The Martin Luther and Indulgences Quiz

The Sale of Indulgences and Martin Luther's 95 Theses

• The sale of indulgences was a significant revenue stream for the Archbishop of Mainz and Peter, used to pay off a loan for securing an office.

• Indulgences were not considered the selling of salvation, but rather a way to lift the demand for penance and fund the church's good work.

• Johann Tetzel, an indulgence hawker, became infamous for his abuse of indulgence sales, although abuses were prevalent throughout the Middle Ages.

• Tetzel's sales tactics involved using fear of purgatory and offering indulgences for deceased relatives, which were seen as extortionate and abusive.

• Martin Luther stumbled into a controversy when he posted his 95 Theses, primarily attacking the abuse of indulgences and not intending to start a Reformation.

• The nailing of the 95 Theses on the church door in Wittenberg was not a call for revolution but an academic bulletin board.

• Luther's 95 Theses caused a stir after being translated into German and circulated as a broadsheet, provoking the response of the Catholic Church.

• Luther realized he was getting into trouble and wrote an explanation/apology for the 95 Theses, which was forwarded to the Archbishop of Mainz and then the Pope.

• The Catholic Church responded to the 95 Theses with authoritarian measures, exerting indirect pressure on Luther.

• Luther's 95 Theses were not primarily about justification by faith or the Pope, but specifically attacked the abuse of the sale of indulgences.

• Luther's posting of the 95 Theses led to the beginning of the Reformation, although he did not fully comprehend the magnitude of the change at the time.

• The response to Luther's 95 Theses was particularly strong due to the printing and circulation of the document in German, making it accessible to a wider audience.Martin Luther's Conflict with the Catholic Church

• Luther faced pressure from his monastic order and engaged in private interviews with a Cardinal.

• He was shocked by the resistance of the Catholic Church to his calls to end the abuse of indulgences.

• Luther expressed his new understanding of the gospel and his belief that indulgences should be stopped, based on biblical grounds.

• The Leipzig disputation marked Luther's verbal break with the Catholic Church, where he debated Johann Eck on the issue of indulgences and the infallibility of the Pope.

• Luther openly stated his belief that the Bible takes precedence over the Pope's authority at the Leipzig disputation.

• A bull titled "Rise up o Lord" arrived in 1519, which was not the official excommunication of Luther but a warning to respond to questions or face condemnation.

• Luther famously burned the bull in the city square, symbolically rejecting the questions posed to him.

• In January 1520, the official bull of excommunication arrived, declaring Luther a heretic.

• Luther was put on civil trial by the state after his excommunication, with his life at stake.

• The medieval church typically handed over excommunicated individuals to the state for trial and potential execution.

• Luther's appearance before the emperor in 1520 marked his civil trial, following his excommunication.

• The conflict between Luther and the Catholic Church led to his excommunication and civil trial, as he openly challenged the authority of the Pope.