Martin Luther

MARTIN LUTHER: THE RELUCTANT REVOLUTIONARY
PROF. M. M. NINAN
In Roman Catholic theology, Purgatory is an intermediate state between death and heaven in
which some of those ultimately destined for heaven must first "undergo purification, so as to
achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven," holding that "certain offenses can be
forgiven in this age, but certain others in the age to come." And that entrance into Heaven requires
the "remission before God of the temporal punishment due to [venial] sins whose guilt has already
been forgiven," for which indulgences may be given which remove "either part or all of the temporal
punishment due to sin," such as an "unhealthy attachment" to sin. Only those who die in the state of
grace but have not yet fulfilled the temporal punishment due to their sin can be in Purgatory, and
therefore no one in Purgatory will remain forever in that state nor go to hell.
Plenary indulgences began with the first crusade in 1095, and Thomas Aquinas developed the
theory of the pope dispensing the merit of Christ and the saints for those who help the Church.
John Wycliffe and Jan Huss denied the efficacy of indulgences
Anglicans of the Anglo-Catholic tradition generally also hold to the belief. Eastern Orthodox
Churches believe in the possibility of a change of situation for the souls of the dead through the
prayers of the living and the offering of the Divine Liturgy, and many Orthodox, especially among
ascetics, hope and pray for a general apocatastasis.[4] Judaism also believes in the possibility of
after-death purification and may even use the word "purgatory" to present its understanding of the
meaning of Gehenna. However, the concept of soul "purification" may be explicitly denied in other
faith traditions. The Protestant reformers, especially Luther and Calvin, rejected the doctrine,
saying that it unscriptural. Protestants (apart from the Anglicans) reject the doctrine and often argue
it was an invention designed to keep the Roman Catholic Church in control of people.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes an indulgence as "a remission before God of the
temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian
who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church
which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the
satisfactions of Christ and the saints".
The recipient of an indulgence must perform an action to receive it. This is most often the saying
(once, or many times) of a specified prayer, but may also include the visiting of a particular place, or
the performance of specific good works.
Sacred inscription on the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran in Rome: Indulgentia plenaria perpetua quotidiana toties
quoties pro vivis et defunctis (English trans: "Perpetual everyday plenary indulgence on every occasion for the living
and the dead")
Indulgences were introduced to allow for the remission of the severe penances of the early Church
and granted at the intercession of Christians awaiting martyrdom or at least imprisoned for the faith.
They draw on the treasury of merit accumulated by Christ's superabundantly meritorious sacrifice
on the cross and the virtues and penances of the saints. They are granted for specific good works
and prayers in proportion to the devotion with which those good works are performed or prayers
recited.
By the late Middle Ages, the abuse of indulgences, mainly through commercialization, had become
a serious problem which the Church recognized but was unable to restrain effectively. Indulgences
were from the beginning of the Protestant Reformation a target of attacks by Martin Luther and all
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