Lutheran Churches and Luther ’ s Anti-Semitism

arguments. Driven by fear that faith in Christ might be lost, he would be led to the infamous statements, which Protestant enemies of the Jews later invoked time and again.¹¹


Introduction
The commemoration of Martin Luther'squincentenary in 1983saw the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) tackle, for the first time, the famous theologian'sa nti-Semitism. In apioneering move, the LWForganized am eetingwith the International JewishC ommittee on Interreligious Consultations (IJCIC), ac onsultation that resulted in apublished document.The document is composed of threestatements, one made by the meeting'sL utheran participants, asecond one made by its Jewishp articipants, and at hird one made jointly.¹ The Lutheran part states unambiguously: "The sins of Luther'santi-Jewish remarks, the violence of his attacks on the Jews, must be acknowledgedwith deep distress.A nd all occasions for similar sin in the present or the future must be removed from our churches."² Never before had ab odyo fL utheran churches recognizeda nd condemned Lu-ther′sj udaeophobia and committed itself to combattinga nti-Semitism.
Arguably, we witnessed awatershed. One might well ask: what prompted the Lutheran Church to make this extraordinary decision?H ow did it happen that this impulse wastaken up and put into practice? Thisessay examines the question of how the Lutheran churches in Europe -as represented by the Lutheran  The consultation tookplacei nS tockholm, Sweden, fromJ uly1 [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]1983. Jean Halpérin and Arne Sovik, eds., Luther,L utheranism and the Jews:ARecordo ft he Second Consultation between Representativeso ft he International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultation and the Lutheran World Federation, held in Stockholm, Sweden, 11-13 July 1983, Lutheran World Federation Studies (Geneva: The Lutheran World Federation, 1984). An earlier consultation had taken placeinBossey,Switzerland, in 1982 and its results were published: The Lutheran World Federation, ed., The Significanceo fJ udaism for the Life and the Mission of the Church (Geneva: The Lutheran World Federation, 1983 Commission on the Church and the Jewish People (LEKKJ) -have begun to confront Luther'sa nti-Semitism, how this movei sr eflected in official statements, and what steps have been taken towards an ew and respectful relationship between the Lutheran Church and the Jewish people.

The European Lutheran Commission on the Church andt he JewishP eople
The European Lutheran Commission on the Church and the JewishP eople (LEKKJ) is anetwork of Lutheranchurches that deals with questions concerning the relationship between the churches and the Jewishpeople. The onlyumbrella Protestant institution in Europe that has operated continuously since its establishmenti n1 976, the LEKKJw as founded in Christiansfeld, Denmark, by eight Lutheran churches and missionary organizations from Scandinavian countries, the FederalR epublic of Germany, and the Netherlands. Church delegates meet annually for aconference at the invitation of amember church. The conferences engagew ith aw ide rangeo ft opics pertinent to Jewish-Christian relations and theological questions, specificallyL utheran-Jewish relations.Asampling of themesi ncludes:t he relevance of Judaism for Christian self-understanding; anti-Judaism and the renewal of Lutheran theologyi nt he face of Judaism; hermeneutics of the Hebrew Bible; as well as the organization of practical work in church communities and schools and the fight against anti-Semitism. Over the decades, the conference discussions have yielded significant output, including official statements,a rticles, and books.

Luther'sH eirs
The book LuthersErben: DasV erhältnislutherischer Kirchen Europas zu den Juden (Luther′sH eirs: TheR elationship of European Lutheran Churches to the Jews)³ is one such literary product of the LEKKJ conference circuit. Luther'sHeirs emerged from the organization'sf irst study project,s tarted in the second year of its existence. In its earlystages, the project was referred to by the general title Christians Meet Jews -Jews Meet Christians. During the course of the studyp rocess, however,L EKKJ members decided to tackle explicitlyL uther′si deas on Jews and Ju- Luther'sH eirs was writtenf or at argetr eadership, namely, "Lutheran Christians across Europe to whom the relationship between Jews and Christians is dear," and with as pecific aim, that is, to contribute to the "dismantling of prejudices for adeeper understandingand better coexistence of Christians and Jews in the future."⁷ The book represents agroundbreaking attempt to sketch the history of relations between Jews and the Lutheran churches in Europe, to understand the difficulties of present Lutheran-Jewishrelations, and to set forth boldly the relevant theological challenges. Furthermore,itraises the profound question of how "Luther'sh eirs" have thus far approached Jews and Judaism. In this respect, "It shows how extremelydifferent attitudes and behaviors have manifested themselvesa tv arious times in different countries."⁸ The publication, which gathers previouslyu navailable information and materials from manyd ifferent churches,i sa vailable in au seful handbook form.

