In his 95 Theses, what practices did Martin Luther criticize about the Roman Catholic Church?
(Select all that apply.)
the peddling of relics
clerics holding multiple offices
unethical money lending
the selling of indulgence
i think its b and d
Finally, someone just gives the answer without wasting time
Woops, sorry, its b, c, and d. Just got those answers right.
SO WHAT IS THE ANSWER
B, C, D yes! there correct!
d and c
I'm pretty sure on d but i don't know about the rest. is there more than one answer?
Reeba it's They're*..sorry.
is it a and d
In 1517, Luther drew up his now-famous tract known as the 95 Theses. In it were 95 statements about faith that scathingly criticized and questioned many practices of the Roman Catholic Church, including unethical money lending, clerics holding multiple offices, and especially the selling of indulgences, or taking money in exchange for the forgiveness of sins. The Catholic Church, at this time, was the ultimate power in Europe. It was astonishing that Luther stood up to what was then considered the highest authority in Europe.
as I read the 95, he never mentioned a,b, or c. Now on indulgence, he did offer criticism on indulgence, especially how it was applied, and the bad effects it had on penance, but I cannot find that he ever attacked the idea of indulgences themselves, and, it can be noted, three years later he preached the only indulgence required for salvation was baptism.
So d he critized, but did not condem.
At the monastery, Luther immersed himself in his study of the scriptures. His studies, however, prompted difficult questions and even doubts. As a monk, he had sworn to defend the Catholic faith, but what he read in the Bible was at odds with the actions of the Church. He disagreed with the Church’s practices of selling indulgences, as well as other actions which he felt were fraudulent or abuses of the Church’s power. In Luther’s mind, a new interpretation of Christianity formed that was based on the Bible and free of the Church’s political trappings. He called his new concept “the theology of the Cross,” based on the idea that the cross is the only source of knowledge that people have about God. In other words, the cross represents all that God revealed about Himself as well as the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Dr. Martin Luther. c. 1882. Library of Congress. Web.
This lithograph depicts Martin Luther reading in church.
At first, Luther was unsettled by his ideas, which went far beyond earthly likes and dislikes. His theological examinations prompted the creation of principles and arguments that touched on the metaphysics of faith and salvation. The Church had stood as the foundation of Western civilization for over 1,000 years and daring to consider breaking away from the Church was heresy and punishable by death. Although he believed the clergy to be misusing power, the basic tenets of Christianity continued to endure and needed to be saved. Church and faith, however, had been bonded together into one formidable entity. Behind Luther’s dissent lurked a disquieting question: What if his efforts to reform his religion led to the eternal torment of his immortal soul?
Luther’s tipping point proved to be the Church’s practice of selling indulgences. Due to the difficulty of fulfilling the sacramental demands of Roman Catholicism, the pope established a principle stating that the accumulated good works done by the Catholic saints were stored in heaven. The pope and his clergy could draw from this supply of grace at will as if it were a type of bank. They could then grant members of the Church special credits that would rebalance their scores. These heavenly credits were so precious and rare that it was only right that they should have an earthly value. Thus, the Church began to sell these credits as indulgences.
Cranach, Lucas the Elder. 15th c. Woodcut. Wikimedia Commons. Wikimedia Foundation. Web.
This woodcut from Passionary of the Christ and Antichrist shows the pope selling indulgences.
The primary purchasers of indulgences were members of royalty, who could well afford them. These official written excuses not only applied to past sins but also to sins yet uncommitted. Believers could even purchase indulgences in the names of dead relatives to release them from the torments of purgatory. To Luther, the sale of indulgences constituted a shocking violation of Christ’s own principles. As outlined in the Bible, Jesus had cast out the moneychangers from the temple. To suggest that God could be bribed into granting favors, according to Luther, was a brazen misuse of a believer’s faith to generate profits for the Church.