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Martin Luther and the 95 Theses

By: History.com Editors

Updated: June 6, 2019 | Original: October 29, 2009

Born in Eisleben, Germany, in 1483, Martin Luther went on to become one of Western history’s most significant figures. Luther spent his early years in relative anonymity as a monk and scholar. But in 1517 Luther penned a document attacking the Catholic Church’s corrupt practice of selling “indulgences” to absolve sin. His “95 Theses,” which propounded two central beliefs—that the Bible is the central religious authority and that humans may reach salvation only by their faith and not by their deeds—was to spark the Protestant Reformation. Although these ideas had been advanced before, Martin Luther codified them at a moment in history ripe for religious reformation. The Catholic Church was ever after divided, and the Protestantism that soon emerged was shaped by Luther’s ideas. His writings changed the course of religious and cultural history in the West.

Martin Luther (1483–1546) was born in Eisleben, Saxony (now Germany), part of the Holy Roman Empire, to parents Hans and Margaretta. Luther’s father was a prosperous businessman, and when Luther was young, his father moved the family of 10 to Mansfeld. At age five, Luther began his education at a local school where he learned reading, writing and Latin. At 13, Luther began to attend a school run by the Brethren of the Common Life in Magdeburg. The Brethren’s teachings focused on personal piety, and while there Luther developed an early interest in monastic life.

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 2004 archeologists discovered Luther's lavatory, which was remarkably modern for its day, featuring a heated-floor system and a primitive drain.

Martin Luther Enters the Monastery

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, in 1501, Luther enrolled at the University of Erfurt, the premiere university in Germany at the time. There, he studied the typical curriculum of the day: arithmetic, astronomy, geometry and philosophy and he attained a Master’s degree from the school in 1505. 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 monk 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, 1505. Instead, he entered an Augustinian monastery.

Luther began to live the spartan and rigorous life of a monk but did not abandon his studies. Between 1507 and 1510, Luther studied at the University of Erfurt and at a university in Wittenberg. In 1510–1511, he took a break from his education to serve as a representative in Rome for the German Augustinian monasteries. In 1512, Luther received his doctorate and became a professor of biblical studies. Over the next five years Luther’s continuing theological studies would lead him to insights that would have implications for Christian thought for centuries to come.

Martin Luther Questions the Catholic Church

In early 16th-century Europe, some theologians and scholars were beginning to question the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. It was also around this time that translations of original texts—namely, the Bible and the writings of the early church philosopher Augustine—became more widely available.

Augustine (340–430) had emphasized the primacy of the Bible rather than Church officials as the ultimate religious authority. He also believed that humans could not reach salvation by their own acts, but that only God could bestow salvation by his divine grace. In the Middle Ages the Catholic Church taught that salvation was possible through “good works,” or works of righteousness, that pleased God. Luther came to share Augustine’s two central beliefs, which would later form the basis of Protestantism.

Meanwhile, the Catholic Church’s practice of granting “indulgences” to provide absolution to sinners became increasingly corrupt. Indulgence-selling had been banned in Germany, but the practice continued unabated. In 1517, a friar named Johann Tetzel began to sell indulgences in Germany to raise funds to renovate St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

The 95 Theses

Committed to the idea that salvation could be reached through faith and by divine grace only, Luther vigorously objected to the corrupt practice of selling indulgences. Acting on this belief, he wrote the “Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences,” also known as “The 95 Theses,” a list of questions and propositions for debate. Popular legend has it that on October 31, 1517 Luther defiantly nailed a copy of his 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Castle church. The reality was probably not so dramatic; Luther more likely hung the document on the door of the church matter-of-factly to announce the ensuing academic discussion around it that he was organizing.

The 95 Theses, which would later become the foundation of the Protestant Reformation, were written in a remarkably humble and academic tone, questioning rather than accusing. The overall thrust of the document was nonetheless quite provocative. The first two of the theses contained Luther’s central idea, that God intended believers to seek repentance and that faith alone, and not deeds, would lead to salvation. The other 93 theses, a number of them directly criticizing the practice of indulgences, supported these first two.

In addition to his criticisms of indulgences, Luther also reflected popular sentiment about the “St. Peter’s scandal” in the 95 Theses:

Why does not the pope, whose wealth today is greater than the wealth of the richest Crassus, build the basilica of St. Peter with his own money rather than with the money of poor believers?

The 95 Theses were quickly distributed throughout Germany and then made their way to Rome. In 1518, Luther was summoned to Augsburg, a city in southern Germany, to defend his opinions before an imperial diet (assembly). A debate lasting three days between Luther and Cardinal Thomas Cajetan produced no agreement. Cajetan defended the church’s use of indulgences, but Luther refused to recant and returned to Wittenberg.

Luther the Heretic

On November 9, 1518 the pope condemned Luther’s writings as conflicting with the teachings of the Church. One year later a series of commissions were convened to examine Luther’s teachings. The first papal commission found them to be heretical, but the second merely stated that Luther’s writings were “scandalous and offensive to pious ears.” Finally, in July 1520 Pope Leo X issued a papal bull (public decree) that concluded that Luther’s propositions were heretical and gave Luther 120 days to recant in Rome. Luther refused to recant, and on January 3, 1521 Pope Leo excommunicated Martin Luther from the Catholic Church.

On April 17, 1521 Luther appeared before the Diet of Worms in Germany. Refusing again to recant, Luther concluded his testimony with the defiant statement: “Here I stand. God help me. I can do no other.” On May 25, the Holy Roman emperor Charles V signed an edict against Luther, ordering his writings to be burned. Luther hid in the town of Eisenach for the next year, where he began work on one of his major life projects, the translation of the New Testament into German, which took him 10 months to complete.

Martin Luther's Later Years

Luther returned to Wittenberg in 1521, where the reform movement initiated by his writings had grown beyond his influence. It was no longer a purely theological cause; it had become political. Other leaders stepped up to lead the reform, and concurrently, the rebellion known as the Peasants’ War was making its way across Germany.

Luther had previously written against the Church’s adherence to clerical celibacy, and in 1525 he married Katherine of Bora, a former nun. They had five children. Although Luther’s early writings had sparked the Reformation, he was hardly involved in it during his later years. At the end of his life, Luther turned strident in his views, and pronounced the pope the Antichrist, advocated for the expulsion of Jews from the empire and condoned polygamy based on the practice of the patriarchs in the Old Testament.

Luther died on February 18, 1546.

Significance of Martin Luther’s Work

Martin Luther is one of the most influential figures in Western history. His writings were responsible for fractionalizing the Catholic Church and sparking the Protestant Reformation. His central teachings, that the Bible is the central source of religious authority and that salvation is reached through faith and not deeds, shaped the core of Protestantism. Although Luther was critical of the Catholic Church, he distanced himself from the radical successors who took up his mantle. Luther is remembered as a controversial figure, not only because his writings led to significant religious reform and division, but also because in later life he took on radical positions on other questions, including his pronouncements against Jews, which some have said may have portended German anti-Semitism; others dismiss them as just one man’s vitriol that did not gain a following. Some of Luther’s most significant contributions to theological history, however, such as his insistence that as the sole source of religious authority the Bible be translated and made available to everyone, were truly revolutionary in his day.

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The 95 Theses , a document written by Martin Luther in 1517, challenged the teachings of the Catholic Church on the nature of penance, the authority of the pope and the usefulness of indulgences. It sparked a theological debate that fueled the Reformation and subsequently resulted in the birth of Protestantism and the Lutheran , Reformed , and Anabaptist traditions within Christianity.

Luther's action was in great part a response to the selling of indulgences by Johann Tetzel, a Dominican priest, commissioned by the Archbishop of Mainz and Pope Leo X. The purpose of this fundraising campaign was to finance the building of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Even though Luther's prince, Frederick the Wise, and the prince of the neighboring territory, George, Duke of Saxony, forbade the sale in their lands, Luther's parishioners traveled to purchase them. When these people came to confession, they presented the plenary indulgence, claiming they no longer had to repent of their sins, since the document promised to forgive all their sins.

Luther is said to have posted the 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, on October 31, 1517. Church doors functioned very much as bulletin boards function on a twenty-first century college campus. The 95 Theses were quickly translated into German, widely copied and printed. Within two weeks they had spread throughout Germany, and within two months throughout Europe. This was one of the first events in history that was profoundly affected by the printing press, which made the distribution of documents and ideas easier and more wide-spread.

Text of the 95 Theses

**Disputation of Doctor Martin Luther\ on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences

by Dr. Martin Luther, 1517** Out of love for the truth and the desire to bring it to light, the following propositions will be discussed at Wittenberg, under the presidency of the Reverend Father Martin Luther, Master of Arts and of Sacred Theology, and Lecturer in Ordinary on the same at that place. Wherefore he requests that those who are unable to be present and debate orally with us, may do so by letter.

