Blog #4: Buying Indulgences was an illusion

            There was a time in history in which the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church had so much power that they were feared by many. People followed the ways of the church in fear that if they didn't, they would burn and suffer in hell. The people would be exposed to painting and carvings of people descending in to hell, in which demons would be pulling them down and the angels would be denying their entrance to heaven.
           For years, the church took advantage of the people to benefit them. The priests would sell indulgences to people. Basically, anyone who wanted to be forgiven by God as quickly as possible would buy their forgiveness. This was an illusion to the people because they were already forgiven to begin with. When a person confesses their sins, they are supposed to be forgiven and they would be to pray A LOT. Priests would say something along the lines of "pray 6 'Our Fathers' and 4 Hail Mary's'," and include a minor punishment for their actions.
           Martin Luther complained about this on a posting of the 95 Thesis, which was a list of complaints against the Catholic Church. He posted it on the doors of a castle church in Germany. He said that the sale of indulgences was more like a financial transition rather than actual penance. A murderer, a thief, or an adulterer should not be able to buy their way out of hell. For all we know, they could do it again and buy their way out AGAIN.
           The church believed in the Treasury of Merit. The belief was that the priests should be rewarded in merits for doing good work. They decided that it was o.k to be rewarded in cash. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, an indulgence is supposed to be a punishment that the sinner owes to God, not to the priest. Priests took advantage of people to solve their financial matters and tainted the meaning of indulgence. Martin Luther asked :
"Why does the pope, whose wealth today is greater than the wealth of the richest Crassus, build the basilica of St. Peter with the money of poor believers rather than with his own money?"

          The horrible thing is that people actually believed in buying indulgences. After Martin Luther posted the 95 Thesis, many followed his ways and protested against the catholic church with him. He was excommunicated by the Pope and was condemned an outlaw by the emperor.  By 1526, he started the Protestant Reformation. People converted into the Lutheran Religion, named after Martin Luther himself. He avoided extreme change to the new church to avoid confusing people, but kept the fairness and all other 94 complaints out of the picture.

Info from:
http://www.greatsite.com/timeline-english-bible-history/martin-luther.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther
http://www.catholic.com/library/Myths_About_Indulgences.asp
http://www.mycatholictradition.com/apologetics-indulgences.html