At a news conference on Monday, when President Donald Trump unleashed so-called “carpet bombing” of Tehran, a combat unit commander said It is said He told the noncommissioned officers that the commander-in-chief “was appointed by Jesus to light a signal fire in Iran to bring about Armageddon and herald his return to Earth.”
The complaint, sent by a noncommissioned officer, was just one of at least 110 similar reports received by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) since Trump first launched the strikes on Saturday.
In compliance with the First Amendment, the Department of Defense long ago adopted rules against Evangelism Within the armed forces. But under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, an evangelical Christian He said The West must wage a “crusade” against Islam, and calls for Christian nationalism in the military have become common.
Mickey Weinstein, president and founder of the MRFF and an Air Force veteran who served in the White House under former President Ronald Reagan, told freelance journalist Jonathan Larsen that the group has been “inundated” with complaints from noncommissioned officers since Saturday, who all have “one weird thing in common.”
“Our clients at MRFF report the unbridled ecstasy of their leaders and chains of command about how this new ‘biblically sanctioned’ war is clearly the undeniable sign of the rapid approach of the fundamentalist Christian ‘end times’ as clearly described in the New Testament Book of Revelation,” Weinstein said.
He added, “Many of their leaders are particularly pleased with how dangerous this fight is, noting how bloody it all is in order to fulfill and agree with the fundamentalist Christian doctrine of the end of the world 100%.”
According to Larsen, who first announced the MRFF findings on Monday, the message spread widely when US forces rained missiles on Iran.
Larsen stated that “the complaints came from more than 40 different units spread across at least 30 military installations,” and included commanders in every branch of the US military.
One noncommissioned officer, who did not identify himself for fear of retaliation, said his commander “urged us to tell our troops that this was all ‘part of God’s divine plan,’ and specifically pointed to several citations from the Book of Revelation in reference to Armageddon and the imminent return of Jesus Christ.”
The NCO added that his commander “had a big smile on his face when he said all this, which made his message sound even crazier.”
“Our leader would probably be described as pro-Christian first,” he added. “He’s been like this for a very long time and makes it clear that he wants all of us under his leadership to become just like him as Christians. But what he did this morning was so toxic and so over the top that it shocked many of us attending the Operational Readiness Conference.”
The NCO identified himself as Christian, but emailed MRFF on behalf of 15 of his troops, who included at least one Muslim and one Jew.
He said their leaders’ statements “destroy morale and unit cohesion and are in violation of the oath we took to uphold the constitution.”
Longstanding Christian nationalism Mature It lies just beneath the surface of American military culture, and has been cited by presidents of the past, including George W. Bush, who referred to his war on terror as a “crusade.”
But Hegseth who regularly Hosts Christian prayer services at the Pentagon during business hours, bars against “Secular humanism” and “The atheist left” It has hosted notorious Fundamentalist pastor Doug Wilson – who opposes women’s suffrage and calls for the United States to become a Christian theocracy – at the Pentagon, Any claims were dropped for religious pluralism.
“While America’s relationship with Iran is influenced by all the typical geopolitics like oil, culture, and nuclear weapons, there is a part of American foreign policy that is influenced by evangelical apocalyptic theology.” books Josh Olds, a pastor and theologian, on Monday Baptist World News.
He said Christian fundamentalists, some of whom are listening to the White House, view the Iranian war with Israel as key to sparking Armageddon, during which God will miraculously strike Israel’s enemies, Jesus will return to earth, and Christians will be raptured to heaven, according to the teachings of the Bible.
While Iran’s Muslim leaders are often accused of being dangerously irrational due to blind religious fundamentalism, “it is increasingly clear that American actions are shaped by this fundamentalism as well,” he said.
In just over three days, US and Israeli strikes have killed at least 787 people in Iran, according to Tuesday. a report From the Iranian Red Crescent Society, including hundreds of civilians. In addition Schools and HospitalsAttacks have been reported against Crowded Residential buildingsA Radio and Television Broadcasting Centreand A Sports complex.
“Donald Trump has partnered with Israel to bomb Iran because of the influence of an eschatology that sees conflict with Iran as paving the way for the fulfillment of prophecy,” Olds said. “The paradox is profound: a faith centered around loving enemies and making peace becomes a framework that welcomes and advocates violence. The result is not the advancement of God’s Kingdom but its irreversible damage in the eyes of the world.”
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