In the Name our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

• Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, when He said Poenitentiam agite, willed that the whole life of believers should be repentance.
• This word cannot be understood to mean sacramental penance, i.e., confession and satisfaction, which is administered by the priests.
• Yet it means not inward repentance only; nay, there is no inward repentance which does not outwardly work divers mortifications of the flesh.
• The penalty [of sin], therefore, continues so long as hatred of self continues; for this is the true inward repentance, and continues until our entrance into the kingdom of heaven.
• The pope does not intend to remit, and cannot remit any penalties other than those which he has imposed either by his own authority or by that of the Canons.
• The pope cannot remit any guilt, except by declaring that it has been remitted by God and by assenting to God's remission; though, to be sure, he may grant remission in cases reserved to his judgment. If his right to grant remission in such cases were despised, the guilt would remain entirely unforgiven.
• God remits guilt to no one whom He does not, at the same time, humble in all things and bring into subjection to His vicar, the priest.
• The penitential canons are imposed only on the living, and, according to them, nothing should be imposed on the dying.
• Therefore the Holy Spirit in the pope is kind to us, because in his decrees he always makes exception of the article of death and of necessity.
• Ignorant and wicked are the doings of those priests who, in the case of the dying, reserve canonical penances for purgatory.
• This changing of the canonical penalty to the penalty of purgatory is quite evidently one of the tares that were sown while the bishops slept.
• In former times the canonical penalties were imposed not after, but before absolution, as tests of true contrition.
• The dying are freed by death from all penalties; they are already dead to canonical rules, and have a right to be released from them.
• The imperfect health [of soul], that is to say, the imperfect love, of the dying brings with it, of necessity, great fear; and the smaller the love, the greater is the fear.
• This fear and horror is sufficient of itself alone (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 as do despair, almost-despair, and the assurance of safety.
• With souls in purgatory it seems necessary that horror should grow less and love increase.
• It seems unproved, either by reason or Scripture, that they are outside the state of merit, that is to say, of increasing love.
• Again, it seems unproved that they, or at least that all of them, are certain or assured of their own blessedness, though we may be quite certain of it.
• Therefore by "full remission of all penalties" the pope means not actually "of all," but only of those imposed by himself.
• Therefore those preachers of indulgences are in error, who say that by the pope's indulgences a man is freed from every penalty, and saved;
• Whereas he remits to souls in purgatory no penalty which, according to the canons, they would have had to pay in this life.
• If it is at all possible to grant to any one the remission of all penalties whatsoever, it is certain that this remission can be granted only to the most perfect, that is, to the very fewest.
• It must needs be, therefore, that the greater part of the people are deceived by that indiscriminate and highsounding promise of release from penalty.
• The power which the pope has, in a general way, over purgatory, is just like the power which any bishop or curate has, in a special way, within his own diocese or parish.
• The pope does well when he grants remission to souls [in purgatory], not by the power of the keys (which he does not possess), but by way of intercession.
• They preach man who say that so soon as the penny jingles into the money-box, the soul flies out [of purgatory].
• It is certain that when the penny jingles into the money-box, gain and avarice can be increased, but the result of the intercession of the Church is in the power of God alone.
• Who knows whether all the souls in purgatory wish to be bought out of it, as in the legend of Sts. Severinus and Paschal.
• No one is sure that his own contrition is sincere; much less that he has attained full remission.
• Rare as is the man that is truly penitent, so rare is also the man who truly buys indulgences, i.e., such men are most rare.
• They will be condemned eternally, together with their teachers, who believe themselves sure of their salvation because they have letters of pardon.
• Men must be on their guard against those who say that the pope's pardons are that inestimable gift of God by which man is reconciled to Him;
• For these "graces of pardon" concern only the penalties of sacramental satisfaction, and these are appointed by man.
• They preach no Christian doctrine who teach that contrition is not necessary in those who intend to buy souls out of purgatory or to buy confessionalia.
• Every truly repentant Christian has a right to full remission of penalty and guilt, even without letters of pardon.
• Every true Christian, whether living or dead, has part in all the blessings of Christ and the Church; and this is granted him by God, even without letters of pardon.
• Nevertheless, the remission and participation [in the blessings of the Church] which are granted by the pope are in no way to be despised, for they are, as I have said, the declaration of divine remission.
• It is most difficult, even for the very keenest theologians, at one and the same time to commend to the people the abundance of pardons and [the need of] true contrition.
• True contrition seeks and loves penalties, but liberal pardons only relax penalties and cause them to be hated, or at least, furnish an occasion [for hating them].
• Apostolic pardons are to be preached with caution, lest the people may falsely think them preferable to other good works of love.
• Christians are to be taught that the pope does not intend the buying of pardons to be compared in any way to works of mercy.
• Christians are to be taught that he who gives to the poor or lends to the needy does a better work than buying pardons;
• Because love grows by works of love, and man becomes better; but by pardons man does not grow better, only more free from penalty.
• Christians are to be taught that he who sees a man in need, and passes him by, and gives [his money] for pardons, purchases not the indulgences of the pope, but the indignation of God.
• Christians are to be taught that unless they have more than they need, they are bound to keep back what is necessary for their own families, and by no means to squander it on pardons.
• Christians are to be taught that the buying of pardons is a matter of free will, and not of commandment.
• Christians are to be taught that the pope, in granting pardons, needs, and therefore desires, their devout prayer for him more than the money they bring.
• Christians are to be taught that the pope's pardons are useful, if they do not put their trust in them; but altogether harmful, if through them they lose their fear of God.
• Christians are to be taught that if the pope knew the exactions of the pardon-preachers, he would rather that St. Peter's church should go to ashes, than that it should be built up with the skin, flesh and bones of his sheep.
• Christians are to be taught that it would be the pope's wish, as it is his duty, to give of his own money to very many of those from whom certain hawkers of pardons cajole money, even though the church of St. Peter might have to be sold.
• The assurance of salvation by letters of pardon is vain, even though the commissary, nay, even though the pope himself, were to stake his soul upon it.
• They are enemies of Christ and of the pope, who bid the Word of God be altogether silent in some Churches, in order that pardons may be preached in others.
• Injury is done the Word of God when, in the same sermon, an equal or a longer time is spent on pardons than on this Word.
• It must be the intention of the pope that if pardons, which are a very small thing, are celebrated with one bell, with single processions and ceremonies, then the Gospel, which is the very greatest thing, should be preached with a hundred bells, a hundred processions, a hundred ceremonies.
• The "treasures of the Church," out of which the pope grants indulgences, are not sufficiently named or known among the people of Christ.
• That they are not temporal treasures is certainly evident, for many of the vendors do not pour out such treasures so easily, but only gather them.
• Nor are they the merits of Christ and the Saints, for even without the pope, these always work grace for the inner man, and the cross, death, and hell for the outward man.
• St. Lawrence said that the treasures of the Church were the Church's poor, but he spoke according to the usage of the word in his own time.
• Without rashness we say that the keys of the Church, given by Christ's merit, are that treasure;
• For it is clear that for the remission of penalties and of reserved cases, the power of the pope is of itself sufficient.
• The true treasure of the Church is the Most Holy Gospel of the glory and the grace of God.
• But this treasure is naturally most odious, for it makes the first to be last.
• On the other hand, the treasure of indulgences is naturally most acceptable, for it makes the last to be first.
• Therefore the treasures of the Gospel are nets with which they formerly were wont to fish for men of riches.
• The treasures of the indulgences are nets with which they now fish for the riches of men.
• The indulgences which the preachers cry as the "greatest graces" are known to be truly such, in so far as they promote gain.
• Yet they are in truth the very smallest graces compared with the grace of God and the piety of the Cross.
• Bishops and curates are bound to admit the commissaries of apostolic pardons, with all reverence.
• But still more are they bound to strain all their eyes and attend with all their ears, lest these men preach their own dreams instead of the commission of the pope.
• He who speaks against the truth of apostolic pardons, let him be anathema and accursed!
• But he who guards against the lust and license of the pardon-preachers, let him be blessed!
• The pope justly thunders against those who, by any art, contrive the injury of the traffic in pardons.
• But much more does he intend to thunder against those who use the pretext of pardons to contrive the injury of holy love and truth.
• To think the papal pardons so great that they could absolve a man even if he had committed an impossible sin and violated the Mother of God -- this is madness.
• We say, on the contrary, that the papal pardons are not able to remove the very least of venial sins, so far as its guilt is concerned.
• It is said that even St. Peter, if he were now Pope, could not bestow greater graces; this is blasphemy against St. Peter and against the pope.
• We say, on the contrary, that even the present pope, and any pope at all, has greater graces at his disposal; to wit, the Gospel, powers, gifts of healing, etc., as it is written in I. Corinthians xii.
• To say that the cross, emblazoned with the papal arms, which is set up [by the preachers of indulgences], is of equal worth with the Cross of Christ, is blasphemy.
• The bishops, curates and theologians who allow such talk to be spread among the people, will have an account to render.
• This unbridled preaching of pardons makes it no easy matter, even for learned men, to rescue the reverence due to the pope from slander, or even from the shrewd questionings of the laity.
• To wit: -- "Why does not the pope empty purgatory, for the sake of holy love and of the dire need of the souls that are there, if he redeems an infinite number of souls for the sake of miserable money with which to build a Church? The former reasons would be most just; the latter is most trivial."
• Again: -- "Why are mortuary and anniversary masses for the dead continued, and why does he not return or permit the withdrawal of the endowments founded on their behalf, since it is wrong to pray for the redeemed?"
• Again: -- "What is this new piety of God and the pope, that for money they allow a man who is impious and their enemy to buy out of purgatory the pious soul of a friend of God, and do not rather, because of that pious and beloved soul's own need, free it for pure love's sake?"
• Again: -- "Why are the penitential canons long since in actual fact and through disuse abrogated and dead, now satisfied by the granting of indulgences, as though they were still alive and in force?"
• Again: -- "Why does not the pope, whose wealth is to-day greater than the riches of the richest, build just this one church of St. Peter with his own money, rather than with the money of poor believers?"
• Again: -- "What is it that the pope remits, and what participation does he grant to those who, by perfect contrition, have a right to full remission and participation?"
• Again: -- "What greater blessing could come to the Church than if the pope were to do a hundred times a day what he now does once, and bestow on every believer these remissions and participations?"
• "Since the pope, by his pardons, seeks the salvation of souls rather than money, why does he suspend the indulgences and pardons granted heretofore, since these have equal efficacy?"
• To repress these arguments and scruples of the laity by force alone, and not to resolve them by giving reasons, is to expose the Church and the pope to the ridicule of their enemies, and to make Christians unhappy.
• If, therefore, pardons were preached according to the spirit and mind of the pope, all these doubts would be readily resolved; nay, they would not exist.
• Away, then, with all those prophets who say to the people of Christ, "Peace, peace," and there is no peace!
• Blessed be all those prophets who say to the people of Christ, "Cross, cross," and there is no cross!
• Christians are to be exhorted that they be diligent in following Christ, their Head, through penalties, deaths, and hell;
• And thus be confident of entering into heaven rather through many tribulations, than through the assurance of peace.
• Martin Luther
• Reformation

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• Ninety-Five Theses

the theses of Luther against the sale of indulgences in the Roman Catholic Church, posted by him on the door of a church in Wittenberg, October 31, 1517.

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The 95 Theses – a modern translation

1. When Jesus said “repent” he meant that believers should live a whole life repenting

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3. Inwards penitence must be accompanied with a suitable change in lifestyle.

4. Sin will always remain until we enter Heaven.

5. The pope must act according to canon law.

6. Only God can forgive -the pope can only reassure people that God will do this.

7. A sinner must be humbled in front of his priest before God can forgive him.

8. Canon law applies only to the living not to the dead.

9. However, the Holy Spirit will make exceptions to this when required to do so.

10. The priest must not threaten those dying with the penalty of purgatory.

11. The church through church penalties is producing a ‘human crop of weeds’.

12. In days gone by, church penalties were imposed before release from guilt to show true repentance.

13. When you die all your debts to the church are wiped out and those debts are free from being judged.

14. When someone is dying they might have bad/incorrect thoughts against the church and they will be scared. This fear is enough penalty.

15. This fear is so bad that it is enough to cleanse the soul.

16. Purgatory = Hell. Heaven = Assurance.

17. Souls in Purgatory need to find love – the more love the less their sin.

18. A sinful soul does not have to be always sinful. It can be cleansed.

19. There is no proof that a person is free from sin.

20. Even the pope – who can offer forgiveness – cannot totally forgive sins held within.

21. An indulgence will not save a man.

22. A dead soul cannot be saved by an indulgence.

23. Only a very few sinners can be pardoned. These people would have to be perfect.

24. Therefore most people are being deceived by indulgences.

25. The pope’s power over Purgatory is the same as a priest’s.

26. When the pope intervenes to save an individual, he does so by the will of God.

27. It is nonsense to teach that a dead soul in Purgatory can be saved by money.

28. Money causes greed – only God can save souls.

29. Do we know if the souls in Purgatory want to be saved ?

30. No-one is sure of the reality of his own penitence – no-one can be sure of receiving complete forgiveness.

31. A man who truly buys an indulgence (ie believes it is to be what it is) is as rare as someone who truly repents all sin ie very rare.

