Indulgences and Purgatory

As stated in the last slide one of the main causes of the Protestant Reformation was from the idea of corruption or buying one's way to heaven. This idea was at this time known as an indulgence, and its purpose being to relax the penalties for sins one has committed. However, indulgences did not ensure a spot in the heavenly land, but rather an in between place known as Purgatory, a place where souls went before heaven. Adding to this, indulgences only relaxed punishment, and supposedly did not end it completely, being both a good and bad solution to the issue of entering a heavenly land after committing unholy acts in life. Sounds great! People could get into an "in-between" place when they commit sins. The catch behind this though and the real beginning of Reformation only occurred when these indulgences cost money, and only an amount the wealthy could afford. In turn, it caused one of the most important acts of the start of Reformation to begin, starting with one man.