in Luther’s Works, vol. 54, Fortress Press, 1967, 476 pgs.
Summary: An edited collation of various records of Luther’s table talk. It’s essentially a collection of extemporaneous comments, asides, and dialogs by Luther with his wife and many visitors on topics spanning the human experience. Each entry is numbered.
Includes everything from bawdy jokes with a translation of the German term scheise (“A Story about a Dog Who Was a Lutheran,” No. 5418), and mildly profound statements. Thus we learn in No. 5230 that Luther was a traducianist on the matter of the soul and his opinion of women with small breasts ability to nurse children.
Luther’s stupidity in supporting bigamy for Landgrave Philip of Hesse is batted back and forth. And there is a brief suggestion on how to preach: “First, you must learn to go up to the pulpit. Second, you must know that you should stay for a time. Third, you must learn to get down again” (No. 5171b).
Benefits/Detriments: Interesting, lively, and entertaining. More for grasping Luther’s personality than any profound insight into Luther’s thought. Katie proves herself to be a witty and careful theologian in her own right.