{"id":5415,"date":"2026-09-17T16:51:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T16:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/?p=5415"},"modified":"2026-09-17T16:51:00","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T16:51:00","slug":"tomdispatch-pete-hegseths-unholy-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/?p=5415","title":{"rendered":"TomDispatch: Pete Hegseth\u2019s Unholy War"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"wp-block-intercept-editors-note\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-intercept-editors-note__content\">\n<p><span class=\"has-underline\">People in the Pentagon<\/span> deride self-styled War Secretary Pete Hegseth for many reasons. There was his ridiculous <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2025\/09\/30\/trump-hegseth-generals-admirals-military-meeting\/\">dressing down<\/a> of America\u2019s admirals and generals in 2025. His fixation on troops\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2026\/07\/25\/pete-hegseth-testosterone-military-masculinity\/\">testosterone levels<\/a>. And a fair amount of the scorn has revolved around Hegseth\u2019s monthly Pentagon prayer services where he peddles an unholy brand of Christianity rooted in rage and bloodlust.<\/p>\n<p>Hegseth \u2014 a member of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches, a conservative network of Christian congregations co-founded by the self-described Christian nationalist Doug Wilson \u2014 reportedly hears all sorts of outrageous religious utterances and then regurgitates them. At one of his worship services, Hegseth read a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wbaltv.com\/article\/hegseth-pulp-fiction-bible-quote\/71042126\">fake Bible verse<\/a> from Quentin Tarantino\u2019s 1994 film \u201cPulp Fiction,\u201d which he said was recited by combat search and rescue missions in Iran. The violent rhetoric, an altered version of Ezekiel 25:17, is bellowed by Samuel L. Jackson\u2019s character in the movie just before he shoots a man to death: \u201cAnd I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another time, Hegseth offered up what he said were the words a military chaplain prayed prior to the invasion of (the overwhelmingly Christian nation of) Venezuela. \u201cSnap the rod of the oppressor, frustrate the wicked plans and break the teeth of the ungodly,\u201d Hegseth <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/defense\/5802042-defense-secretary-pentagon-prayer\/\">intoned<\/a> at another of his monthly services. \u201cGrant this task force clear and righteous targets for violence. \u2026 Let justice be executed swiftly and without remorse, that evil may be driven back and wicked souls delivered to the eternal damnation prepared for them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Hegseth has apparently replaced the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Turning_the_other_cheek\">turn-the-other-cheek<\/a>, love-thy-enemy Jesus you might remember with a curb-stomping Christ who <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2026\/08\/06\/pentagon-department-defense-isaiah-6-8-send-me-iran-war\/\">brays for war<\/a>, revels in violence, and seeks to dispatch America\u2019s enemies to the fiery depths of hell. So today, TomDispatch regular Liz Theoharis \u2014 the founder and executive director of the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/kairoscenter.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kairos Center for Religions, Rights, and Social Justice<\/a> and an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA) \u2014 takes a hard look at Hegseth and the question Christians have been asking for thousands of years: What would Jesus do?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em>\u2014 Nick Turse, editor of TomDispatch<\/em><\/p>\n<p><!-- BLOCK(tipline)[0](%7B%22componentName%22%3A%22TIPLINE%22%2C%22entityType%22%3A%22SHORTCODE%22%2C%22optional%22%3Atrue%7D)(%7B%7D) --><!-- CONTENT(tipline)[0] --><\/p>\n<p class=\"tipline-shortcode\">If you haven\u2019t yet, <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/dispatch\/\">sign up to receive TomDispatch in your inbox here.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- END-CONTENT(tipline)[0] --><!-- END-BLOCK(tipline)[0] -->\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<h2 id=\"h-hegseth-s-theology-and-the-question-what-would-jesus-do\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Hegseth\u2019s Theology and the Question: What Would Jesus Do?<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There is a question Christians have been asking for generations: What would Jesus do?<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is a deceptively simple question that is printed on bracelets and bumper stickers, taught to children in Sunday schools, and invoked when Christians are discerning how faith should shape public life. The question becomes considerably more demanding when the decisions at stake concern war, immigration, poverty, political power, and the use of military force.