95 Theses

The Disputation of Martin Luther on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences, known as the 95 Theses, challenged the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church on the nature of penance, the authority of the pope and the usefulness of indulgences. They sparked a theological debate that would result in the Reformation and the birth of the Lutheran, Reformed, and Anabaptist traditions within Christianity.

Purpose of the Theses

His actions criticized the ways of the church. Luther's action was indeed 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 fund raising campaign was to finance the renovation 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.

Nailed or Mailed?

Luther is said to have posted the 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, on October 31, 1517. Some scholars have questioned the accuracy of this account, noting that no contemporaneous evidence exists for it.Erwin Iserloh. The Theses Were Not Posted: Luther Between Reform and Reformation. trans. by Jared Wicks, S.J.. Boston: Beacon Press, 1968. Others have countered that no such evidence is necessary, because this action was the customary way of advertising an event on a university campus of Luther's day.Helmar Junghans, "Luther's Wittenberg," in The Cambridge Companion to Martin Luther, ed. Donald K. McKim (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003), 26 Church doors functioned very much as bulletin boards function on a twenty-first century college campus. Still others suggest the posting may well have happened sometime in November 1517. Most agree that, at the very least, Luther mailed the theses to the Archbishop of Mainz, the pope, friends and other universities on that date.Junghans, 26.

Reaction to the 95 Theses

Pope Leo X wished for Martin Luther to recant 41 of these theses. See Martin Luther.

Notes

Bibliography

Erwin Iserloh. The Theses Were Not Posted: Luther Between Reform and Reformation. trans. by Jared Wicks, S.J.. Boston: Beacon Press, 1968.

External links

Project Wittenberg: 95 Theses by Dr. Martin Luther (1517)

The 95 Theses - a modern translation