In response to this tweet:
Pre-Reformation "Christendom" was a superior and more advanced form of organization than the later era of the "nation state."
The EU is ultimately a positive historical development, returning the states of Europe to their proper role as subdivisions within a larger structure.
I was thinking about the origin of the nation-state. The nation-state can be traced back to the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648, which was a bitter political compromise to stop the violence between Protestants and Catholics. The question is: could Luther's challenges have been integrated and worked out without dividing Christendom into warring factions?
Peter Thiel just offered his answer in the recent Tyler Cowen interview: he thinks no (he was raised Lutheran).
But I don't know, reading about that time period makes me think that it's possible that Christendom could have remained united and even reconquered some of the Ottoman-conquered territory, maybe it could have avoided in-fighting like the 1527 sack of Rome (by many Lutheran troops).
A quote about Johann Eck, the theologian who was sent by the Pope to deal with Luther:
A quote about Johann Eck, the theologian who was sent by the Pope to deal with Luther:
Eck, however, demanded all the works be condemned quickly, without specification of points, because of the threat Luther presented. There was no time to spare, Eck claimed, in silencing an obvious heretic whose popularity was increasing daily, and his argument prevailed. The 1520 bull, therefore, offered no detailed reasons for the condemnation.
https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1903/1521-excommunication-of-luther-complete-text/
So the hasty excommunication of Luther looks like a mistake, and it's conceivable that a more careful engagement with his theses could have allowed for Christendom to remain united. It's interesting to think about, even if it's only a hypothetical.