32. People who believe that indulgences will let them live in salvation will always be damned – along with those who teach it.

33. Do not believe those who say that a papal indulgence is a wonderful gift which allows salvation.

34. Indulgences only offer Man something which has been agreed to by Man.

35. We should not teach that those who aim to buy salvation do not need to be contrite.

36. A man can be free of sin if he sincerely repents – an indulgence is not needed.

37. Any Christian – dead or alive – can gain the benefit and love of Christ without an indulgence.

38. Do not despise the pope’s forgiveness but his forgiveness is not the most important.

39. The most educated theologians cannot preach about indulgences and real repentance at the same time.

40. A true repenter will be sorry for his sins and happily pay for them. Indulgences trivialise this issue.

41. If a pardon is given it should be given cautiously in case people think it’s more important than doing good works.

42. Christians should be taught that the buying of indulgences does not compare with being forgiven by Christ.

43. A Christian who gives to the poor or lends to those in need is doing better in God’s eyes than one who buys ‘forgiveness’.

44. This is because of loving others, love grows and you become a better person. A person buying an indulgence does not become a better person.

45. A person who passes by a beggar but buys an indulgence will gain the anger and disappointment of God.

46. A Christian should buy what is necessary for life not waste money on an indulgence.

47. Christians should be taught that they do not need an indulgence.

48. The pope should have more desire for devout prayer than for ready money.

49. Christians should be taught not to rely on an indulgence. They should never lose their fear of God through them.

50. If a pope knew how much people were being charged for an indulgence – he would prefer to demolish St. Peter’s.

51. The pope should give his own money to replace that which is taken from pardoners.

52. It is vain to rely on an indulgence to forgive your sins.

53. Those who forbid the word of God to be preached and who preach pardons as a norm are enemies of both the pope and Christ.

54. It is blasphemy that the word of God is preached less than that of indulgences.

55. The pope should enforce that the gospel – a very great matter – must be celebrated more than indulgences.

56. The treasure of the church is not sufficiently known about among the followers of Christ.

57. The treasure of the Church are temporal (of this life).

58. Relics are not the relics of Christ, although they may seem to be. They are, in fact, evil in concept.

59. St. Laurence misinterpreted this as the poor gave money to the church for relics and forgiveness.

60. Salvation can be sought for through the church as it has been granted this by Christ.

61. It is clear that the power of the church is adequate, by itself, for the forgiveness of sins.

62. The main treasure of the church should be the Gospels and the grace of God.

63. Indulgences make the most evil seem unjustly good.

64. Therefore evil seems good without penance or forgiveness.

65. The treasured items in the Gospels are the nets used by the workers.

66. Indulgences are used to net an income for the wealthy.

67. It is wrong that merchants praise indulgences.

68. They are the furthest from the grace of God and the piety and love of the cross.

69. Bishops are duty bound to sell indulgences and support them as part of their job.

70. But bishops are under a much greater obligation to prevent men preaching their own dreams.

71. People who deny the pardons of the Apostles will be cursed.

72. Blessed are they who think about being forgiven.

73. The pope is angered at those who claim that pardons are meaningless.

74. He will be even more angry with those who use indulgences to criticise holy love.

75. It is wrong to think that papal pardons have the power to absolve all sin.

76. You should feel guilt after being pardoned. A papal pardon cannot remove guilt.

77. Not even St. Peter could remove guilt.

78. Even so, St. Peter and the pope possess great gifts of grace.

79. It is blasphemy to say that the insignia of the cross is of equal value with the cross of Christ.

80. Bishops who authorise such preaching will have to answer for it.

81. Pardoners make the intelligent appear disrespectful because of the pope’s position.

82. Why doesn’t the pope clean feet for holy love not for money ?

83. Indulgences bought for the dead should be re-paid by the pope.

84. Evil men must not buy their salvation when a poor man, who is a friend of God, cannot.

85. Why are indulgences still bought from the church ?

86. The pope should re-build St. Peter’s with his own money.

87. Why does the pope forgive those who serve against him ?

88. What good would be done to the church if the pope was to forgive hundreds of people each day ?

89. Why are indulgences only issued when the pope sees fit to issue them ?

90. To suppress the above is to expose the church for what it is and to make true Christians unhappy.

91. If the pope had worked as he should (and by example) all the problems stated above would not have existed.

92. All those who say there is no problem must go. Problems must be tackled.

93. Those in the church who claim there is no problem must go.

94. Christians must follow Christ at all cost.

95. Let Christians experience problems if they must – and overcome them – rather than live a false life based on present Catholic teaching.

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The Ninety-Five Theses

• Post author: The LCMS
• Post published: June 27, 2016
• Post category: History

by Dr. Jack Kilcrease

To understand the 95 Theses, we must first examine the nature of indulgences. According Roman Catholic theology, within the process of confession and absolution there is a distinction between “eternal punishment” and “temporal punishment” due to sin. All sin is worthy of damnation (i.e., eternal punishment). When a person comes to confess their sins, the priest questions them regarding whether or not they are genuinely repentant. If they are, then the priest is to absolve them. Through absolution he makes the sinner free of eternal punishment.

Nevertheless, in spite of the fact that the sinner is free from eternal punishment, he is still subject to temporal punishment. Temporal punishment is simply the temporary suffering that all sin merits irrespective to forgiveness. If a person possesses heartfelt sadness at having violated the will of God (what Roman Catholic theology calls “contrition”) they will have already partially fulfilled the temporal punishment due to their sin. If they are merely repenting because they fear God’s judgment (what Roman Catholic theology calls “attrition”), then they will be subject to the full weight of temporal punishment.

In order to fulfill temporal punishment due to sin, the priest assigns penance after he has absolved the believer of sin. The priest decides how much penance to assign on the basis of an educated guess regarding the level of contrition experienced by the sinner. The more contrition the sinner feels (as opposed to mere attrition), the less penance should be assigned. To the extent that the sinner does not complete all penance given to him, or the priest makes a mistake regarding how much penance should be assigned, the sinner will have to endure the sufferings of purgatory in the next life to fill in the deficit.

Indulgences were invented partially as a way to solve the problem of the inexact nature of penance. Because the pope has access to the “Treasury of Merits” (i.e., the great reserve of the merits of Christ and the saints), he can release persons from the need to perform penance whenever he so chooses. This power extends to this life as well as the next (i.e., purgatory). He can do this by attaching a promise of indulgence to any action a sinner might take. By the time of the Reformation, the pope had attached this promise of the abrogation of penance to the payment of a fee. The pope also decreed that people could  make a payment for their dead relatives in purgatory, thereby shortening their sufferings.

The specific occasion of the outbreak of the Indulgence Controversy was Johann Tetzel’s sale of indulgences in northern Germany. This sale was authorized by Archbishop Albrecht of Mainz and Pope Leo X. Albrecht had recently paid the pope to make him archbishop of the region.  In order to repay the loan Albrecht had taken out to cover the bribe, the pope offered him the option of allowing the sale of indulgences in his region of Germany and splitting the profits with the Vatican. Specifically, the papacy was interested in selling indulgences at this time as a way of paying for the construction of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Although indulgences were not sold in Saxony, many people in Wittenberg traveled to the nearby regions and purchased them.

In the 95 Theses, Luther’s response to indulgences was several fold.  First, it must be understood that at this point Luther’s teaching on justification was not completely developed and so at first he did not reject the very idea of indulgences, as he later would.  Instead, Luther argued that the Latin Bible (also called the Vulgate translation) had improperly translated Matthew 3:2: “ Repent , for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” as “ Do penance , for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” According to Luther’s interpretation, Jesus did not mean that people were obliged to perform penance. Instead, what Christ taught was that possessing an attitude of genuine contrition was central to the Christian life. The Church could prescribe the outward means through which one could express that inner contrition (i.e., penance), and even abrogate the necessity of employing those means (i.e., indulgences). Nevertheless, the Church could not circumvent the command of Christ by telling believers that by merely paying a fee that they need not feel genuine contrition for their sins.

Lastly, Luther argued that the pope does not have any power over purgatory.  If we believe that the pope does, argued Luther, it raises the uncomfortable question of why he does not simply empty purgatory for the sake of mercy, rather than demanding a fee.

Although Luther’s criticisms of indulgences in the 95 Theses stand at variance with his later Reformation theology, the document remains an important witness to a stage in the Reformer’s thinking.  The posting of the 95 Theses gave rise to a series of debates which caused Luther to radically rethink the doctrine of confession and absolution.  As a result of these debates, Luther eventually came to recognize the free grace of God in the unconditional promise of the Gospel.

Jack Kilcrease is a member of Our Savior Lutheran Church, Grand Rapids, Mich.

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Martin Luther

(1483-1546)

Who Was Martin Luther?

Luther called into question some of the basic tenets of Roman Catholicism, and his followers soon split from the Roman Catholic Church to begin the Protestant tradition. His actions set in motion tremendous reform within the Church.

A prominent theologian, Luther’s desire for people to feel closer to God led him to translate the Bible into the language of the people, radically changing the relationship between church leaders and their followers.

Luther was born on November 10, 1483, in Eisleben, Saxony, located in modern-day Germany.

His parents, Hans and Margarette Luther, were of peasant lineage. However, Hans had some success as a miner and ore smelter, and in 1484 the family moved from Eisleben to nearby Mansfeld, where Hans held ore deposits.

Hans Luther knew that mining was a tough business and wanted his promising son to have a better career as a lawyer. At age seven, Luther entered school in Mansfeld.

At 14, Luther went north to Magdeburg, where he continued his studies. In 1498, he returned to Eisleben and enrolled in a school, studying grammar, rhetoric and logic. He later compared this experience to purgatory and hell.

In 1501, Luther entered the University of Erfurt , where he received a degree in grammar, logic, rhetoric and metaphysics. At this time, it seemed he was on his way to becoming a lawyer.

Becoming a Monk

In July 1505, Luther had a life-changing experience that set him on a new course to becoming a monk.

Caught in a horrific thunderstorm where he feared for his life, Luther cried out to St. Anne, the patron saint of miners, “Save me, St. Anne, and I’ll become a monk!” The storm subsided and he was saved.

Most historians believe this was not a spontaneous act, but an idea already formulated in Luther’s mind. The decision to become a monk was difficult and greatly disappointed his father, but he felt he must keep a promise.

Luther was also driven by fears of hell and God’s wrath, and felt that life in a monastery would help him find salvation.

The first few years of monastic life were difficult for Luther, as he did not find the religious enlightenment he was seeking. A mentor told him to focus his life exclusively on Jesus Christ and this would later provide him with the guidance he sought.

Disillusionment with Rome

At age 27, Luther was given the opportunity to be a delegate to a Catholic church conference in Rome. He came away more disillusioned, and very discouraged by the immorality and corruption he witnessed there among the Catholic priests.

