8. disputation explaining the power of indulgence. *)
Published at Wittenberg on October 31, 1517.
Out of true love and special diligence (without a single request for vain honor 2c) to bring the truth to light, the venerable Father Mart. Luther, Augustinian at Wittemberg, Master of Liberal Arts and Holy Scripture 2c, by God's grace, will act, dispute, defend and receive the following sayings on indulgences, against Brother Johann Tetzel, Order of Preachers: Please
For this reason, those who are not able to talk to him about it at the present time will do so in writing 2c In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, amen.
1. since our Master and Lord Jesus Christ says: repent 2c, he wants the whole life of his believers on earth to be a constant or unceasing repentance.
*From the year 1517 itself, three single printings of these theses still exist, two from one folio sheet, and one on four quarto sheets. In all of Luther's collections of theses, these theses are also included, namely in the Wittenberg Theses Collections of 1530, 1531, 1538 and 1558, as well as in the Basel Theses Collection of 1538. From these, they have been transferred to the complete editions of Luther's works, and
2. and such a word may not yet be understood of the sacrament of penance, that is, of confession and satisfaction, as practiced by the priest's office.
3 However, he does not mean inward repentance alone: indeed, inward repentance is void and not repentance unless it outwardly works all manner of mortification of the flesh.
4. for this reason, repent and sorrow, that is, true repentance, as long as a man is displeased with himself, that is, until the entrance out of this life into eternal life.
5 The pope does not want nor can he impose some other chastisements, outside of those he has imposed at his pleasure, or according to the canonum, that is, papal statutes.
6 The pope cannot forgive guilt, except in so far as he declares and confirms what has been forgiven by God; or else that he does it in the cases he has reserved for him. Which cases, if they were despised, the debt would remain entirely unremitted or abandoned. 1)
7. God does not forgive anyone's guilt whom He does not at the same time, well humbled, submit to the priest, His governor.
Canons poenitentiales, that is, the statutes on how to confess and atone, are imposed only on the living; and, according to the same statutes, are not to be imposed on the now dying 2).
(9) Therefore the Holy Spirit does us good in the pope, that the pope always excludes in his decrees or rights the article of death and extreme necessity.
(10) Priests act imprudently and wickedly when they canonize the penance imposed on dying people in purgatory, where they save and keep enough for them to do.
(11) This weed, that the penance or satisfaction imposed by the canons or statutes should be converted into the penance of the purgatory.
1) I.e. omitted.
2) I.e. those who are already dying.
or chastisement was sown when the bishops were asleep.
In ancient times, canonicae poenae, that is, penance or satisfaction for sins committed, were imposed not after but before absolution, checking whether the repentance and sorrow were righteous.
13. the dying do enough for everything by their death or decease, and are dead to the right of canonum or statutes, and thus justly released from the same obligation.
14. imperfect piety or imperfect love of the one who is about to die necessarily brings great fear; indeed, the less the love, the greater the fear.
(15) This fear and terror is in itself, and the mere fact that I am silent about other things is enough for it to cause the torment and anguish of the purgatory, because it is very close to the fear of despair.
(16) Hell, purgatory, and heaven seem to be equally distinguished, as right despair, imperfect or near despair, and safety are distinguished from each other.
It seems that in purgatory, just as fear and terror decrease in souls, so love must also increase in them.
(18) It also seems to be unproven, either by good causes or by Scripture, that the souls in purgatory are out of the state of merit or increase in love.
(19) This also seems to be unproven, that the souls in purgatory are at least all certain of their blessedness and unconcerned, although we are quite certain of it.
20 For this reason, the pope does not mean, nor does he understand, by these words "perfect forgiveness of all chastisements," that all chastisements are forgiven in general, but means only the chastisement that he himself has inflicted.
21 For this reason, the preachers of indulgences, who
The text has been translated into Latin in the Latin Wittenberg (vol. I, toi. 51), Jena (vol. I, toi. 2), and Erlangen editions (o^>p. varii ar^. I, p. 285). The Weimar critical edition has brought the text in Latin according to the Wittenberg original (vol. I, p. 233), but we have retained the good translation of Juftus Jonas, according to which it is cited throughout. This translation is also found in the German Wittenberg (Vol. I, p. 9), Jena (Vol. I, p. 2), Altenburg (Vol. I, p. 14) and Leipzig editions (Vol. XVII, p. I). Löscher's Reformation Acts (vol. I, p. 438) contain both the Latin and the German text.
saying that through the pope's indulgence man will be freed from all torment and become blessed.
22 Yes, the pope does not remit any chastisement to the souls in purgatory, which they should have atoned and paid for in this life, according to the Canonum.
(23) Yes, if any forgiveness of all chastisements can be given to anyone, it is certain that it will be given only to the most perfect, that is, to the very few.