Lutheran Churches and Luther'sA nti-Semitism
Lutheran confessional text,namely, the Confessio Augustana,afoundational Lutheran work that remains apoint of reference for Lutherans today. Additionally, the chapter pointst ot he unique relationship between the Lutheran Church and the Jewish people, stemmingfrom their shared foundation in the Bible: "the prophetic and apostolic writingso ft he Old and the New Testament."⁹ In the second chapter of the book,o ne reads of the historicalr elationship between the Lutheran churches and Jews in some European countries,w ith a special focus on Germany. The third chapter -the most extensive of the volume -discusses the relationship between the European Lutheran churches and contemporary Jews. The focal point of the fourth chapter is the issue of foundational theological questions from the Lutheran point of view,s uch as the relationship between Old and New Testaments, the particularr elationship between the Church and Judaism, and the testimonyo fC hrist.
The book'sb rief account of Martin Luther'sp ortrayal of Jews and Judaism follows the established pattern by depicting the earlyattitude and writingsofLuther as friendlyt owards Jews and Judaism, especiallyh is treatise Dass Jesus Christus ein geborener Jude sei ("That JesusC hrist was Born aJ ew"), published in 1523. The authors present Luther'se arlyw ritingsa sa ne xpression of appreciation, neglectingthe fact that Luther'spolitical advice wasdrivenbyhis hope of the Jews' conversion to Christianity and thus wasn ot an appreciation of Jews and Judaism as such.¹⁰ The late writingsofL uther, Vonden Juden und ihren Lügen (Onthe Jews and Their Lies) and VomSchem Hamphoras und vom GeschlechtChristi (Of the Ineffable Name and the Generations of Christ), written in 1543, are characterized as follows: These writings,which have amuch sharper tone, arose within the framework of atheological discussion which was characterizedb yh istorical and exegetical arguments […]. Thus, from these writings we hear not onlyv enom and indignation, but,a bovea ll, fear that his words,which weresoclear to him, had no effect on the Jews.This could onlybedue to their 'blindness' and 'stubbornness.' At the same time, Luther was afraid of the effect of their  "[…]z ud en prophetischen und apostolischen Schriften Alten und Neuen Testaments als zu dem reinen, lauteren Brunnen Israels,w elcher alleine die einigew ahrhaftige Richtschnur ist, nach der alle Lehreru nd Lehre zu richten und zu urteilen seien";i bid., 15.  "Das Ziel der Schrift bestand demnach vora llem darin, Christen oder Konvertiten ausd em Judentum, die missionarisch wirkten, eine Orientierungshilfe zu bieten";Thomas Kaufmann, Luthers Juden (Stuttgart: Reclam, 2014), 66.Towards this end, Luther advocated friendlyb ehavior towards Jews.
arguments.Drivenbyfear that faith in Christ might be lost,hewould be led to the infamous statements,which Protestant enemies of the Jews later invokedt ime and again.¹¹ Hence, on the one hand, the authors distance themselvesf rom Luther'svitriolic anti-Jewishdiatribes. On the other,however,their analysis is marked by apology. Luther'sinvectivesand the demonization of Jews and Judaism, his literalidentification of Jews with the devil, are glossed over as 'ugliness' (Gehässigkeit)a nd 'indignation' (Entrüstung).¹² Hishostility towards Jews and Judaism is explained, in part,via the Zeitgeist and his Weltanschauung,political circumstances as well as Jewish (re)actions.The text'sattemptstoanalyze, understand, and explain Luther'sj udaeophobia are, thus, colored by ad efinite defensive mode.
The authorsstate the necessity that "[…]theologyand the church clearlydistance themselvesf rom all Luther'sa nti-Jewish statements,"¹³ since anti-Semites invokedthem over and over again during the course of history.¹⁴ Tellingly,h owever,n owhered oes one find the notion that ar epudiation of these statements could be necessary for the sake of the church itself: its faith and theology.
In sum, while the authorsraise important questions and formulate lucid and laudable goals, they oftenfall short of achieving these aims.This decidedlypartial accomplishment can be variouslyaccounted for.Most prominently, perhaps, the volume would have profited from the inclusion of non-Lutheran perspectives -Jewishs cholars, in particular. It might have takeni ts cue from the Lutheran World Federation, which jointlyo rganized ac onsultation with the International JewishC ommitteeo nI nterreligious Consultations and in which members of LEKKJp articipated and weree veni nstrumental in its preparation.¹⁵ Although  Ibid, 15.  Ibid.  Ibid., 16.  The invocation of Luther'sa nti-Semitism continues until today. Duringt he federal election campaign in 2017 the NPD (Nationaldemokratische ParteiD eutschlands), an extreme rightwing party,p ut up election posters showing Luther with the caption: "Ichw ürde NPD wählen -Ich könnte nicht anders" (I would vote NPD -Ic ouldn'td oo therwise), alluding to Luther's words,a llegedlys poken at the Reichstagi nW orms: "Hier stehe ich, ich kann nicht anders" (Here Is tand, Ic annot help it.) The Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland (EKD) protested this strategy.  The Report of the AssemblyC ommittee on the Church and the Jewish People explicitly thanks LEKKJ: "We do not want to leave unspoken our recognition of the very extensive and helpful work in Lutheran /J ewish relations that has taken placei no ur member churches,particularlyinthe USAand in Europe. The chief coordinatingagencies werethe European Lutheran Commission on the Church and the Jewish People in Europe and the Lutheran Council in the USA";G reive and Prove, AS hift in Jewish Lutheran Relations?, 199.
Lutheran Churches and Luther'sA nti-Semitism the depiction of Luther'sattitude towardsJ udaism is characterized by defensiveness and an apologetic stance, these shortcomingsd on ot detract from the fact the book represents the first post-1945Lutheranattempt to deal with these acutely painful topics.¹⁶