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. Beginning in 1513, while preparing lectures, Luther read the first line of Psalm 22, which Christ wailed in his cry for mercy on the cross, a cry similar to Luther’s own disillusionment with God and religion.

Two years later, while preparing a lecture on Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, he read, “The just will live by faith.” He dwelled on this statement for some time.

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.

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'95 Theses'

On October 31, 1517, Luther, angry with Pope Leo X’s new round of indulgences to help build St. Peter’s Basilica , nailed a sheet of paper with his 95 Theses on the University of Wittenberg’s chapel door.

Though Luther intended these to be discussion points, the 95 Theses laid out a devastating critique of the indulgences - good works, which often involved monetary donations, that popes could grant to the people to cancel out penance for sins - as corrupting people’s faith.

Luther also sent a copy to Archbishop Albert Albrecht of Mainz, calling on him to end the sale of indulgences. Aided by the printing press , copies 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 October 1518, at 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. He went further, stating he didn’t consider that the papacy had the authority to interpret scripture. The meeting ended in a shouting match and initiated his ultimate excommunication from the Church.

Excommunication

Following the publication of his 95 Theses , Luther continued to lecture and write in Wittenberg. In June and July of 1519 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, in 1520, the pope had had enough and on June 15 issued an ultimatum threatening Luther with excommunication.

On December 10, 1520, Luther publicly burned the letter. In January 1521, Luther was officially excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church.

Diet of Worms

In March 1521, Luther was summoned before the Diet of Worms , a 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.

On May 8, 1521, the council released the Edict of Worms, banning Luther’s writings and declaring him a “convicted heretic.” This made him a condemned and wanted man. Friends helped him hide out at the Wartburg Castle.

While in seclusion, he translated the New Testament into the German language, to give ordinary people the opportunity to read God’s word.

Lutheran Church

Though still under threat of arrest, Luther returned to Wittenberg Castle Church, in Eisenach, in May 1522 to organize a new church, Lutheranism.

He gained many followers, and the Lutheran Church also received considerable support from German princes.

When a peasant revolt began in 1524, Luther denounced the peasants and sided with the rulers, whom he depended on to keep his church growing. Thousands of peasants were killed, but the Lutheran Church grew over the years.

Katharina von Bora

In 1525, Luther married Katharina von Bora, a former nun who had abandoned the convent and taken refuge in Wittenberg.

Born into a noble family that had fallen on hard times, at the age of five Katharina was sent to a convent. She and several other reform-minded nuns decided to escape the rigors of the cloistered life, and after smuggling out a letter pleading for help from the Lutherans, Luther organized a daring plot.

With the help of a fishmonger, Luther had the rebellious nuns hide in herring barrels that were secreted out of the convent after dark - an offense punishable by death. Luther ensured that all the women found employment or marriage prospects, except for the strong-willed Katharina, who refused all suitors except Luther himself.

The scandalous marriage of a disgraced monk to a disgraced nun may have somewhat tarnished the reform movement, but over the next several years, the couple prospered and had six children.

Katharina proved herself a more than a capable wife and ally, as she greatly increased their family's wealth by shrewdly investing in farms, orchards and a brewery. She also converted a former monastery into a dormitory and meeting center for Reformation activists.

Luther later said of his marriage, "I have made the angels laugh and the devils weep." Unusual for its time, Luther in his will entrusted Katharina as his sole inheritor and guardian of their children.

Anti-Semitism

From 1533 to his death in 1546, Luther served as the dean of theology at University of Wittenberg. During this time he suffered from many illnesses, including arthritis, heart problems and digestive disorders.

The physical pain and emotional strain of being a fugitive might have been reflected in his writings.

Some works contained strident and offensive language against several segments of society, particularly Jews and, to a lesser degree, Muslims. Luther's anti-Semitism is on full display in his treatise, The Jews and Their Lies .

Luther died following a stroke on February 18, 1546, at the age of 62 during a trip to his hometown of Eisleben. He was buried in All Saints' Church in Wittenberg, the city he had helped turn into an intellectual center.

Luther's teachings and translations radically changed Christian theology. Thanks in large part to the Gutenberg press, his influence continued to grow after his death, as his message spread across Europe and around the world.

QUICK FACTS

• Name: Luther Martin
• Birth Year: 1483
• Birth date: November 10, 1483
• Birth City: Eisleben
• Birth Country: Germany
• Gender: Male
• Best Known For: Martin Luther was a German monk who forever changed Christianity when he nailed his '95 Theses' to a church door in 1517, sparking the Protestant Reformation.
• Christianity
• Astrological Sign: Scorpio
• Nacionalities
• Interesting Facts
• Martin Luther studied to be a lawyer before deciding to become a monk.
• Luther refused to recant his '95 Theses' and was excommunicated from the Catholic Church.
• Luther married a former nun and they went on to have six children.
• Death Year: 1546
• Death date: February 18, 1546
• Death City: Eisleben
• Death Country: Germany

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CITATION INFORMATION

• Article Title: Martin Luther Biography
• Author: Biography.com Editors
• Website Name: The Biography.com website
• Url: https://www.biography.com/religious-figures/martin-luther
• Access Date:
• Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
• Last Updated: September 20, 2019
• Original Published Date: April 2, 2014
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Martin Luther, a Catholic monk, wrote a document referred to as 95 Theses, that changed Western Christian religion forever. What made a devout monk openly criticize the Church? What was written in the 95 Theses that made it so important? Let's look at the 95 Theses and Martin Luther!   …

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Martin Luther, a Catholic monk, wrote a document referred to as 95 Theses , that changed Western Christian religion forever. What made a devout monk openly criticize the Church? What was written in the 95 Theses that made it so important? Let's look at the 95 Theses and Martin Luther!

95 Theses Definition

On October 31, 1417, in Wittenberg, Germany Martin Luther hung his 95 Theses on the door outside of his church. The first two theses were the issues that Luther had with the Catholic Church and the rest were the arguments that he could have with people about these issues.

Martin Luther and the 95 Theses

Martin Luther intended to be a lawyer until he was stuck in a deadly storm. Luther swore an oath to God that if he lived then he would become a monk. True to his word, Luther became a monk and then completed his doctoral program. Eventually, he had his very own church in Wittenberg, Germany.

95 Theses Summary

Over in Rome in 1515, Pope Leo X wanted to renovate St. Peter's Basilica. The Pope permitted the sale of indulgences to raise money for this construction project. Indulgences challenged Luther's view of Christianity. If a priest sold an indulgence, then the person who received it paid for forgiveness. The forgiveness of their sins did not come from God but the priest.

Luther believed that forgiveness and salvation could only come from God. A person could also buy indulgences on behalf of other people. One could even buy an indulgence for a dead person to shorten their stay in Purgatory. This practice was illegal in Germany but one day Luther's congregation told him that they would no longer need confessionals because their sins had been forgiven through indulgences.

95 Theses Date

On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther went outside of his church and hammered his 95 Theses to the Church wall. This sounds dramatic but historians think it probably wasn't. Luther's theses took off and were soon translated to different languages. It even made its way to Pope Leo X!

The Catholic Church

The Catholic Church was the only Christian church in existence at this time, there were no Baptists, Presbyterians, or Protestants. The Church (meaning the Catholic Church) also provided the only welfare programs. They fed the hungry, gave shelter to the poor, and provided medical care. The only education available was through the Catholic Church. Faith was not the only reason people attended church. At church, they could show off their status and socialize.

The pope was extremely powerful. The Catholic Church owned one-third of the land in Europe. The pope also had power over kings. This is because kings were thought to be appointed by God and the pope was a direct link to God. The pope would advise kings and could heavily influence wars and other political struggles.

When going forward, remember how important and powerful the Catholic Church was. This will offer context to the Protestant Reformation.

The first two theses are about indulgences and why they are immoral. The first thesis refers to God as the only being who can grant forgiveness from sins. Luther was very dedicated to the belief that God could grant forgiveness to anyone who prayed for it.

The second thesis was directly calling out the Catholic Church. Luther reminds the reader that the church does not have the authority to forgive sins so when they sell indulgences, they are selling something they do not have. If God is the only one who can forgive sins and the indulgences weren't bought from God, then they are fake.

• When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ``Repent'' (Mt 4:17), he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.
• This word cannot be understood as referring to the sacrament of penance, that is, confession and satisfaction, as administered by the clergy.

The rest of the theses are providing evidence of Luther's first two claims. These are written as arguing points. Luther opens the door that if anyone found fought in any of his points then they could write him and they would debate. The point of the theses was not to destroy the Catholic church but to reform it. The 95 Theses were translated from Latin to German and were read by people all over the country!

Luther wrote the theses in a conversational tone. While it was written in Latin, this would not be for the clergy alone. This would also be for the Catholics who, in Luther's eyes, wasted their money on indulgences. Luther proposed a reform of the Catholic Church. He was not trying to strike out and create a new form of Christianity.

Martin Luther no longer believed that priests could forgive people of their sins on behalf of God. He had a completely radical idea that people could confess in prayer on their own and God would forgive them. Luther also believed that the bible should be translated into German so that everyone could read it. At this point, it was written in Latin and only the clergy could read it.

The Gutenberg Printing Press and the Protestant Reformation

Martin Luther was not the first educated person to go up against the Catholic Church but he is the first to start a reformation. What made him different? In 1440, Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press. This made information spread quicker than it had previously. While historians are still researching the effect of the printing press on the Protestant Reformation , most agree that the Reformation would not have happened without it.

95 Theses Effect on Europe

Luther was excommunicated from the church while the 95 Theses sparked the Protestant Reformation. This was also a political reform. It eventually took away the majority of the pope's power removing his role as a political leader and leaving him as a spiritual leader. The nobility began to break from the Catholic Church because they could then dissolve the church's landholdings and keep the profits. Nobles who were monks could leave the Catholics and get married then produce heirs.

Through the Protestant Reformation people were able to get a German translation of the bible. Anyone who was literate could read the bible for themselves. No longer did they have to rely so heavily on the priests. This created different denominations of Christianity that did not follow the same rules as the Catholic Church or each other's. This also sparked the German Peasant Revolt which was the largest peasant revolt at that time.

95 Theses - Key takeaways

• The 95 Theses was originally a response to the sale of Indulgences
• The Catholic Church was a social, political, and spiritual world power
• The 95 Theses sparked the Protestant Reformation which eventually drastically diminished the power of the Catholic Church

Frequently Asked Questions about 95 Theses

--> what were the 95 theses .

The 95 Theses was a document posted by Martin Luther. It was written so the Catholic Church would reform.

--> When did Martin Luther post the 95 Theses? 

The 95 Theses was posted on October 31st, 1517 in Wittenberg, Germany.

--> Why did Martin Luther write the 95 Theses? 

Martin Luther wrote the 95 Theses so that the Catholic Church would reform and stop selling indulgences. 

