussing this with someone. They love to attack him based on him ostensibly removing certain portions of Scripture because they did not agree with his own doctrine.

To be honest though, many people -- at least here -- are ignorant of his work on the jews. I was as well prior to becoming CI.

Re: Martin Luther: A Jewish Messiah?

PostPosted: Tue Nov 24, 2015 8:51 am
by wmfinck
EzraLB is anticipating and doing my homework for me, LOL. I have actually thought to look up Jewish writings on the Reformation and Luther so as to complete the postulations that Jews were quietly behind the humanists that supported Luther, once I get to an appropriate point.

I tried to explain presenting the introductory programs on the Protocols, that before their emancipation Jews could not take openly public positions on political matters. And neither could they themselves have been public critics of the Roman Church, since they would have faced reprisals against themselves and against Jewry generally.

So it is difficult to see the Jewish hand in politics before the time of Napoleon. And therefore even Nesta Webster marginalized it. But by her own admission, Jews were visibly prominent in all of the Revolutionary movements from the 1820's onward.

But the humanist support for Reuchlin, to me at least, shows that the humanists were in league with the Jews all along.

Thanks EzraLB, this will help later on

Re: Martin Luther: A Jewish Messiah?

PostPosted: Tue Nov 24, 2015 9:37 am
by EzraLB
Bill, I think it's a bitter pill to swallow for many Protestants that the jews were, in fact, a powerful force behind the success of the Reformation. The article that I cited above--on the relationship between jews and the Reformation--explicitly states that the jews in Poland had common cause with Protestants:

"With sectarian existence under Catholic rule in Bohemia and Moravia, Hungary, and Poland-Lithuania, ties between Protestants and Jews became closer, for there was a growing similarity between their modes of existence. In the 1530s there were complaints in Poland that Jews exploited the Reformation disquiet for proselytizing. Much more clear are the contacts – both through disputations and through direct influence – between anti-trinitarians and Jews, as, e.g., in Poland between Isaac b. Abraham of *Troki and Szymon *Budny, and between Marcin Czechowic and Jacob of *Belżyce."

It's interesting to note that the Reformation failed to spread to Poland, despite its having the largest jewish population in Europe.

Re: Martin Luther: A Jewish Messiah?

PostPosted: Thu Nov 26, 2015 2:24 am
by MichaelAllen
Calvin was also a humanist, but personally, I think there's decent evidence that Calvin may have been a cryptojew anyway.