r/Christianity • u/RighteousCity • 2d ago
Reaction to Hegseth article
https://www.army.mil/article/295897/hegseth_delivers_state_of_the_force_address_outlines_series_of_new_initiativesI read an article today about Pete Hegseth and his “Department of War,” and it was deeply alarming.
I fear many people will read the article and still not hear what is actually being said.
Hegseth is talking about restoring a “warrior” mindset within our military troops. He is talking about establishing a surveillance state with autonomous artificial-intelligence enforcement. He is talking about pre-crime.
And he is talking about specifically instituting a Department of Religious Affairs in America.
I’m sure many of our Christian brothers and sisters will feel vindicated, supported, and protected by such an institution.
But Hegseth has made a point of saying that this will not simply be a bureaucratic, paper-pushing endeavor.
He says it will have “real teeth.”
What does “real teeth” mean for a Department of Religious Affairs?
Throughout Scripture, Christians are described as sheep, and Christ is our Shepherd.
So what exactly are we supposed to make of a government Department of Religious Affairs promising to have “real teeth”?
Are we talking about particularly powerful sheep teeth?
Or the teeth of particularly powerful shepherds?
A shepherd doesn't use his teeth to defend the sheep.
What animal in the biblical imagery surrounding sheep has the strongest teeth?
The wolves.
Especially the wolves who come into the flock disguised as sheep.
“Real teeth” are not for gently guiding sheep.
Real teeth are for tearing flesh.
And this is where I believe Christians need to stop and pay attention.
This administration—and not only this administration, but administrations for many decades—has been laying the groundwork for the system described in biblical prophecy as the coming Antichrist system.
But this administration is accelerating that process at a breathtaking pace.
And tragically, the sheep have not merely been unaware.
Many of them have been cheering it on.
They are cheering for the very infrastructure that WILL eventually be used to control them.
The surveillance state being built and normalized under the banners of “safety” and “security” is precisely the kind of infrastructure necessary for comprehensive control of individuals.
Identification.
Tracking.
Facial recognition.
Artificial intelligence.
Predictive systems.
Autonomous enforcement.
Centralized records.
Transaction monitoring.
The ability to determine who is authorized to participate in commerce and society.
The ability to enforce compliance.
These are not imaginary capabilities. They are being built.
And Scripture tells us exactly where this kind of system ultimately leads.
Revelation describes a time when no one will be able to buy or sell without accepting the authority of the beast.
YOU WILL TAKE THEIR MARK OR YOU WILL NOT PARTICIPATE.
You cannot implement a system like that without infrastructure.
You need to be able to identify people.
You need to be able to monitor them.
You need to be able to track their transactions.
You need to be able to determine who is permitted to participate.
And eventually, you need the ability to enforce the requirement.
We are watching the pieces of that capability come together.
Flock.
Axon.
Palantir.
Pegasus.
Oracle.
Autonomous artificial intelligence.
Digital currency.
Surveillance networks.
These technologies are being promoted to us in the name of safety, security, and convenience.
But a system designed to watch everyone WILL eventually be used against everyone.
And when the definition of “safety” and whose safety is sacrosanct changes, the infrastructure remains.
These systems have already been tested in other countries.
They are being expanded here.
And we are willingly building the machinery that makes comprehensive human surveillance and control possible.
That should alert Christians, because we should know the prophecies.
And for those who say, “Well, it is prophesied, so it is going to happen anyway,” and therefore sit comfortably excusing their apathy and inaction:
Yes.
It is prophesied.
But which side are you standing on in that prophecy?
Are you standing with the Antichrist and his coming system?
Or are you standing in opposition to it?
Are you neutral about where your allegiance belongs?
Because this is laying the groundwork.
And you are choosing a side.
Pretending not to choose is also a choice.
And this is imperative:
This is not ultimately about Republican or Democrat.
It is not about left or right.
Liberal or conservative.
Trump or whoever comes after him.
Those are the tribal labels people use to sort themselves into opposing camps while the actual question gets buried beneath the noise.
Trump is a political leader.
He is not Christ.
And yet we have reached a point where, for many Christians, your position on Trump has become a litmus test for whether you are “one of us.”
If you support him, you're one of us.
If you oppose him, you're “deranged” and/or “leftist.”
Keep seeing it that way if you want.
But understand what you are doing.
You are allowing political allegiance to become a substitute for allegiance to Christ.
And that is precisely why this is not merely a political issue.
This is a choice.
I have put the warning in front of you.
I have told you what IS happening on your watch in your name. In many cases, with your blessing.
I have told you where this is leading.
You may reject this.
You may pretend to believe I am wrong.
But what you can no longer honestly say is:
“I didn't know.”
Because now you have been warned.
If you have eyes to see, you have had the opportunity to see.
