Martin Luther  T.R. and the rest of us
Martin Luther
Itâs always the anniversary of something or other. In November  we have the Russian Revolution and the Balfour Declaration  and this week marks the 500th year since  Martin Luther  challenged the Catholic Church with  his  95 theses. Given the loopy Zeitgeist of our times  I should rush into the street and mark the occasion by defacing Protestant churches with the customary red paint of protest. Luther  after all  was more than the creator of Protestantism. He was also a rotten anti-Semite.
But does  Luther  also deserve a splash of red? The evidence is pretty shocking  not to mention definitive. In 1543   he  published âOn the Jews and Their Lies â in which  he  called my ancestors âbase and whoring peopleâ full of the âdevilâs feces . . . they wallow in like swine.â
 He  had all sorts of ideas for what to do with the Jews  including the wholesale liquidation of their synagogues  even homes  and a ban on the teaching of their rabbis âon pain of loss of life and limb.â
To be sure  Lutherâs Jew-hatred was typical for the time  but  Luther himself  was hardly typical.  He  was a powerful  colloquial writer  and  his  words surely had some effect.  He  was the founder of a church  or a movement  that now numbers nearly 1 billion.
But more pertinently   he  provided a religious imprimatur to German anti-Semitism  which culminated in the Holocaust.  Luther  was often cited by the Nazis  but it would be wrong to blame  him  alone for the murder of 6 million souls.
As far as Iâm concerned   Luther  is a flawed figure. I can appreciate â even applaud â  his  reforms  but they mean little to  me . Nevertheless  I spare  him  the red paint because I know  his  Jew-hatred is hugely negligible compared with the Reformation  he  initiated and  not insignificantly  the role  he  played in encouraging literacy.  He  wrote in German  not Latin  and like the Hebrews  he  so despised   he  interposed no one between man and God. One had to read the Bible.
I pick and choose  my symbolic can of red paint always at the ready. But when it comes to those Confederate generals  they unambiguously stand for slavery  racism and the vile nostalgia for the so-called Lost Cause that prompted the erection of so many memorials. I cherish my Bach  feel bully about T.R. and acknowledge the immense importance of Martin Luther. He did more good than bad.
Itâs always the anniversary of something or other. In November  we have the Russian Revolution and the Balfour Declaration  and this week marks the 500th year since   [TGT] challenged the Catholic Church with   [TGT]   95 theses. Given the loopy Zeitgeist of our times  I should rush into the street and mark the occasion by defacing Protestant churches with the customary red paint of protest.  [TGT] after all  was more than the creator of Protestantism.  [TGT]  was also a rotten anti-Semite.
But does   [TGT] also deserve a splash of red? The evidence is pretty shocking  not to mention definitive. In 1543   he  published âOn the Jews and Their Lies â in which  he  called my ancestors âbase and whoring peopleâ full of the âdevilâs feces . . . they wallow in like swine.â
 He  had all sorts of ideas for what to do with the Jews  including the wholesale liquidation of their synagogues  even homes  and a ban on the teaching of their rabbis âon pain of loss of life and limb.â
To be sure  Lutherâs Jew-hatred was typical for the time  but   [TGT] was hardly typical.   [TGT]   was a powerful  colloquial writer  and   [TGT]   words surely had some effect.   [TGT]   was the founder of a church  or a movement  that now numbers nearly 1 billion.
But more pertinently    [TGT]   provided a religious imprimatur to German anti-Semitism  which culminated in the Holocaust.   [TGT] was often cited by the Nazis  but it would be wrong to blame   [TGT]   alone for the murder of 6 million souls.
As far as Iâm concerned    [TGT] is a flawed figure. I can appreciate â even applaud â   [TGT]   reforms  but they mean little to  me . Nevertheless  I spare   [TGT]   the red paint because I know   [TGT]   Jew-hatred is hugely negligible compared with the Reformation   [TGT]   initiated and  not insignificantly  the role   [TGT]   played in encouraging literacy.   [TGT]   wrote in German  not Latin  and like the Hebrews   [TGT]   so despised    [TGT]   interposed no one between man and God. One had to read the Bible.
I pick and choose  my symbolic can of red paint always at the ready. But when it comes to those Confederate generals  they unambiguously stand for slavery  racism and the vile nostalgia for the so-called Lost Cause that prompted the erection of so many memorials. I cherish my Bach  feel bully about T.R. and acknowledge the immense importance of Martin Luther. He did more good than bad.