The Declaration of Driebergen
After the Shoah, the awareness of the need for ar enewal of Christian-Jewish relationsd evelopeds lowlyi nt he churches.I nt his vein, an important Protestant statement,t he declaration of the Synodo ft he Rhineland, Germany, was published in 1980.¹⁷ In the past decades, manyP rotestant -as well as Catholicchurches in Europe, North and South America, and Australia, have published statements that express af undamental theological shift.A mong these are the condemnation of anti-Semitism, the rejection of anti-Judaism, the insight of God'se nduringc ovenant with the Jewish people based on ar e-interpretation of Paul'sl etters to the Romans, the focus on Jesus' and Paul'sJ ewishness and consequent perception of them as part of the Jewish people and Jewishc ulture of the first century CE -and finally, ar ejection of the teachingofs upersessionism. Thist heological shift can be seen as the attempt to departf rom the "theologyofc ontempt"-as the French historian Jules Isaac termed it -and to establish an ew relationship between the churches and the Jewish people.
In 1990,t he LEKKJ published ac omprehensive theological Statemento n the Encounter between Lutheran Christians and Jews.¹⁸ Thissuccinct declaration, also known as the Documento fD riebergen,i sc omposed of four parts. The first section sets forth basic theological insights, such as the enduringchosenness of Israel and the unique relationship between Christians and the Jewish people. The second section reflects on the Shoah and the history of Christian anti-Judaism, condemningChristian triumphalism and calling for repentance: "In order to gain an ew relationship with the Jews, we must learn to do penance as a church."¹⁹ The question of missionizing among Jews was ah ighlyc ontroversial topic among the members of LEKKJ. This document eschews the term "mission" and instead usest he word "witness," speaking of the role of "mutual witnesses" to which Jews and Christians are called.²⁰ "He [God] frees [us] from the pressure of having to accomplishe verything by oneself. This insight places Christians under the obligation to give witness and renders ervice with duer espect to the conviction and the faith of their Jewishp artners." Members of the LEKKJ have understood these lines as rejecting anyproselytizing attempts of Christians among Jews.²¹ However,o ne finds no consensus among the Lutheran churches in Europe on this topic.
Most significantly, the document calls for an overhaul of Lutheran education and preaching, demanding: We also urge that the fundamental patterns of Lutheran theology and teaching such as "Lawa nd Gospel,"" faith and works,"" promise and fulfilment," and the "two kingdoms/realms" be reconsidered in view of their effects on the relationship between Christians and Jews.²²  "In this context,t he extent to which Christians -even after the Holocaust -still have to change their preachinga nd teaching -as well as their whole practice -has become clear"; "Dabei wurde immer klarer, wieviel die Christen nach der Shoa noch in ihrer Verkündigung. im Unterricht und in ihrerg esamten Praxis ändern müssen." In: Hans Hermann Henrix and WolfgangK raus, eds., Die Kirchen und das Judentum: Dokumente von1 986 -2000 (Paderborn: Bonifatius, 2001), 448.  "Anyencounter between Christians and Jews must be based on the understandingthat God Himself is the one whosends out,that is, whoisthe missionary.This insight intothe missio dei helps us to understand one'sown possibilities and tasks.God authorizes us to mutually witness our faith, trustinginthe independent working of the HolySpirit; for it is God whoalone decides what effect our witness will have;and it is His decision with regard to the eternal salvation of all mankind. He frees us from the pressure of havingt oa ccomplish everythingb yo urselves. This insight places Christians under the obligation to give witness and renders ervicew ith duer espect to the conviction and the faith of their Jewish partners";I bid., 450.  The synod of the Austrian Protestant Churches quotes these lines and continues understanding it as aclear "no" to anyform of missionary activities: "Da der Bund Gottes mit seinem Volk Israel ausl auter Gnade bis ans Ende der Zeit besteht,i st Mission unterd en Juden theologisch nicht gerechtfertigt und als kirchliches Programm abzulehnen";E rklärungd er Generalsynode: "Zeit zur Umkehr -Die Evangelischen Kirchen in Österreich und die Juden." November 1998. https://evang.at/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/ umkehr_011.pdf  http://www.lekkj.eu/dokumente.

