Indulgences In Martin Luther's 95 Theses

As a leader of the German Reformation and a vanguard of Protestantism, Luther’s attitude toward Jews is a matter of great concern. Some scholars, including Paul Johnson, an English journalist and famous historian, believes Luther is a brutal anti-Semite. Paul thinks Luther was not content with verbal abuse – “he got Jews expelled from Saxony in 1537, and in the 1540s he drove them from many German towns.”

His propaganda against the practice of the Pope to have the authority to read and interpret the Bible only and make people believe and follow it. Luther said that everyone can and should read the Bible for themselves, and have their own conclusion and faith. He had a strong criticism about the church's wealth, called its leaders corrupt and immoral. He strongly disagreed with selling indulgences and simony, when people after facing and regretting their sins had to pay large fees to be able to get to haven instead of hell. This was a e very old “tradition” of the Catholic church, but by the 16th century it became abusive. In his opinion salvation comes from the faith of Christ. His group of followers and supporters started to grow quickly. More and more people started to against the authority of the Pope and the Catholic church.

The Reformation was a period during the sixteenth century in which new ideas were being formed and circulated throughout the communities that resulted in the inevitable breakup of the Church. The Reformation occurred during the Enlightenment along with the ideologies of the Age of Reason, which contributed to the downfall of the Church. In addition to the Enlightenment’s ideas, technology advanced. For instance, the newly invented printing press spread information much faster than before, which played an important role during the Reformation by educating many about Reformist ideas. Before the reformists came into play, Roman Catholicism was the predominant form of Christianity in Europe. The Church was still in a high position of power from the previous period, the Middle Ages, a fact that would soon change. Famous figures such as Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Henry VIII would question the Church 's authority and forever change how Christianity was viewed. After Martin Luther, there would be a new branch of Christianity known as Protestantism. He redefined the Christian Doctrine. Sola Fide, Wars, and the Protestant denominations, prompted by Martin Luther’s actions and ideas, molded Western Civilization (Elton).

According to the textbook Martin Luther was one of the greatest guys from the renaissance. People believed that if you bought a slip of paper that you would go straight to heaven. Martin Luther didn’t believe that so he read the bible. “Through his study of the bible Luther arrived at an answer to a problem”(textbook pg.173). Martin Luther found out that “Catholic teaching had stressed that both faith and good works were needed to gain personal salvation”(textbook pg.173). Another thing is that Martin Luther thought all humans we 're powerless “In the sight of the almighty God”(textbook pg.173). Martin Luther went to the catholic church and nailed a paper with 95 theses ”Luther, who was greatly angered by the Church 's practices, sent a

Martin Luther was a very important figure in Western history and for the Protestant Reformation. He argues that many people think that Christian faith is an easy thing, they say this because they have not had the chance to experienced or make proof of it. People have to understand that Martin Luther was not opposed to Christianity, he was just criticizing some of the things that he thought they did wrong. He also talks about the importance of faith, trustworthiness and salvation in Christianity. The importance of salvation is what encourages other Christians to keep worshiping God and having faith. His work, On Christian Liberty, impact on the church and society was so tremendous that he is still recognize and known today.

In the sixteenth century, the world was divided about Martin Luther. One Catholic thought Martin Luther was a "demon in the appearance of a man." Another who first questioned Luther's theology later declared, "He alone is right!"(Witherington, 1992). Both Catholics and Protestants affirm he was not only right about a great deal, but he changed the course of Western history for the better. Luther saw how the Old Testament law against idols and the New Testament emphasis on justification by faith alone are essentially the same. He said that the Ten Commandments begin with two commandments against idolatry. It is because the fundamental problem in law-breaking is always idolatry. In other words, we never break the other commandments without first

The Reformation was a time in Europe in the 1500s in which people questioned the beliefs of the Catholic Church. There were many changes made by the catholic church. The people that were responsible were Martin Luther, John Calvin and King Henry VIII. The Protestant Reformation of 16th century Europe was primarily the result of three men and their disagreements with the Catholic Church; Martin Luther, John Calvin, and King Henry VIII forever changed the religious landscape of Europe.

