The Ninety Five Theses Summary Chapter 4

The ninety-five Theses were written by Martin Luther in response to John Tetzel selling indulgences to people. Indulgences were a thing that people paid the Church for that would limit their time spent in purgatory. Martin Luther was angry at John Tetzel but also at the Catholic Church who did nothing to stop the selling of indulgences or other things like simony, usury, and pluralism. In response to all of this Martin Luther wrote the ninety-five theses which spoke out and criticized the Church for all the wrong things it was doing to people. In the twenty-sixth these Luther states, “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 [1].” Luther gained support from many people who felt the same way Luther id which caused his ideas to spread throughout Europe. Martin Luther posting his ninety-five theses is important because; it started the Protestant

The Protestant Reformation was started by people who believed in Luther’s ninety-five theses and were tired of the Church. This Reformation led to many new non-Christian churches like Mormons, Protestants, Presbyterians, Lutherans, and many more. The Pope and other highly ranked religious officials did not like Luther because he made public the immoral actions of the Church. Pope Leo X in response to Luther’s statements asked him to retract his statements and say he was wrong. However, Luther refused and in 1520 Pope Leo X excommunicated Luther from the Catholic Church. Another despiser of Luther was Charles V, who issued the Concordat of Worms. The Concordat of Worms said no one in the Holy Roman Empire was to provide Luther food or shelter and all his books were to be destroyed. However, Prince Frederick defied Charles V and sheltered Luther in one of his castles, and during his stay Luther translated the Bible into