Was the Selling of Indulgences Only Performed by Rogue Priests?

Executive Summary

• This article will dispute the claim of some Catholics that the selling of indulgences was only performed by rogue priests.

Introduction

There has been an attempt to explain away and make excuses for the Catholic practice of selling indulgences.

Video on Indulgences

This video proposes that Catholic indulgences were only sold by rogue priests without the knowledge of the Vatican.

History: The Archbishop of Mainz and the Approval of the Sale of Indulgences by Pope Clement

The Archbishop of Mainz agreed with Pope Clement that he could sell indulgences. Indulgences were presented to Catholic followers not by just a few priests but by many priests. This video makes it sound like rogue priests did indulgence selling, but it was not rogue priests. There is no way to look at the totality of evidence on indulgences and propose this.

The Vatican’s Use of Indulgence Money

The Vatican used money from indulgences to build the Sithteen Chapel and pay for many other things. Moreover, Luthor originally wrote against the sale of indulgences by the Archbishop of Mainz, thinking — as proposed generally in this video — that he was operating as a rogue. This caused Luther to attack the Archbishop of Mainz in his writings.

However, Luther did not know that the Archbishop of Mainz had received approval from Pope Clement to sell indulgences.

The Catholic Church has always been a very hierarchical organization. It’s unreasonable to propose that a practice that went on for hundreds of years in many places went on without the Vatican’s knowledge. News of this rogueish behavior would have gotten back to the Vatican, and those rogue priests would have been punished.

Indulgences as Part of a Larger Financial Scam by Religion

Looking narrowly at indulgences misses the bigger picture of the financial scam all religions engage in. Indulgences are just one part of the religious money scam that generalizes to all faiths.

The Protestant Prosperity Gospel

For example, religions tell their followers that the more they tithe or donate, the better their odds are in the afterlife. Protestant prosperity gospel (think Joel Olsteen) is based upon giving money, which is a seed — which will be returned many times over, not in the afterlife but in the present life. Look on YouTube for televangelists saying this exact thing, like Jimmy Swaggart, Oral Roberts, etc.

Donations as Good Works

In Protestant denominations, good works can also be donated to the church. And good works are, of course, one of the ways to get into heaven. So here again, we have yet another connection between financial contributions and salvation.

The $150 Billion Hedge Fund of the LDS

The Mormons have $150 billion that they hide in shell companies from Mormon followers so that Mormons are not aware of the true extent of the LDS’s wealth. They do this so that they can get waitresses to tithe. If normal Mormans knew the LDS was managing a $150 billion hedge fund, they would be much less likely to tithe or tithe less.

Religious Tax Exemption

Another major problem is the religious tax exemption. This tax exemption is based generally on the idea of religions being charitable. However, churches do very little philanthropic work; their principal behavioral pattern is hoarding money and building more churches. As soon as you check the finances of churches, you will find one of the best business models ever invented. You do close to nothing, offer many promises, and receive constant income from putting on services. You pay no taxes and then accumulate assets. Church missionaries function essentially to gain more church customers. Churches manipulate the young to become missionaries, who have no idea their church is a giant money-siphoning operation. They promote the idea that they are “saving souls.” The missionaries are useful idiots agreeing to work for low pay for the people at the top of the church hierarchy.

Threatening People Until They Pay You

This competition for paying customers is why virtually all churches tell their congregations that the followers of other religions will burn in hell. They do this even to groups of different denominations within the same religion. If you don’t want to burn in hell — redirect your patronage to this other church. Whatever church you are happening to tithe to, that is where you receive salvation. Well, it isn’t that convenient. According to all of the churches, you are not paying……well, you are burning in hell in their view. Why should you be exempted from burning in hell if you are not paying them?

Conclusion

Indulgences are just the tip of the iceberg and one of many ways that nearly all churches offer salvation to members of their congregation in return for financial offerings.

The Silence of Dead Congregations Members

The truly fantastic thing about this business model is that by the time the congregants realize they have no afterlife and they have been scammed for their entire lives, they are already dead. Dead congregation members cannot write negative Google reviews or file complaints.