Every year, my church puts on a speaking event called "Ignite." Similar to TEDD talks (but limited to 5 minutes instead of 20), it is a great time. This year, I presented on the Thirty Years War. A transcript is below, with the PowerPoint slides interspersed.
------------I’d like to share the story of the Thirty Years War, “one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history,” (W) and it starts with the Holy Roman Empire.
HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
The Holy Roman Empire (962-1806) was a shifting territory that included all of present-day Germany and much adjoining territory besides. The HRE was not a centralized state, but a “limited elective monarchy composed of hundreds of sub-units: kingdoms, principalities, duchies, counties, prince-bishoprics, Free Imperial Cities, and other domains.” (W) Within the HRE, there were about 300 of these different territories, some as small as a few square miles! The rulers of these sub-units owed the emperor allegiance, but also possessed a high degree of independence, with some of the larger areas striking their own coin and raising their own armies.
The Emperor was chosen by seven electors (3 religious, 4 secular), and often ruled a portion of the lands himself, thus holding other titles. Though elected, the Austrian house of Hapsburg would come to dominate the Empire over the years, having a string of Emperors that would last 300 years (1440-1740) and moving the center of power to Vienna and Prague.
THIRTY YEARS WAR (1618-1648)
One hundred years after Luther, religious diversity was rampant. Tensions had certainly existed between the various traditions, but the Peace of Augsburg in 1555 had established a policy where the ruler of a given region determined that region’s religion. As a result, some areas of the HRE were Catholic, Lutheran, Calvinists, and various permutations.
One Emperor, Ferdinand II (a Hapbsburg), also gained the title King of Bohemia, and he wanted to impose Catholicism in that largely-Protestant region. The Protestants in Bohemia revolted, throwing the emperor’s advisors out of a window and electing their own king. This didn’t go over well, and the Catholic areas of the HRE gathered armies to put down that rebellion, causing other Protestant areas to come to Bohemia’s aid and a predictable chain reaction occurred. The Thirty Years War had begun.
One hundred years after Luther, religious diversity was rampant. Tensions had certainly existed between the various traditions, but the Peace of Augsburg in 1555 had established a policy where the ruler of a given region determined that region’s religion. As a result, some areas of the HRE were Catholic, Lutheran, Calvinists, and various permutations.
One Emperor, Ferdinand II (a Hapbsburg), also gained the title King of Bohemia, and he wanted to impose Catholicism in that largely-Protestant region. The Protestants in Bohemia revolted, throwing the emperor’s advisors out of a window and electing their own king. This didn’t go over well, and the Catholic areas of the HRE gathered armies to put down that rebellion, causing other Protestant areas to come to Bohemia’s aid and a predictable chain reaction occurred. The Thirty Years War had begun.
Why do we fight? The HRE had worked for its first 650 years as a political patchwork that could accommodate religious differences and compromise. War broke out when one tried to impose their beliefs on all, which morphed into general desire for control, and ultimately caused only devastation. It shows our fallenness and futility: we desire to rule others: their territories, interests, resources, and minds. How does that work in a pluralistic society? How should we then live?
I don’t have the answers. But as we approach a contentious 2024 election, I pray that the Lord would give us the wisdom to live and work with those who have differing convictions. How to, as we read in Jeremiah 29:7, “But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”
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