Due to the length of the article, this post is somewhat more difficult to deal with. There is so much here, that to try and cover it all, would make for an extremely long blog post. Therefore I will share some thoughts, invite you to read the article and then send me your questions.
This is an article that can sound really harsh to contemporary ears. I have family and friends that are Catholic, and I would not speak in such harsh language. The reason why Luther comes out guns blazing here is that he is arguing against something that, takes away from Christ and the forgiveness that comes through him alone. So it is not that Luther hates Catholics. Plus you have to get past the way that people talked to one another in the middle ages. It was not the most politically correct.
What Luther was reacting to here was the idea that people can set up ways to charge for and distribute God's grace, instead of his grace being freely and fully offered for the sake of Christ alone. It would be like if I came up with a way to charge you for something that is already yours. If I charged you for the air you breath. What happened as a result of the mass and the way it was used, is that ultimately it took away from Christ, and focused people's attention on earthly and human intuitions and creations.
That is why he is so strong in his language, because the way things were set up, is that they were against the grace that is offered in the Gospel. And they took away from Christ and his sacrifice. They essentially took the gifts of God, which are given freely and with no strings attached, and they attached strings to them. Luther was fighting against those strings.
So that is the gist. If you have more detailed questions, let me know, and I can address them next week. Don't worry. You will remain anonymous.
Blessings and peace.
Pastor CJ
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