--> Who wrote the 95 Theses? 

Martin Luther wrote the 95 Theses.

--> What did the 95 theses say? 

The first two theses were against the sale of indulgences the rest of the theses backed up that claim. 

Final 95 Theses Quiz

95 theses quiz - teste dein wissen.

Who wrote the 95 Theses?

Show answer

Show question

When were the 95 Theses written? 

October 31, 1517

Where was the 95 Theses posted?

Wittenberg, Germany 

When someone is removed from the Catholic church because of their actions it is called ________.

Excommunication

What were tokens that could be purchased by anyone that meant the buyer's sins had been forgiven?

Indulgences

Why did Pope Leo X allow Catholics to start back selling indulgences?

To Fund the restoration of St. Peter's Basilica

What was the first thesis about?

Only God can forgive people of their sins

What was the second thesis about?

The Catholic Church did not have the authority to forgive people of their sins

What were the third through ninety-nine theses about?

They were points that backed up the first two theses. 

What invention helped the spread of the Protestant Reformation?

What reformation was sparked by the Ninety-Five Theses?

Protestant Reformation 

Nobles broke from the Catholic Church then dissolved the Church's holdings so that they could keep the revenue.

True/False 

Before the Protestant Reformation, there were plenty of denominations of Christians.

Which book did Luther translate into German that greatly influenced the Protestant Reformation?

Who did Martin Luther think that people needed to forgive their sins?

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10 Things to Know about Martin Luther and His 95 Theses

Reformation Day on October 31 st reminds us of what the German theologian Martin Luther did for the Christian faith years ago, standing firm on his beliefs even when he had to stand before the Roman Catholic Church.

For many, the name Martin Luther would trigger thoughts of the great Martin Luther King Jr., standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial to share his I Have a Dream speech with thousands. However, there is another well-known Martin Luther who also was a leader and writer in his own right, composing the recognized 95 Theses that led to the establishment of the Protestant Reformation. With Reformation Day on October 31 st , let us journey back to the time of the German theologian to discover what led him to take a stand against the Roman Catholic Church and change the way we look at ourselves and our faith in God forever.

Ten Things to Know about Martin Luther and His 95 Theses:

1. Law and Lightning Contributed to Martin Luther’s Beginnings Martin Luther (Nov. 10, 1483 - Feb. 18, 1546) was a German theologian in Eisleben, Germany who attended Latin school as a child, and when he was thirteen years old, attended law school at the University of Erfurt. He was nicknamed “The Philosopher” because he did so well in public debates in school. However, it was one stormy night in 1505 that really changed Luther’s life. As he was walking, lightning struck the ground nearby and caused him to cry out to St. Anne and vow to become a monk if he lived; he did so he honored his vow and became a monk.

2. Questioning of the Roman Catholic Church Increased before Luther’s 95 Theses In the sixteenth century, many scholars and theologians were questioning some of the practices of the Roman Catholic Church. Fueled by the writings of church philosopher Augustine, these individuals believed that salvation came from God only (grace alone through faith alone), while the Catholic Church believed that faith and works were needed in response to God's grace . Today the Catholic Church would say that faith and the sacraments of the faith are needed for salvation (J.D. Crichton, Christian Celebration: The Sacraments). Luther especially followed Augustine’s belief of salvation and that the Bible was the only religious authority, not that of Catholic Church figures. He would later use these beliefs to build the foundation for the Protestant Reformation.

3. The Final Push for Change Began with a Scandal This questioning of the Catholic Church’s beliefs was intensified due to a scandal involving giving indulgences; indulgences (a type of payment for sin) were given to the church so those paying (or those they were paying on behalf of) would be absolved of sins. One could even purchase indulgences for the deceased. Germany had banned indulgence-selling but it was still happening nonetheless; this was especially evident when a friar named Johann Tetzel decided to sell indulgences in 1517 to pay for renovating Rome’s St. Peter’s Basilica. Luther and others had had enough at this point and decided something had to be done.

4. The First Copy of 95 Theses was Nailed to a Church Door Fed up by the behavior of Tetzel, Luther decided a public and academic debate was in order and he wrote the 95 Theses  (also known as the “Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences”) that listed some propositions and questions for debate. This he posted to the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church on October 31, 1517, in hopes that Archbishop Albert of Mainz, superior to Tetzel, would attend and also stop Tetzel from continuing to sell indulgences. Thanks to the invention of printing, the theses began to circulate around, and more people took notice and wanted answers from the Catholic Church.

5. The 95 Theses Called for Reform and Returning Repentance to God Written in a tone of questioning rather than accusing, the theses centered most on the first two theses Luther had written: that only faith leads to salvation and God desires for believers to seek repentance. The rest of the 93 theses focused on indulgences and why it didn’t line up with the first two theses. Luther even discussed the indulgence scandal involving St. Peter’s Basilica, questioning why the pope wouldn’t consider paying for the church’s renovations himself than taking from the poor (Thesis 86).

6. Luther Called to Defend His Teachings In the summer of 1518, many in Europe had been exposed to the 95 Theses,  and Luther was called to Augsberg, Germany to defend his teachings of the theses. He was to present his theses to an assembly called a “diet,” led by the main anti-supporter of Luther, Cardinal Thomas Cajetan. After three days spent with the two men debating one another, a resolution couldn’t be reached, and Luther returned to Wittenberg.

7. The Pope Got Involved and Luther Was Called a Heretic Beginning on November 9, 1518, Pope Leo X stated that Luther’s teachings and position were in conflict with the church’s teachings, which led Luther to step down from public debate. However, others continued on without him and pushed against the church’s authority, strengthening the Protestant Reformation. Proceedings then continued in 1519 to examine more of Luther’s teachings, seeing them as scandalous and possibly heretical. However, it was in July 1520 that the pope considered Luther’s teachings heretical and demanded that he recant his beliefs or be excommunicated. Luther refused to yield.

8. Luther Was Excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church On January 3, 1521, Luther was officially excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church by Pope Leo X. Months later, April 17, 1521, Luther went before another assembly, the Diet of Worms, in Germany to see if he would recant his teachings, but he refused and a month later, on May 25, 1521, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V signed an edict saying that Luther’s writings were to be burned. Luther’s return to Wittenberg in 1521 also showed him that the reforming from his 95 Theses  was turning into a political debate and sparked the Peasants’ War in Germany; something he wasn’t for.

9. Luther Withdrew from Public View, Married, and Raised a Family Now apart from the Protestant Reformation, Luther preached, taught classes, and began a project that took him a decade to complete, translating the New Testament of the Bible into German. His translating actually impacted the German language positively, as it allowed more to understand what the Bible was teaching, and many scholars followed the same approach in interpretation. He also decided to get married to a former nun, Katherine of Bora, and they had five or six children together. Previously, Luther had debated against the Roman Catholic Church on clerical celibacy and also felt the Peasants’ War was God signaling the last days before Christ’s return so marriage was returning to God’s order for mankind.

10. Luther Established What Is Now Called Being a Polemical Theologian Luther went back to the town of his birth, Eisleben, Germany, to settle a dispute between friends while dealing with advancing poor health. Before he could return home to his wife and family, he passed away on February 18, 1546. Centuries since his death, many have more books of Luther’s writings in their houses than many other well-known theologians, while his approach to theology, that of polemical theology, is seen by some as hard to argue and reconcile with it being formed through argument and controversy. However, no one can deny that the efforts Martin Luther made toward reforming Christianity are nothing short of inspiring.

Reformation Day on October 31 st reminds us of what the German theologian Martin Luther did for the Christian faith years ago, standing firm on his beliefs even when he had to stand before the Roman Catholic Church. Martin Luther devoted his entire life to believing in a God who forgives and provides the whole way to salvation and freedom from sin through His Son Jesus. We could all take a lesson from Martin Luther nowadays, in a world that is still looking to sell and/or pay for indulgences in order to rectify their sins. It’s about returning to God in faith and seeking Him for the good works we are to do. Reading and believing the Bible, as well as daily prayer and interaction with God, were steps Martin Luther did to strengthen his trust and faith in God, and they are steps we can take too to bring hope in a challenging time.

Full 95 Theses from Martin Luther:

