What was the effect of the 95 theses?

The 95 Theses are said to have been posted on the door of the church by Martin Luther.The document was questioning rather than accusatory, in order to inform the Archbishop of Mainz that the selling of indulgences had become corrupt, with the sellers only seeking to line their own pockets.It questioned the idea that buying a trinket could shave time off the stay of one's loved ones in purgatory, sending them to a glorious Heaven.

This was not the action of a man who wanted to break away from the Catholic Church.The 95 Theses were written by Luther to bring reform to the forefront of the agenda for the Church Council.

The 95 Theses were provocative, leading to debates across the German Lands about what it meant to be a true Christian, with some historians thinking the document was the start of the lengthy process.Why did Luther write them?

The 95 Theses were written to oppose the selling of indulgences to the people in order to reduce the time their loved one spent in purgatory.The archbishop of Mainz and Madgeburg was in debt due to his purchase of the bishopric.In exchange for a cut of the profits, the Archbishop allowed the sale of a series of indulgences to the poor.The trade of erotic goods was growing during this time.1,900,000 days would be removed from one's time in purgatory if Frederick the Wise had his way.The financial nature of the entire process was highlighted to Luther by Tetzel's jingle 'As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, a soul from purgatory springs'.

Luther was horrified by the fact that a large portion of the profits from this trade were being used to repair St Peter's Basilica in Rome.The 86th thesis shows his anger at the pope building the basilica of St Peter with the money of the poor rather than his own money.

Luther sent a copy of his 95 Theses to the archbishop.He believed that the Archbishop was unaware of the corruption inherent in the trade.It shows that Luther didn't consider the Church hierarchy redundant at this point.

The events which occurred because of its publication were paramount in Luther's ideological and religious development.The Church viewed the heresy as implicit in the document.Luther didn't recant his position despite the pressure.The debate in summer 1519 was a result of this.

Luther had to clarify some of his theories after the debate.In the discussions between the two men, the debate about indulgences was only briefly mentioned.The 95 Theses were written to protest the selling of indulgences.This wasn't the primary purpose of the debate.

The debate furthered Luther's development of doctrine which opposed the traditional view of the Catholic Church.He was forced to conclude in the debate that Church Councils could be wrong in their judgements.This threw into dispute the papal hierarchy's authority and set him on a path towards evangelicalism and the doctrine of justification by faith alone.If the pope had offered a reconciliation, Luther would have returned to the doctrine of the established Church.

The attitude of the Catholic Church after the 95 Theses is interesting.It immediately sought to identify Luther as someone who had deviated from the true way and was therefore a heretic; it refused to recognize that Luther had valid complaints which were shared by many across Western Christendom.Luther intended the 95 Theses to be used as an avenue to reform.The papal hierarchy wanted to keep the status quo.

A document written in Latin and posted on a door like most other academic debates, it doesn't seem obvious how the 95 Theses became as significant as they did.

The rise of print culture was the main explanation for its significance.After the creation of the printing press, printed books and pamphlets could be produced more cheaply than ever before.The texts used to be reserved for the upper class.Alister McGrath argued that we can't underestimate the impact of the development of print culture.Within two weeks, the 95 Theses had spread throughout the German Lands; within a matter of months, they were a talking point among much of Western Christendom.Without the printing press, this would not have happened.

The document was made significant by the translation of the Latin text into German.The subject matter was accessible to a greater number of people because of this translation.The common folk would have been able to read in German.They would be able to read the article for themselves and see how many of the arguments they identified with were not theirs.Bob Scribner argued that we should not forget the oral nature of the Reformation, because the translation meant that literate folk could read the Theses aloud to a large audience.

The 95 Theses were expressing feelings that many ordinary folk felt at the time.The Reformatio Sigismundi of 1439 is an example of a series of lists detailing the concerns of people about the state of the Church.There were over 100 grievances with the Church by the time of the Imperial Diet of Worms.The contextual factors of the printing press and the German language made this expression so significant.

Luther did not expect a lot to change when he posted his 95 Theses on the door of the chapel.He didn't know what the act would lead to.The Theses resulted in Luther clarifying his position in a way which led to his repudiation of the decadence and corruption within the Catholic Church and his excommunication.

The 95 Theses are not likely to have achieved the same significance without the printing press.Would the result have been the same if the 95 Theses had been posted on October 31st?

Lau, Franz and Bizer are related.There was a history of the Reformation in Germany.It was translated by Brian Hardy.Adam and Charles Black were in London in 1969.

Robert Scribner.The History of European ideas 5 is about oral culture.There was a report in 3 (1984).

Interesting article!The Theses were just a step in Luther's theological development.It makes you wonder if we should celebrate 31 October as the 500th anniversary of the Reformation or not.