Facts of Faith

Sale Of Indulgences

Histories used in the public schools in the United States up to the year 1900 were opposed by the Roman Catholic Church on the ground that they were not stating the truth about “indulgences.” These histories simply stated that Martin Luther began the Reformation by opposing Tetzel’s sale of indulgences, which is a historical fact. FAFA 246.1

“An Introduction to the History of Western Europe,” by Professor J. H. Robinson, says: FAFA 246.2

“It is a common mistake of Protestants to suppose that the indulgence was forgiveness granted beforehand for sins to be committed in the future. There is absolutely no foundation for this idea.”- p. 391. Ginn and Co... 1903.

This statement is copied on page 311 in ‘A General History of Europe,” by Robinson, Breasted, and Smith, a textbook quite generally used of late. We shall leave it with the reader to judge whether such statements actually represent the Protestant conception of “indulgences,” or whether they are part of a program to cover up historical facts; and we would respectfully ask: Are not American youth entitled to know the unvarnished facts of history? FAFA 246.3

The historical facts about “indulgences,” gathered from unquestionable sources, are found on pages 162-172 of this book. It is here shown that the idea of “indulgences” had so degenerated between the eleventh and the sixteenth centuries, that they were actually sold for money. Tetzel’s “Indulgences” read: 1 “absolve thee ... from all thy sins, transgressions and excesses ... and I restore thee ... to that innocence and purity which thou possessed at baptism; so that, when thou diest, the gates of punishment shall be shut, and the gates of the paradise of delight shall be open.” — Coxe’s “House of Austria,” Vol. I, p. 385. London: George Bell and Sons, 1906. FAFA 246.4