Lutheran Churches and Luther'sA nti-Semitism
Furthermore, the statement calls for "joint theological work with Jews, especially in the field of Bible."²³ Thus, it understands Jewishe xegesis as enriching Christian exegesis of the Bible.
This text is as ignificant theological articulation of the position of Lutheran churches in Europe on Jews and Judaism. It contains crucial statements such as the recognitiono fg uilt, combined with the call for repentance; the condemnation of anti-Semitism; the emphasis on the unique relationship of Christianity to Judaism; and ac ontinuingr elationship with Judaism and the Jewishp eople. The explanations on mission and testimonya re to be understood as ar ejection of anyC hristian missionizing activities among Jews. The distinctivec haracter of this statement lies in its call for atheological examination and reformulation of Lutheran theology, as well as the call to theological collaboration. In agesture of striking humility,t he authors observe: "Great learning tasks lie before the churches,theirorganizations,theircommunities and all employees in preaching and teaching."²⁴ The impact of the Declaration of Driebergencan be seen in several European Lutheran churches.InG ermany²⁵ and in Austria,for instance,the text is quoted in the 1998 declaration of the Evangelical Austrian Church and in a2 015 statement of the synod of the Evangelical Church in Germany( EKD) on Luther′s anti-Semitism.²⁶

Recent developments
After the Declaration of Driebergen, the LEKKJcontinued its work with anumber of smaller projects,publishing educational material and brieferstatements,such as the text entitled Martin Luther and Judaism -Challenges for Lutheran Churches  -11-11-2015 -6da1af1131c1b4a18be18ced723cd082.pdf of Today (2011).²⁷ In this document,the LEKKJdraws attention to the declaration of the Lutheran World Federation of 1984 and points out that the Reformation Jubilee in 2017 ought not to pass withoutr ecallinga nd repudiating Luther'sj udaeophobia. In this document,reference is made to the coremessageofthe declaration of the Lutheran World Federation from 1983.²⁸ Furthermore, the central challengeformulatedinthe statement of Driebergento"rethink fundamental Lutheran theology" and to bring scholarlyi nsights into the churches and congregations,i srestated as at ask still not realized.²⁹ The statement ends by pointing to Luther'sa ppreciation of the entireB ible -not onlyt he New Testament -and recallingthe theological challenge: "We believeitisaprimary task of the Lutheran Church todaytofurther Christian hermeneutics of the Hebrew Bible and consider the Jewishi nterpretation as enrichment to the understanding of our common biblical basis."³⁰

Conclusion
The quincentenary of Martin Luther'sbirth proved to be acrystallization point on an international level for the critical self-reflection of Lutheran churches on the famed theologian'santi-Semitism. In the Lutheran World Federation as well as in the European Lutheran Commission on the Church and the JewishP eople (LEKKJ), an awareness arose regardingt he urgent need for historical and theological discussion. The ensuingd iscussion of Luther'sa nti-Semitism in the LEKKJt ook place almost exclusivelya mong Lutheran ministers and scholars, which explains, among other things, the apologetic tone of Luther'sH eirs. In the studyp ublished by LEKKJ members, the anti-Semitism of the late Luther is roundlyr ejected.Yet,c omprehensive scholarlyt reatment of it and its long-term effects awaits future inquiry.
Lutheran Churches and Luther'sA nti-Semitism theologians,i ncluding, notably, Friedrich Wilhelm Marquardt,³¹ has tackled these constitutive theological conceptsi na ny serious and systematic fashion.
Nonetheless,itcan be said that, to an increasingdegree, sober historical and theological analyses are replacinga pologetics. The celebration of 500 years of the Reformation in Germanyg aver ise to important research and discourse. The impact of Luther'sj udaeophobia on the churcha nd society at large in Germanyw as debated fiercely,³² in the churchp ews no less than in the hallways of academia.³³ As part of the Lutheran Church'se ducational project,s everal exhibitions on this topic wereprepared³⁴ and various ecclesial boards released statements, among them the synod of the Evangelical Church in Germany.³⁵ And, on November9 ,2 015,i nW ittenberg -and ay ear later in other German cities -a poignant public gesture was made: in ar eversal of the iconographic Christian imageo ft he blindfolded synagoga,t he eyes of the statue of Martin Luther werec overed with ab lindfold, signaling, with this switch, Luther'sb lindness and thato fh is heirs.