very, it’s also known for the exile of Jews from Spain. Ferdinand and Isabella wanted to purify their Christian realm. They had sent the Jews out of their nation and tortured those who had claimed to have converted. Most of the 300,000 Jews moved to Portugal. They were protected for a couple month, at a price of course. Then, King John II (1481-1495)enslaved the Jews. Eventually they were brutally and forcibly baptized. (Flannery) Martin Luther (1483-1546) praised the Jews, at first. He even kept repeating how the Jewish religion influenced Christianity. Then, when the Jews decided not to convert to his religion, he changed his attitude. In Martin Luther’s book, On the Jews and their Lies (published 1543), anyone can see Luther’s hatred for the Jewish people.ACCORDINGLY, IT MUST AND DARE NOT BE CONSIDERED A TRIFLING MATTER BUT A MOST SERIOUS ONE TO SEEK COUNSEL AGAINST THIS AND TO SAVE OUR SOULS FROM THE JEWS, THAT IS, FROM THE DEVIL AND FROM ETERNAL DEATH. MY ADVICE IS:FIRST, THAT THEIR SYNAGOGUES BE BURNED DOWN, AND THAT ALL WHO ARE ABLE TOSS SULPHUR AND PITCH; IT WOULD BE GOOD IF SOMEONE COULD ALSO THROW IN SOME HELLFIRE…SECOND, THAT ALL THEIR BOOKS—THEIR PRAYER BOOKS, THEIR TALMUDIC WRITINGS, ALSO THE ENTIRE BIBLE—BE TAKEN FROM THEM, NOT LEAVING THEM ONE LEAF, AND THAT THESE BE PRESERVED FOR THOSE WHO MAY BE CONVERTED…THIRD, THAT THEY BE FORBIDDEN ON PAIN OF DEATH TO PRAISE GOD, TO GIVE THANKS, TO PRAY, AND TO TEACH PUBLICLY AMONG US AND IN OUR COUNTRY…FOURTH, THAT THEY BE FORBIDDEN TO UTTER THE NAME OF GOD WITHIN OUR HEARING. FOR WE CANNOT WITH A GOOD CONSCIENCE LISTEN TO THIS OR TOLERATE IT…(WALKER)There are many horrific quotes I found from Luther’s writings. I believe that the one above is the most descriptive in understanding Luther’s views. Shortly before his death, he called for the Jews to be expelled from Germany. (Flannery)Originally Italy had b...