• When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ``Repent'' ( Mt 4:17 ), he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.
• This word cannot be understood as referring to the sacrament of penance, that is, confession and satisfaction, as administered by the clergy.
• Yet it does not mean solely inner repentance; such inner repentance is worthless unless it produces various outward mortification of the flesh.
• The penalty of sin remains as long as the hatred of self (that is, true inner repentance), namely till our entrance into the kingdom of heaven.
• The pope neither desires nor is able to remit any penalties except those imposed by his own authority or that of the canons.
• The pope cannot remit any guilt, except by declaring and showing that it has been remitted by God; or, to be sure, by remitting guilt in cases reserved to his judgment. If his right to grant remission in these cases were disregarded, the guilt would certainly remain unforgiven.
• God remits guilt to no one unless at the same time he humbles him in all things and makes him submissive to the vicar, the priest.
• The penitential canons are imposed only on the living, and, according to the canons themselves, nothing should be imposed on the dying.
• Therefore the Holy Spirit through the pope is kind to us insofar as the pope in his decrees always makes exception of the article of death and of necessity.
• Those priests act ignorantly and wickedly who, in the case of the dying, reserve canonical penalties for purgatory.
• Those tares of changing the canonical penalty to the penalty of purgatory were evidently sown while the bishops slept ( Mt 13:25 ).
• In former times canonical penalties were imposed, not after, but before absolution, as tests of true contrition.
• 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.
• Therefore the pope, when he uses the words ``plenary remission of all penalties,'' does not actually mean ``all penalties,'' but only those imposed by himself.
• 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.
• They who teach that contrition is not necessary on the part of those who intend to buy souls out of purgatory or to buy confessional privileges preach unchristian doctrine.
• Any truly repentant Christian has a right to full remission of penalty and guilt, even without indulgence letters.
• Any true Christian, whether living or dead, participates in all the blessings of Christ and the church; and this is granted him by God, even without indulgence letters.
• Nevertheless, papal remission and blessing are by no means to be disregarded, for they are, as I have said (Thesis 6), the proclamation of the divine remission.
• It is very difficult, even for the most learned theologians, at one and the same time to commend to the people the bounty of indulgences and the need of true contrition.
• A Christian who is truly contrite seeks and loves to pay penalties for his sins; the bounty of indulgences, however, relaxes penalties and causes men to hate them -- at least it furnishes occasion for hating them.
• Papal indulgences must be preached with caution, lest people erroneously think that they are preferable to other good works of love.
• Christians are to be taught that the pope does not intend that the buying of indulgences should in any way be compared with works of mercy.
• Christians are to be taught that he who gives to the poor or lends to the needy does a better deed than he who buys indulgences.
• Because love grows by works of love, man thereby becomes better. Man does not, however, become better by means of indulgences but is merely freed from penalties.
• Christians are to be taught that he who sees a needy man and passes him by, yet gives his money for indulgences, does not buy papal indulgences but God's wrath.
• Christians are to be taught that, unless they have more than they need, they must reserve enough for their family needs and by no means squander it on indulgences.
• Christians are to be taught that the buying of indulgences is a matter of free choice, not commanded.
• Christians are to be taught that the pope, in granting indulgences, needs and thus desires their devout prayer more than their money.
• Christians are to be taught that papal indulgences are useful only if they do not put their trust in them, but very harmful if they lose their fear of God because of them.
• Christians are to be taught that if the pope knew the exactions of the indulgence preachers, he would rather that the basilica of St. Peter were burned to ashes than built up with the skin, flesh, and bones of his sheep.
• Christians are to be taught that the pope would and should wish to give of his own money, even though he had to sell the basilica of St. Peter, to many of those from whom certain hawkers of indulgences cajole money.
• It is vain to trust in salvation by indulgence letters, even though the indulgence commissary, or even the pope, were to offer his soul as security.
• They are the enemies of Christ and the pope who forbid altogether the preaching of the Word of God in some churches in order that indulgences may be preached in others.
• Injury is done to the Word of God when, in the same sermon, an equal or larger amount of time is devoted to indulgences than to the Word.
• It is certainly the pope's sentiment that if indulgences, which are a very insignificant thing, are celebrated with one bell, one procession, and one ceremony, then the gospel, which is the very greatest thing, should be preached with a hundred bells, a hundred processions, a hundred ceremonies.
• The true treasures of the church, out of which the pope distributes indulgences, are not sufficiently discussed or known among the people of Christ.
• That indulgences are not temporal treasures is certainly clear, for many indulgence sellers do not distribute them freely but only gather them.
• Nor are they the merits of Christ and the saints, for, even without the pope, the latter always work grace for the inner man, and the cross, death, and hell for the outer man.
• St. Lawrence said that the poor of the church were the treasures of the church, but he spoke according to the usage of the word in his own time.
• Without want of consideration we say that the keys of the church, given by the merits of Christ, are that treasure.
• For it is clear that the pope's power is of itself sufficient for the remission of penalties and cases reserved by himself.
• The true treasure of the church is the most holy gospel of the glory and grace of God.
• But this treasure is naturally most odious, for it makes the first to be last (Mt. 20:16).
• On the other hand, the treasure of indulgences is naturally most acceptable, for it makes the last to be first.
• Therefore the treasures of the gospel are nets with which one formerly fished for men of wealth.
• The treasures of indulgences are nets with which one now fishes for the wealth of men.
• The indulgences which the demagogues acclaim as the greatest graces are actually understood to be such only insofar as they promote gain.
• They are nevertheless in truth the most insignificant graces when compared with the grace of God and the piety of the cross.
• Bishops and curates are bound to admit the commissaries of papal indulgences with all reverence.
• But they are much more bound to strain their eyes and ears lest these men preach their own dreams instead of what the pope has commissioned.
• Let him who speaks against the truth concerning papal indulgences be anathema and accursed.
• But let him who guards against the lust and license of the indulgence preachers be blessed.
• Just as the pope justly thunders against those who by any means whatever contrive harm to the sale of indulgences.
• Much more does he intend to thunder against those who use indulgences as a pretext to contrive harm to holy love and truth.
• To consider papal indulgences so great that they could absolve a man even if he had done the impossible and had violated the mother of God is madness.
• We say on the contrary that papal indulgences cannot remove the very least of venial sins as far as guilt is concerned.
• To say that even St. Peter if he were now pope, could not grant greater graces is blasphemy against St. Peter and the pope.
• We say on the contrary that even the present pope, or any pope whatsoever, has greater graces at his disposal, that is, the gospel, spiritual powers, gifts of healing, etc., as it is written. (1 Co 12[:28])
• To say that the cross emblazoned with the papal coat of arms, and set up by the indulgence preachers is equal in worth to the cross of Christ is blasphemy.
• The bishops, curates, and theologians who permit such talk to be spread among the people will have to answer for this.
• This unbridled preaching of indulgences makes it difficult even for learned men to rescue the reverence which is due the pope from slander or from the shrewd questions of the laity.
• Such as: ``Why does not the pope empty purgatory for the sake of holy love and the dire need of the souls that are there if he redeems an infinite number of souls for the sake of miserable money with which to build a church?'' The former reason would be most just; the latter is most trivial.
• Again, ``Why are funeral and anniversary masses for the dead continued and why does he not return or permit the withdrawal of the endowments founded for them, since it is wrong to pray for the redeemed?''
• Again, ``What is this new piety of God and the pope that for a consideration of money they permit a man who is impious and their enemy to buy out of purgatory the pious soul of a friend of God and do not rather, beca use of the need of that pious and beloved soul, free it for pure love's sake?''
• Again, ``Why are the penitential canons, long since abrogated and dead in actual fact and through disuse, now satisfied by the granting of indulgences as though they were still alive and in force?''
• Again, ``Why does not the pope, whose wealth is today greater than the wealth of the richest Crassus, build this one basilica of St. Peter with his own money rather than with the money of poor believers?''
• Again, ``What does the pope remit or grant to those who by perfect contrition already have a right to full remission and blessings?''
• Again, ``What greater blessing could come to the church than if the pope were to bestow these remissions and blessings on every believer a hundred times a day, as he now does but once?''
• ``Since the pope seeks the salvation of souls rather than money by his indulgences, why does he suspend the indulgences and pardons previously granted when they have equal efficacy?''
• To repress these very sharp arguments of the laity by force alone, and not to resolve them by giving reasons, is to expose the church and the pope to the ridicule of their enemies and to make Christians unhappy.
• If, therefore, indulgences were preached according to the spirit and intention of the pope, all these doubts would be readily resolved. Indeed, they would not exist.
• Away, then, with all those prophets who say to the people of Christ, ``Peace, peace,'' and there is no peace! ( Jer 6:14 )
• Blessed be all those prophets who say to the people of Christ, ``Cross, cross,'' and there is no cross!
• Christians should be exhorted to be diligent in following Christ, their Head, through penalties, death and hell.
• And thus be confident of entering into heaven through many tribulations rather than through the false security of peace ( Acts 14:22 ).

-95 Theses courtesy of  BibleStudyTools.com

Recommended

5 Issues All Christians Should Care About

"The 16th Century Protestant Reformation was born out of Martin Luther’s 95 Theses. The reforms, particularly in regard to indulgences (payments taken in place of penance), were posted to a cathedral door in Wittenberg, Germany as a proclamation. The 95 Theses were written in Latin and wouldn’t have attracted the attention of the German-speaking people on the way in and out of the church the day he nailed them to the door. His intent was to reform the Catholic Church. “True revivals are provoked by the sovereign work of God through the stirring of His Holy Spirit in the hearts of people,” wrote R.C. Sproul, “They happen when the Holy Spirit comes into the valley of dry bones ( Ezek. 37 ) and exerts His power to bring new life, a revivification of the spiritual life of the people of God.” Though Luther did not intend to start a new denomination, he was accused of being a heretic and was excommunicated in 1520. ... Martin Luther’s personal struggle and revelation continue to remind us of the freedom and peace we have in Christ, despite our constant dysfunction and sin. Should we feel the burden of guilt and shame, we should remember Luther, run to God in Scripture, and embrace the Truth ourselves. Luther said, “Anyone who is to find Christ must first find the church, how could anyone know where Christ is and what faith is in him unless he knew where his believers are?” We are forgiven, once for all, though we all fall short. No penance on earth could erase the effects of our sins. Christ accomplished it once and for all on the cross." -Excerpted from " What Christians Need to Know about Reformation Day " by Meg Bucher

Related Article: What Christians Need to Know About Reformation Day

• Britannica.com , Martin Luther: The Indulgences Controversy , Diet of Worms , Later Years
• ChristianityToday.com , Martin Luther
• History.com , Martin Luther and the 95 Theses: Section 4 , Section 5

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Martin Luther's 95 Theses

This translation of Martin Luther's 95 theses was published in the Works of Martin Luther  by Adolf Spaeth et al [ means "and others" ]. Published 1915.

Our books consistently maintain 4-star and better ratings despite the occasional 1- and 2-star ratings from people angry because we have no respect for sacred cows.

It's important to notice that all  of the 95 theses have to do with indulgences .

Since Luther's most famous doctrine is Sola Fide , it's often assumed that this was the topic of the ninety-five theses or that they covered many of the doctrinal issues he had with Roman Catholicism.

They did not. They all concern indulgences.

I posted Martin Luther's 95 theses  on this site long ago, but not everyone understands either the context or the meaning of the theses. So, to the actual text of Martin Luther's challenge, I will add just a couple paragraphs of historical context and an explanation of each thesis.

Historical Context

It is often thought that Martin Luther was protesting the Roman Catholic Church in the 95 theses, or that much of his Reformation theology is espoused in them. That is not true.

Martin Luther was a good Catholic when he posted his debate challenge, and the topic was purely the subject of " indulgences ," and more specifically the abuse and sale of indulgences. (A brief definition of indulgences would be a release from the penalty of sin based on the merits of Jesus and the saints.) The specific issue was that Johann Tetzel , sent by the pope to earn money for the building of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, was preying on the ignorance of poverty-stricken and superstitious Germans, collecting money from them to buy the release of their relatives from the fires of Purgatory .

Martin Luther's Heading to the 95 Theses

Out of love for the truth and the desire to bring it to light, the following propositions will be discussed at Wittenberg, under the presidency of the Reverend Father Martin Luther, Master of Arts and of Sacred Theology, and Lecturer in Ordinary on the same at that place. Wherefore he requests that those who are unable to be present and debate orally with us, may do so by letter.

In the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Martin Luther was not merely protesting. He was issuing a general challenge to a public discussion with the 95 theses as the topic of discussion. The reason that it was possible to invite the public to a discussion of ninety-five  topics is because Luther had really only covered one topic. He had 95 arguments, or almost 95 arguments, against indulgences, but indulgences were his one topic.

The 95 Theses Explained

1. Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, when He said  Poenitentiam agite  ["Repent"], willed that the whole life of believers should be repentance.

Poenitentiam agite  is a quote from Matthew 3:2 and 4:17 in Jerome's Latin Vulgate. Modern English translations have "repent," though  poenitentiam agite  literally means "do penance." Martin Luther begins his arguments against indulgences by saying that we should be living lives of repentance.

2. This word cannot be understood to mean sacramental penance, i.e., confession and satisfaction, which is administered by the priests.

Luther argues that Jesus' command to "do penance" cannot be interpreted to mean the penance prescribed by priests after confession. (Today, this would usually be something like "say five Hail Mary's, three Our Father's, and one Act of Contrition." At least, that's what I experienced growing up Roman Catholic. It may have been very much different in Luther's time.)

The attempt here is to divorce the penalty of sin from any penance prescribed by a priest. In the arguments that follow, he will tie the penalty of sin to repentance and hatred of self rather than to a penance that the Church can prescribe are take away.

