# The Lutheran Pioneer_St. Louis_1879_S27 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) The Lutheran Pioneer. 274 no bounds. She and the Jews that assembled around her fell upon the poor helpless child, and so ill-treated her that she sank and fainted. But, in the midst of much bitter persecution, she proved faithful to the truth contained in her New Testament. All at once the maiden was gone. Her mother said she had been sent to distant relatives to be cured of her foolish notions. Six weeks later, however, the girl turned up in the public streets — but in what a state! Her clothes torn and filthy, her hair hanging down wildly over her face and should- ers, her hands and fect bleeding, she ran through the streets crying for help. A crowd soon gathered. The poor girl said she had been locked up in a cellar all the time, and her mother having now, in a fit of passion, threatened to murder her, she had, after a fear- ful struggle, made her escape. The police now shielded her from further assault. She was taken to Warsaw, a large city of Poland, and, after a course of instruction, made a public pro- fession of Christ and was baptized. May our faithful God keep her in true faith unto life everlasting. +> o-oo The Life of Dr. Martin Luther. VIL. T’sTzEL—THE Pope's IMPUDENT SALESMAN. Soon after Luther’s return from Rome, Leo X. was chosen pope. He was an infidel, leading a most immoral life and ridiculing the doctrines of the Bible. He once uttered the shocking words: ‘‘Ah, what money has the fable about Christ ever brought us.’’ When he wished to amuse himself, he would call two clowns, who disputed before his table on the immortality of the soul. The pope, at the close of the debate, agreed with the clown who denied the immor- tality of the soul, because the belief that we die like brutes brings gayety and good spirits to a man. ‘This pope needed a great deal of money for his scandalous living. Under the pretence of needing the money only for the building of St. Peter’s church in Rome, he began the sale of what were called ‘Indulgences’. And in- dulgence was a written certificate which prom- ised to the holder, who had paid in money the price asked for it, the forgiveness of sins, and freedom from all punishment in this life and in purgatory. John Tetzel, a most impudent fel- low, was employed as salesman to sell these in- dulgences in Germany. He was a shameless creature whom, on account of adultery, the Emperor had formerly sentenced to be put into asack and drowned. He had, however, escaped, and he now travelled through Germany as the pope’s salesman, cheating the poor people out of their money. He was a bold, reckless fellow, and could surely beat any patent medicine man of our day in selling. When he entered a town the papal bull was borne before him upon velvet or gilt cloth, and all the priests, monks, teachers, pupils, men, women, and virgins went out in procession, with banners, tapers, and songs, to meet him. and-the organ played, and he was taken into the church, in the middle of which a red cross Then the sale of the indulgences commenced. piece of money to buy indulgences for the pur- pose of delivering the souls of their friends from purgatory. At a little town Tetzel told the people that if they would speedily buy in- dulgences all the mountains around the place games in connection with his sale, such as shoot- The man paid this sum, and when Tetzel soon All the bells were tolled | purgatory, rings in the box, the soul leaps up to heaven; sorrow and repentance on account of sin is not necessary, if a letter of indulgence is bought. Luther soon heard of all this. He warned his congregation against trusting in such in- dulgences. He told them that he who repents receives forgiveness of sins, which Christ has secured by His own sacrifice and blood, and offers by grace in the Gospel freely and with- out money. But Luther with horror found out the terrible consequences of that indulgence business. Many of his people, coming to con- fession, declared that they would not leave off sinning, and appealed to their letters of in- dulgence. To these Luther paid no regard, but told them in the words of our Lord: ‘Ex- cept ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.’’ (Luke 18, 3.) The people told Tetzel that Luther despised the letters of indulgence. Tetzel raved and cursed fearfully from the pulpit, and threatened vengeance upon Luther. He several times had a fire kindled in the market-place in order to let the people know that he had author- ity from the pope to burn every heretic. But Luther feared nothing. The battle-alarm was sounded ; and Luther, the great hero, was ready for the battle. It was now God’s appointed time for the Reformation to begin. was set up, decorated with the pope’s arms. Widows and beggars often brought their last would become pure silver. When he was in the city of Leipzig, he brought the country- people into the city by instituting all kinds of ing matches, pole climbing, playing at ten pins for an ox, &c. In this city he was very nicely fooled. When he had gathered a large sum of money, 2 nobleman came to him and asked him whether he could forgive the sin that he in- tended to commit at some future time. Tetzel asked thirty dollars for such an indulgence. afterwards left the city, he lay in wait for him, robbed him of his money, and then told him that this was the sin for which he had bought the indulgence. To show by what devilish lies this impudent fellow cheated the people out of their money, we add the following incident. After he had offered his indulgences for sale many days at the city of Zwickau and was prepared to leave the town, the priests asked him for some money. He told them that the indulgence money was all packed up, but still he would get some money for them. On the next day he ordered the great bell to be tolled, upon which the people flocked to the church in crowds. He then told them that he had intended to leave that morning, but in the past night a poor soul had moaned so pitifully in the church-yard and cried for help, that he could not help remaining this day. He would now say mass for the soul, and they should in the mean time bring their money, that the poor soul might be freed from torture. Ifany man did not bring the money, he must be an adulterer, and if any woman would refuse to bring the money, she must be an adulteress. Now, no one wished to be con- sidered an adulterer or adulteress, and so the ‘pennies of the poor’ came rolling in. With this money he afterwards had a gay time with the clergy of the town. In the year 1516 this man Tetzel came also to Juterbock, near the city of Wittenberg where Luther resided. Tetzel here preached the fol- lowing horrible doctrines: The pope has more power than all the apostles, than all the angels and saints; Christ after his ascension no longer governs the Church, but has given all govern- ment to the pope; the red cross of indulgences with the pope’s arms, erected in the church, has as much power as the cross of Christ; he would not exchange his power for that of St. Peter, for he had saved more souls by his indulgences than Peter by his sermons; as soon as the money, paid for the deliverance of a soul from ——s~-o