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In addition to the recent attention about his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/politics\/national-security\/hegseth-extends-mideast-deployments-into-2027-escalating-strain-on-troops-c10fc533\">military strategy<\/a>, social and political <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/pete-hegseth-background-defense-secretary-confirmation-hearing-e160e10c86385a8beff110d9190fb34e\">beliefs<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2026\/09\/02\/politics\/hegseths-army-leadership-void-culture-war\">leadership style<\/a>, Pete Hegseth\u2019s public theology deserves serious attention from those unfamiliar and disinterested in religion as well as adherents of Christianity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As secretary of defense, Hegseth has increasingly spoken about American power in <a href=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/2026\/02\/20\/christ-is-king-hegseth-tells-nrb-at-god-and-country-event\/\">explicitly<\/a> Christian <a href=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/2025\/07\/14\/with-pete-hegseth-in-the-pews-a-christian-nationalist-outpost-launches-in-dc\/\">language<\/a>. He has hosted <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2026\/04\/03\/trump-christian-right-iran-evangelicals\/\">Christian worship<\/a> at the Pentagon, invoked Scripture in connection with military service, emphasized the Christian foundations of the United States, and described some Trump administration policies \u2014 including border enforcement \u2014 as \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tpr.org\/2026-05-26\/how-the-trump-administration-uses-the-bible-to-justify-military-invasions-and-immigration-raids\">biblical<\/a>.\u201d Indeed, speaking at a Christian <a href=\"https:\/\/tennesseelookout.com\/2026\/02\/21\/in-nashville-hegseth-talks-western-values-christian-nationalism\/\">media convention<\/a> last February, Hegseth connected the health and founding of the United States with Christianity and characterized border and immigration policies as mandated in the Bible.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The question about Hegseth\u2019s faith and religious practice, however, cannot simply be whether he is sincere. The question is more fundamental: What kind of Christianity is being proclaimed when the language of Jesus is attached to military power? Or perhaps a simpler but harder question: In the face of war, authoritarianism, economic, environmental, and political crises: What would Jesus do?<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-a-christianity-of-power\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">A Christianity of Power<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Christian faith has always contained competing visions of what it means to follow Jesus. There is a Christianity that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.christiancentury.org\/features\/faith-empire\">blesses<\/a> kings, armies, empires, and national ambitions. There is another Christianity that remembers a Palestinian Jewish leader who was unhoused and a migrant and was executed by an imperial power after heralding the arrival of a radically different kingdom. This distinction matters a great deal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hegseth routinely <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2026\/07\/25\/pete-hegseth-testosterone-military-masculinity\/\">emphasizes strength<\/a>, warriors, national identity, borders, enemies, and divine blessing. And joining forces with Israel to prosecute the <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2026\/04\/03\/trump-christian-right-iran-evangelicals\/\">war with Iran<\/a> has only heightened the <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2026\/03\/05\/iran-war-end-times-christian\/\">stakes of his rhetoric<\/a>. Early in the conflict, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/world-nation\/story\/2026-03-20\/pete-hegseths-christian-rhetoric-draws-renewed-scrutiny-after-u-s-goes-to-war-with-iran\">Hegseth cited Psalm 144<\/a>, including its language about God training hands for war and fingers for battle.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There is nothing inherently un-Christian about a person in the military having a sincere religious faith. <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2026\/03\/21\/hegseth-military-beard-hair-crackdown\/\">People of faith serve<\/a> in the armed forces for many reasons. Generations of religious scholars and adherents have considered war and conflict as it relates to the faith through theories and practices of religious pacifism, \u201cjust war,\u201d defensive war, theologies of self-defense, conceptions of the last days, and the ethical limits of violence in humanitarian conflicts, among others. The theological problem arises, however, when the power of the state begins to <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2026\/03\/05\/iran-war-end-times-christian\/\">present itself as an instrument of God\u2019s purposes<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That is a very old temptation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Empires have long claimed divine sanction. Kings have declared their wars holy. Nations have wrapped their ambitions in sacred language. And Christians have at times sought to confuse the interests of the nation with the kingdom of God. But Jesus does something profoundly disruptive to this arrangement: He refuses to identify God with Caesar.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-the-people-at-the-margins\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The People at the Margins<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Consider where Jesus directs our attention. Throughout the Bible, Jesus embraces people whom those with power, military might, and wealth have pushed aside: the poor, the sick, the imprisoned, immigrants, women, children, tax collectors, and those treated as religious outsiders.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Matthew 25, one of the most famous Bible passages \u2014 sometimes called the \u201cLast Judgment\u201d \u2014 Jesus identifies with the hungry, the stranger, the naked, the sick, and the imprisoned. \u201cWhatever you did for one of the least of these,\u201d he teaches, \u201cyou did for me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That is not an incidental teaching. It is a political and theological reorientation. And it is directed at nations, not simply individuals or religious congregations.