How Many Sins Are Committed In A Day?

Author Bio: Johann Tetzel was a Roman Catholic friar and preacher. He studied at the University of Leipzig and was known for exchanging money for indulgences. These indulgences of the church allowed remission of temporal punishment for a sin, a choice which Martin Luther was opposed to. Tetzel was later condemned from the church for immorality due to several cases of fraud and embezzlement.

Date/Context: This document was written in 1517 during the Renaissance.

Summary: Johann Tetzel is speaking directly to the reader. He begins by saying that the reader should feel blessed for the gifts that God has given them. He reminds the reader that life is a “constant struggle”, and about  “what bonds of sins encompass us.” Tetzel mentions that God is forgiving, and that he saves us through his “divine mercy”. He insists that through means of contrition and confession you will avoid the horrors of Purgatory and find yourself in Heaven. Tetzel tells the reader that after confession and contrition, it takes seven years of penitence to rid yourself of a sin, whether this takes place in life, or in Purgatory. He ponders the question “How many mortal sins are committed in a day, a week, a month, or a year? ” He shares his opinion that all those who commit sins deserve to “suffer the endless punishment in the burning pains of purgatory.” Tetzel encourages the reader to exchange money for indulgences from the church that help you to get rid of your sins and ensure that “your divine and immortal soul goes safe and sound into the land of Paradise?”

Speaker: The speaker is Tetzel himself.

Key Quotation: “Are you not willing, then, for the fourth part of a florin, to obtain these letters, by virtue of which you may bring, not your money but your divine and immortal soul safe and sound into the land of Paradise?”