The following quotes are pretty widely known in Germany. According to the German Wikiquote (1) and (2) were only attributed to him in the 18th and 20th century, respectively. For (3) I cannot find either a source nor a statement that he did not say it - only a lot of mentions. So all three are very probably apocryphal, like the usual lot of pithy quotes. Still, most Germans will be familiar with the quotes.
(1) “Why do you not belch and fart? Didn’t it taste well?”
(2) “If I knew the world will end tomorrow, I would still plant a little apple tree today”.
(3) “Two times a week, does neither hurt him nor her.” (referring to intercourse; often rendered as “two or three times…”)
Are these known outside the German-speaking countries at all?
Somebody wrote a book about Luther when he was at the dinner table chatting with his students. I think it was called Table Talk and seem to recall some of those ditties were quoted in the book.
FWIW, didn’t know he was an anti-Semite till I was in my forties. May have been in Table Talk; I don’t know.
My German exchange father, who was a theologist and ex-Lutheren Pastor informed me of some of these things, mostly that he was a man of “large appetiites” both physical and existential. He told me he was a womanizer and had minimal piety.
Where does one find this information? Was that before his conversion? Or after? I did a search and kept getting Martin Luther King Jr. Why did the German exchange father quit the Lutheran ministry? Convert to Catholicism? Become an Atheist? Move to Southern Pedestrian? Does he have an ax to grind with respect to Luther? Or, is was it common knowledge that they teach in a German seminary, such as, “Luther despised Jews, but loved woman and partied like it was 1599. In addition, he added another pin to the nine already used for bowling since nine was “devils” number and ten was approved for use by God [Really, I recall seeing this in the National Bowling Museum in St. Louis almost 30 years ago.])”.
Last time I was in a Lutheran church several years ago (I’m not Lutheran), I heard #2. The others I am not familiar with, though they certainly fit what little I know of Luther’s personality.
It was all in casual coversation, I didn’t ask for cites. He quit his pastoral duties for his professorship and head of the Theological Department at a major German University… also, I believe his editorial duties for a major religous magazine probably cut into his pasteuring.
Well, is it hard for any of Ye “Protestants” to find that any of these things are so revealing or shocking about the man who started the Reformation (Revolution)? He probably wanted to end dispensation because he was getting taxed so hard.
… and, ironically, the same thing today, is perpetuated by the “puritan reformists” of America through :sin tax: … you benefit from my beer, cigarettes, gambling, and food.
Don’t believe in socialized medicine? The Republicans instituted sweetheart deals for the prescription dealers…Medicare plan X, and any state run auto insurance monoply. They dont care as long as they have temporal upperhand and riches.
Also, now realizing it, for the time, he was a real German Protestant Pedagogue and man of Letters in the best Lutheren tradition and lineage. He took sabbatical in parts of the Holyland with me and gave expert historical and unbiased tutelage to me, as a more than excited but not very relgious 16 year old, or certainly less religous (socially/churchwise)… but you see, it turns out that an evangelical, Post WWII, religous German is about as pious as a non-religous, puritanical society-affected, American sixteen year old. He was also at a political punditry stage in his life, again following in the steps of Luther, and was writing a book about German Presidents camping on the best and most secluded Braches of Greece. He also had a great archeological knowledge and passion about Egyptology that he passed on to his son- my exchange brother. Kind of an Indiana Jones figure… and I was very pleased to have shown and interested my exchange brother in the very first and contemporary Indiana Jones film, He saw it undubbed and for the first time on HBO in America… I’m pretty sure he was a lifelong fan.
He also wrote and published secular and religous childrens books, I think he would be really proud of the German, Children’s, Pocket Bible that he published, from what I know.
His wife, my exchange Mother, was also “swarthy” ( for lack of a better term) and had dark hair and features, but was a beautiful, kind, artistic, and accomplished woman in her own right… she was a school principal… Turns out that she had experienced some accusations and real life “Jewish” prejudices in a work environment. His and her appropriations and retaliations for the sensitivities were swift, honorable, holy, and just. They were also raised in the fities and sixties, so might be considered “hippies” for our cultural justifications…