Influence of the Church Fathers

Do you recognize these famous and revered names: John Calvin, Martin Luther, St. Augustine, Peter the Venerable, John Chrysostom, Justin Martyr, Ignatius Bishop of Antioch? Of course! The incredible influence these men have had on Protestantism and/or Christianity through the centuries has been profound and cannot possibly be measured.

Yet what did all these great men have in common? They all held strong anti-semitic beliefs. Many of them to the point of ridiculous and fanatical - see remarks on Luther below. But why did these great men of the faith hold such prejudice against the Jews? All these great men - and many current theologians - believed that God rejected Israel and that the church took the place of Israel. Where does anyone find in Scripture that God says His covenant with Abraham is no longer valid and that the church supplants Israel? Why does the church think that all the blessings for Israel written of by the Prophets are valid only for the church, but that the curses are meant only for Israel? What an unbalanced, bizarre teaching! Israel is a set apart and holy nation, because God decreed it and made it so. God by His very nature cannot violate a covenant He established. Abraham kept the covenant, and regardless of how Abraham's descendants treated the covenant, the covenant was with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and it is through their merit and righteousness that God promises to keep the covenant!

Considering the profound influence these great church fathers have had on the church down through the ages, how might this anti-semitic theme have influenced the way the church thinks and behaves towards Jews and the nation of Israel today?

Considering that some of the most horrific persecutions of Jews have been in the name of Christianity, is there any doubt why Jews distrust Christians and anything a Christian has to say?

For examples of anti-Jewish writings for each church father mentioned, find the link under "Educational Material" termed: "Anti-Semitism of the "Church Father's".


ON MARTIN LUTHER: LAYING THE FOUNDATION FOR THE HOLOCAUST?

While Martin Luther is greatly revered for forever separating Protestantism from Catholicism with his 95 Theses and the ensuing reformation of the church; it is often overlooked that in his fanatical fervor to convert everyone, especially the non-conforming Jews into Christians, that he became extremely anti-semitic. He was so avid in his beliefs that he became greatly angered that those stubborn Jews would not bend to his evangelizing.

In fact, historians and theologians have posed the hypothesis that is was Luther's criminalizing book On Jews and Their Lies that played a role in the instigation and propagation of the holocaust. This book savagely attacks Jews, calling for a "burning of their synagogues", "that they be forbidden on pain of death to praise God, give thanks, to pray, and to teach publicly", and it gets much worse than this, calling them murderers, throwing sow dung on them if they say the name of God, and on and on. Luther greatly affected Protestant thought and of course especially the German mindset where he lived and exerted much influence through his emphatic writings and speeches.

Hitler was a member of the Lutheran church - which had become a state controlled church at that point - and 2,000 Lutheran pastors did withdraw from the Nazi-controlled state church in protest against Nazi actions and beliefs. The state controlled church did not denounce Hitler for his atrocities against primarily the Jews. In his book Mein Kampf, Hitler calls Luther one of the greatest reformers and indeed the Nazi plan was to create a state church based upon the "Spirit of Dr. Martin Luther". And just as Luther called for a burning of their synagogues, the first physical action taken against the Jews was the burning of hundreds of their synagogues on Luther's birthday, November 10th, 1938!!

What influence a man can have on the history of the world! God help us!

For a detailed report on this topic, find the link above: "Martin Luther's Dirty Little Book: On Jews and Their Lies".

Note: The purpose here was to identify anti-semitism in church fathers who have greatly influenced church history. Regarding Hitler, though Luther had an impact, Hitler had many influences and was highly influenced by Henry Ford who also was a noted anti-semite. See Ford's book The International Jew: The World's Foremost Problem. Hitler was also influenced by Darwin who taught that the Aryan race was the most evolutionary advanced race and therefore was superior to all others, while the Jewish race (and handicapped people) were the most inferior because they were the least evolutionary advanced race!