... of indulgences . The proceeds of which funded the buildings and decorating of the most opulent churches and cathedrals, including St Peters Basilica in Rome. Other faults found with the clergy involved drinking, gambling and living with concubines. Many Catholics had been seeking a return to earlier Christianity, with the laity becoming more involved. By the early 1500's there was much discontentment and disillusion with the Church and it's hierarchy. Martin Luther an Augustinian monk was one of the disillusioned. He had found himself with a new understanding of salvation. He found assurance in the Bible in the idea of forgiveness of sins: that God forgave individuals by their faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, without the intercession of a priest. This to Luther ruled out the need for indulgences. Luther found no support in the scriptures for the sale of indulgences and believed that they were of no value ...

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