I think my secondary calling in life is to be a bridge-builder, a peacemaker beckoning people into unity with God and each other. (My primary calling is to dwell in the love of God and love him in return with all of my heart and soul and mind and strength.) Thus, my motivation for writing this piece is to awaken people to see from the perspective of “the other,” to stir the waters and start a conversation so that we can seek Truth together – leading us to unity and deeper knowledge of God and one another. That said, I know that this topic is controversial… that’s partially why I’m fascinated by it. I think it’s important to seek to understand the things that separate us, not just sweep them under the rug and aim for a superficial sense of unity. Peacemaking necessarily involves leaning into tough discussions, not shying away from conflict. Will you lean in with me as we seek Truth together? I hope to get a dialogue going about many topics, but first let’s see how this one goes. In your responses, please keep the goal of unity in mind and remember that our Heavenly Daddy wants all his kiddos to be respectful and love each other. Okay, so, indulgences…
Since a lot of people are not well educated about indulgences, I will first offer some description and history about them before we dive into the juicy aspects – the Protestant objections, how I have come to be open to indulgences as spiritually beneficial, and proposed next steps towards unity in light of this divisive issue. I invite you to read this with an open mind, and try to withhold any objections to the end.
Defining Indulgences
To start off, let’s look at the official definition of an indulgence from the Roman Catholic Catechism:
“An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints.”
If you’re still scratching your head over what this means and how this works, you are not alone. But let me try to hash this out better for you.
Here’s an example to simplify the description, borrowed from my friend and mentor Jeff Terhune. Imagine that you are playing baseball in the yard and you accidentally hit the baseball through your neighbor’s window. You go to your neighbor and apologize, and they heartily forgive you. That’s like Jesus forgiving the guilt of our sins. However, is the window still broken? Yes. God made human nature such that we must fix the window to make everything right. That still broken window demands temporal punishment as a consequence due to the sin. Thus, an indulgence could be understood as fixing the broken window.
This concept is closely linked with penance / repentance, which is the active turning away from sin back to God, thus replacing our bad choices with good ones.
Indulgences can be obtained for yourself or on behalf of someone who has passed away. (Calm yourself, Protestants… count to 10 and read to the end.)
There are two types of indulgences. First, partial indulgences will bring freedom from a portion of the consequences of your sins which have not been fully repented from. Second, plenary indulgences are full indulgences that completely absolve all of the consequences of the sins. We will dive into more detail later, but I want to first give you this excerpt from the Catechism regarding plenary indulgences: “A conversion which proceeds from a fervent charity can attain the complete purification of the sinner in such a way that no punishment would remain.” And that’s ultimately what it comes down to – the power of a change of heart.
Before we explore the Scriptural support for indulgences, let me give you one more example to illustrate this concept. Let’s say a man habitually gives into the sin of gluttony, which leads to him having diabetes. Though he may ask Jesus for forgiveness for his sin of gluttony, and he can be forgiven (taking away the guilt – THANK YOU JESUS), he still has diabetes. The diabetes is a temporal punishment. However, charitable acts are a type of indulgence. He can choose to do the charitable act of refusing to eat meat or dairy products, no longer fueling the factory farm industry. Not to go into a vegan tirade here, if you watch the food documentary Forks Over Knives, you can learn how abstaining from animal products has cured many people from type 2 diabetes. Thus, it is possible to remit temporal punishment for sin (ex. diabetes) due to your good works / indulgences.
Scriptural Support
Now that you know what an indulgence is, you may be wondering, what does the Bible have to say about this? I have collected a list of some of the Scriptural support for the systematic theology pertaining to indulgences. I’ve dispersed several verses throughout this post and listed more at the end for further pondering.
You can read the list below, which gives insight into related notions such as the authority of the Church to ascribe such indulgences, the importance of living holy lives, the impact of our prayers on others, the value of suffering in the purification of sin (AKA purgatory…Protestants: breathe, count, continue), etc.
First, the Church is understood in Scripture to have the authority to ascribe indulgences because Jesus told Peter in Mt. 16:19, “I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.”
Also, we are called to press on to holiness during this life. Paul says in Phil. 3:12, “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.”
Cleansing from sin is necessary. Zech. 13:1 says, “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness.”
This cleansing (where we get the idea of purgatory) seems to be what this passage is referring to: “In the whole land, says the Lord, two thirds shall be cut off and perish, and one third shall be left alive. And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are my people’; and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’” - Zech. 13:8-9.
We have a role to play in this purification. Dan. 12:10 says, “Many shall purify themselves, and make themselves white, and be refined; but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand; but those who are wise shall understand.”