In what would become the Protestant motto, Luther does exalt the command of Jesus over the tradition of the Roman Catholic Church, though it becomes clear as we progress through his theses that he expects the pope to agree with him on these things. He is trying to oppose  Johann Tetzel  and to stop his extortion of the German people, not to oppose the pope or the Church.

3. Yet it means not inward repentance only; nay, there is no inward repentance which does not outwardly work divers mortifications of the flesh.

Luther argues that all inward repentance will, by its very nature, produce "divers mortifications of the flesh." In other words, true repentance will put the flesh to death in some outward way.

4. The penalty [of sin], therefore, continues so long as hatred of self continues; for this is the true inward repentance, and continues until our entrance into the kingdom of heaven.

Luther reference "the penalty" because that is what an indulgence is supposed to remit. He ties the penalty of sin to hatred of self that should never end rather than a temporary penance issued by the Church. 

5. The pope does not intend to remit, and cannot remit any penalties other than those which he has imposed either by his own authority or by that of the Canons.

Here Luther begins to make use of what he has asserted in the first four theses. The repentance that matters, he has said, is what Jesus has commanded. That repentance never goes away, and it is not a penance prescribed by a priest. So here he follows those assertions up by stating that the only penalties that the pope can remit are those that he has imposed himself by his own authority or on the basis of established ecclesiastical rules (canons).

6. The pope cannot remit any guilt, except by declaring that it has been remitted by God and by assenting to God's remission; though, to be sure, he may grant remission in cases reserved to his judgment. If his right to grant remission in such cases were despised, the guilt would remain entirely unforgiven.

The pope can only remit guilt if God has remitted it. There are areas reserved to his judgment that only he can remit.

7. God remits guilt to no one whom He does not, at the same time, humble in all things and bring into subjection to His vicar, the priest.

When God remits guilt, he also humbles the repentant person, and he requires of penitent that he be subject to God's representative, the priest. The point here is that this type of remission cannot be gained by putting money into Johann Tetzel's money box because that does not produce humility nor bring about subjection to the priest.

Note that Martin Luther is still a good Catholic and priest at this point. He has much to say, even in his later Protestant writings, about submission to the pastor. Here, he is promoting a better route to remission. In confession, penance is assigned to humble the penitent person and this penance is done in submission to the priest as God's representative.

8. The penitential canons are imposed only on the living, and, according to them, nothing should be imposed on the dying.

Penitential canons  were rules about the prescribing of penance after confession. The penance included things like prolonged fasts or banishment from the communion table for periods that could last for over a decade.

Martin Luther points out that the canons that the church is allowed to prescribe all have to do with things that concern the living. They do not include purgatory. This is an obvious foundation for the argument that the Church cannot limit the length of purgatory, but can only remove penalties that it has imposed.

9. Therefore the Holy Spirit in the pope is kind to us, because in his decrees he always makes exception of the article of death and of necessity.

Through the Church and through the pope, the Holy Spirit is kind to us because the penitential canons, the penalties the church is allowed to impose, do not include death. I am not sure what Martin Luther means by "necessity." (If any reader can help with this, please email me using the "contact me" button on the Navbar.)

10. Ignorant and wicked are the doings of those priests who, in the case of the dying, reserve canonical penances for purgatory.

If a priest receives a confession from a dying person, then issues him a penance that will be performed in purgatory, then that priest is ignorant and wicked. He is ignorant because the penitential canons allow no such thing, and he is wicked because even a dying person should be granted full cleansing of the soul before departing this life.

11. This changing of the canonical penalty to the penalty of purgatory is quite evidently one of the tares that were sown while the bishops slept.

This habit of prescribing penalties to be paid in purgatory is compared to the sowing of tares by an enemy in Jesus' parable in Matthew 23:34-40. The references to the bishops sleeping might be a harmless reference to the parable, but it is more likely a jab, an early display of Martin Luther's acerbic wit.

12. In former times the canonical penalties were imposed not after, but before absolution, as tests of true contrition.

The prescribing of penalties by a priest was for the purpose of testing true sorrow, true repentance. Once those penalties were performed, only then was the penitent absolved of his sin.

13. The dying are freed by death from all penalties; they are already dead to canonical rules, and have a right to be released from them.

Since the penitential canons apply to this life only, and priests are only to administer penalties that can be performed in this life, then the death of a Christian frees him from all such penalties. They cannot be performed by those who have passed on, and so they are released.

14. The imperfect health [of soul], that is to say, the imperfect love, of the dying brings with it, of necessity, great fear; and the smaller the love, the greater is the fear.

Luther now leaves the discussion of penalties in this life versus penalties in purgatory. His new subject concerns the fear and despair of the dying. The less love that the dying person has shown in his or her life, the greater is their fear as they face death.

15. This fear and horror is sufficient of itself alone (to say nothing of other things) to constitute the penalty of purgatory, since it is very near to the horror of despair.

This fear of death, especially in those that have not loved much, serves as the penalty of purgatory because it is so full of despair. (This could be interpreted to mean that Martin Luther finds purgatory unnecessary, but he shows us in the next few theses this is not true.)

16. Hell, purgatory, and heaven seem to differ as do despair, almost-despair, and the assurance of safety.

I don't think this needs explanation in light of the explanation of theses 14 and 15.

17. With souls in purgatory it seems necessary that horror should grow less and love increase.

Purgatory is supposed to "purge" the sinner whose sins are not so great that he should go to hell. Hence the name "Purgatory." As the sinner finds his conscience purged in purgatory, his fear and despair should grow less, and his love should increase.

18. It seems unproved, either by reason or Scripture, that they are outside the state of merit, that is to say, of increasing love.

This, like so many other theses in Martin Luther's treatise, is just a buildup for the following theses. Here he says that no one has proven that those in purgatory cannot receive merit in the way of increasing love.

19. Again, it seems unproved that they, or at least that all of them, are certain or assured of their own blessedness, though we may be quite certain of it.

Still setting a foundation for following theses, Luther points out that no one has proven that all of the people in purgatory are certain that they will leave purgatory for heaven. Nonetheless, for some reason I do not understand, he says we may be quite certain it is true that all those in purgatory have an assurance that they will arrive at blessedness.

20. Therefore by "full remission of all penalties" the pope means not actually "of all," but only of those imposed by himself.

Since some penalties are remitted in purgatory to the benefit, in growing love and lessening fear, of the resident there, the pope cannot offer to remit all penalties, but only those that he himself has imposed.

We should emphasize here that indulgences are meant to remit the  penalty  of sin, not sin itself. The sin itself needs to be forgiven through repentance and confession, but even a forgiven sin sometimes involves lamenting, mourning, and weeping (James 4:9,10). The Roman Catholic Church has taken this so far that some sins obtain a penalty of purgatory before real deliverance from sin occurs.

Here, once again, Luther concludes that the only penalties for sin that the pope can remove are the ones that he himself has prescribed.

21. Therefore those preachers of indulgences are in error, who say that by the pope's indulgences a man is freed from every penalty, and saved;

This would have been a claim of Johann Tetzel, and probably others. Luther denies it based on his previous points.

22. Whereas he remits to souls in purgatory no penalty which, according to the canons, they would have had to pay in this life.

Luther is explaining his conclusion of thesis 21, so he repeats some of his earlier points. Here he says that when the preachers of indulgences promise to remit penalties in purgatory, they are outside their bounds because any penalty being paid in purgatory does not belong to this life. Luther has shown earlier that the pope can only remit penalties that can be carried out in this life because those are the only ones he is allowed to impose by the canons.

23. If it is at all possible to grant to any one the remission of all penalties whatsoever, it is certain that this remission can be granted only to the most perfect, that is, to the very fewest.

Even if it were possible to grant someone the remission of all penalties for the sins they have committed, this would surely be true to very few people, those who have lived the most perfect lives.

24. It must needs be, therefore, that the greater part of the people are deceived by that indiscriminate and highsounding promise of release from penalty.

Therefore, since, at best, only a rare few could have all their penalties remitted by an indulgence, then the majority of people are being deceived by the claims of the indulgence preachers.

25. The power which the pope has, in a general way, over purgatory, is just like the power which any bishop or curate has, in a special way, within his own diocese or parish.

The pope's power over purgatory can be compared to a bishop's authority over his own diocese and parish.

Statements like these are confusing as you read through the 95 theses unless you realize that they are foundations for later arguments. Reading a statement like this is like reading the start of a sentence. Read on and Martin Luther will tell you where he is going.

26. The pope does well when he grants remission to souls [in purgatory], not by the power of the keys (which he does not possess), but by way of intercession.

The parentheses belong to Martin Luther. However, at this point in his life, Martin Luther would not have denied to the pope the power of the keys of the kingdom (Matt. 16:18-19). Therefore this is mistranslated. Another translation reads: "(which he cannot exercise for them)."

Such a translation fits in with everything Luther has been saying. The pope cannot use the keys of the kingdom, which he does possess, to help people in purgatory. He can only help those who have penalties that belong to this life, penalties which the pope, either personally or through the local priest, has imposed himself.

Therefore, it is a good thing, Luther argues, if the pope prays for people in purgatory to have their penalties remitted, but he cannot remove penalties to souls in purgatory by the power of his office.

27. They preach man who say that so soon as the penny jingles into the money-box, the soul flies out [of purgatory].

Johann Tetzel had a famous jingle as a sales pitch. In German it rhymed:

So wie das Geld im Kasten klingt Die Seele aus dem Fegfeuer springt

In English, this is "As soon as the money jingles in the box, the soul leaps out of Purgatory."

Luther says that those who say this are preaching the doctrines of men.

28. It is certain that when the penny jingles into the money-box, gain and avarice can be increased, but the result of the intercession of the Church is in the power of God alone.

Luther turns their jingle around and says that it is gain and avarice that can be increased by pennies jingling in money-boxes. The intercession of the Church produces the power of God, not money.

29. Who knows whether all the souls in purgatory wish to be bought out of it, as in the legend of Sts. Severinus and Paschal.

Luther moves on in a surprising direction. What if there are souls that do not wish to have their time in Purgatory shortened? He references Saint Severinus of Noricum, a fifth-century Christian, and Pope Paschal I, who are supposed to have offered to go to Purgatory and bear its pains on behalf of other faithful believers.

It is very hard to track down this legend! So far all I have been able to find is rumor. I will keep looking to see where it came from. There is a Vita Severinus , a life of Severinus , written by Eugippius. I'll see what I can find in it.

Pope Paschal I was pope from 817 to 824, and Severinus belongs to the mid-fourth century. He was the mentor of the famous desert hermit Anthony.

30. No one is sure that his own contrition is sincere; much less that he has attained full remission.

I am sure that this would have been considered an undeniable truth in Luther's time. It would not be a popular teaching in our own. You can be sure, however, that if Luther presents this statement without evidence, then he was confident it would be accepted as true without argument.

31. Rare as is the man that is truly penitent, so rare is also the man who truly buys indulgences, i.e., such men are most rare.