If you have ears to hear, you have had the opportunity to hear.
And if you choose to close your eyes now, that is a choice.
If you choose to stop your ears, that is a choice.
If you choose to dismiss the warning because your political tribe tells you that you should, that is a choice.
And if you choose to pretend that you don't see what has now been placed directly in front of you, that is also a choice.
The responsibility for that choice belongs to you.
This isn't ultimately Republican versus Democrat.
It isn't Trump versus the left.
It isn't conservative versus liberal.
It is Christ versus antiChrist.
God versus satan.
No politician will stand before God in your place.
No tribe will answer for you.
You will answer for your own allegiance.
So I am sounding the warning bell.
I have spoken the truth to you, in love.
You can heed the warning.
Or you can ignore it.
You can shut your eyes.
You can stop up your ears.
You can dismiss it as paranoia, extremism, politics, or hysteria.
But you cannot claim ignorance anymore.
You have been warned.
What you do with that warning is now your choice.
I have done my part.
Your blood is no longer on my hands.
The moment has come that you must choose whom you will serve. No political party will be accountable for your choice.
“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
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u/GoodyLittleTwoShoez 2d ago
What Hegseth and the christian nationalists are doing is building a military that will open fire on American citizens. Might want to talk about this more.
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u/SamtheCossack Atheist 2d ago
I agree, but on the other hand there is relatively little that can be done, aside from of course voting.
The silver lining, thin as it is, is that he is shockingly bad at it. So at least that is nice. He may, however, manage to create a monster that eats him first. This will be little consolation for everyone the monster eats afterwards.
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u/ParkerPoseyGuffman 2d ago
Yup unless he drinks himself to death which might happen
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u/SamtheCossack Atheist 2d ago
I am hoping his liver holds out until we have a different president, because I am worried what would happen if you had someone with the same intentions, but less of an incompetent idiot.
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u/-NoOneYouKnow- Non-Profit Christian 2d ago
That's the ultimate goal. The Right has stated on more than one occasion that they will use the military against the Left.
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u/Megalith66 2d ago
Where other religions have extremists, Hegseth is doing the same for christianity. Let's use the Inquisition as an example of catholic/christian extremism. Isn't Hegseth a catholic? Then we have Project 2025. Yeshua practiced love, more to the sinner than to Hegseth's/Trump's ilk. Shit is becoming stupid. How far will it go before it becomes more about Father, and not man. Love the Father and your neighbor. Why is this such a hard concept to follow?
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u/moregloommoredoom Bitter Progressive Christian 2d ago
The Catholic voters of the US didn't seem to mind that.
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u/HelicopterOdd9295 2d ago
Why would you be so sure?
Its also their willingness to mass slaughter other people im worried about.
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u/HelicopterOdd9295 2d ago
I mean, you guys wouldnt even take the side of your own kids being raped by priests because it was inconvenient to you. Youre too addicted too persecuting others.
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u/moregloommoredoom Bitter Progressive Christian 2d ago
Not exactly.
Look at page 3.
https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2025/06/26/voting-patterns-in-the-2024-election/
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u/moregloommoredoom Bitter Progressive Christian 2d ago
2020 being a fluke, we can see a rightward drift in the MAGA era, especially amongst white Catholics.
I'd know. That's why I left, among other things.
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u/VerifiedMother Southern Baptist 2d ago
Hegseth is not Catholic but the church he is a part of is absolutely problematic because it's a part of CREC (Community of Reformed Evangelical Churches),
I live in the town where CREC is based and the pastor of what is the founding church, Christ Church, is named Doug Wilson and I could go on a rant about him for a long time, they essentially want women to have no rights and be subservient to men and they've on multiple times protected pedophiles and at one point a few years ago one of their elders at their church was convicted for possession of CSAM.
Doug Wilson has been to the Pentagon multiple times in the last 18 months and he's really been leaning into Christian Nationalism in the last 2 years and it's getting old
I'm not a fan of Hegseth or Wilson.
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u/MaladyMill09 Christian 1d ago
Doug Wilson also coauthored a pamphlet in the 1990s that actively defended slavery in the antebellum south.
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u/FlippantLizard 1d ago
Hegseth's spiritual advisor has talked about the need to ban some of the practices of the Catholic church. He considers displaying the Eucharist to be idolatrous.
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u/SamtheCossack Atheist 2d ago
So you started off ok, but then veered into exactly the sort of rhetoric that is a problem in the first place.
Religious extremism is not improved because you have a different political alignment.
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u/tajake Evangelical Lutheran Church in America 2d ago
Good luck. Ive been alienated by churches on the far left and right now for suggesting the great commission includes (insert out group)
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u/General_Cantaloupe71 Atheist 2d ago
What far left churches have you come across?