What you don’t see in Scripture is any direct teaching specifically mentioning the word “indulgences.” But the ideas are there… read on.
History of Indulgences
You may be wondering, how did the understanding of indulgences come about in history?
Though the official doctrine regarding indulgences didn’t surface until the Council of Trent (in response to Reformers protesting the abuses of indulgences), there is quite a long history pertaining to indulgences prior to that.
We know from 2 Maccabees that Jews throughout history have had similar practices, though they didn’t use the language of indulgences. They prayed for the dead and sacrificed on the behalf of those who died. To this day, all Jews and orthodox Christians pray for the dead (part of the Communion of Saints), out of spiritual solidarity, petitioning that their merits be applied to others (Protestants, calm down – I hear you growling).
There is considerable reason to believe that indulgences were a part of the life of the early Church, due to the testimony of several historical documents. Some main supporting quotes are below, and several more are listed at the end of this post.
222 A.D. - Tertullian - “[N]ow you are ascribing this power [of granting indulgences] even to your dear martyrs. As soon as someone of his own accord has taken on the fetters...at once the adulterers are swarming about…[and] prayers are humming in the air... Men and women crowd [them]...beg for [their] blessing...and return from there as [restored to] the community.” (On Modesty Chapter 22)
And (250 A.D.): “[W]hen some of the lapsed…[demanded] the peace that had been promised to them by the martyrs and confessors...I wrote twice to the clergy...[that] if any who had received a certificate [of indulgence] from the martyrs were departing from this life, having made confession, and received the imposition of hands on them for repentance, they should be remitted to the Lord with the peace promised them by the martyrs.” (Letter 14 or 20 Paragraph 3)
251 A.D. - St. Cyprian - “...Certainly we believe that the merits of the martyrs and the works of the just will be of great avail with the Judge...” (The Lapsed, 17)
314 A.D. - Council of Ancyra - “[T]he bishops have the right, after considering the character of [a sinner's] conversion, either to deal with them more leniently, or to extend the time [of penance]. But, first of all, let their life before and since be thoroughly examined, and let the indulgence be determined accordingly.” (Canon 5)
~390 A.D. - St. Ambrose - “For he is purged as if by certain works of the whole people, and is washed in the tears of the multitude; by the prayers and tears of the multitude he is redeemed from sin, and is cleansed in the inner man. For Christ granted to His Church that one should be redeemed through all, just as His Church was found worthy of the coming of the Lord Jesus so that all might be redeemed through one.” (Penance, 1, 15, 80)
740 A.D. - St. Egbert of York - “For him who can comply with what the penitential prescribes, well and good; for him who cannot, we give counsel of God's mercy. Instead of one day on bread and water let him sing fifty psalms on his knees or seventy psalms without genuflecting. But if he does not know the psalms and cannot fast, let him, instead of one year on bread and water, give twenty-six solidi in alms, fast till [3:00 pm] on one day of each week and till Vespers on another, and in the three Lents bestow in alms half of what he receives.” (Penitential Chapter 13 Canon 11)
1095 A.D. - The Council of Clermont - “Whoever, out of pure devotion and not for the purpose of gaining honor or money, shall go to Jerusalem to liberate the Church of God, let that journey be counted in lieu of all penance.” (Canon 2)
Granted, by the time Martin Luther came on scene in the 16th century, there were some questionable practices regarding indulgences. For instance, Rome was in debt from the construction of St. Peter’s cathedral, so Johann Tetzel was hired to preach that people could be granted indulgences if they donated money to the Church. Those ignorant of how grace works got confused into thinking they were “buying” forgiveness for sins, which would be a form of simony (the name derives from Simon the Gnostic who tried to buy the power of the Apostles and was admonished for it - see Acts 8:18-23) – a condemned practice. Over time, it was (perhaps jokingly) understood that when a coin clangs in the coffer, a soul springs out of purgatory into heaven. That practice of indulgences sparked Martin Luther to pursue reforming the Church, as delineated in his 95 Theses.
Current Roman Catholic Understanding
To be honest, not much has changed in the doctrine of indulgences, only that it was further explained more carefully thanks to the Council of Trent in response to the Protestant Reformers. This is the way most doctrine has been deepened in understanding over 2 millenia. One noteworthy prohibition following the Reformation is that almsgiving was prohibited from being attached to future official proclamations of indulgences, so that God’s grace wouldn’t be confused with simony.
