Luther and his Reformation had to answer the question of war for themselves almost at the time of inception -- what began as a fight over faith and grace spilled over into a fight over sovereignty and liberty as newly-formed Protestant principalities struggled to withstand the efforts of Catholic kingdoms to bring them back under Papal dominion. Reformers such as Huldrych Zwingli gave their lives defending their beliefs in those times of war, an act to later be echoed by the likes of Dietrich Bonhoeffer in the face of similar oppression and violence centuries later.

With this history, is it any wonder that the Lutherans of today are asked again to weigh in their hearts the costs of war and the rationales for taking the life of another creature made in the likeness of God? When our secular nations find themselves at war, the Body of Christ must decide where it stands, and whether the love of Christ can be reconciled with a time of war, and how we can best show the peace which surpasses all understanding in a time where peace has been forsaken for the sword.