Prior to the Protestant Reformation, many European Christians believed that they could buy their way out of punishment in the afterlife. It was reputed that some sellers of indulgences used the jingle, “As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs.”
As much as that was a caricature of Christian faith, there were worse practices.
One of them was “proxy penance,” a process in medieval times by which “a powerful man, rich in friends” could avoid his own punishment by paying other people to take on his penance. ...
... We may laugh at such medieval practices until we realise that, in our supposedly enlightened society, we are doing the same thing.
We are told that we can cover up our “environmental sins” by purchasing carbon credits, by paying special taxes and levies, and by sending our waste off for recycling....
To read more, please see my article at the Epoch Times, via this link.