Pete Hegseth cites scripture to justify war

cultureOct 1, 2026311,658

At a Pentagon gathering Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth framed a "Send Me Tour" around Isaiah 6:8, intoning, "Here am I Lord. Send me," and saying, "Send me to fight the Redcoats. Send me to fight the Communists. Send me to fight the Islamists. Send me." In a Substack piece a veteran and man of faith argues Hegseth misreads Isaiah, noting Isaiah answers God to carry a prophetic message to his own nation rather than to volunteer for military conquest. The author highlights Isaiah's vision "They shall beat their swords into plowshares" and cites a pastor who told HuffPost that Isaiah repeatedly warns against trusting military power. The article also cites a March Pentagon worship service where Hegseth prayed for American troops to deliver "overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy" and closed "in the mighty and powerful name of Jesus Christ." The writer says Christians have long wrestled with just war questions, affirms he is not a pacifist, and concludes there is no Biblical justification for turning Isaiah into a recruitment slogan for the Pentagon.

Dean Obeidallah

@deanobeidallah.bsky.social

Pete Hegseth is no different than an ISIS recruiter who uses religion to radicalize people to commit violence to further his own supremacist agenda.

2278d ago

Chris Maley2

The Vietnam War and the modern GOP. Hegseth's heroes are those men who supported that war as young men, but also dodged the draft. #Politics

Mrs. Betty Bowers

@mrsbettybowers.bsky.social

I note that Pete Hegseth elides over when the United States went to war with white supremacists (the Civil War) and fascists (World War II). Probably has nothing to do with Pete Hegseth being both a white supremacist and a fascist, right?

2558d ago

Rob Reiner Fan4

We ain't stopping you, Pete.

MOLLOY2

he fapps to Tom Cruise's final scene in Taps.

Claire Wheeler1

That podium/lecturn is giving evil emperor vibes. I can't un see it

gcm5.bsky.social1

Hegseth is proud and loud about his Aryan national roots.

Ceiling Cat1

He only cares about "stupid wars" (scrapping the nuclear deal and closing the Strait of Hormuz indefinitely)

Peter Baker

@peterbakernyt.bsky.social

Hegseth seems more intent on waging war against the Pentagon than against Iran. @sbg1.bsky.social www.newyorker.com/news/letter-...

2068d ago

Mikusa2

To be fair it’s a sizable piece of real estate that holds the ghosts of America’s shameful history. Could build a brand new Executive Residence with a military command bunker, wing, ballroom, helipad, Rose Garden with arched entrances and grand arts music auditorium with an eternal fountain. IMO

The Bulwark

@thebulwark.com

@timmiller.bsky.social and @jvl.bsky.social torch Pete Hegseth for obsessing over “fatties, “weirdos,” and testosterone while failing at the actual job of leading the Defense Department. "This whole thing is preposterous. It is just performative nonsense."

1578d ago

The Bulwark18

Watch the full episode of The Bulwark Daily:

David Isaacs IRL2

It's not just preposerous, it's embarrassing...it's the rantings of a 12-yr old or a drunk 20-yr old.

🧛🏼‍♀️🧙‍♀️☠️🎃SuckerPunched79[Spooky Edition]🦇👻🔮🧟‍♀️1

I’m replying to all those recruiters messaging me to reach my kid #weirdo #wimp

The Liberal BoJack

@thelibbojack.bsky.social

I cannot WAIT for the day Pete Hegseth gets dragged kicking and screaming into the consequences he’s spent his career pretending don’t apply to him. 🔥 Post Anything Here: InteractInk.com

1468d ago

Schrodinger's Leftist (he/they)1

If we don’t win in November, no consequences will EVER come.

Karly Kingsley

@karlykingsley.bsky.social

It’s sad enough that this historical period will include a lesson about the weakening of the world’s strongest military, but the truly saddest part is knowing it will include 100 clips of Pete Hegseth ranting about “no woke fatties” while we lose a war and Congress stands around.

1078d ago

YvetteJR718☮️💙♋️ ♎️❌1

Hegseth is an EMBARRASSMENT. Everyone Trump has picked for every Department has turned into a DISASTER!

