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95
Theses
The following are the 95 theses
Augustinian monk Martin Luther nailed to a church door in Wittenberg, Germany
1. When our Lord and Master Jesus
Christ said, "Repent" (Mt 4:17), he willed the entire life of believers to be
one of repentance.
2. This word cannot be understood as referring to
the sacrament of penance, that is, confession and satisfaction, as administered
by the clergy.
3. Yet it does not mean solely inner repentance; such
inner repentance is worthless unless it produces various outward mortification
of the flesh.
4. The penalty of sin remains as long as the hatred of
self (that is, true inner repentance), namely till our entrance into the
kingdom of heaven.
5. The pope neither desires nor is able to remit
any penalties except those imposed by his own authority or that of the canons.
6. The pope cannot remit any guilt, except by declaring and showing
that it has been remitted by God; or, to be sure, by remitting guilt in cases
reserved to his judgment. If his right to grant remission in these cases were
disregarded, the guilt would certainly remain unforgiven.
7. God
remits guilt to no one unless at the same time he humbles him in all things and
makes him submissive to the vicar, the priest.
8. The penitential
canons are imposed only on the living, and, according to the canons themselves,
nothing should be imposed on the dying.
9. Therefore the Holy Spirit
through the pope is kind to us insofar as the pope in his decrees always makes
exception of the article of death and of necessity.
10. Those priests
act ignorantly and wickedly who, in the case of the dying, reserve canonical
penalties for purgatory.
11. Those tares of changing the canonical
penalty to the penalty of purgatory were evidently sown while the bishops slept
(Mt 13:25).
12. In former times canonical penalties were imposed, not
after, but before absolution, as tests of true contrition.
13. The
dying are freed by death from all penalties, are already dead as far as the
canon laws are concerned, and have a right to be released from them.
14. Imperfect piety or love on the part of the dying person necessarily brings
with it great fear; and the smaller the love, the greater the fear.
15. This fear or horror is sufficient in itself, to say nothing of other
things, to constitute the penalty of purgatory, since it is very near to the
horror of despair.
16. Hell, purgatory, and heaven seem to differ the
same as despair, fear, and assurance of salvation.
17. It seems as
though for the souls in purgatory fear should necessarily decrease and love
increase.
18. Furthermore, it does not seem proved, either by reason
or by Scripture, that souls in purgatory are outside the state of merit, that
is, unable to grow in love.
19. Nor does it seem proved that souls in
purgatory, at least not all of them, are certain and assured of their own
salvation, even if we ourselves may be entirely certain of it.
20.
Therefore the pope, when he uses the words "plenary remission of all
penalties," does not actually mean "all penalties," but only those imposed by
himself.
21. Thus those indulgence preachers are in error who say that
a man is absolved from every penalty and saved by papal indulgences.
22. As a matter of fact, the pope remits to souls in purgatory no penalty
which, according to canon law, they should have paid in this life.
23.
If remission of all penalties whatsoever could be granted to anyone at all,
certainly it would be granted only to the most perfect, that is, to very few.
24. For this reason most people are necessarily deceived by that
indiscriminate and high-sounding promise of release from penalty.
25.
That power which the pope has in general over purgatory corresponds to the
power which any bishop or curate has in a particular way in his own diocese and
parish.
26. The pope does very well when he grants remission to souls
in purgatory, not by the power of the keys, which he does not have, but by way
of intercession for them.
27. They preach only human doctrines who say
that as soon as the money clinks into the money chest, the soul flies out of
purgatory.
28. It is certain that when money clinks in the money
chest, greed and avarice can be increased; but when the church intercedes, the
result is in the hands of God alone.
29. Who knows whether all souls
in purgatory wish to be redeemed, since we have exceptions in St. Severinus and
St. Paschal, as related in a legend.
30. No one is sure of the
integrity of his own contrition, much less of having received plenary
remission.
31. The man who actually buys indulgences is as rare as he
who is really penitent; indeed, he is exceedingly rare.
32. Those who
believe that they can be certain of their salvation because they have
indulgence letters will be eternally damned, together with their teachers.
