Did Martin Luther really say...?

[ibelieve4evr]

Did Martin Luther really say "I would rather be ruled by a wise turk than a foolish christian"? I can't find anyone confirming what works of Luther this may have come from. Plenty of Christian sites claiming its false while many tout it as a quote from Luther. I heard a prominent pastor claim from the pulpit Luther as the author then it is disturbing to think quote isn't true.

[Ovicula]

I cannot imagine him saying this and I couldn't find anything about this quote on German websites.

He wrote the book in 1528: On War against the Turk (German: Vom Kriege wider die Türken)

It was one of several pamphlets and sermons by Martin Luther about Islam and resistance to the Ottoman Empire, during the critical period of territorial expansion of the Ottoman Empire in Europe, marked by the capture of Buda in 1526 and the Siege of Vienna in 1529.

Initially, in his 1518 Explanation of the Ninety-five Theses, Luther had argued against resisting the Turks, whom he presented as a scourge intentionally sent by God to sinning Christians, and that resisting it would have been equivalent to resisting the will of God.

With the Turkish advance becoming ever more threatening however, in 1528 Luther modified his stance and wrote On War against the Turk and in 1529 Sermon against the Turk, encouraging the German people and Emperor Charles V to resist the invasion.

In On War against the Turk, Luther is actually less critical of the Turks than he is of the Pope, whom he calls an anti-Christ, or the Jews, whom he describes as "the Devil incarnate". He urges his contemporaries to also see the good aspects in the Turks, and refers to some who were favourable to the Ottoman Empire, and "who actually want the Turk to come and rule, because they think that our German people are wild and uncivilized - indeed that they are half-devil and half-man".


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_War_against_the_Turk

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman_wars_in_Europe

[Chaya]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_...d_antisemitism I think this is far more of an issue. Something has always bothered me. If a so-called man of God had a secret mistress, or a hidden alcohol or drug habit, we would dismiss him as one unsuitable to follow or learn from. Why does Luther get a pass here?