In the early 1500s, one of the ways the Pope made money for the Catholic church was by selling indulgences. These were pieces of paper that could cancel the sin of the person who purchased them. Martin Luther, a professor of theology at the University of Theology, had his own views on the subject of sin. He believed that faith, and only faith, could free a man from sin. So when a seller of indulgences came to a nearby town in 1517, Luther publicly challenged this appalling approach to sin. He posted a series of theses on the door of the church in Wittenberg. These statements became known as Luthers 95 Theses and they started a very important period in Europe, the Protestant Reformation.
|
