LUTHERSTADT-EISLEBEN, GERMANY: Indulgence, the one way ticket to Heaven without having to do hard labor at the Purgatory. According to Catholic tradition, when a person passes on, he/she is taken to the Purgatory where the determination of his destination is dependent on the number and degree of sins the person committed during his/her life time. The purgatory is like doing hard labor, the person works off the guilt before taking the next step to heaven. To avoid that, at least according to Catholic history and later stressed and criticized by Martin Luther in his 95 Theses in 1517, people can buy indulgences, cleansing him of their sins and guaranteeing direct passage to dine with God and talk to Jesus in person.
Although indulgences had long since been eliminated by the Catholic Church by the 1600s after Luther reformed the Church and eventually branched off to form his own, they are making a come back in Germany. 🙂 Recently, JC Insurance has started offering indulgence insurance to church-goers wishing for direct passage to heaven, while at the same time, wanting protection from potential sins in the future. It’s a rather unusual concept, but one that required some research into finding out how it works.
Thanks to a tip by a local Jehovah Witness chapter in Leipzig, I interviewed Jeremy Christian, the JC Insurance agent based in Lutherstadt-Eisleben. Located 30 miles west of Halle (Saale) in Saxony-Anhalt, Eisleben is both the birthplace of Martin Luther as well as the place where he perished. Why he has an insurance agency in the heart of the Protestant Church, the place where Luther started the religious cult is a mystery, especially, as Catholicism can be found in Bavaria, however, his concept was rather interesting to know about.
Because of the length of the interview, I’ve decided to provide you with a link, taking you to the page where you can read it in full. Please click on the picture below, and you’ll be directed to the wordpress version of the Files. Then you can see if opening an insurance selling indulgence is right for you. Keep in mind that the picture has an important meaning as you read about indulgence coverage in full.
Therefore, click on it and enjoy! 😉
THE FLENSBURG FILES 