As many of you know, I occasionally am asked about matters of a spiritual nature. I'm not sure why, as I am a poor representative of the faith, yet when called upon I feel I must answer. So it is with this recent visitor who travelled the Google road and found himself knocking upon the door of Possumblog to ask this question: is it true that monk martin luther had flatulence

Much has been written about the Father of the Protestant Reformation and he stands as one of the powerhouses of Western Civilization, not only for his 95 Theses and Commentaries and translation of the New Testament, but also for the bloated volume Ex Phaseolus vulgaris. His brazen flatularity upset many at the Vatican, and in fact one of the charges of the Papal Bull of excommunication dated June 15, 1520 was his "constant mockery of decency, witnessed by the tiresome taunts of 'pull thou my finger'..." His response to the Bull was, of course, the famous December 10, 1520 burning of the Exurge Domine and other Church books and papers, but what is not known until recently is that the conflagration was begun by Luther "lighting bombers." Other than a singed woolen robe and a lingering odor of sulphur, Luther was unharmed.

His flatulent character was further enhanced in 1521 by the Imperial Diet of Worms.

Little is heard (or smelt) of Luther in the intervening years as he travelled to Wartburg and returned to Wittenberg where he spent his remaining days teaching at the University. His final lesson was punctuated by a thin, reedy backburp, after which he said "I am weak, I cannot go on."

Possumblog is happy to be able to shed light on all matters of history and faith.
posted by Terry at 8:40:00 AM