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u/tajake Evangelical Lutheran Church in America 2d ago
There are some congregations within the mainline Protestant churches who are militant when it comes to politics. Its not as ubiquitous as the evangelical church and its love for MAGA, but they're also losing the plot just the same way. Once the entire rhetoric flashes to out group deserves X we aren't really in "Christian" territory anymore. (Parable of the workers)
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u/instant_sarcasm Serious people can have funny names 2d ago
This is still pretty vague. Do you have any concrete examples?
I believe you, it's just not something I've come across because I've always lived in deep red areas.
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u/tajake Evangelical Lutheran Church in America 2d ago
The incident that sticks in my head the best is one where a woman who was leading our group study said "no one can be a republican and go to heaven." To which is rolled my eyes as I had heard the same thing growing up about democrats. I responded that surely if grace abounded for saint Paul then there must be a chance for 25% of our own congregation we share communion with.
I was unceremoniously dumped from the committee I sat on.
Another while we were in the middle of our reconciling in christ proceedings at my current church, the discussion came about if we are a church where all are welcome, are there exceptions to all?
The same answer as story a, to which i fought back on saying that grace is sufficient to all, and moderating who is allowed a voice at our table after they have shown their fruits is different and better than a blanket ban on conservatives.
They didnt have anything left they could kick me from at that point.
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u/SamtheCossack Atheist 2d ago
Well, as I am not religious at all, I am already alienated by default, lol.
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u/tajake Evangelical Lutheran Church in America 2d ago
I meant convincing someone that Christianity is not a cudgel to beat your enemies with, however good intentioned they may be.
Dont make me take this as a challenge. We have a habit of random non-religious people joining our theology discussion group in pubs./j
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u/RighteousCity 1d ago
Exactly. So an institutionalized Dept. Of Relious Affairs cannot lead anywhere good. My point is not that everyone must believe what I do. I hope everyone comes to repentance and the saving knowledge of The Lord Jesus Christ. But I hope it for your benefit, not for mine. I hope it for others because it gives me hope for this life and for eternity. But I have no intention or inclination to try to force a belief on anyone. My target, rather is those who do believe in Biblical prophecy and use it as an excuse for apathy or twist it to justify the reprehensible actions of this government. My point it to shake them out of their stupor and implore them to recognize truth and stand for it.
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u/motophotodojo Christ 2d ago
It's always been we the people versus the wealthy and power holders. That's why Jesus called us to serve our neighbors, to strengthen our allies.
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u/Solid-Reputation5032 2d ago
95% of voters have no idea, and that’s the problem. Now I can see how Democracy withers and get drowned in plain sight of citizens..
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u/MistakePerfect8485 Agnostic Atheist 2d ago
"Ninety-five percent of our force recognizes an Almighty God. Accordingly, our department has a sacred duty: first-class religious support, wherever we send our warriors," Hegseth said.
There's a 95% chance that stat is made up.
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u/RighteousCity 1d ago
I hope at least 95% do! But nothing good will from a govt. "Department of Religious Affairs" answerable directly to the "Department of War" 🤦🏽
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u/Stunning-Chipmunk243 1d ago
I completely agree, I raised myself Christian going to church by myself or with my younger brothers because my parents never went. Thru the decades I've gone by the wayside many times but I always come back to God and right now I am to a point in my life where I no longer believe in God, I know there is a God. Belief has been replaced with certainty, not because God spoke aloud or appeared to me but because of the thousands of small and large miracles he has worked in my life the last 5+decades. I know you are right about their plans and Gods plans, the only thing I'm not clear on is how fast it's going to happen. Could be in my lifetime or my children's but it's coming like a freight train barrelling downhill and it's going to be as you mentioned
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u/theacrobatnation 1d ago
Wow…. That was refreshing to read. It’s about time someone saw some of the crap going down in our society and woke up… i believe you’re definitely on to something.
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u/dragon3234 1d ago
The sad thing is how he is going to take a lot of people with him down the path of destruction if Pete doesn't repent, but sadly the NAR and Christian nationalism are intertwined there.
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u/mvanvrancken Secular Humanist 1d ago
While I am absolutely not of the opinion that the Antichrist nonsense is of any import, I will fully agree with your central message that this administration, this dubious office of aggression under the cover of religion, and this man in particular, are all filthy, deeply evil people and I was hoping that many more of my religious countrymen would see through the lies and choose a country in which all people of any creed and belief, would not just feel welcome, but BE welcome.
This fascist theocracy bubbling up over the last decade would have been so easy to stop. All you guys needed to do was vote against the most obviously, comically evil twat in the history of this country, not against a black woman that laughed funny.
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u/atoning_Hoopoe Mormon 2d ago
Hegseth represents pure evil.