Indulgence - Menzaifu

Japanese: 免罪符 - めんざいふ

Indulgences are the common Japanese translation of Ablassbrief or Beichtbrief. The correct translation is that the punishment was absolved, not the sin. In Catholic theology, a distinction is made between sin and its resultant punishment, and the former is forgiven by repentance, while the latter can only be offset by some good deeds, assuming the forgiveness of the sin, even after the sin has been forgiven. Good deeds include prayer, fasting, and donations, and in the ancient church, for example, a 40-day fast was imposed. Later, the idea of transferring between good deeds was considered, and for example, instead of fasting for a certain number of days, a certain prayer or a certain amount of donations was used to offset the punishment. In the Middle Ages, this idea was interpreted more broadly, and preachers appeared who preached as if the punishment could be forgiven as long as one made a donation, even if one did not repent of one's sins. This led to the abuse of indulgences, such as the "sale of indulgences" for the purpose of building churches, which became the trigger for Luther's Reformation.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

贖宥状 Ablassbrief，Beichtbriefの日本における通俗的な訳。正しくは罰を免じたのであって，罪を免じたのではない。カトリック神学では，罪とその結果である罰とが区別され，前者は改悛によってゆるされるが，後者は罪がゆるされたのちも，罪のゆるしを前提になんらかの善業によってしか相殺されない。善業には祈り，断食，献金などがあり，古代教会ではたとえば 40日間の断食というように課せられていた。のちに善業間のいわば振替えが考えられ，たとえばある日数の断食の代りに特定の祈り，または一定額の献金で罰が相殺されるようになった。中世にはこの考えがさらに広く解釈され，あたかも罪を改悛しなくとも献金さえすれば罰がゆるされるかのように説く説教家が現れ，聖堂建築などを目的とした「贖宥状の販売」ともいえるような濫用が発生し，これがルターの宗教改革のきっかけとなった。

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