4 ms·

Seems like a reasonable analogy. The difference though is in what the money paid is used for. The money paid for carbon indulgences goes to reduce the amount of

Seems like a reasonable analogy. The difference though is in what the money paid is used for. The money paid for carbon indulgences goes to reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere, so it actually does allow one to pay their way out of their sin. Catholic indulgences on the other hand didn’t help the buyer at all, since the downside (purgatory) was all made up, and they didn’t help the larger world, since they money was either kept by corrupt sellers or used by the church to wage war.

andrepd 4y ago
No, it's actually a very fit analogy: carbon offset credits are pretty much a sham / marketing tactic.
dragonwriter 4y ago
> Catholic indulgences on the other hand didn’t help the buyer at all, since the downside (purgatory) was all made up Even if purgatory is made up, its worth noting that purgatory is basically an afterlife opportunity to resolve unresolved temporal penalties of sin. At the time of the indulgence scandal, the Catholic Church had significant social power to apply toward resolving those temporal consequences before death, and those temporal penalties were very much not imaginary.
danielvf 4y ago
Overall I understand, and agree with you. But the pendant must point out that the most well known sale of indulgences went to fund the construction of one of the most epic buildings on earth. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Peter%27s_Basilica#Financing_with_indulgences https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Peter%27s_Basilica#Financi...
- dragonwriter 4y ago
  > But the pendant must point out [...] “Pedant” not “pendant”.
  - dllthomas 4y ago
    If a pendant is pointing something out, you're probably dowsing.
- richk449 4y ago
  Appreciate the pendantry - I didn't know that St. Peters Basilica was funded with indulgences. I'm not sure if using tricking commoners into funding construction of an incredibly opulent temple is up there with removing carbon from the atmosphere, but it is at least much better than funding a war.

andrepd 4y ago

No, it's actually a very fit analogy: carbon offset credits are pretty much a sham / marketing tactic.

dragonwriter 4y ago

> Catholic indulgences on the other hand didn’t help the buyer at all, since the downside (purgatory) was all made up Even if purgatory is made up, its worth noting that purgatory is basically an afterlife opportunity to resolve unresolved temporal penalties of sin. At the time of the indulgence scandal, the Catholic Church had significant social power to apply toward resolving those temporal consequences before death, and those temporal penalties were very much not imaginary.

danielvf 4y ago

Overall I understand, and agree with you. But the pendant must point out that the most well known sale of indulgences went to fund the construction of one of the most epic buildings on earth. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Peter%27s_Basilica#Financing_with_indulgences https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Peter%27s_Basilica#Financi...

dragonwriter 4y ago
> But the pendant must point out [...] “Pedant” not “pendant”.
- dllthomas 4y ago
  If a pendant is pointing something out, you're probably dowsing.
richk449 4y ago
Appreciate the pendantry - I didn't know that St. Peters Basilica was funded with indulgences. I'm not sure if using tricking commoners into funding construction of an incredibly opulent temple is up there with removing carbon from the atmosphere, but it is at least much better than funding a war.