In Martin Luther’s The Freedom of a Christian, we find a good example of Luther’s biting wit. On the outside, this letter seems to try and reason with the Pope, and is written in a conciliatory manner. But easily you can see Luther attack the Popes character, through a roundabout fashion. While directly saying he speaks no ill will of the Pope, he does write of the Popes subjects and his surroundings in such a way that it would be impossible not to see them as attacks on the Pope himself. Luther criticizes the Pope’s See, calling it more corrupt than and Babylon or Sodom. In doing so, he is also criticizing the Pope, as it is his ruling that effects his See. If not addressing the Popes own corruption, he is instead addressing the Popes lack of power. He quotes scripture saying that the Pope lives amongst lions, or scorpions. Luther says that the Pope would be powerless against these men, and can do nothing to remedy the situation. Further on, Luther encourages the pope to not listen to those who would hold him up as a demigod, stating he is but a man. If the Pope himself believes he is higher than others, or deserving of whatever he wants, than again this is a criticism of his ways.

Luther goes on to talk of freedom, and the notion of two conflicting ideas in the scripture. The first idea: “A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none.” Conflicts with this second idea: “A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all.” These statements are the basis of his thesis of freedom, in which as a perfectly free lord, each true Christian chooses to serve and be subject to all others. These two ideas are mirrored in the depiction of the man, who is described two fold. On one hand his soul, on the other, his body. On the outside, any man can eat, live well and prosper. Their bodies might be healthy, and they might live a lavish lifestyle, but they can still be sinful. On the inside, even if a man is wholly righteous and dutiful to god, he may still be subject to misfortunes in his daily life. In this worship, and being subject to god, can a man be free. For while an unholy man can do as he please, but in the end this will work against them. Even if a holy man is subject to cruelty, in Gods victories can he find his own victories, and be free along side him.

These ideas so wholly work against the Pope and the established church. At the time, you were dependent on the church. You payed for salvation, and helped keep the priests in good living situations. While you may slave away daily to make scraps, you were still expected to fund the lavish lifestyles of the clergy. This was because, only through the church could you be close to god. They restricted who could read and interpret the scripture. They enforced rituals that were taught to be the only way to cleanse your soul and live a holy life. In this way, they could control the population, because all feared death, and a life without god. The idea that you could only be close to god through the church was constantly reinforced, and many people knew no other lifestyle. Luther’s writings said that none of this was necessary. Your outward lifestyle did not matter, and to an extent the only thing that did matter was your inner person, and your personal relationship with god. You could cast away the different sacraments, and you had no use for the idolatry of the church, when even a man who prayed silently and kept to himself could be close to god as long as he lived a pious inner life. These teachings would undermine the power that the Pope and the church had over people, removing their necessity. If these ideas became mainstream, they would lose their flow of money, and lose their place in society. They would not have power over the masses, because they would not be necessary for the religious health of their subjects.