The Boldness of Luther as a Writer

I came across this ironic passage while editing today and found myself laughing out loud. Here is an example of Luther's boldness as a writer, making a forceful point with brutal humor while describing the notoriously immoral Renaissance papacy:

"Though the pope, bishops, and they all alike would sin very grievously, they nevertheless are not of the devil nor of his synagogue, but they are of Christ and of God, members and heads of holy Christendom. Indeed, they are members of the Church just as spittle, snot, pus, sweat, excrements, urine, stench, scab, smallpox, glandular swellings, sexual diseases, and all other sicknesses are members of the body. These also are in and on the body, and the body must bear them with great peril, trouble, and disgust." (Exposition of Psalm 118, 1530)

If you choose to write this way, be aware of what some editors call the "ick factor." Sometimes readers can be turned away or miss your point simply by being grossed out, so be careful not to lose your reader when taking this approach.

Candidly, Luther's use of bold irony is one of the things that makes him interesting to read some 500 years after he laid down his pen!