Catholics continue to understand indulgences as temporal satisfaction for sin, whether partial or plenary. To obtain a plenary (full) indulgence, more goes along with that:
1. Be completely detached from all sin
2. Pray for the pope
3. Go to confession
4. Receive communion
5. (All of the above in addition to) the indulgence itself:
a. Act of service
b. Pilgrimage
c. Fasting
d. Prayer
I feel like I need to say something about salvation here. So I will. [Note: this explanation is borrowed from Peter D. Williams from his debate against James White June 4, 2018] Christ is the sole meritorious cause of salvation. ONLY Christ merits something. You can’t earn grace but you must cooperate with it. Christ’s payment of the justice demanded by our sin is sufficient, but not efficient. We make it efficient by our cooperation. There are instrumental causes, however, by which we access what Christ has done for us. This can be understood as Christ paying our water bill (meritorious cause), but we still need to turn the shower knob (instrumental cause). Eternal punishment for our sins was taken care of on the cross, but our temporal punishment remains to be cleansed through sanctification / purgation. You can be forgiven for committing adultery, but you still have an STD. (A note about physical healings: I believe in the miraculous healing power of God to heal STDs. However, if you die with an STD doesn’t mean you don’t go to heaven. But you can rightfully trust that God will restore your body from the STD – and any other physical ailments – before you enter the pearly gates. That’s part of why I jive with the idea of purgatory.)
I advise you to keep an open mind about purgatory. Purgatory, according to Peter D. Williams, is open to various understandings, as Scripture doesn’t spell it out. Perhaps it is a present reality that is a part of the process of sanctification during this life, though it is traditionally understood as an intermediate reality between death and heaven that some people endure if they haven’t been entirely sanctified yet. However, since God is outside of time, who’s to say that purgatory is not instantaneous or even that it is realized during this life? We know that only perfection can exist in the presence of God. In His great love and mercy, He allows those of us who love Him but are not in a perfect state of Grace on our death to still attain that state of perfection after our death.
Pope John Paul II spoke about purgatory in 1999 as a “condition of existence” for purification, rather than a place. The focus of purgatory is not about a location but rather a process.
It’s important to remember that God is the only one with ultimate authority. We can pray all we want to apply indulgences to those being purified so that they go to heaven, but God is the only one with that ultimate authority. So don’t get a God-complex over this.
To further understand purgatory, I like this quote from Jerry Walls: “[God] is good in the moral sense that he hates our evil, and demands our purity, but he is also good in the sense that he loves us and desires our happiness and true flourishing, which can only be complete when we are perfected in holiness. This reminds us one more time that purgatory, properly understood, is not an alternative to grace, but is itself an expression of grace” (Purgatory, 181).
Our sanctification often involves suffering. Our sufferings can be intentional (such as fasting, sacrificing of our resources, caring for others, teaching Truth to others, etc.) or unintentional (being mistreated by others, enduring physical pain or illness, etc.) but they can all be offered up to the Lord as prayer, bringing us further into His holy presence by His grace through our sanctification. Heb. 12:10-11 says, “God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening – it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.” Indulgences are a piece of this sanctifying discipline by which God’s grace is available through the Church, should we choose to cooperate with His grace.
The authority to declare indulgences was given to the Church via the keys of the kingdom mentioned in Matthew 16:18, ensuring that what the Church “binds” and “looses” on earth is actually God’s will. (I wrote another paper about this if you’re interested, which goes into more of the inductive interpretation of Scripture.)
The Protestant Objections
Aren’t indulgences a commodification of grace? You can’t do things to earn grace.
- I agree. You can’t do things to EARN grace. But we can do things to connect with God, thus accessing His grace by cooperating with it, which affects our lives in amazing ways. For instance, we can pray, be truly sorry for our sins, and we can get involved in His work in the world. And from Scripture as well as experience, we know that we encounter His grace this way and that it has profound impacts.
Jesus’ death on the cross is sufficient for all, and the Church is adding barriers from that freedom, undermining grace. Shouldn’t we just pray for forgiveness and let that be that?
- Jesus’ sacrifice IS sufficient but it is NOT efficient. Otherwise, everyone would go to Heaven regardless of their choice to love or hate God. Because of His sacrifice, we are equipped by the Spirit to live ABUNDANT lives (John 10:10). That means, if we have committed sin – for example, punching someone in the face – Jesus not only forgives us but also empowers us to make things right, doing good works such as praying and seeking peace in how we live such that the temporal consequences can be absolved, and it is possible to no longer be tempted by our flesh to punch people in the face. Increased temptation that is a result of giving into temptation is a temporal consequence of sin. Prayer is an example of an indulgence which can help us combat temptation to sin, resulting over time in less and less temptation and potentially freedom from temptation.
