The pope is a shepherd – yes, as long as you have money, and
no longer. And yet they are not ashamed of their knavery; they lead us to and
fro with their bulls. They are concerned only about the accursed money and
about nothing besides. Therefore I offer the advice: If this tom-foolery is not
abolished, every pious Christian should open his eyes and not let himself be
misled by Romish bulls, seals, and hypocrisy. Let him stay at home in his own
church and be content with his Baptism, his Gospel, his faith, his Christ, and
his God, who is the same everywhere; and let the pope remain a blind leader of
the blind (Matt. 15:4). Neither angel nor pope can give you as much as God
gives you in your parish church. Nay, the pope leads you away from the gifts of
God, which you have without paying for them, to his gifts, which you must buy.
He gives you lead for gold, hide for meat, the string for the purse, wax for
honey, words for goods, and the letter for the spirit. You see this before your
very eyes, but you are unwilling to notice it. If you are to ride to heaven on
his parchment and wax, your chariot will soon go to pieces, and you will fall
into hell – not in God’s name.
Let this be your fixed rule: What you must buy from the pope
is neither good nor of God; for what comes from God is not only given free of
charge, but all the world is punished and damned because it has not been
willing to receive it for nothing.
Martin Luther
What Luther Says, pp. 1063-1064
Compiled by Ewa;d M. Plass
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