In the passage from Martin Luther's 95 Theses, he is criticizing the practice of selling indulgences by the Catholic Church. Indulgences were essentially certificates that could be purchased to reduce the amount of punishment a person had to undergo for their sins in purgatory. Luther believed that this practice was corrupt and exploitative.
Here's why Martin Luther criticized the selling of indulgences:
1. He questioned why the pope, in the name of holy love and the need of souls in purgatory, did not simply empty purgatory through his divine authority instead of selling indulgences for money.
2. Luther saw the selling of indulgences as a trivial practice driven by greed rather than genuine spiritual concern.
3. He argued that the act of selling indulgences undermined the true principles of repentance, faith, and salvation by suggesting that one could buy their way out of punishment for sins.
In summary, Martin Luther's critique in the passage is focused on the sale of indulgences as a means of obtaining forgiveness or reducing time in purgatory, which he viewed as contrary to the core tenets of faith and salvation.