Who gives the Church the authority to say what an indulgence is?
- Jesus (see above)
How can our actions affect the spiritual state of others? Doesn’t that negate their own free will?
- Our actions can positively or negatively affect the spiritual state of others. For example, words are incredibly powerful. You have certainly heard words that have brought you down spiritually and hopefully more that have encouraged you spiritually. Also, consider your life as a small child. Did you make your own meals? Probably not. Probably, your parents or someone else prepared food for you – or else you wouldn’t have eaten. Similarly, we can help others along on their spiritual paths (by God’s grace). This is done through discipleship / mentoring, participation in the Body of Christ so that it continues on for future generations, and prayer (including prayer for those who have passed away). It was the faith of the men who brought the paraplegic to Jesus that He credited with the reason for his healing (Jesus saw their faith. So he said to the man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” - Mark 2:5).
Why are the indulgences applied by the “authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints”? Isn’t Christ’s sacrifice on the cross enough?
- The fact is, everything good we do is God’s grace flowing through us, so the actions of the saints (including their prayers) are actually belonging to Christ, and this line from the Catechism should be understood as such. All glory to God. All merit from Christ.
This is too legalistic.
- I AGREE. It can very easily get swept up into a pit of rubbish rules and legalism – IF YOU LET IT (Ex. Feeling burdened by the need to pray for at least 30 minutes, go to confession within 2 days of my good work, etc.) You are in control here regarding your attitude. You can CHOOSE to see these things as opportunities (I “get” to talk to God vs. I “have” to talk to God). Let the Spirit lead you… you don’t HAVE to do any of this. But are you feeling led to pray? Are you feeling nudged to confess of your sin? And don’t you think that serving the poor and doing these other things will lead you closer to God and away from your sinful nature? Hmm… perhaps there is something to all this after all 😊
My main question in response to the Protestant objections is this: Aren’t you limiting God by saying that He is not capable of working through us in this way? Further questions flow from that main one… Isn’t God greater than sin? Isn’t God not bound by time? Isn’t God not bound by death? Doesn’t Jesus give authority to his disciples and say that they will do even greater things than he did?
Is your mind opened? Or are you just looking for ways to put a gold star on what you already believe?
Prayer as a Way of Life
If you haven’t noticed from this post so far, I am leaning more on the side of supporting indulgences. But it’s been a journey. To be honest, it wasn’t until a few months ago that I even knew that the Roman Catholic Church still spoke the language of indulgences. I thought all of that lingo had been eradicated thanks to Martin Luther. Turns out, I was wrong. Also, it turns out, Father Luther may have been mistaken in his understanding of indulgences as well.
The best way that I have found to synthesize all of this is in one word: prayer. I think that all of life can be summarized by prayer. I have come to understand that everything we do, think, and say have implications in our spiritual lives. We can worship ourselves or we can worship God. We can love our neighbor or we can separate ourselves from “them” – whoever “them” is. Everything flowing out from us is communicating a prayer. Some people’s prayers speak “leave me alone” or “gimme gimme gimme.” But I think our lives are meant to pray “I love you” and “Father, forgive them.” And that is how I have come to dip my toes in the water of indulgences, and more broadly the Roman Catholic Church.
Our acts of charity are actually more fully understood as acts of prayer, or acts of worship.
Salvation is not a momentary get-out-of-jail free card. Rather, when we humbly accept Christ’s forgiveness for our sins (justification), it is the beginning of a relationship fueled by prayer. Prayer is the connection of our minds and hearts to God as we listen and speak with him, soaking in his love and taking on his perspective. In the Christian life, in everything we do, we are meant to pray without ceasing. Our never-ending prayer is the fuel behind every action we do. Our actions can be prayers that we perform with our body, which help us to know God and worship him as we serve his creation.
And what we do consequently affects others… we need to get rid of our individualistic mentality and see others as part of the same connected humanity who are impacted by who we are and what we do. This passage from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount helped me conceptualize how we affect the spiritual state of other people, which can pertain to the idea of praying for those in purgatory:
“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca’ [an Aramaic term of contempt] is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.
Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother: then come and offer your gift.” (Matthew 5:21-24)
If your brother is mad at you, he is in danger of hell and judgment. In response, you are called to go and reconcile with him (as a higher priority than your church responsibilities). By doing the good work of pursuing reconciliation / peacemaking with others, we can help to free them from hell and judgment. (An aside to those questioning the goodness of the Judeo-Christian God: please notice that God’s desire, more than any penny in the Church offering plate, is that humanity be reconciled with one another and freed from the bondage of sin and its consequences.)
