Martin luther 95 the ses reformation

InPope Leo X granted a plenary indulgence intended to finance the construction of St. Peter's Basilica in Roma.

Martin luther 95 the ses reformation: His “95 Theses,” which propounded two

All other indulgence preaching was to cease for the eight years in which it was offered. Indulgence preachers were given strict instructions on how the indulgence was to be preached, and they were much more laudatory of the indulgence than those of earlier indulgences. Luther also had a rather negative experience and idea with the indulgences connected to All Saints' Church, Wittenberg.

After hearing what Tetzel had said about indulgences in his sermons, Luther began to study the issue more carefully, and contacted experts on the subject. He preached about indulgences several times inexplaining that true repentance was better than purchasing an indulgence. A truly repentant sinner would also not seek an indulgence, because they loved God's righteousness and desired the inward punishment of their sin.

It is a cautious and searching examination of the subject. The first thesis states, "When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, 'Repent,' he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance. The pope can only announce God's forgiveness of the guilt of sin in his name. Theses 14—16 discuss the idea that the punishment of purgatory can be likened to the fear and despair felt by dying people.

He denies that the pope has any power over people in purgatory in theses 25 and In theses 27—29, he attacks the idea that as soon as payment is made, the payer's loved one is released from purgatory. He sees it as encouraging sinful greed, and says it is impossible to be certain because only God has ultimate power in forgiving punishments in purgatory.

Theses 30—34 deal with the false certainty Luther believed the indulgence preachers offered Christians. Since no one knows whether a person is truly repentant, a letter assuring a person of his forgiveness is dangerous. In theses 35 and 36, he attacks the idea that an indulgence makes repentance unnecessary. This leads to the conclusion that the truly repentant person, who alone may benefit from the indulgence, has already received the only benefit the indulgence provides.

Truly repentant Christians have already, according to Luther, been forgiven of the penalty as well as the guilt of sin. Theses 39 and 40 argue that indulgences make true repentance more difficult. True repentance desires God's punishment of sin, but indulgences teach one to avoid punishment, since that is the purpose of purchasing the indulgence.

Martin luther 95 the ses reformation: Christians are to be taught

In theses 41—47 Luther criticizes indulgences on the basis that they discourage works of mercy by those who purchase them. Here he begins to use the phrase, "Christians are to be taught They should be taught that giving to the poor is incomparably more important than buying indulgences, that buying an indulgence rather than giving to the poor invites God's wrath, and that doing good works makes a person better while buying indulgences does not.

In theses 48—52 Luther takes the side of the pope, saying that if the pope knew what was being preached in his name he would rather St. Peter's Basilica be burned down than "built up with the skin, flesh, and bones of his sheep". In theses 56—66, Martin Luther criticizes the doctrine of the treasury of merit on which the doctrine of indulgences is based.

He states that everyday Christians do not understand the doctrine and are being misled. For Luther, the true treasure of the church is the gospel of Jesus Christ. This treasure tends to be hated because it makes "the first last", [ 28 ] in the words of Matthew and In theses 67—80, Luther discusses further the problems with the way indulgences are being preached, as he had done in the letter to Archbishop Albert.

The preachers have been promoting indulgences as the greatest of the graces available from the church, but they actually only promote greed. He points out that bishops have been commanded to offer reverence to indulgence preachers who enter their jurisdiction, but bishops are also charged with protecting their people from preachers who preach contrary to the pope's intention.

Luther states that indulgences cannot take away the guilt of even the lightest of venial sins. He labels several other alleged statements of the indulgence preachers as blasphemy: that Saint Peter could not have granted a greater indulgence than the current one, and that the indulgence cross with the papal arms is as worthy as the cross of Christ.

Luther lists several criticisms advanced by laypeople against indulgences in theses 81— He presents these as difficult objections his congregants are bringing rather than his own criticisms. How should he answer those who ask why the pope does not simply empty purgatory if it is in his power? What should he say to those who ask why anniversary masses for the deadwhich were for the sake of those in purgatory, continued for those who had been redeemed by an indulgence?

Luther claimed that it seemed strange to some that pious people in purgatory could be redeemed by living impious people. Luther also mentions the question of why the pope, who is very rich, requires money from poor believers to build St. Peter's Basilica. Luther claims that ignoring these questions risks allowing people to ridicule the pope. Enduring punishment and entering heaven is preferable to false security.

The Theses are written as propositions to be argued in a formal academic disputation[ 33 ] though there is no evidence that such an event ever took place. Holding such a debate was a privilege Luther held as a doctor, and it was not an unusual form of academic inquiry. Karlstadt posted his theses at a martin luther 95 the ses reformation when the relics of the church were placed on display, and this may have been considered a provocative gesture.

Luther's theses were intended to begin a debate among academics, not a popular revolution, [ 35 ] but there are indications that he saw his action as prophetic and significant. Around this time, he began using the name "Luther" and sometimes "Eleutherius", Greek for "free", rather than "Luder". This seems to refer to his being free from the scholastic theology which he had argued against earlier that year.

Elizabeth Eisenstein has argued that his claimed surprise at their success may have involved self-deception and Hans Hillerbrand has claimed that Luther was certainly intending to instigate a large controversy. Since writing a set of theses for a disputation does not necessarily commit the author to those views, Luther could deny that he held the most incendiary ideas in the Theses.

On 31 OctoberLuther sent a letter to the Archbishop of MainzAlbert of Brandenburg, under whose authority the indulgences were being sold. In the letter, Luther addresses the archbishop out of a loyal desire to alert him to the pastoral problems created by the indulgence sermons. He assumes that Albert is unaware of what is being preached under his authority, and speaks out of concern that the people are being led away from the gospel, and that the indulgence preaching may bring shame to Albert's name.

