CLEP Western Civ I

Answer: D - The sale of indulgences was by far the most offensive act on part of the Church, as far as the Reformers like Martin Luther and John Calvin were concerned. An indulgence was an absolution for a sin. By selling indulgences, the Church was effectively saying that wealthy people were more “worthy” of salvation and an afterlife in Heaven because they could pay for it. People like Luther argued that if one person was worthy of absolution for a sin, then another person who was guilty of the same sin was equally worthy of absolution, and that forgiveness could only come from God, on principle, not on receipt of payment.