Luther's Ninety-five Theses
An objection to selling indulgences becomes a schism, because of printing.
- When
- Era
- Early Modern, Holocene
Martin Luther circulates his theses against indulgences in October 1517. Similar criticisms had been made before and contained; this time printers reproduced them across Germany within weeks and they could not be suppressed. Luther goes on to argue for salvation by faith alone and the authority of scripture over the church, and to translate the Bible into German — shaping the language as well as the theology.