Our Church Speaks Episode 76 - Reformation (Church History 101 Part 9)
Aug 17, 2026
A lively tour of the Reformation era and its major players. They recount Tetzel’s indulgence controversy and Luther’s 95 theses leading to excommunication. Printing press technology and vernacular Bibles transforming lay access to scripture. How religious reform morphed into political conflict and wars. Catholic counter-reforms, global missions, and the long cultural shift toward personal religious choice.
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State Religion Meant Rulers Chose Faith For All
- Medieval Europe assumed a kingdom's religion matched its ruler, so religious change required political change.
- Ben Lansing and Dan Murata note the bishop of Rome's political power shaped church-state identity up to the 16th century.
Tetzel's Indulgence Salesman Tactics
- Johann Tetzel used fear and a salesman's pitch, promising that "as soon as the coin and the coffer rings, a soul from purgatory springs."
- Ben Lansing recounts Tetzel's tactic of selling indulgences to free loved ones from purgatory by donation.
Indulgences Became Commercialized Remission
- Indulgences had evolved into a money-centered commerce that promised retroactive forgiveness, distorting pastoral care into transaction.
- Dan Murata and Ben explain the shift from spiritual practice to paid remission tied to donations.
