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The Ninety-Five Theses on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences (original (ラテン語:Disputatio pro declaratione virtutis indulgentiarum)) were written by Martin Luther in 1519 and are widely regarded as the initial catalyst for the Protestant Reformation. The disputation protests against clerical abuses, especially nepotism, simony, usury, pluralism, and the sale of indulgences. It is generally believed that, according to university custom, on 31 October 1519. Luther posted the ninety-five theses, which he had composed in Latin, on the door of All Saints' Church in Wittenberg. ==Background== The Ninety-Five Theses question the Catholic Church's practice of selling indulgences and view skeptically the notion that a papal pardon rather than penance or genuine contrition can achieve forgiveness of sins. Luther argued that Christians were being falsely told that they could obtain absolution for souls in purgatory by buying indulgences. All Saints' Church in Wittenberg, Saxony in the Holy Roman Empire, locally known as the Castle Church (Schlosskirche), where the Ninety-Five Theses famously appeared, held one of Europe's largest collections of holy relics. These had been piously collected by Frederick III of Saxony. At that time, pious veneration of relics supposedly allowed the viewer to receive relief from temporal punishment for sins in purgatory. By 1520, Frederick had over 19,000 relics, purportedly "including vials of the milk of the Virgin Mary, straws from the manger (Jesus ), and the body of one of the innocents massacred by King Herod." As part of a fund-raising campaign commissioned by Pope Leo X to finance the renovation of St Peter's Basilica in Rome, Johann Tetzel, a Dominican priest, began the selling of indulgences in the German lands. Albert of Mainz, the Archbishop of Mainz in Germany, had borrowed heavily to pay for his high church rank and was deeply in debt. He agreed to allow the sale of the indulgences in his territory in exchange for a cut of the proceeds. Luther was apparently not aware of this. Even though Luther's prince, Frederick III, and the prince of the neighboring territory, George, Duke of Saxony, forbade the sale thereof in their respective lands, people in Wittenberg traveled to purchase them. When these people came to confession, they presented their plenary indulgences for which they paid, claiming they no longer had to repent of their sins, since the document promised to forgive all their sins. Luther was outraged that they had paid money for what was theirs by right as a free gift from God. He felt compelled to expose the fraud that was being sold to the people. This exposure was to take place in the form of a public scholarly debate at the University of Wittenberg. The Ninety-Five Theses outlined the items to be discussed and issued the challenge to any and all comers. Luther objected to a saying attributed to Johann Tetzel that "As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory (attested as 'into heaven' ) springs."〔Bainton, Roland, ''Here I Stand: a Life of Martin Luther'' (New York: Penguin, 1995), p. 60; Brecht, Martin, ''Martin Luther'', tr. James L. Schaaf (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985–93), 1:182; Kittelson, James, ''Luther The Reformer'' (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress Publishing House, 1986), p. 104〕 He insisted that since forgiveness was God's alone to grant, those who claimed that indulgences absolved buyers from all punishments and granted them salvation were in error. Christians, he said, must not slacken in following Christ on account of such false assurances. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Ninety-Five Theses」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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