… In the midst of these very blasphemies and infamous deeds they claim the right to the name and designation “the saintliest”; they boast that they are the vicars of Christ, the successors of Peter, etc.
Accordingly, the greatest wrongs are associated with the designation of holiness, church, true religions, etc. If anyone should express disapproval, he is immediately clubbed with the curse of excommunication and is condemned as a heretic and an enemy of God and the church. Next to the Roman popes and their confederates there is no people that prides itself more on its godliness and righteousness than the Turks, who despise Christians as idolaters but regard themselves as the saintliest and wisest of men. And yet what else is their life and godliness than endless murder, robbery, depredation, and other awful crimes?
The examples of the present time, therefore, show how those two incompatibles can exist side by side: the utmost godliness is paired with the greatest abominations, the utmost violence with the appearance of righteousness. This is also the reason why men become so hardened and smug, and do not look for the punishment they have deserved because of their sins. (Luther’s Works, v.2 p.158)