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A German theology professor and monk named Martin Luther became deeply concerned about the church's practice of selling indulgences—payments that supposedly forgave sins.

On October 31, 1517, he sent a list of 95 points for academic debate to his archbishop, challenging these practices. This document became known as the 95 Theses.

Luther argued that salvation came from faith alone and that true repentance was an inner spiritual change, not something that could be purchased with money.

He was disturbed that indulgence preachers like Johann Tetzel were misleading common people, taking money from the poor to finance the construction of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

While Luther intended for his theses to start a scholarly discussion among church leaders, they were quickly printed and translated from Latin into German.

Thanks to the printing press, his ideas spread across Europe with incredible speed, far beyond what he ever anticipated.

The response was explosive. The archbishop forwarded the theses to Rome. The preacher Tetzel called for Luther to be burned for heresy. In contrast, students at Luther's university famously burned copies of Tetzel's counter-arguments.

What began as a call for debate escalated into a full-blown crisis, leading to Luther's excommunication and being declared an outlaw by the Holy Roman Emperor.

These 95 propositions, intended for a quiet academic circle, became the spark that ignited the Protestant Reformation, permanently altering the course of Christianity and Western civilization.