According to the theses, Luther showed the leader of the church failed to teach true Christian doctrine in the ways, which relate to without the penance, using the money to buy pardons, and fearing punishments of God for sins. Luther pointed that the Church officials taught everyone can really buy their way into the kingdom of God. The pope had the power to set limits or stop the forms of penitent repression imposed by the church, but he cannot bring

Through “The Ninety-Five Theses,” Luther specifies the flaws of these indulgences that had been issued by the Church. Within the first few arguments Luther mentions how the pope does not have any power to remit the guilt of a sinner directly but only through God and his representative, a priest. In Luther’s fifth argument he stated, “The pope has neither the will nor power to remit any penalties beyond those imposed either at his own discretion or by canon law.” Luther then follows up with his sixth argument, “the pope himself cannot remit guilt, but only declare and confirm that it has been remitted by God… expect for these cases, the guilt remains untouched,” followed by the seventh where he does mention how it is only through a priest that God can remit guilt upon the sinner. Luther accordingly proceeds to involve the penitential canons of Christianity to validate his thoughts of the power of indulgences to make known that dead equals dead, the church has no more power over the spirit, “death puts an end to all the claims of the church; even the dying are already dead to the canon laws, and are no longer bound by them.” The reality was these indulgences were to only make profit for the church and this was seen as the

During the 16th and 17th century areas that were forbidden before began to change. These were areas were humans were only entitled to know what God wanted to reveal, otherwise they were inaccessible or forbidden. The limits on the knowledge humans were able to possess became more accessible during the 16th and 17th centuries. The Reformation shows the decline of the Catholic Church and the rise of questioning authority leading to the Scientific Revolution. The Scientific Revolution showed that observations and conclusions became an acceptable source of knowledge and truth, where it had been less so in earlier times.

The introduction of Martin Luther and John Calvin in the 16th century brought with it the beginning of the Reformation. The Catholic Church’s response to the Reformation demonstrated the Church’s reaction to Renaissance overall. The Catholic Church needed to draw away all the negativity with a Counter Reformation. To differentiate itself and condemn the principles of Protestantism, Pope Paul III created a council known as the Council of Trent. Also, the Jesuits combined the ideas of traditional monastic discipline with a dedication to teach and preach. For the Catholic Church to remain strong, many changes were needed.

Martin Luther had many different beliefs than that of the Roman Catholic Church and the church did not, however, respond well to them. Luther first attacked the selling of indulgences because the put and unnecessary strain on the people not to mention he thought it to be a sin. The Roman Catholic Church did not favor this one because that is how the received most of their money for building things. He believed that you could go to heaven by faith alone. This, however, was not a principle of the Roman Catholic church believes once you are saved you go to heaven. Luther also disagreed with the fact the Roman catholic Church worship “ higher authority” instead of God. Two of his beliefs were sola Fide and Sola Scripture. These two beliefs stated

“Be a sinner and sin strongly, but more strongly have faith and rejoice in Christ.” Martin Luther was a man who knew that no man could be perfect. Luther dedicated his life to studying and practicing Christianity. Martin Luther believed that no man or church had the authority to judge or save a person from sin and that the duty fell to God, and God alone. Luther’s teachings were staunchly against the concept of indulgences created by the Roman Catholic Church to make money and support the church. The idea that God’s mind could be made up by any earthly amount of money and the papal decree was ridiculous to Luther. According to Luther God is not some man made structure that can be controlled by pushing the buttons the right way, God is totally autonomous and

In his second hearing, Luther says “through the Pope’s laws and man-made teachings the consciences of the faithful have been most pitifully ensnared, troubled, and racked in torment.” This proves that he was attacking the corrupted Church’s teachings and practices that damaged faith, rather than the clergy itself. Furthermore, Luther says “they themselves by their own laws take care to provide that the Pope’s laws and doctrines are contrary to the Gospel or the teachings of the Fathers are to be considered as erroneous and reprobate.” His statement shows that the Church at that time cared more about the Pope’s laws rather than the teachings of the Bible. This justifies his teachings because he wanted to start a discussion and be proven wrong by the Bible, not the corrupt Church that damaged faith and put their laws above

By questioning the sale of indulgences and arguing that the pope does not have complete authority over forgiveness of sins and, to a larger extent, salvation, Luther established a precedent for the word of the Church to be called into question rather than it having absolute authority. Given that Luther opens his 95 Theses with “out of love and concern for the truth,” it is clear that his intentions are not necessarily to completely undermine the authority of the Catholic Church, but rather to open a dialogue between the Catholic Church and its faithful on what is actually true in regards to God. The collective judgment of the Catholic community, particularly those who did not have positions of power in the Church, would then have a much greater effect on the direction in which the Catholic Church took than it would have before Luther’s 95 Theses.