The Reformation and the Jewish People: Part V

by Jeffrey Gutterman

   In Part IV we read of the worsening separation between the Church and the Jewish people. We saw that even the early Church Fathers, such as Eusebius, Chrysostom, Saint Ambrose and Justin Martyr all had negative comments recorded about the Jewish people. We then examined how the Crusades drove a wedge between the Christian and the Jew that has yet to be fully restored.

The Spanish Inquisition

   The Catholic Church formally instituted a mechanism to suppress heresy. This became known as the Inquisition. This started late in the 12^th century and continued in various places of the Catholic world in one form or another until the early 19^th century.

   The Spanish Inquisition most affects our discussion. It began in the mid 15^th century and ended around 1830. Many Jews had been forced to convert and were baptized. They were known as Conversos. They were not only required to convert but they were supposed to live a Christian life. In many instances the Conversos were still participating in the Jewish customs like candle lighting on Friday night, following dietary kosher laws and celebrating the Levitical Feasts. The Church in Spain saw this as heresy and sought to stop these Jewish practices.

   There were 37 forbidden Jewish customs that would result in a person being brought before the Inquisitors. Christians were instructed to report any such behavior that they witnessed to the authorities. Once accused:

    If a Jew confessed and did not repent, he was burned alive.

    If a Jew confessed and repented, he was publicly humiliated. Any subsequent slip-ups resulted in certain death.

    If a Jew did not confess, even if he was innocent, he was tortured until he confessed and then he was burned.

   This Inquisition punished over 350,000 Jews.

   The reason that these events are cited here is to establish the negative mindset of the Jewish population towards Christians- understanding, of course, that up to this point Christianity is Roman Catholicism. This brings us to the Reformation.

   History does not occur in an isolated state. We must always look to see what brings something to pass in the annals of history. The Reformation grew out of a number of events and situations in Europe.

   The Reformation had its roots in the Renaissance of Europe.

   When the Reformation began, the culture of Europe was changing politically, socially and economically. Not all the news for the Jewish people at that time was bad. For economic reasons, Jews were now accepted in places where they had either been expelled or prohibited from entering. Keep in mind that the places where the Jews will do the best are almost always the places where the Jews will suffer the worst in the end.

   At this point in time in Europe, people were taking hard, critical looks at their old traditions. The ancient languages of Hebrew and Greek were also being studied and learned by students. This allowed for more people to study the Scriptures since they were usually only available in the original languages.

   It is important to note that religious freedom was not enjoyed in that period of time. The Catholic Church had few critics because the Church responded harshly to those who came against it. Martin Luther was a citizen of Electoral Saxony, which was a part of the Holy Roman Empire. The law of the Holy Roman Empire did not permit any other religion except Christianity. The death penalty was used for serious crimes and also included “serious” religious violations.

    The primary cause of the Reformation was the abuses of the Catholic Church. Corruption was the major abuse, which took the form of the sale of indulgences; which was the removal of the punishment for sin that came as a result of the Church interceding for a person. These were not new in the early 1500’s. Those who volunteered to go on the Crusades received forgiveness of all their sins in their life. Others could purchase an indulgence while on their deathbed.

   Some people who presented reforms were trying to redirect the Church at Rome to return to the Scriptural teachings and practices of the Church. The Church did not agree to these reforms and a split ultimately developed. The new movement was known as Protestantism. For the Jews this just meant more “bad news.”

   To be sure the Reformation impacted the Jewish populations of Europe in various ways with most of them being negative for the Jews. Persecution and wholesale slaughter was sometimes the result. If we are to fully understand the persecution of the Jews during the Reformation times and beyond we must first be sure to remember the relationship of the Jews and the Christian world in its historical context of the Christian persecution of Jews.

   We look to Martin Luther to see how the Reformation was shaped and developed. In 1506 the Church began the construction of a new St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. This huge project required huge amounts of money. The church saw the potential of the indulgence as a major fundraiser. Pope Sixtus IV offered indulgences for deceased people who were in purgatory. All one had to do was to purchase an indulgence and the deceased was released from suffering in purgatory.

    In 1510, Luther was on a trip to Rome and he saw this practice up close and personal. He could not accept this practice. He came across Romans 1:17 and knew the church was wrong since the Scriptures said, “the just shall live by faith.” Salvation was by God’s Grace and could not be purchased and those who made this a commodity were wrong.

    At age 34, on October 31, 1517 Luther posted his “95 Theses” to the gate of the All Saints church in Wittenberg. This was seen by Rome as a direct challenge to its authority. Rome had been challenged beforehand and this seemed like nothing new. They demanded that Luther renounce his criticism. Luther refused and four years later he was excommunicated. This usually was the final action that the church took to end any protest but things were different in the early part of the 16^th century.

    The invention of the Gutenberg printing press, 50 years earlier, had a great impact. Luther’s 95 Theses were printed and widely distributed. A relatively private difference between a priest and the authorities in Rome became a worldwide situation.

   The nobles in Northern Europe were waiting for a movement such as this to get out from under the Catholic Church. Many nobles stopped supporting the church and seized church lands in their domains. Europe chose sides and Protestants and Catholics battled in the Thirty Years War (1618-1648.)