Indulgences

Authors

Theo. Hoyer, Concordia Seminary, St. Louis

Publication Date

3-1-1934

Document Type

Article

Keywords

indulgences, catholic church, reformation, luther, spiritual favors, pardons, penance, pope

Submission Type

Bible Study; Lecture; Sermon Prep

Abstract

"One of the stock charges against the Catholic Church is that she sells indulgences for money. First hurled by Luther against the Dominican friar John Tetzel, authorized by Leo X to preach indulgences, this charge has persisted to the present day. While Luther’s blunt assertion that 'Tetzcl sold grace for money at the highest price' has long since been disproven, the impression is still conveyed by many historians that the Church at least in the Middle Agee engaged in wholesale traffic in indulgences… In the minds of vast numbers of our non-Catholic fellow-citizens, the word indulgences stands as the symbol of a mercenary traffic in spiritual favors that was widespread especially in pre-Reformation days and that still lingers in attenuated form in the Church to-day.

Disciplines

History of Christianity

Submission Cost

Free

Submission Audience

Laity; Ministers; Scholars

Recommended Citation

Hoyer, Theo. (1934) "Indulgences," Concordia Theological Monthly: Vol. 5, Article 35.
Available at: https://scholar.csl.edu/ctm/vol5/iss1/35