33. Men must especially be on guard against those who say that the
pope's pardons are that inestimable gift of God by which man is reconciled to
him.
34. For the graces of indulgences are concerned only with the
penalties of sacramental satisfaction established by man.
35. They who
teach that contrition is not necessary on the part of those who intend to buy
souls out of purgatory or to buy confessional privileges preach unchristian
doctrine.
36. Any truly repentant Christian has a right to full
remission of penalty and guilt, even without indulgence letters.
37.
Any true Christian, whether living or dead, participates in all the blessings
of Christ and the church; and this is granted him by God, even without
indulgence letters.
38. Nevertheless, papal remission and blessing are
by no means to be disregarded, for they are, as I have said (Thesis 6), the
proclamation of the divine remission.
39. It is very difficult, even
for the most learned theologians, at one and the same time to commend to the
people the bounty of indulgences and the need of true contrition.
40.
A Christian who is truly contrite seeks and loves to pay penalties for his
sins; the bounty of indulgences, however, relaxes penalties and causes men to
hate them -- at least it furnishes occasion for hating them.
41. Papal
indulgences must be preached with caution, lest people erroneously think that
they are preferable to other good works of love.
42. Christians are to
be taught that the pope does not intend that the buying of indulgences should
in any way be compared with works of mercy.
43. Christians are to be
taught that he who gives to the poor or lends to the needy does a better deed
than he who buys indulgences.
44. Because love grows by works of love,
man thereby becomes better. Man does not, however, become better by means of
indulgences but is merely freed from penalties.
45. Christians are to
be taught that he who sees a needy man and passes him by, yet gives his money
for indulgences, does not buy papal indulgences but God's wrath.
46.
Christians are to be taught that, unless they have more than they need, they
must reserve enough for their family needs and by no means squander it on
indulgences.
47. Christians are to be taught that they buying of
indulgences is a matter of free choice, not commanded.
48. Christians
are to be taught that the pope, in granting indulgences, needs and thus desires
their devout prayer more than their money.
49. Christians are to be
taught that papal indulgences are useful only if they do not put their trust in
them, but very harmful if they lose their fear of God because of them.
50. Christians are to be taught that if the pope knew the exactions of the
indulgence preachers, he would rather that the basilica of St. Peter were
burned to ashes than built up with the skin, flesh, and bones of his sheep.
51. Christians are to be taught that the pope would and should wish to
give of his own money, even though he had to sell the basilica of St. Peter, to
many of those from whom certain hawkers of indulgences cajole money.
52. It is vain to trust in salvation by indulgence letters, even though the
indulgence commissary, or even the pope, were to offer his soul as security.
53. They are the enemies of Christ and the pope who forbid altogether
the preaching of the Word of God in some churches in order that indulgences may
be preached in others.
54. Injury is done to the Word of God when, in
the same sermon, an equal or larger amount of time is devoted to indulgences
than to the Word.
55. It is certainly the pope's sentiment that if
indulgences, which are a very insignificant thing, are celebrated with one
bell, one procession, and one ceremony, then the gospel, which is the very
greatest thing, should be preached with a hundred bells, a hundred processions,
a hundred ceremonies.
56. The true treasures of the church, out of
which the pope distributes indulgences, are not sufficiently discussed or known
among the people of Christ.
57. That indulgences are not temporal
treasures is certainly clear, for many indulgence sellers do not distribute
them freely but only gather them.
58. Nor are they the merits of
Christ and the saints, for, even without the pope, the latter always work grace
for the inner man, and the cross, death, and hell for the outer man.
59. St. Lawrence said that the poor of the church were the treasures of the
church, but he spoke according to the usage of the word in his own time.
60. Without want of consideration we say that the keys of the church,
given by the merits of Christ, are that treasure.
61. For it is clear
that the pope's power is of itself sufficient for the remission of penalties
and cases reserved by himself.
62. The true treasure of the church is
the most holy gospel of the glory and grace of God.
63. But this
treasure is naturally most odious, for it makes the first to be last (Mt.
20:16).
64. On the other hand, the treasure of indulgences is
naturally most acceptable, for it makes the last to be first.
65.
