The doctrine of indulgences rested on three principles. First, god is merciful and just. Second Christ and the Saints, through their infinite virtue established a “treasury of merits”, on which the church could draw, due to its special relationship with Christ and the Saints. Third, the church had the authority to grant sinners the spiritual benefits of those with merits. An indulgence was originally a remission of the priest-imposed penalties of sin- the church had often granted Crusaders such indulgences in the 12th century. By the later middle ages, people widely believed that an indulgence secure total remission of penalties for a sin- on earth or in purgatory-and ensured a swift entry into heaven. Luther was greatly bothered by the sale of indulgences, certain that people who relied on these pieces of paper to assure themselves of salvation were guaranteeing their eternal damnation …show more content…
He firmly rejected the notion that good works, such as indulgences, could achieve salvation. To Luther, humans are saved not through their good works, but through faith in the promises of God, made possible by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. In 1517, Pope Leo X had issued a special jubilee indulgence to finance the ongoing construction of Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Johann Tetzel, a rambunctious Dominican, hawked the indulgences in Germany with the slogan, “As soon as the coin in the coffer rings the soul from purgatory springs.” In Oct. 31, 1517, Martin Luther a German priest and professor of theology post ninety-five revolutionary esoteric opinions that will begin the Protestant Reformation. The Ninety-five Theses condemned the excesses and corruption of the Roman Catholic Church. Martin Luther had three major reasons for objecting indulgence. First, was that they are that one indulgences undermined the seriousness of the sacrament