Why did Martin Luther post his 95 Theses against the Catholic Church?

Answer 1

One can only guess, if you read through the 95 Theses, some of them are remarkable in that they are orthodox Catholic teaching, and always have been. Others are so far out in left field as to be totally inexplicable. History always says that Martin Luther was an Augustinian Friar and a teacher of theology. I find this very difficult to reconcile with his famous 95 Theses - I can not picture a first year theologian asking any of these questions and being sober. Perhaps he wasn't?

Answer 2

A:Martin Luther sought reform within the Catholic Church, because of abuses that he saw, particularly in the sale of indulgences. In a shoddy deal, Albrecht of Brandenburg had been raised to the archdiocese of Mainz in 1514 but since he intended not to surrender his previous diocese of Magdeburg, and was also under the canonical age to be a bishop, the Pope was able to insist on a considerable fee. He agreed in return that 50 per cent of the monies raised from the preaching of the indulgence in Albrecht's two dioceses could be set against this sum. Luther was finally spurred to action by reports of the vigour and lack of sophistication with which indulgences were preached around Magdeburg by Albrecht's agent, the Dominican friar Tetzel. In October 1517, when he published his 95 theses against indulgences, Luther still believed that he could achieve reform.

Luther failed in his attempts to reform the Catholic Church, leading to the establishment of the Lutheran Church and the Protestant Reformation.

.

Catholic Answer

At first Martin Luther indeed tried to deal with the Church, sort of. He issued his "95 Theses" and did indeed meet with the Papal legate to discuss them. Indeed they were circulated among the German hierarchy. The problem with the 95 Theses were some of them were heretical, some were pure nonsense; one wonders exactly how much education Martin Luther actually had. Despite Rome's repeated attempts to bring this recalcitrant friar into line, he proudly refused to submit, eventually leaving his Order without even seeking permission (in his autobiography, he records that he got his flash of insight into all of theology in the monastic privy - which, considering his theology, is an apt comparison). M. Luther then proceeded to violate all of his lifelong solemn vows with impunity. He married an ex-nun, and proceeded to start drinking heavily. His always foul mouth came out in his pen. The princes of Northern Germany, only too delighted to find some reason to throw off having to send alms to Rome, took up M. Luther's positions on the Church and suppressed all Catholic Churches in their realm, throwing the priests out and outlawing the Mass and other sacraments. Luther lead this movement to justify his unjustifiable behavior, to justify his sins - in his new theology he did not have to lead a Christian life or give up sinning. He made it a point throughout his writings to contend that since everyone was already saved, they should sin a lot to show how good God is at saving them. All of which is completely against the teaching of Our Blessed Lord. May God have mercy on his soul.