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>Jesus asks: How has your nation treated the most vulnerable among you?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The question Jesus asks his followers is not first, \u201cHow strong is your nation?\u201d It is not, \u201cHow effectively have you defeated your enemies?\u201d It is not even, \u201cHow faithfully have you defended your borders?\u201d Instead, he asks: How has your nation treated the most vulnerable among you? This matters enormously when Christian language is used to justify violent and exclusionary immigration policy or when it is used to promote cutting off families from food or lifesaving healthcare.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If we claim that border enforcement is \u201cbiblical,\u201d then Christians must practice the Bible\u2019s extraordinary insistence on welcoming the other. After all, Scripture commands God\u2019s people to remember that they, too, were once strangers in a foreign land, and the way to honor and worship God is by welcoming the immigrant neighbor. If Matthew 25 means what Christians have traditionally claimed, Christ is encountered precisely among the hungry, the unhoused, the incarcerated \u2014 and that as long as anyone is unfree and impoverished, it is the responsibility of the nation to do something about it.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"promote-banner\">\n    <a class=\"promote-banner__link\" href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/tomdispatch\"><br \/><span class=\"promote-banner__image\"><br \/>        <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"promote-banner__text\">\n<p class=\"promote-banner__eyebrow\">\n            Read Our Complete Coverage          <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><br \/><\/aside>\n<h2 id=\"h-theology-of-the-enemy\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Theology of the Enemy<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There is another problem with a Christianity centered on military strength: its understanding of the enemy. Christianity does not teach that some people become less human because they are someone\u2019s adversaries. It does not profess that God blesses battleships nor justifies genocide (even if Hegseth\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/ng-interactive\/2026\/apr\/10\/pete-hegseth-christianity-iran-war-crusade\">spiritual adviser<\/a> claims it does).<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote has-text-align-right\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>Jesus does not say, \u201cLove your friends and destroy your enemies.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jesus\u2019s command to love one\u2019s enemies may be among the most difficult teachings in the entire New Testament. It is also one of the clearest. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jesus does not say, \u201cLove your friends and destroy your enemies.\u201d He says, \u201cLove your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jesus does not say, \u201cBlessed are the powerful because they shall dominate.\u201d He says, \u201cBlessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the descendants of God,\u201d and \u201cBlessed are the poor for they shall be first under God\u2019s reign.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That does not mean that people of faith must be na\u00efve about violence. It does not mean governments face no genuine security threats. It does not erase the moral complexity of protecting human beings from violence. But it does mean that people who call themselves Christians should be extraordinarily cautious whenever <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2026\/03\/05\/iran-war-end-times-christian\/\">military violence is described as holy, righteous, inevitable, or divinely ordained<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Christian tradition contains a long history of wrestling with war. It also contains an even <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2023\/09\/07\/cop-city-rico-indictment\/\">deeper tradition<\/a> of martyrs, peacemakers, conscientious objectors, abolitionists, <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2019\/11\/25\/amazon-bolsonaro-dorothy-stang-brazil\/\">human rights activists<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2020\/11\/16\/nonviolent-protest-plowshares-nuclear\/\">nonviolent movements<\/a> that have insisted that human beings cannot be reduced to enemies.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-on-christ-is-king\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>On \u201cChrist Is King<\/strong>\u201d<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One phrase that increasingly appears in Hegseth\u2019s public religious <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/article\/politics\/pete-hegseth-iran-holy-war\/\">rhetoric<\/a> is \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.news10.com\/news\/politics\/ap-christ-is-king-becomes-a-loaded-phrase-in-us-political-debates-especially-on-the-right\/\">Christ is King<\/a>.\u201d On the surface, this is an ancient Christian confession. But Christians should be careful about what happens when it is fused with nationalism. If Christ is King, then Caesar is not. If Christ is King, then the nation cannot be God. If Christ is King, then military might cannot be the ultimate measure of righteousness. And if Christ is King, then Christians must remember what kind of king Jesus was.