With reference to Carrie N. Baker’s May 28 column [“Your tax dollars are funding the patriarchal family — courtesy of Trump], which prioritizes the current administration’s financial backing to encourage pregnancies, I was reminded of a similar case involving Martin Luther and the 95 Theses he published in 1519.
He was objecting to the custom of the sale of “Indulgences,” i.e. buying salvation before a sin was committed, a popular fundraiser to offset the huge construction costs of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. As Luther put it:
”Wenn der Groschen in dem Teller klingt, die Seele in den Himmel springt.”
”When the coin lands in the collection plate, the soul leaps into Heaven.”
Sounds to me like a similar strategy.
Nina M. Scott
Amherst