When one discusses Martin Luther, there is little doubt he was a visionary, a caustic force in history that changed the world of Christendom.  He was also an anti-Semite, albeit as a young man he spoke out about the oppression of Jews in Europe believing they could be candidates for conversion to Christianity.  When this vision proved unsuccessful, Luther turned on the Jews urging persecution and degradation.

In his book On the Jews and Their Lies, he asks plaintively, "What shall we Christians do with this rejected and condemned people, the Jews?"  He answers this question with a program of destruction: "Set fire to the synagogues; raze the houses; remove the prayer books; forbid rabbinic instruction; forbid commercial activity; prohibit usury; take their silver and gold and put "a flail, an ax, a hole, a spade, a distaff or a spindle into the hands of young strong Jews and Jewesses[.]"

Luther evolved into this hateful position.  In 1519, he argued against hatred of Jews noting, "What Jew would consent to enter our ranks when he sees the cruelty and enmity we wreak on them – that in our behavior towards them we less resemble Christians than beasts."  It was Luther's fond hope that Jews would hear the gospel and be moved to conversion.  He maintained that Jews "are blood relatives, cousins and brothers of our Lord."

However, these "blood relatives" obstinately refused to oblige.  When in 1536, the elector of Saxony, John Fredrick, prohibited Jews from inhabiting his state, engaging in business, or passing through his realm, Jewish leaders requested Luther's assistance in obtaining an audience with the prince.  Luther refused.  He said, "I would willingly do my best for your people, but I will not contribute to your obstinacy by my own kind actions.  You must find another intermediary with my good lord."  Some historians have called this episode the decisive turning point in Luther's stance – from friendliness to hostility.

What this anti-Semitism suggests is that even a great man haunted by his relationship with God and eager to address the excesses of indulgences had his flaws.  Luther was a rebel whose actions challenged the Church with his submission of Ninety-Five Theses that defied Church doctrine.  Most significantly, he fractured Catholicism, leading inevitably to half of Europe and a significant portion of the globe embracing his interpretation of the New Testament.

The irony of Luther's anti-Semitism is that the Protestant Ethic, which instills the notion of hard work and accomplishment as signs of salvation, is compatible with the cultural Jewish desire for secular success and theological recognition.  It is not merely a coincidence that Jews have prospered in Protestant-dominated nations.  The "condemned Jews" of Luther’s past have become the symbol of Protestantism's success.

Today, American Evangelicals embrace Jews as their brothers.  In fact, the ties between Israel and Protestant nations have never been closer.  My guess is, if Luther could envision what his ideas have wrought, he would evolve into a pro-Jewish position.