The book of Esther I toss into the Elbe. I am such an enemy to the book of Esther that I wish it did not exist, for it Judaizes too much and has in it a great deal of heathenish foolishness.
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"One should praise women, whether it be true or false."
"Peace if possible, truth at all costs."
"Every man must do two things alone; he must do his own believing and his own dying."
"I have so much to do today that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer."
"If the earth is fit for laughter, then surely heaven is filled with it. Heaven is the birthplace of laughter."
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.
Reported statement regarding the biblical book of Esther. (Note: The exact wording and authenticity of this specific quote have been debated by scholars).
Date: Undated, from 'Table Talk'
Self-DeprecatingFound in 1 providers: gemini
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Luther bluntly rejects the biblical Book of Esther, saying he would throw it into the Elbe river and wishes it had never been included in scripture. He claims the book is too Jewish in character and contains pagan nonsense. He is dismissing a canonical text as unworthy, both because of its Jewish themes and what he considers superstitious or worldly content unbefitting holy scripture.
Luther built his theology on sola scriptura, yet he freely ranked biblical books by their usefulness, elevating Romans and John while dismissing James as an epistle of straw. His hostility toward Esther fits his broader anti-Jewish turn, culminating in the 1543 tract On the Jews and Their Lies. As a biblical translator producing the German Bible, his judgments carried weight in shaping Protestant canon attitudes.
In early-modern sixteenth-century Germany, the Reformation was shattering the Catholic Church's monopoly on scripture and canon. Reformers debated which books belonged in the Bible, and Luther's 1534 German translation redefined the canon for Protestants by separating apocrypha. Antisemitism was widespread, with Jews expelled from many territories. Printing presses amplified such remarks, and theological insults like tossing books into rivers were part of the blunt polemical culture of the era.
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