Indulgence

Did you know that in medieval times you could buy a certificate from the church that reduced your punishment for your sins? They were called ‘indulgences’.

The initial scheme was based around acts of penance – but it rapidly descended into a commercial free-for-all - a ‘cash for certificates’ scam where you could buy your way out of purgatory.

The scale of this 'economy of forgiveness' was awe-inspiring; funds from indulgences supported crusades and cathedrals. In short, it was an effective way to monetise concern. Today we convert people’s desire to look cool into cash – back then it was their desire to stay out of purgatory. Economies are founded on monetising concern: afraid of being invaded? Buy some weapons.

Pause to consider the bureaucracy of it all: you would have needed people licensed to issue these certificates. These people would be terribly busy - not just granting certificates but agreeing and reviewing the standards against which they should be granted. It wouldn’t do to have one person selling 10 years’ relief at 100 quid and another for a fiver. Each individual applicant would have to be assessed – potentially across a range of sin-capability categories.

And – of course – a shadow trade in forged indulgences quickly sprung up.

We find it quite easy to scoff at these kinds of bureaucracies looking backwards – not so easy to scoff at the ones we partake in today, such as education (or ‘training’).

Equally, with the benefit of hindsight, we can see that without a fundamental belief (the belief that a piece of paper will reduce your time in purgatory/the belief that a piece of paper will make you better at a job) these bureaucracies quickly evaporate.

Imagine being transported back in time – to medieval times. Would you have challenged the trade in indulgences (as Martin Luther did), or would you have stayed quiet? If you were to challenge it would you have done so on the grounds that it is immoral, or on the grounds that it is imaginary? Or both?

Or would you have argued that if makes some people happy and keeps some people in work, then it’s fine?