That Jesus Christ Was Born a Jew: Part 1, Reason for Writing

Luther states that he was accused of defaming two teachings of the Church:
1. That Mary was not a virgin before Jesus was born, but the seed of Joseph and
2. That Mary did not remain a virgin after Jesus' birth (semper virginis)

Luther also goes on to state that he believes his opponents know they are liars on this matter. In fact, he ties it together with what he feels is their condemnation of the gospel.

Luther was used to lies and innuendo spread about him. Usually he just ignored them. He even comments that he has heard many lies in the last three years-and that his opponents have become so accustomed to telling such "whoppers" that they no longer blushed when telling them! But for some reason, which he doesn't detail, he decides to address this lie that was spreading even though he says "it is such a miserable lie I despise it." But in the process he also decides this would make for an excellent treatise on the nature and role of Mary and the miracle of Jesus' birth. In his own words, Luther felt he should also write something worthwhile to read and not just write to answer lies "so that I do not vainly steal the reader's time with such dirty rotten business." Luther also establishes that this treatise will be based in Scripture, as he strived to always preach and teach.

And in the process Luther hopes to reach out to those of the Jewish faith. He cites what he sees as an inept and certainly unchristian attitude by the Church towards the Jews, attitudes that have certainly been well documented by history. Luther writes that the attitude was so bad that if he were a Jew, he would rather become a hog than a Jew! Luther certainly had a keen insight. Hogs are seen as unclean by the Jews. It certainly tells us Luther's views of the Church's treatment of the Jews.

Next week we'll see how Luther viewed the Jews and their interaction with Christians in God's Kingdom.

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