Though this is about religion, it is of interest to the Coalition's mission to building collaboration in our focus on strengthening marriages and families. Also a bit about marriage near the end. What angered Luther, a Catholic monk in 1517, was that the Vatican was selling indulgences, supposed reductions of the time one would have to spend in Purgatory, in order to raise money to build St. Peter's in Rome. Christ's ''merits are freely available without the keys of the pope.
Indulgences are most pernicious because they induce complacency and thereby imperil salvation.
Those persons are damned who think that letters of indulgence make them certain of salvation. When a man believes himself to be utterly lost, light breaks. Peace comes in the word of Christ through faith. Luther, a teacher of theology, posted his 95 Theses in Latin, hoping to spark debate among theologians. We Germans cannot attend St. Peter's.