Martin Luther
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
Controversy<br />
MARTIN LUTHER: THE RELUCTANT REVOLUTIONARY<br />
PROF. M. M. NINAN<br />
The doctrine of indulgences was a major source of controversy in the Western church, leading to<br />
the start of the Protestant Reformation. The ability to grant full or partial pardons from the<br />
punishment of sins had been used by members of the Catholic hierarchy for many centuries. In the<br />
middle Ages, however, a growing sense of ecclesiastic corruption, coupled with various political<br />
and socioeconomic factors, created a volatile situation, in which the sale of indulgences would<br />
spark a major revolution.<br />
In 1294, Pope Celestine V issued a bull of pardon in L'Aquila, Italy, offering plenary indulgences to<br />
sincere Christians entering the basilica of Santa Maria di Collemaggio.<br />
In 1476, Pope Sixtus IV decreed that a person still living could obtain an indulgence for someone in<br />
purgatory.<br />
In 1517, Pope Leo X offered indulgences for those who gave alms to rebuild St. Peter's Basilica in<br />
Rome.<br />
The aggressive marketing practices of the German monk Johann Tetzel in promoting this cause<br />
provoked <strong>Martin</strong> <strong>Luther</strong> to write his 95 Theses, protesting what he saw as the purchase and crass<br />
sale of salvation.<br />
In thesis 28, <strong>Luther</strong> objected to a saying attributed to Tetzel:<br />
In thesis 82, he questioned the spiritual value of indulgences.<br />
16