Martin Luther does not oppose indulgences in general. He opposes the improper use of them, and these 95 Theses are an explanation of what Luther sees as improper usage. The proposed public discussion probably never occurred in the format Luther was expecting. Instead, the discussion occurred without his supervision all over Germany after these theses were printed and reprinted by others.

32. They will be condemned eternally, together with their teachers, who believe themselves sure of their salvation because they have letters of pardon.

Luther asserts that those who assure themselves of their salvation because of a letter of pardon, which is what an indulgence is, will be eternally condemned.

33. Men must be on their guard against those who say that the pope's pardons are that inestimable gift of God by which man is reconciled to Him;

In other words, beware of those preachers of indulgences who tell you that they will reconcile a man to God. The purpose of an indulgence is to remove some earthly penalty imposed by the church, such as temporary banishment from communion or a period of self-affliction. Reconciliation to God is not the purpose of an indulgence, and we should beware of those who say they are.

34. For these "graces of pardon" concern only the penalties of sacramental satisfaction, and these are appointed by man.

Luther gives us a new phrase here: "sacramental satisfaction." That is what we have been describing. Indulgences can free you from penalties that are prescribed by priests, but not from penalties bestowed by God after this life.

35. They preach no Christian doctrine who teach that contrition is not necessary in those who intend to buy souls out of purgatory or to buy confessionalia.

Be assured that every Roman Catholic with any theological training and sincerity in their faith, even in the sixteenth century, would have agreed with Martin Luther on this ones. However, the hawkers of indulgences had stooped so low that they were promising instant release from purgatory as soon as a coin fell in the money box. There was no contrition necessary from the one who paid the money for they were not paying for penalties that were their own, and there was no way to know if contrition existed in a soul that is in purgatory. So the indulgence preachers said it was not necessary. This was not Roman Catholic theology, it was greed and evil sales methods by salesmen with corrupt souls.

36. Every truly repentant Christian has a right to full remission of penalty and guilt, even without letters of pardon.

37. Every true Christian, whether living or dead, has part in all the blessings of Christ and the Church; and this is granted him by God, even without letters of pardon.

38. Nevertheless, the remission and participation [in the blessings of the Church] which are granted by the pope are in no way to be despised, for they are, as I have said, the declaration of divine remission.

39. It is most difficult, even for the very keenest theologians, at one and the same time to commend to the people the abundance of pardons and [the need of] true contrition.

40. True contrition seeks and loves penalties, but liberal pardons only  relax penalties and cause them to be hated, or at least, furnish an occasion [for hating them].

41. Apostolic pardons are to be preached with caution, lest the people may falsely think them preferable to other good works of love.

42. Christians are to be taught that the pope does not intend the buying of pardons to be compared in any way to works of mercy.

43. Christians are to be taught that he who gives to the poor or lends to the needy does a better work than buying pardons;

44. Because love grows by works of love, and man becomes better; but by pardons man does not grow better, only more free from penalty.

45. Christians are to be taught that he who sees a man in need, and passes him by, and gives [his money] for pardons, purchases not the indulgences of the pope, but the indignation of God.

46. Christians are to be taught that unless they have more than they need, they are bound to keep back what is necessary for their own families, and by no means to squander it on pardons.

47. Christians are to be taught that the buying of pardons is a matter of free will, and not of commandment.

48. Christians are to be taught that the pope, in granting pardons, needs, and therefore desires, their devout prayer for him more than the money they bring.

49. Christians are to be taught that the pope's pardons are useful, if they do not put their trust in them; but altogether harmful, if through them they lose their fear of God.

50. Christians are to be taught that if the pope knew the exactions of the pardon-preachers, he would rather that St.  Peter's church should go to ashes, than that it should be built up with the skin, flesh and bones of his sheep.

51. Christians are to be taught that it would be the pope's wish, as it is his duty, to give of his own money to very many of those from whom certain hawkers of pardons cajole money, even though the church of St. Peter might have to be sold.

52. The assurance of salvation by letters of pardon is vain, even though the commissary, nay, even though the pope himself, were to stake his soul upon it.

53. They are enemies of Christ and of the pope, who bid the Word of God be altogether silent in some Churches, in order that pardons may be preached in others.

54. Injury is done the Word of God when, in the same sermon, an equal or a longer time is spent on pardons than on this Word.

55. It must be the intention of the pope that if pardons, which are a very small thing, are celebrated with one bell, with single processions and ceremonies, then the Gospel, which is the very greatest thing, should be preached with a hundred bells, a hundred processions, a hundred ceremonies.

56. The "treasures of the Church," out of which the pope grants indulgences, are not sufficiently named or known among the people of Christ.

57. That they are not temporal treasures is certainly evident, for many of the vendors do not pour out such treasures so easily, but only gather them.

58. Nor are they the merits of Christ and the Saints, for even without the pope, these always work grace for the inner man, and the cross, death, and hell for the outward man.

59. St. Lawrence said that the treasures of the Church were the Church's poor, but he spoke according to the usage of the word in his own time.

60. Without rashness we say that the keys of the Church, given by Christ's merit, are that treasure;

61. For it is clear that for the remission of penalties and of reserved cases, the power of the pope is of itself sufficient.

62. The true treasure of the Church is the Most Holy Gospel of the glory and the grace of God.

63. But this treasure is naturally most odious, for it makes the first to be last.

64. On the other hand, the treasure of indulgences is naturally most acceptable, for it makes the last to be first.

65. Therefore the treasures of the Gospel are nets with which they formerly were wont to fish for men of riches.

66. The treasures of the indulgences are nets with which they now fish for the riches of men.

67. The indulgences which the preachers cry as the "greatest graces" are known to be truly such, in so far as they promote gain.

68. Yet they are in truth the very smallest graces compared with the grace of God and the piety of the Cross.

69. Bishops and curates are bound to admit the commissaries of apostolic pardons, with all reverence.

70. But still more are they bound to strain all their eyes and attend with all their ears, lest these men preach their own dreams instead of the commission of the pope.

71. He who speaks against the truth of apostolic pardons, let him be anathema and accursed!

72. But he who guards against the lust and license of the pardon-preachers, let him be blessed!

73. The pope justly thunders against those who, by any art, contrive the injury of the traffic in pardons.

74. But much more does he intend to thunder against those who use the pretext of pardons to contrive the injury of holy love and truth.

75. To think the papal pardons so great that they could absolve a man even if he had committed an impossible sin and violated the Mother of God--this is madness.

76. We say, on the contrary, that the papal pardons are not able to remove the very least of venial sins, so far as its guilt is concerned.

77. It is said that even St. Peter, if he were now Pope, could not bestow greater graces; this is blasphemy against St. Peter and against the pope.

78. We say, on the contrary, that even the present pope, and any pope at all, has greater graces at his disposal; to wit, the Gospel, powers, gifts of healing, etc., as it is written in I. Corinthians xii.

79. To say that the cross, emblazoned with the papal arms, which is set up [by the preachers of indulgences], is of equal worth with the Cross of Christ, is blasphemy.

80. The bishops, curates and theologians who allow such talk to be spread among the people, will have an account to render.

81. This unbridled preaching of pardons makes it no easy matter, even for learned men, to rescue the reverence due to the pope from slander, or even from the shrewd questionings of the laity.

82. To wit: "Why does not the pope empty purgatory, for the sake of holy love and of the dire need of the souls that are there, if he redeems an infinite number of souls for the sake of miserable money with which to build a Church? The former reasons would be most just; the latter is most trivial."

83. Again: "Why are mortuary and anniversary masses for the dead continued, and why does he not return or permit the withdrawal of the endowments founded on their behalf, since it is wrong to pray for the redeemed?"

84. Again: "What is this new piety of God and the pope, that for money they allow a man who is impious and their enemy to buy out of purgatory the pious soul of a friend of God, and do not rather, because of that pious and beloved soul's own need, free it for pure love's sake?"

85. Again: "Why are the penitential canons long since in actual fact and through disuse abrogated and dead, now satisfied by the granting of indulgences, as though they were still alive and in force?"

86. Again: "Why does not the pope, whose wealth is today greater than the riches of the richest, build just this one church of St. Peter with his own money, rather than with the money of poor believers?"

87. Again: "What is it that the pope remits, and what participation does he grant to those who, by perfect contrition, have a right to full remission and participation?"

88. Again: "What greater blessing could come to the Church than if the pope were to do a hundred times a day what he now does once, and bestow on every believer these remissions and participations?"

89. "Since the pope, by his pardons, seeks the salvation of souls rather than money, why does he suspend the indulgences and pardons granted heretofore, since these have equal efficacy?"

90. To repress these arguments and scruples of the laity by force alone, and not to resolve them by giving reasons, is to expose the Church and the pope to the ridicule of their enemies, and to make Christians unhappy.

91. If, therefore, pardons were preached according to the spirit and mind of the pope, all these doubts would be readily resolved; nay, they would not exist.

92. Away, then, with all those prophets who say to the people of Christ, "Peace, peace," and there is no peace!

93. Blessed be all those prophets who say to the people of Christ, "Cross, cross," and there is no cross!

94. Christians are to be exhorted that they be diligent in following Christ, their Head, through penalties, deaths, and hell;

95. And thus be confident of entering into heaven rather through many tribulations, than through the assurance of peace.

Post-Script to the Ninety-Five Theses

Those are the 95 theses that changed the world!

Basically, this document, nailed to the cathedral door at Wittenberg (a common thing to do when you wanted to make a public announcement), ruined the trade in indulgences in that area.

Pope Leo X was engaged in building St. Peter's Basilica, and Martin Luther, an unknown monk, had suddenly stopped the inflow of money. It was this problem, begun by these 95 theses, that started the Reformation and changed the world.

Return to the Reformation

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On This Day...

Luther’s Legacy: The 95 Theses

On October 31, 2023

In Uncategorized

Date: October 31, 2023  

By the 1500s, the Church had amassed an unprecedented level of wealth and authority. With its power extending to all aspects of European life, the Catholic Church became increasingly driven by manipulative figures and widespread corruption. Observers of the faith took note of the corruptive practices, the exploitation of the poor, and the sale of indulgences, prompting them to take to the pen to voice their concerns. Martin Luther saw first-hand the issues within the Catholic Church, fueling him to write the 95 Theses in which he explicitly articulated his grievances with the Church. This leads me to…  

On this day 506 years ago, Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses, sparking the beginnings of the Protestant Reformation.  

Throughout the 95 Theses, a recurring theme was his direct challenge to the authority of the Catholic Church, an unprecedented action at the time. He aimed to strip power away from the Pope and the institutional body of the Catholic Church and return it to the hands of God. Ultimately, Luther posed the questions that few were willing to ask at the time, ensuring that his legacy would far outlast his lifetime.  

“Ninety-Five Theses.” Encyclopædia Britannica , Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 24 Oct. 2023, www.britannica.com/event/Ninety-five-Theses.

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