Therefore the treasures of the gospel are nets with which one formerly fished
for men of wealth.
66. The treasures of indulgences are nets with
which one now fishes for the wealth of men.
67. The indulgences which
the demagogues acclaim as the greatest graces are actually understood to be
such only insofar as they promote gain.
68. They are nevertheless in
truth the most insignificant graces when compared with the grace of God and the
piety of the cross.
69. Bishops and curates are bound to admit the
commissaries of papal indulgences with all reverence.
70. But they are
much more bound to strain their eyes and ears lest these men preach their own
dreams instead of what the pope has commissioned.
71. Let him who
speaks against the truth concerning papal indulgences be anathema and accursed.
72. But let him who guards against the lust and license of the
indulgence preachers be blessed.
73. Just as the pope justly thunders
against those who by any means whatever contrive harm to the sale of
indulgences.
74. Much more does he intend to thunder against those who
use indulgences as a pretext to contrive harm to holy love and truth.
75. To consider papal indulgences so great that they could absolve a man even
if he had done the impossible and had violated the mother of God is madness.
76. We say on the contrary that papal indulgences cannot remove the
very least of venial sins as far as guilt is concerned.
77. To say
that even St. Peter if he were now pope, could not grant greater graces is
blasphemy against St. Peter and the pope.
78. We say on the contrary
that even the present pope, or any pope whatsoever, has greater graces at his
disposal, that is, the gospel, spiritual powers, gifts of healing, etc., as it
is written, 1 Co 12[:28].
79. To say that the cross emblazoned with
the papal coat of arms, and set up by the indulgence preachers is equal in
worth to the cross of Christ is blasphemy.
80. The bishops, curates,
and theologians who permit such talk to be spread among the people will have to
answer for this.
81. This unbridled preaching of indulgences makes it
difficult even for learned men to rescue the reverence which is due the pope
from slander or from the shrewd questions of the laity.
82. Such as:
"Why does not the pope empty purgatory for the sake of holy love and the dire
need of the souls that are there if he redeems an infinite number of souls for
the sake of miserable money with which to build a church? The former reason
would be most just; the latter is most trivial.
83. Again, "Why are
funeral and anniversary masses for the dead continued and why does he not
return or permit the withdrawal of the endowments founded for them, since it is
wrong to pray for the redeemed?"
84. Again, "What is this new piety of
God and the pope that for a consideration of money they permit a man who is
impious and their enemy to buy out of purgatory the pious soul of a friend of
God and do not rather, because of the need of that pious and beloved soul, free
it for pure love's sake?"
85. Again, "Why are the penitential canons,
long since abrogated and dead in actual fact and through disuse, now satisfied
by the granting of indulgences as though they were still alive and in force?"
86. Again, "Why does not the pope, whose wealth is today greater than
the wealth of the richest Crassus, build this one basilica of St. Peter with
his own money rather than with the money of poor believers?"
87.
Again, "What does the pope remit or grant to those who by perfect contrition
already have a right to full remission and blessings?"
88. Again,
"What greater blessing could come to the church than if the pope were to bestow
these remissions and blessings on every believer a hundred times a day, as he
now does but once?"
89. "Since the pope seeks the salvation of souls
rather than money by his indulgences, why does he suspend the indulgences and
pardons previously granted when they have equal efficacy?"
90. To
repress these very sharp arguments of the laity by force alone, and not to
resolve them by giving reasons, is to expose the church and the pope to the
ridicule of their enemies and to make Christians unhappy.
91. If,
therefore, indulgences were preached according to the spirit and intention of
the pope, all these doubts would be readily resolved. Indeed, they would not
exist.
92. Away, then, with all those prophets who say to the people
of Christ, "Peace, peace," and there is no peace! (Jer 6:14)
93.
Blessed be all those prophets who say to the people of Christ, "Cross, cross,"
and there is no cross!
94. Christians should be exhorted to be
diligent in following Christ, their Head, through penalties, death and hell.
95. And thus be confident of entering into heaven through many
tribulations rather than through the false security of peace (Acts 14:22).
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Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther
Luther: Biography of a Reformer
Luther's Ninety-Five Theses
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