Martin Luther

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MARTIN LUTHER: THE RELUCTANT REVOLUTIONARY PROF. M. M. NINAN Why doesn't the pope build the basilica of St. Peter's out of his own money? He is richer than Croesus. He would do better to sell St. Peter's and give the money to the poor folk who are being fleeced by the hawkers of indulgences." 2. The pope has no power over Purgatory. "Papal indulgences do not remove guilt. Beware of those who say that indulgences effect reconciliation with God. ... He who is contrite has plenary remission of guilt and penalty without indulgences. The pope can only remove those penalties which he himself has imposed on earth, for Christ did not say, 'Whatsoever I have bound in heaven you may loose on earth.' Therefore I claim that the pope has no jurisdiction over Purgatory. ... If the pope does have power to release anyone from Purgatory, why in the name of love does he not abolish Purgatory by letting everyone out? If for the sake of miserable money he released uncounted souls, why should he not for the sake of most holy love empty the place? To say that souls are liberated from Purgatory is audacious. To say they are released as soon as the coffer rings is to incite avarice. The pope would do better to give everything away without charge." 3. Buying indulgences gives people a false sense of security and endangers their salvation. "Indulgences are positively harmful to the recipient because they impede salvation by diverting charity and inducing a false sense of security. Christians should be taught that he who gives to the poor is better than he who receives a pardon. He who spends money on indulgences instead of relieving want receives not the indulgence of the pope but the indignation of God. ... Indulgences are most pernicious because they induce complacency and thereby imperil salvation. Those persons are damned who think that letters of indulgence make them certain of salvation. God works by contraries so that a man feels himself to be lost in the very moment when he is on the point of being saved. ...Man must first cry out that there is no health in him. He must be consumed with horror. This is the pain of Purgatory. ... In this disturbance salvation begins. When man believes himself to be utterly lost, light breaks. Peace comes in the word of Christ through faith. He who does not have this is lost even though he be absolved a million times by the pope, and he who does have it may not wish to be released from Purgatory, for true contrition seeks penalty. Christians should be encouraged to bear the cross." The impact of Printing Press A pocket-sized version of Martin Luther's 95 Theses 28
MARTIN LUTHER: THE RELUCTANT REVOLUTIONARY PROF. M. M. NINAN "That means Luther's words had already reached out hundreds of miles," Rassieur says. "When Luther's ideas started to spread, there was no way they could be stopped." No one knows how many copies of the 95 Theses were printed, but Rassieur says there were probably "thousands and thousands," given the number of editions that were immediately produced. Theses were made possible by the invention of the Printing Press In 1436 Johannes Gutenburg started working on the printing press an invention that created the ability to mobilize ideas. Through the creation of the printing press new ideas would soon flow through Europe faster than ever before and a massive wave of printed books would be sold across Europe. Martin Luther’s ninety-five Theses was able to be replicated and distributed to many people thanks to the printing press. Replication of documents used to have to be performed by hand could now be done in a much more time efficient manner due to the printing press. These ideas were printed in common tongue. In two weeks, copies of the Theses had spread throughout Germany. Within six weeks of that, the Theses had been copied across Europe. Luther’s writings reached France, England, and Italy by 1519.As with the Internet centuries later, Luther showed how a new information technology could change the world. On 31 October 1517, Luther wrote to his bishop, Albert of Mainz, protesting the sale of indulgences. He enclosed in his letter a copy of his "Disputation of Martin Luther on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences", which came to be known as the Ninety-five Theses. Hans Hillerbrand writes that 29
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Published Books by Prof.M.M.Ninan w
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Martin Luther

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