(1) How would you describe the condition of the Catholic Church on the eve of the Protestant Reformation?
The church on the eve of the Protestant Reformation had a lot of corruption among the bishops. They would squander and abuse the money given to them to solve the problems in their communities. Sometimes the bishops would leave the communities entirely. The average church wasn’t doing much better. Most of the parishioners came for the showmanship and theatrical aspects. Not the faith and worship itself.
(2) What were the Ninety-Five Theses about? What was the basic message of Luther’s complaint?
Luther’s complaint was that indulgences were being given for money and not because of faith. Indulgences were given by bishops and clergy to speed up the time a soul would spend in purgatory. Indulgences were given in place of proper confessions to major sins or repentance for them. Luther felt that indulgences avoided punishment which lessened the value of true faith.
The Ninety Five Theses was much the same, but in written form to spread the word to more people. It was intended as a debate not a slight directed at the Roman Catholic Church.