Purpose of the Intriguing Love Series

I was raised in the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod where I was baptized, went through Luther’s Small Catechism, was confirmed, and attended its Walther League youth group. At a Lutheran talent show, I recited Luther’s famous ‘Here I Stand’ speech. My admiration for Luther changed, however, when I learned more about his life. In my college years, I began studying the Jewish roots of Christianity and the history of the Church, including Luther’s iniquitous On the Jews and Their Lies treatise. 

My purpose in writing this series is to uncover some of the Jewish background that was lost in Luther's translation of the New Testament. It begins in Wittenberg in 1522 when a college student named Heinrich gets involved in Luther's story. He then meets a Messianic Jewish woman who is on a mysterious mission. Their ensuing relationship provides the basis for studying these ideas. My goal is to examine the Christian/Jewish situation at that time, because Luther's errant views on Jews and the Law have trickled down to all subsequent Protestant denominations. This has resulted in the pernicious error known as Replacement Theology, which has infiltrated many Christian beliefs, sermons, and writings. 

Martin Luther was fearless, but opinionated. The first few books in my series treat Luther in a positive light. My goal, Lord willing, is to extend the story's timeline to include the period when Luther wrote some of his notorious works. Hopefully, as you read this series, you will learn how to spot Replacement Theology thinking and interpret the Bible from a Jewish perspective. 

 My main source on the Jewish roots of Christianity comes from the organization First Fruits of Zion (https://FFOZ.org).