The Daily Show

@thedailyshow.com

Pete Hegseth Purges Weirdos and Wimps & Trump Drops a New Hispanic Stereotype

1078d ago

Kittywritesfic2

God...how deep can the closet get?

Mike Walker

@newnarrative.bsky.social

“Hegseth’s speech proved, yet again, that he is manifestly unfit for his job.” www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...

798d ago

Dolorosa Santos4

The US Army says Hegseth is an evil fascist. archive.org/details/Army...

David Hart3

Response to my email from Tillis (R-retiring) “Secretary Hegseth has repeatedly demonstrated that he is not prepared to manage the Department of Defense’s vast responsibilities... These and other avoidable missteps have caused me to deeply regret my vote to confirm him as Secretary of Defense./1

vabbott0.bsky.social1

....he wasn't fit for his previous job either ...

Khashoggi's Ghost

@urocklive1.bsky.social

lol 🤣 What a buffoon. "Imagine being a high-level government official cheering on the bombing of a country and the killing of individuals over a Signal chat," Jones wrote on X, describing what it would be like to then see the message "Jeff Goldberg left the group." www.rawstory.com/pete-hegseth...

628d ago

The Sgt Joker

@thesgtjoker.bsky.social

Republicans like Pete Hegseth believe our military members are soft and have hired Elon Musk to help them become more macho. Another Epic Failure from the Trump administration.

378d ago

Umagaia.bsky.social🟧2

Musk is anything but fit. Fat, pudgy creep.

RevDaniel

@revdaniel.bsky.social

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth just announced a new Pentagon "Office of Religious Affairs" that reports directly to him. Bypassing traditional command structures, Hegseth claims this will give chaplains an advocate with "real teeth" at the highest level of leadership

348d ago

RevDaniel27

2/ The rhetoric surrounding the announcement is raising massive red flags. Hegseth explicitly cited Psalm 33:12 (“blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord”) and declared the military is putting on the “full armor of God”. The Pentagon’s job is to defend the Constitution, not a specific theology

catlady49ers.bsky.social6

And they get so offended when we refer to them as Nazis.🙄

catlady49ers.bsky.social2

They plan to spread Christian nationalism to everyone. 😳

Kristy Harms2

Inappropriate. Over-reach. I’m incensed and grateful that you brought this to my attention. Now: contacting my Lutheran synod and planning to be loud.

The Daily Beast

@thedailybeast.bsky.social

A new document has revealed the humiliating moment when Pete Hegseth was alerted of his Signalgate blunder in the early days of MAGA 2.0.

258d ago

hammancheez but spooky

@hammancheez.bsky.social

I like how the media is like 'Pete Hegseth gave a culture war speech' and not 'Pete Hegseth gave a racist, sexist, religious supremacist diatribe unbefitting of his position, the nation, or civilized society'

308d ago

Mack Butterfield

@mack2114.bsky.social

Pete Hegseth delivered a “State of the Force” address at Marine Corps Base Quantico. He said he had transformed the military by enforcing the idea of “no fatties, no trannies, no beardos, no weirdos, no wimps, no radicals. Just warriors. The patriotic cowboys are in, with testosterone testing”.

218d ago

allanroyx.bsky.social2

This photo made possible by Cover Girl, Maybelline, and Hazel Bishop.

Dennis Hanks1

Really cowboys and testosterone, what could go wrong? Oh right, Iran. Okay, he is chopping off the head, but the military once taught all levels how to lead. Where is that leadership now? Where was that leadership a year ago. Where will it be tomorrow? He's turning you into cannon fodder. Wise up.

🇺🇸🇲🇽🇮🇹🇪🇸🇩🇪1

He’s transformed something. He looks a lot more bloated in this photo than during his late night hosting duty at Fox.

Jason Sclar

@jasonsclar.bsky.social

I was under the impression that Pete Hegseth said there would be "no beardos, no weirdos, no wimps..." as part of his State of the Force address

298d ago

2 sources

open.substack.comPete Hegseth Cites Scripture to Justify War. But The Scriptures Have Something Else to Say.adamkinzinger.comPete Hegseth Cites Scripture to Justify War. But The Scriptures Have Something Else to Say.

Pete Hegseth cites scripture to justify warculture

Pete Hegseth cites scripture to justify war

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