A Turk by any other name : Michael Sattler, Martin Luther, the radical reformation, and the Middle East

Abstract

This chapter analyzes the contributions of the Taufer led ‘Radical Reformation’ to Muslim-Christian dialogue in the past and assess whether this historical example of “loving your neighbor as yourself,” and more pointedly “loving your enemy” and “turning the other check,” can play a role in the current situation in the Middle East. Dealing specifically with the former Benedictine monk and German Reformation leader Michael Sattler, it juxtaposes the Schwertler (sword-bearing) and the Stäbler (staff-bearing) responses to the existential threats emanating from the imminent Ottoman conquest and occupation of Central Europe. On a more fundamental level, the option of a peaceful, as opposed to a violent, response to one’s enemy is followed back to the early Mediterranean church of the third and fourth centuries in order to illustrate how the two options — i.e., between just war theory and love of one’s enemy — were actually put into practice under great personal sacrifice by members of the church throughout the last two millennia. By comparing the positions of Sattler and Luther, an attempt is made to demonstrate that a pacifist response to the threats to Christianity in the Middle East today is a viable option, rooted in the living traditions of the church on both sides of the Mediterranean.

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