As we connect with God more, we detach from our sinful nature more. One of the temporal effects of our past sins is that we are tempted to sin in the same way in the future. However, the more we connect with God, we are tempted to sin less… thus, we see the temporal effects of our sins diminished by our works. This is how indulgences work. I have experienced this in my own life and have been freed from the enslavement of addiction – PRAISE GOD!
Anything good that we do or experience is an outflowing of God’s grace. It is not of ourselves – we cannot boast! It is actually only in humility that we can cooperate with these acts of God’s grace.
For the Sake of Unity
This issue of indulgences is currently something that is dividing the Body of Christ. ß Take this seriously. Is this worth the separation? Consider, would you divorce your spouse over this issue? Breaking up the Body of Christ is as grievous as divorce in my opinion. What are your thoughts?
For those exploring the Christian faith, how do you respond to these insights? Do you jive with the notion of life as a prayer?
Other verses and quotes to sit with and ponder…
Isaiah 22:22 “And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.”
Jn. 20:23 “If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
Prov. 17:3 “The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the Lord tries hearts.”
1 Cor. 3:10-15 “According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and another man is building upon it. Let each man take care how he builds upon it. For no other foundation can any one lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any one builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each man’s work will become manifest; for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.”
~57 A.D. - St. Paul - “For such a one this punishment by the majority is enough...you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him...I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. … What I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 2:5-10)
~197 A.D. - Tertullian - “Some, not able to find this peace in the Church, have been used to seek it from the imprisoned martyrs. And so you [imprisoned Christians] ought to have it dwelling with you, and to cherish it, and to guard it, that you may be able perhaps to bestow it upon others.” (Ad Martyras Chapter 1)
250 A.D. - St. Cyprian - “[A]ccording to your diligence...designate those by name to whom you desire that peace should be granted. For I hear that certificates [of indulgence] are [too freely] given.” (Letter 10 or 15 Paragraph 4)
314 A.D. - Council of Arles - “Concerning those who carry letters from the confessors, be it resolved that, when they have handed over those letters, they receive other letters of reference.” (Canon 10 or 9)
325 A.D. - The First Ecumenical Council - “[Some sinners], after they have passed the space of three years as hearers, [must] be for ten years prostrators. But in all these cases it is necessary to examine well into their purpose and what their repentance appears to be like. For as many as give evidence of their conversions by deeds...when they have fulfilled their appointed time as hearers, may properly communicate in prayers; and after that the bishop may determine yet more favourably concerning them.” (Canon 12)
379 A.D. - St. Basil - “We do not judge [a penance] altogether by the length of time, but by the circumstances of the penance.” (Canonical Epistle to Amphilochius Canon 84)
380 A.D. - St. Gregory of Nyssa - “[F]ornicators [should] be three years wholly ejected from prayer...and [after an additional six year period] admitted [back] to communion; but the [additional six years] may be lessened to them who of their own accord confess, and are earnest penitents.” (Canonical Epistle to Letojus Canon 4)
~650 A.D. - St. Cummian writes a book about penance in which he lists several ways a penance can be shortened. Among them, he notes that “twelve three-day periods” of penance can be “the equivalent of a year” of penance. He says that a penitent can shorten his penance if he spends “one hundred days with half a loaf and an allowance of dry bread and water and salt, [and] sing[s] fifty psalms during each night.” Or, the penitent can do “fifty special fasts, with one night intervening.” (Penitential Chapter VIII Canons 25-28)
~679 A.D. - St. Theodore of Tarsus - “Penitents according to the canons ought not to communicate before the conclusion of the penance; we, however, out of pity give permission after a year or six months.” (Penitential Chapter 12 Canon 4)
807 A.D. - According to the Catholic Encyclopedia article on indulgences, an Irish Synod of this year said that the fast of the second day of the week may be “redeemed” by singing one psalter or by giving one denarius to a poor person. (Canon 24)
References
• Catechism of the Catholic Church: Revised in Accordance with the Official Latin Text Promulgated by Pope John Paul II. Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1994.
• Horn, Trent. Case for Catholicism: Answers to Classic and Contemporary Protestant Objections. Ignatius Press, 2017.
• Walls, Jerry L. Purgatory: the Logic of Total Transformation. Oxford University Press, 2012.
• “History & Apologetics.” The Doctrine of Indulgences in the Early Church, www.historyandapologetics.com/2015/02/the-doctrine-of-indulgences-in-early.html.
• Debate: “Do Indulgences Deny the Gospel?” James White vs. Peter D. Williams. June 4, 2018. All Saints Church, Belfast, Ireland. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0f95nvmfVs&t=86s
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