July 11, 2016 

The Lutheran Insulter Web (The World Map of Christian Apps: 48 tools every Christian should know about; by Jeffrey Kranz)

“At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered, “I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.” The Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus replied, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these are you going to stone me?” The Jews answered, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you, but for blasphemy, because you, though only a human being, are making yourself God.” Jesus answered, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, you are gods’? If those to whom the word of God came were called ‘gods’—and the scripture cannot be annulled— can you say that the one whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world is blaspheming because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me. But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” Then they tried to arrest him again, but he escaped from their hands.” John 10:22-39

From their website: “This (Lutheran Insult) generator presents some of Luther’s more crass words in good humor and not as a judgment upon the reformer. […] Some of his insults are inexcusable; a few are so crass as to make me reluctant to put them on this site (e.g. those to do with whoredom). However, when one reads his works, it becomes clear that these insults, a common rhetorical device in the polemical literature of the sixteenth century, were spoken in hopes of defending the pure faith against impure doctrine and guiding the church of his day back into the faith of the Church.

We don’t recommend insulting people. But we would recommend visiting the Lutheran Insulter for some hilariously over-the-top burns from the reformer himself. The Lutheran Insulter serves up particularly caustic turns of phrase from Luther’s Works for use in playful banter with church historians, seminarians, Reformation geeks, and most definitely not your mother.”

There was a phase in comedy a few years back where “insult comedians” became popular. A good insult comic will be able to look at anyone and find something to poke fun at them. We all need to poke fun at ourselves once in a while, and even in the national media realm, like at some dinners, sometimes a politician, sports person, or media type will be “roasted” at a dinner. The roast is the opportunity to poke some fun at a person with “good natured” jokes at their expense. As Lutherans and as Christians, we need to have a sense of humor, about life, about ourselves, and about our experiences. And even though we do not find it “politically correct” to insult people through any verbal or written means, in Martin Luther’s time, writing insults into important statements was part of their style of writing. That was then, and this is now.

In our society today, people are very sensitive to any type of criticism, especially if it might be interpreted as an insult. But humor has always been an important part of life – it was in the time of Jesus, in the time of Luther, and in our world today. Enjoy the “Lutheran Insulter” app, but remember that we are called to edify one another, not cut each other down.

Pastor Dave