An-Tuong Bui (304470910)
Teofilo Ruiz/Elle Harvell
History 1B
June 5, 2015
Part 2: Question 4 In the years leading up to the sixteenth century, the Roman Catholic Church had endured much strife and turmoil. As the church become more intricately tied to the European political landscape, its ecclesiastical leaders began to deviate from the spiritual roles with which they had been originally ordained. Due to increasing corruption, hedonism, and abuse of power, many sought the decentralization of religious power. Despite attempts to reform the Church through organized councils, their effects were only temporary, failing to address the underlying issues that plagued the institution. With shifting economic and political circumstances, the Church’s
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He delineates a path to salvation achieved through personal spirituality and grace, emphasizing the overwhelming importance of one’s direct relationship with God. Thus, Luther declares “injury is done to the Word of God when…an equal or larger amount of time is devoted to indulgences than to the Word.” During the 1500’s, the selling of indulgences, or remission and forgiveness of sin, was commonplace. Luther implies that the pope’s authority is merely temporal and transient, since he “cannot remit any penalties other than those which he has [self-imposed] or by that of the canons.” With these statements, the German monk advocates for a reemphasis on learning and adhering to the scripture. “Sacramental penance” as defined by Luther “is administered by priests,” yet the “penalty of [sin] continues so long as hatred of self continues.” Therefore, he suggests that the guilt related with an sinful act cannot be dismissed via canonical means, but requires personal remorse to remit. Condemning indulgence buyers and sellers as “enemies of Christ,” Luther laments the neglect of faith that will lead to “penalties, death, and hell.” By openly identifying flaws within the Church, the Ninety-Five Theses was a major catalyst for the eventual fracture in Western