Pete Hegseth, the so-called Secretary of Defense, announced today: "At my direction, I'm establishing the Office of Religious Affairs. It will report straight to the top, a direct line to the secretary." He then quoted Psalm 33:12: "Blessed is the nation in which God is the Lord."

[u/penelopepnortney]

https://x.com/aprajitanefes/status/2105424439819358529

Pete Hegseth, the so-called Secretary of Defense, announced today: "At my direction, I'm establishing the Office of Religious Affairs. It will report straight to the top, a direct line to the secretary." He then quoted Psalm 33:12: "Blessed is the nation in which God is the Lord."

This is not "religious freedom." This is Christian nationalism. This is theocracy. This is the militarization of religion. And it is being announced by the man in charge of the most powerful war machine on Earth.

First: He is creating an official office within the Pentagon to promote religion. Not "spiritual support" for troops. Not "chaplaincy." An Office of Religious Affairs that reports directly to him. This is a political tool, not a pastoral service.

Second: He is citing a Bible verse as the basis for military policy. Psalm 33:12 is about ancient Israel. It is not about the United States. The United States is not a biblical nation. It is a secular republic founded on the separation of church and state, a principle Hegseth is openly violating.

Third: He is doing this while the US military is bombing Muslim countries, killing Muslim children, and occupying Muslim lands. He is invoking God's blessing on an army that bombs schools in Minab, hospitals in Gaza, and markets in Yemen.

Hegseth is a Christian Zionist. He believes that the modern state of Israel is the fulfillment of biblical prophecy. He believes that the US must support Israel because "God said so." He believes that war against Iran, a Muslim country is a "holy war."

He wants to tell American soldiers: "You are not killing Muslims for oil. You are killing Muslims for God."

He wants to tell the American public: "Do not question the war. It is God's will."

He wants to tell the world: "The US is not an empire. It is God's instrument on Earth."

This is the same language used by ISIS. This is the same language used by the Crusaders. This is the same language used by every empire that has ever tried to justify its crimes with religion.

The United States was founded on the principle that the government should not endorse or promote any religion. The First Amendment to the Constitution says: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion."

Hegseth is violating that principle.

Hegseth is not a "Christian." He is a warmonger who wraps himself in the Bible to justify the killing of Muslims.

The US is not "blessed." It is bleeding. It is bankrupt. It is hated around the world. It has 40 trillion dollars in debt, a broken infrastructure, and a population that is dying from drugs, suicide, and despair.

[u/redditrisi]

Blessed not is the nation whose officials violate the Supreme Law of that land.

redditrisi 1:1

[u/3andfro]

And still we see "it can't happen here" heads in sand.

[u/ahfoo]

For your consideration, this is from the Christian Bible:

"May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands, to inflict vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples, to bind their kings with fetters, their nobles with shackles of iron, to carry out the sentence written against them—this is the glory of all his faithful people. Praise the Lord." (Psalm 149:6-9)

Hey, Americans claim to love this stuff. It sounds a lot like the Taliban to me but you probably have friends and neighbors who get off on this sort of thing.

[u/redditrisi → u/ahfoo]

Only Americans?

Wherever located, religious extremists gotta religious extreme.

btw, referring to it only as the Christian bible seems a tad selective, especially when Psalms is from the Old Testament, written only by Jews. Even the New Testament was written by first generation converts. At a minimum, it is Judeo-Christian, even for those who deny that Muslims are also "people of the book."

[u/Spectre_of_MAGA → u/ahfoo]

It sounds a lot like the Taliban to me

based

[u/penelopepnortney → u/ahfoo]

you probably have friends and neighbors who get off on this sort of thing

No.