"that was what you did. you died. you did not know what it was about. you never had time to learn. they threw you in and told you the rules and the first time they caught you off base they killed you."

Indulgences were a way of tricking catholics into giving the church money. johan tetzel was preying on the citizens of germany by making them think that the purchase of papal indulgences was legitimate, and necessary. they demoralized the catholic church, as well as the catholic people. indulgences taught that in order to achieve salvation one did not have to be good, he simply must have the money to buy an indulgence.