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-ft-photo is-style-default alignright\">\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jesus did not arrive in Jerusalem on a tank. He did not establish his kingdom through an air campaign. He did not recruit an army to seize the Roman state. Jesus entered the city on a donkey. He washed his disciples\u2019 feet. He touched people considered untouchable. He fed hungry crowds. He stood with the condemned. And when his disciples reached for weapons, Jesus told them to put them away. This is not weakness; it is a different conception of power and a different idea of violence, military and force. And it stands worlds away from the Hegseth\u2019s professed belief in a conquering Christ.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Christian nationalism raises the question of who counts as part of the nation \u2014 and, implicitly, who counts as part of the Christian community. Hegseth\u2019s religious politics have attracted scrutiny because of his association with a <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2026\/04\/03\/trump-christian-right-iran-evangelicals\/\">conservative Reformed Christian milieu<\/a> and his willingness to amplify figures and institutions associated with Christian nationalist ideas. That should concern Christians not because Christianity should be banished from public life, but because Christianity is too important to be reduced to a tribal identity. There is no nationalism in the Sermon on the Mount; there is no exceptionalism in the Last Judgment.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>Christianity offers an alternative to nationalism that does not require Christians to abandon love of country, but it begins by refusing to worship their nation.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jesus did not teach his followers to build communities divided by race, citizenship status, wealth, or political loyalty. The early Christian proclamation was astonishing precisely because it created a community in which Jew and Greek, slave and free, male and female could belong together.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Christianity becomes spiritually dangerous when it is transformed from a call to discipleship into a badge of national membership, and a cross becomes something very different when it is used to sanctify exclusion, violence, and war, especially against the poor and marginalized.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-so-what-would-jesus-do\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>So, What Would Jesus Do?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Let\u2019s stop treating \u201cWhat would Jesus do?\u201d as a sentimental slogan. Instead, ask the question concretely.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What would Jesus do when a family fleeing poverty and violence arrives at the border?<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What would Jesus do when a child is separated from a parent?<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What would Jesus do when a nation considers going to war?<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What would Jesus do when military personnel are asked to kill (and the nation suggests canceling student debt to those who sign up to do that killing)?<\/p>\n<div class=\"newsletter-embed flex-col items-center print:hidden\" id=\"third-party--article-mid\" data-module=\"InlineNewsletter\" data-module-source=\"web_intercept_20241230_Inline_Signup_Replacement\">\n<div class=\"-mx-5 sm:-mx-10 p-5 sm:px-10 xl:-ml-5 lg:mr-0 xl:px-5 bg-accentLight hidden\" data-name=\"subscribed\">\n<h2 class=\"font-sans font-light uppercase text-[30px] leading-8 text-white tracking-[0.01em] mb-0\">\n      We\u2019re independent of corporate interests \u2014 and powered by members. Join us.    <\/h2>\n<p>    <a href=\"https:\/\/join.theintercept.com\/donate\/now\/?referrer_post_id=523504&amp;referrer_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheintercept.com%2F2026%2F09%2F17%2Fhegseth-christianity-jesus-iran-war%2F&amp;source=web_intercept_20241230_Inline_Signup_Replacement\" class=\"border border-white !text-white font-mono uppercase p-5 inline-flex items-center gap-3 hover:bg-white hover:!text-accentLight focus:bg-white focus:!text-accentLight\" data-name=\"donateCTA\" data-action=\"handleDonate\"><br \/>\n      Become a member      <span class=\"font-icons icon-TI_Arrow_02_Right\"\/><br \/>\n    <\/a>\n  <\/div>\n<div class=\"group default w-full px-5 hidden\" data-name=\"unsubscribed\">\n<div class=\"px-5 border-[10px] border-accentLight\">\n<div class=\"bg-white -my-2.5 relative block px-4 md:px-5\">\n<h2 class=\"font-sans font-body text-[30px] font-bold tracking-[0.01em] leading-8 mb-0 xl:text-[37px] xl:leading-[39px]\">\n          <span class=\"group-[.subscribed]:hidden\"><br \/>\n            Join Our Newsletter          <\/span><br \/>\n          <span class=\"group-[.default]:hidden\"><br \/>\n            Thank You For Joining!          <\/span><br \/>\n        <\/h2>\n<p class=\"text-[27px] mb-3.5 font-bold text-accentLight tracking-[0.01em] leading-[29px] font-sans xl:text-[37px] xl:leading-[39px]\">\n          <span class=\"group-[.subscribed]:hidden\"><br \/>\n            Original reporting. Fearless journalism. Delivered to you.          <\/span><br \/>\n          <span class=\"group-[.default]:hidden\"><br \/>\n            Will you take the next step to support our independent journalism by becoming a member of The Intercept?          <\/span>\n        <\/p>\n<p>        <a href=\"https:\/\/join.theintercept.com\/donate\/now\/?referrer_post_id=523504&amp;referrer_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheintercept.com%2F2026%2F09%2F17%2Fhegseth-christianity-jesus-iran-war%2F&amp;source=web_intercept_20241230_Inline_Signup_Replacement\" class=\"group-[.default]:hidden border border-accentLight text-accentLight font-sans px-5 py-3.5 inline-flex items-center gap-3 text-[20px] font-bold\" data-action=\"handleDonate\"><br \/>\n          Become a member          <span class=\"font-icons icon-TI_Arrow_02_Right\"\/><br \/>\n        <\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"font-sans text-accentLight text-[10px] leading-[13px] text-balance [&amp;_a]:text-accentLight [&amp;_a]:font-bold [&amp;_a:hover]:underline group-[.subscribed]:hidden\">\n<p>By signing up, I agree to receive emails from The Intercept and to the <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/privacy-policy\/\">Privacy Policy<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/terms-use\/\">Terms of Use<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- END-BLOCK(newsletter)[0] --><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What would Jesus do when poor communities are abandoned while enormous resources flow into weapons?<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What would Jesus do when a government claims God has blessed its political program?<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And what would Jesus do when Christians begin to believe that their nation has a special claim on God?<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Gospels give us clues. Jesus runs toward suffering rather than away from it. Jesus challenges religious authorities who use God to legitimize their own power. Jesus feeds people rather than lecturing them. Jesus welcomes the stranger. Jesus stands with those society declares expendable. And Jesus tells his followers that greatness consists not in domination but in liberation. That is a radically different theology of power.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-another-christian-patriotism\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Another Christian Patriotism<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Christianity offers an alternative to nationalism that does not require Christians to abandon love of country, but it begins by refusing to worship their nation. It means loving one\u2019s neighbors, including neighbors who have crossed a border. It means seeking peace rather than glorifying war. It means protecting human life rather than measuring success by military superiority. It means asking whether public resources are being used to ensure that every person has food, housing, healthcare, education, dignity, and a meaningful opportunity to flourish. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And it means remembering that the Bible\u2019s central story is not the triumph of one nation over all others. It is the liberation of an oppressed people. It is the insistence that Pharaoh does not have the final word. That is why the question \u201cWhat would Jesus do?\u201d cannot be separated from the question raised by Florence Reece\u2019s popular song written in 1931 in Harlan County, Kentucky, during the union organizing drive of the United Mine Workers: \u201cWhich side are you on?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Christian faith does not ask us to look down from the Pentagon, the White House, or any other seat of power and decide which people deserve compassion. Instead, Jesus teaches us to love God, love your neighbor, love even your enemy \u2014 and recognize Christ in the people that <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2024\/08\/10\/republicans-trump-vance-racism-white-nationalism\/\">those in power<\/a> tell you to <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2024\/09\/12\/trump-springfield-haiti-cats-dogs-racism-immigration\/\">hate<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2026\/09\/04\/911-muslim-islamophobia-terrorist\/\">fear<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When Christian nationalism asks its followers to choose between faith and the stranger, between military might and peacemaking, between national supremacy and human solidarity, Christians \u2014 including the Christians in the highest reaches of power \u2014 should ask a different question. Not \u201cHow can we make America powerful enough to win?\u201d But: What would Jesus do? <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The answer begins where the Gospel always has: feeding the hungry, welcoming the immigrant, freeing the oppressed, and telling the people at the bottom that God has not forgotten them. That is not a weak Christianity. It is Christianity\u2019s most dangerous claim about power: The last shall be first. The mighty shall be brought down. And the kingdom of God belongs not to those who dominate, but to those who serve.<a id=\"_msocom_1\"\/><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2026\/09\/17\/hegseth-christianity-jesus-iran-war\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>People in the Pentagon deride self-styled War Secretary Pete Hegseth for many reasons. There was his ridiculous dressing down of America\u2019s admirals and generals in 2025. His fixation on troops\u2019 testosterone levels. And a fair amount of the scorn has revolved around Hegseth\u2019s monthly Pentagon prayer services where he peddles an unholy brand of Christianity [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5416,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-usa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5415"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5415\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunowner-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}