If we do [tolerate their conduct], we become sharers in their lies, cursing and blasphemy. Thus we cannot extinguish the unquenchable fire of divine wrath, of which the prophets speak, nor can we convert the Jews. With prayer and the fear of God we must practice a sharp mercy to see whether we might save at least a few from the glowing flames.
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"GOD OFTEN ACTS LIKE A MADMAN ... I look upon God no better than a scoundrel."
"Next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world."
"If a woman grows weary and at last dies from childbearing, it matters not. Let her die in childbearing—she is there to do it."
"Sleep is a most excellent thing, for it makes us forget all the miseries of life."
"Printing is the ultimate gift of God and the greatest one. Indeed, the invention of printing is the work of God."
German theologian whose 95 Theses (1517) launched the Protestant Reformation and broke the Catholic Church's monopoly on Western Christianity. Closely associated with Philipp Melanchthon (Lutheran systematizer) and John Calvin (later Reformer who built on Luther's break). For an intellectual contrast, see Pope Leo X, Renaissance pope (1513-1521) — Leo X's indulgence sales triggered Luther's break and Leo excommunicated him in 1521 — Luther's entire Reformation is structured as a direct answer to the indulgence-funded Vatican Leo represented.
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Luther argues that putting up with the Jewish community's beliefs and practices makes Christians complicit in what he calls their lies and blasphemy against God. He insists that tolerance won't stop divine punishment or bring about conversion. Instead, he calls for harsh treatment disguised as mercy, claiming this severity might rescue a handful of souls from damnation, framing cruelty as spiritual rescue work.
This comes from Luther's 1543 treatise On the Jews and Their Lies, written late in his life when his earlier hopes of converting Jews to his reformed Christianity had soured into bitter hostility. The passage reveals the darker side of the reformer who challenged papal authority: the same theological certainty that fueled his break with Rome hardened into vicious antisemitism, later cited by Nazi propagandists four centuries after his death.
In early modern Europe, Jews faced expulsions, ghettos, and blood libel accusations across Christian territories. The Reformation intensified religious polarization, with both Catholics and Protestants competing for doctrinal purity. Luther wrote this amid apocalyptic anxieties about the end times, Ottoman military pressure on Christendom, and widespread belief that religious uniformity was essential to political stability. Tolerance was viewed as spiritual corruption, and rulers routinely used state power to enforce confessional boundaries.
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