In this week’s installment from Off the Record with Martin Luther, Luther shares his fondness for his wife Katie:

“2506. The joy of a religious spouse. The greatest joy is to have a religious spouse, one to whom you can entrust everything and depend upon, with whom you can raise children, and so on. God puts a lot into marriage, without the parties giving much thought to it in advance, Katie, you have a religious husband, you are an empress! Thank God for it! But only good and God-fearing people reach such a level.” (p. 46)

DISCLAIMER: The views reflected in this quote do not necessarily reflect those of the author of this blog. This quote is shared in the interest of edification, education, and/or humor.

In this week’s installment from Off the Record with Martin Luther, Luther has some less than flattering words for the female gender:

“2034. If I were ever single again, I would have an obedient wife carved out of stone; otherwise I despair of ever finding obedience in any woman.” (p. 44)

DISCLAIMER: The views reflected in this quote do not necessarily reflect those of the author of this blog. This quote is shared in the interest of edification, education, and/or humor.

In this week’s installment from Off the Record with Martin Luther, Luther shares his fondness for his wife Katie:

“1006. The merits of women. In women many merits come together: the Lord’s Blessing, progeny, familiarity with things, all of which are great gifts, which could well overwhelm someone. Just imagine if we did not have the female sex. The house and everything associated with the household would collapse; the state and society would fall apart. Thus, the world cannot endure without women, even if men could bring children into the world by themselves.” (p. 41)

DISCLAIMER: The views reflected in this quote do not necessarily reflect those of the author of this blog. This quote is shared in the interest of edification, education, and/or humor.

In this week’s installment from Off the Record with Martin Luther, Luther shares his fondness for his wife Katie:

49. Luther values his wife, Katie. I wouldn’t trade my Katie for France or Venice; first, because God gave her to me and me to her; second, that I have often experienced that other women have far more shortcomings than my Katie–although she certainly has enough, they are offset by far greater virtues; and third, because she is faithful to her marriage, that is fidelity and respect. And a wife, on the other hand, should be able to think the same about her husband.” (p. 36)

DISCLAIMER: The views reflected in this quote do not necessarily reflect those of the author of this blog. This quote is shared in the interest of edification, education, and/or humor.

Last week I began reading Off the Record with Martin Luther, which is the most comprehensive translation of Luther’s Table Talk into English.For those not familiar with it, Table Talk is a collection of sayings, stories, etc. attributed to Martin Luther as recorded by his students as they spent time in his home. This particular edition provides a vivid English translation that captures Luther in all of his irascible glory. It has proved to be tremendous leisure reading, often leading me to laugh out loud and insist my wife hear the latest gem I have discovered.

So in the interest of sharing these gems with you, I am beginning a new feature on the blog entitled “Mondays with Marty.” Each Monday I will share a quote from Martin Luther as a way of kick starting the week.These quotes will run the gamut from serious and profound to hilarious and silly, with points in between. To prepare you for this experience, it seems wise to quote from the Foreword by Paul Maier:

Fair warning to the reader: in the Table Talk, Luther is at his unwary best and not hindered by such niceties as prudence, propriety, etiquette, or convention. Some of the material is salty, saucy, and even “over the top.” At such passages it would be well to remember that Luther himself did not write this material or sign-off on it. It is all recorded by his eager students, who somehow managed to eat meat and potatoes at Luther’s table, yet also take copious notes on whatever he said. (pp. 6-7)

Also, just to be clear, I will place a disclaimer at the end of each post to indicate that the views reflected in these quotes do not necessarily reflect my own views. So with that out of the way, we are ready for our first installment:

12. Women should be honored. The Holy Spirit honors women. Examples of that are Esther and Sarah. Among the pagans, Lucretia and Artemisia were glorified. Without women there would be no marriage. The best medicine against fornication is to get married. A woman is the best companion for life. Women bring children into the world, they raise them, and they rule the house. They are inclined to be merciful, because they are made that way by God, to bear children, to bring joy to men, to be merciful.

DISCLAIMER: The views reflected in this quote do not necessarily reflect those of the author of this blog. This quote is shared in the interest of edification, education, and/or humor.