Luther does not condemn indulgences or the current doctrine regarding them, nor even the sermons which had been preached themselves, as he had not seen them firsthand. Instead he states his concern regarding the misunderstandings of the people about indulgences which have been fostered by the preaching, such as the belief that any sin could be forgiven by indulgences or that the guilt as well as the punishment for sin could be forgiven by an indulgence.

In a postscript, Luther wrote that Albert could find some theses on the matter enclosed with his letter, so that he could see the uncertainty surrounding the doctrine of indulgences in contrast to the preachers who spoke so confidently of the benefits of indulgences. Upon his return to Germany, he enrolled in the University of Wittenberg in an attempt to suppress his spiritual turmoil.

He excelled in his studies and received a doctorate, becoming a professor of theology at the university known today as Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. Through his studies of scripture, Luther finally gained religious enlightenment. Finally, he realized the key to spiritual salvation was not to fear God or be enslaved by religious dogma but to believe that faith alone would bring salvation.

This period marked a major change in his life and set in motion the Reformation. Luther also sent a copy to Archbishop Albert Albrecht of Mainz, calling on him to end the sale of indulgences. Aided by the printing presscopies of the 95 Theses spread throughout Germany within two weeks and throughout Europe within two months. The Church eventually moved to stop the act of defiance.

In Octoberat a meeting with Cardinal Thomas Cajetan in Augsburg, Luther was ordered to recant his 95 Theses by the authority of the pope. Luther said he would not recant unless scripture proved him wrong. The meeting ended in a shouting match and initiated his ultimate excommunication from the Church. Following the publication of his 95 ThesesLuther continued to lecture and write in Wittenberg.

Martin luther 95 the ses reformation: In the Theses, Luther claimed

In June and July of Luther publicly declared that the Bible did not give the pope the exclusive right to interpret scripture, which was a direct attack on the authority of the papacy. Finally, inthe pope had had enough and on June 15 issued an ultimatum threatening Luther with excommunication. On December 10,Luther publicly burned the letter.

In MarchLuther was summoned before the Diet of Wormsa general assembly of secular authorities. Again, Luther refused to recant his statements, demanding he be shown any scripture that would refute his position. There was none. Friends helped him hide out at the Wartburg Castle. Although these ideas had been advanced before, Martin Luther codified them at a moment in history ripe for religious reformation.

His writings changed the course of religious and cultural history in the West. At age five, Luther began his education at a local school where he learned reading, writing and Latin. Did you know? Legend says Martin Luther was inspired to launch the Protestant Reformation while seated comfortably on the chamber pot. That cannot be confirmed, but in archeologists discovered Luther's lavatory, which was remarkably modern for its day, featuring a heated-floor system and a primitive drain.

But Hans Luther had other plans for young Martin—he wanted him to become a lawyer—so he withdrew him from the school in Magdeburg and sent him to new school in Eisenach. Then, inLuther enrolled at the University of Erfurt, the premiere university in Germany at the time. In July of that year, Luther got caught in a violent thunderstorm, in which a bolt of lightning nearly struck him down.

He considered the incident a sign from God and vowed to become a martin luther 95 the ses reformation if he survived the storm. The storm subsided, Luther emerged unscathed and, true to his promise, Luther turned his back on his study of the law days later on July 17, Instead, he entered an Augustinian monastery. Luther began to live the spartan and rigorous life of a monk but did not abandon his studies.

The dying are freed by death from all penalties, are already dead as far as the canon laws are concerned, and have a right to be released from them. Imperfect piety or love on the part of the dying person necessarily brings with it great fear; and the smaller the love, the greater the fear. This fear or horror is sufficient in itself, to say nothing of other things, to constitute the penalty of purgatory, since it is very near to the horror of despair.

Hell, purgatory, and heaven seem to differ the same as despair, fear, and assurance of salvation. It seems as though for the souls in purgatory fear should necessarily decrease and love increase. Furthermore, it does not seem proved, either by reason or by Scripture, that souls in purgatory are outside the state of merit, that is, unable to grow in love.

Nor does it seem proved that souls in purgatory, at least not all of them, are certain and assured of their own salvation, even if we ourselves may be entirely certain of it. Thus those indulgence preachers are in error who say that a man is absolved from every penalty and saved by papal indulgences. As a matter of fact, the pope remits to souls in purgatory no penalty which, according to canon law, they should have paid in this life.

If remission of all penalties whatsoever could be granted to anyone at all, certainly it would be granted only to the most perfect, that is, to very few. For this reason most people are necessarily deceived by that indiscriminate and high-sounding promise of release from penalty. That power which the pope has in general over purgatory corresponds to the power which any bishop or curate has in a particular way in his own diocese and parish.

The pope does very well when he grants remission to souls in purgatory, not by the power of the keys, which he does not have, but by way of intercession for them. They preach only human doctrines who say that as soon as the money clinks into the money chest, the soul flies out of purgatory. It is certain that when money clinks in the money chest, greed and avarice can be increased; but when the church intercedes, the result is in the hands of God alone.

Who knows whether all souls in purgatory wish to be redeemed, since we have exceptions in St. Severinus and St. Paschal, as related in a legend. No one is sure of the integrity of his own contrition, much less of having received plenary remission. The man who actually buys indulgences is as rare as he who is really penitent; indeed, he is exceedingly rare.

Those who believe that they can be certain of their salvation because they have indulgence letters will be eternally damned, together with their teachers. Men must especially be on guard against those who say that the pope's pardons are that inestimable gift of God by which man is reconciled to him. For the graces of indulgences are concerned only with the penalties of sacramental satisfaction established by man.