07 February 2011
And does the fact...
...that it was all wiped out 15 or 16 years later - as the Imperial armies besieged and destroyed Magdeburg and slaughtered its citizenry - make it all a pointless endeavor? Or was the effort poured out in those 15 years to supply the people of God in that place with the richness of God's Word so that they could meet the coming atrocity with faith in our Lord's unfailing promises to them what made it all worthwhile? I'd say the later - and that this is always the strength of the liturgy: it prepares us not for the good times, but for facing the day of the judgment in saving faith and for living already the joys of the resurrection.
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11 comments:
The sack, while brutal as all war is, must be understood in the light of the fact that during the 30 years war the protestant forces were in direct cooperation with the Sultan and marching with Islamic armies thru poland and other regions.
Had the Sultan succeeded the caliphate would have been far deeper into Europe.
It is my opinion that, though not often mentioned, this has more to do with why kings go to war than theology. At that same time it is curious that certain groups felt Islam was something to ally with instead of a different Christian belief.
Vincent L is wrong. The Turks wre not involved in any way in the 30 Years War; therer was, in fact, a long truce between the Turks and the Habsburgs from the late 159os to the early 1660s while the Turks were engaged in a prolonged struggle with the Persians over Mesopotamia.
I've noticed the recent move toward Habsburgs with B. When did it change from the P?
B and P get flipped around in German. Ain't no thing.
But God bless me sideways if 2011 comes and I agree with my estimable more or less colleague, recovering academic that I am, Dr Tighe.
Yes, but why the move in English? Is it the same sort of think that made Peking to Beijing? I still say Peking, by the way. :)
I mean,
The kiosks of Beijing
Fragrant of oolong
It just doesn't cut it, you know?
Don't know. I only speak English when not ranting in German.
Probably does come from somebody's idea of "correctness" that caught on.
But, the current head of the house, an altogether admirable man, is Otto von Habsburg (oder Otto, Prinz zu Habsburg) which settles the matter. It's Habsburg.
I'm wrong. It's Karl now. But it's still Habsburg.
@ Tighe That I am wrong is always a possibility. I don't wish to turn Weedon's blog into a history debate. Here is the basis for my statement.
Frederick V, elector of Palatine and head of protestant union becomes king of bohemia in 1619 and has significant dutch support.
Bethlen Gabor, calvinist, becomes King of Hungary 1620 with support of Sultan against will of Habsburgs. Enters into protectorate with Sultan and works out plan to attack emperor and poland.
Frederick V also offers allegience and tribute to Sultan in 1620 in exchange for military support. However the Sultan was to busy in poland to send any leading to Frederick's later defeat at White Mountain and his retreat and establishment of a government in exile at the Hauge and also the collapse of the Protestant Union.
Yes, Vincent, the Sultan was willing to make alliances and to give a little money, but he provided no armed support, which is why the largely Lutheran revolts in Austria and elsewhere collapsed, why Bethlen Gabor's campaign proved a fiasco and why the Habsburgs triumphed so easily in Bohemia in 1620.
His intervention in Poland was also less than half-hearted, limited to a few feints in response to attempts to form an alliance with Sweden against Poland.
Programme note for observers; "the Sultan" would be Osman II. Do not miss that Bethlen Gabor was a Calvinist, not a Lutheran. He was not supported in any substantial way by the Ottomans. Not that Osman II feared a fight -- he led an army of some 150K against Poland but got his ass kicked (if I may be permitted technical military jargon) and slinked back home in shame only to face a rebellion in which he was assassinated.
Can't substantiate if Bethlen is related to ZsaZsa or Eva.
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