We have the following saying in
Finnish: tieto lisää tuskaa. Freely translated, it means ”knowledge
brings agony”. Meaning, the more you know, the more aware you are
and the more this might cause you anxiety and worry.
Ever since starting to explore the
back shelves of the nearby library for some books on Judaism, WWII
etc. I have made some agonizing discoveries. The horrible events of
the holocaust are a thing in their own league, but now from another
point of view I am personally shocked to read that Martin Luther was antisemitic. Probably, because he was disappointed that Jews didn't
accept Jesus as the Messiah. He condemned Jews as a danger to
Christians who had found their faith, and wrote the Jews are
”strangers who can be tolerated only to a certain extend in a
society”. This kind of writings, from 1530s until his death.
And my country is Lutheran after Martin
Luther. And that makes me Lutheran as well. Why didn't anyone mention
this man's hostile take on the ”mother religion” and the Jewish
people before? Sure, if these were just some random texts written
over 500 years ago and on theoretical level studied in universities
only, it might not be that bad. But Hitler himself and the Nazis
justified their actions based on Luther's – a fellow German by the
way – writings. This was less than 100 years ago! Luther was a
source of inspiration for a genocide.
Fine, even if Martin Luther had
antisemitic thoughts, it doesn't make all Lutherans antisemitic. But
to me personally it is a disturbing fact to know that I officially in
this country's books (and my tax statement) support an institution
based on this man's legacy. Has the time come to reconsider what I
really get out of my church anymore anyway? My last ray of hope was
to get a church wedding one day – but even that seems to have gone
down the drain, so what's keeping me there?
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| albanbooks.com |
Little did he know who would be inspired by his writings later on...
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