24 Therefore the greater part of the people must be deceived by the splendid promise without all distinction, imagined to the common man of paid chastisement.
(25) The same power as the pope has over purgatory, absolutely and in general; so also have every bishop and pastor, in his diocese and parish, in particular, or among his own.
The pope is very careful not to give forgiveness to souls by force of the key (which he does not have), but by help or intercession.
27) Those preach humanity, who pretend that as soon as the penny is thrown into the box, the soul will leave purgatory.
28 This is certain, as soon as the penny is ringing in the box, that greed and avarice will come, increase and grow; but the help or the intercession of the church is solely in God's will and good pleasure.
Who knows whether all the souls in Purgatory will be redeemed, as it is said to have happened with St. Severino and Paschali?
(30) No one is certain that he has enough true repentance and sorrow; much less can he be certain that he has received complete forgiveness of sins.
(31) As it is rare for one to have true repentance and sorrow, so it is rare for one to have true indulgences, that is, it is very rare to find one.
Those who think they can be sure of their salvation through letters of indulgence will go to the devil together with their masters.
33) Beware of those who say that the pope's indulgence is the highest and most precious grace of God.
or gift, by which man is reconciled to God.
34 For the grace of indulgence stands only on the chastisement of satisfaction, which has been imposed by men.
(35) Those teach unchristianly who pretend that those who want to release souls from purgatory or letters of confession need neither repentance nor sorrow.
Every Christian who has true repentance and sorrow for his sins has complete forgiveness of chastisement and guilt, which belongs to him even without letters of indulgence.
(37) Every true Christian, living or dead, is partaker of all the goods of Christ and the Church, by God's gift, even without letters of indulgence.
(38) But the pope's forgiveness and dispensation are by no means to be despised. For, as I have said, his forgiveness is a declaration of divine forgiveness.
It is extremely difficult for even the most learned theologians to praise the great wealth of indulgences at the same time as true repentance and suffering before the people.
(40) True repentance and sorrow seek and love punishment; but the mildness 1) of indulgence exempts one from punishment, and from being sorry for it, least of all when occasion arises.
(41) Let papal indulgences be preached carefully, lest the common man falsely think that they are preferred or better regarded than other works of charity.
(42) Christians should be taught that it is not the mind and opinion of the pope that indulgences should be compared to any work of mercy.
(43) Christians are to be taught that he who gives to the poor, or lends to the needy, does better than he who gives indulgences.
(44) For by the work of love charity grows, and man becomes more devout; but by indulgences he does not become better, but only safer and freer from chastisement or punishment.
45. Christians should be taught that the,
1) I. e. the abundant communication.
2) I.e. in something.
If a man sees his neighbor in need and, in spite of this, gives indulgences, he does not give the pope's indulgences, but incurs God's displeasure.
(46) Christians should be taught that if they are not rich, they are obliged to keep what they need for their house, and not to waste it on indulgences.
(47) Christians should be taught that indulgences are free and not commanded.
(48) Christians should be taught that as much as the pope needs devout prayer, he desires it more than money when he grants indulgences.
(49) Christians should be taught that the pope's indulgence is good if they do not put their trust in it, but nothing more harmful if they lose their fear of God.
The Christians should be taught that the pope, knowing the drudgery of the preachers of indulgences, would rather have St. Peter's Cathedral burned to powder than have it built with the skin, flesh and bones of his sheep.
The Christians should be taught that the pope, as he owes, would also distribute his own money to the people, even if St. Peter's Cathedral were to be sold for this purpose, since some preachers of indulgences are now depriving themselves of money.
To be saved by letters of indulgence is a null and false thing, even if the commissary (or bailiff of indulgences), even the pope himself, wanted to pledge his soul for it.
These are enemies of Christ and the Pope, who, because of the preaching of indulgences, completely forbid the preaching of the Word of God in other churches.
It does injustice to the word of God to spend as much or more time preaching indulgences in a sermon as on the word of God.
(55) The opinion of the Pope cannot be otherwise than that if the indulgence (which is the least) is celebrated with one bell, one pomp and ceremonies, that on the other hand and much more the gospel (which is the greatest) should be honored and praised with a hundred bells, a hundred pomps and ceremonies.
The treasures of the church, from which the pope grants indulgences, are neither sufficiently named nor known among the church of Christ.
(57) For the fact that they are not corporeal, temporal goods is evident from the fact that many preachers do not give them up so easily, but gather them up alone.
(58) Nor are the merits of Christ and the saints: for these always work, without the help of the pope, grace to the inward man, and the cross, death and hell to the outward man.
St. Lawrence called the poor who are members of the church the treasures of the church, but he took the word as it was customary in his time.
60 We say with good reason, without sacrilege or levity, that this treasure is the keys of the Church, given to the Church through the merit of Christ.
