Luther Insulter

Last semester I blogged about my Theology of Luther course with Dr. Hendel. As a final project for the class, I wrote a paper about Luther’s understanding of bound conscience. It was a good paper, and I was proud of it. My classmate Tyler did this:

Luther Insulter

Yes, Tyler created a website where Martin Luther himself will insult you. Click on the link to see more insults from the founding theologian of the Lutheran tradition. Kind of amazing.

OK, in the interest of full disclosure, this was not Tyler’s final project. But it was made by Tyler and it was dreamed up in Theology of Luther at 8 am on a Monday morning last semester. And I am incredibly proud of Tyler for the response he’s getting.

Luther was a firey fellow. There’s no denying, he said a lot of not all that nice things. But he was passionate. And if we combine Tyler’s Luther Insult Generator, with the theme of my own research, we discover that Luther was incredibly pastoral. He called people “stinking mushrooms” (From Explanations of the Ninety-Five Theses, pg. 184 of Luther's Works, Vol. 31, for real!) because he feared they were placing their own stipulations on salvation. His passion, demonstrated in offensive comments, shows the devotion of a man who wanted the whole world to know the gift God’s grace.

I think I will probably not find use in my own ministry to call anyone “a wolf and apostle of Satan” (Against Latomus, pg. 146 of Luther's Works, Vol. 32). It's just not really my style. But I hope I can bring the same love for my congregation that Luther showed to his. And I hope that in the face of adversity, I too might have the confidence to stand bold in the truth of the Gospel.