(61) For it is clear that for the forgiveness of chastisements and reserved cases, only the authority of the pope is sufficient.
The right true treasure of the Church is the holy gospel of the glory and grace of God.
This treasure is the most hostile and detestable. For it makes the first become the last.
(64) But the treasury of indulgences is most acceptable, for it makes the last first.
For this reason, the treasures of the gospel are nets, where rich, wealthy people used to fish.
The treasures of indulgences are the nets with which the riches of men are fished at this time.
The indulgence that preachers proclaim to be the greatest grace is certainly to be considered a great grace, for it bears great profit and enjoyment.
(68) And yet such indulgences are truly the least of graces when compared to the grace of God and the blessedness of the cross.
69 Bishops and pastors are obliged to admit commissaries of the Apostolic Indulgence with all reverence.
70 But much more they are guilty of putting on with eyes and ears that the same
Commissars do not preach their own dreams instead of papal command.
Whoever speaks against the truth of the papal indulgence is a curse and a curse.
But if anyone worries or grieves against the indulgence preacher's bold and insolent words, let him be reproved.
How the pope justly strikes with disfavor and banishment those who act in some way to the detriment of indulgences:
He is even more eager to heap disgrace and banishment on those who, under the pretense of indulgence, act to the detriment of holy love and truth.
To think that the pope's indulgences are so great that they can absolve one from sins, even if they have weakened the Mother of God (which is impossible to say), is to be furious and nonsensical.
On the other hand, we say that the pope's indulgence cannot take away the slightest daily sin, as far as the guilt of it is concerned.
It is a blasphemy against St. Peter and the pope to say that St. Peter, if he were now pope, would not be able to give greater indulgences.
78. against this we say that also this and every pope has greater indulgences, namely the gospel, powers, gifts to make well 2c 1 Cor. 12, 6. 9.
It is blasphemy to say that the cross, gloriously emblazoned with the pope's coat of arms, can do as much as the cross of Christ.
The bishops, pastors and theologians who allow such words to be spoken before the common man will have to give an account for it.
Such insolent and impudent preaching and glorying in indulgences makes it difficult even for scholars to defend the pope's honor and dignity from the same slander, or even from the sharp, cunning questions of the common man.
82) For example, why does the pope not release all souls from purgatory at the same time, for the sake of the most holy love and because of the highest need of souls, as the most just cause; when he, for the sake of the most perishable money, is building a house for the souls?
St. Peter's Cathedral, countless souls saved, than from the loosest cause?
Item: Why do the funerals and anniversaries of the deceased remain, and why does he not restore, or grant to take again, the beneficia or benefices endowed to the dead, so that it is now unjust to pray for the "redeemed"?
84. Item: What is this new holiness of God and the Pope, that they allow the wicked and the enemy to redeem a God-fearing and God-loved soul for the sake of money, and yet do not rather, for the sake of the great need of that God-fearing and beloved soul, want to redeem it for free out of love?
Item 85: Why the canons poeniten- tiales that is, the statutes of repentance, now long since in themselves with the deed, and by non-use, 1) are done and dead, nor redeemed with money, by favor of indulgence, as if they were still quite strong and alive?
Item 86: Why does the pope not prefer to build St. Peter's Cathedral from his own money rather than from the money of poor Christians, since his fortune is greater than that of any rich Crassi?
Item 87: What does the pope grant or share his indulgences with those who are already entitled to a plenary pardon and indulgence through perfect contrition?
Item 88: What more good could come to the Church than if the Pope, as he does only once, were to grant this pardon and indulgence to every believer a hundred times a day?
Since the pope seeks the salvation of souls more through indulgences than money, why does he cancel and destroy the letters and indulgences that he gave before, if they are equally powerful?
90 These very pointed arguments of the laymen want to muffle by force alone and not resolve by indicated reason and cause.
1) In Latin: stnonusu. In the translation of Justus Jonas erroneously: whether they are already still in use.
2) Although the translation of Jonas: "through the money" is possible, it seems to us more appropriate if the word "through" would be deleted, especially since the word xer before xeounias is not repeated in the original.
means to represent the Church and the Pope to the enemies and to make the Christians unhappy.
Therefore, if indulgences were preached according to the spirit and opinion of the pope, these objections would be easily justified, indeed they would never have occurred.
(92) Therefore let all the preachers go, who say to the church of Christ, Peace, peace; and there is no peace. [Ezek.
13, 10. 16.]
But it must be well with the preachers alone who say to the church of Christ, "Cross, cross! and there is no cross.
94. Christians should be exhorted to follow their head, Christ, through the cross, death and hell;
95 And so to enter the kingdom of heaven more through much tribulation [Acts 14:22] than to be assured of peace through comfort.