Mastodawn

Pete Hegseth’s Christian rhetoric draws renewed scrutiny after the US goes to war with Iran

https://lemmy.world/post/44506378

Pete Hegseth’s Christian rhetoric draws renewed scrutiny after the US goes to war with Iran - Lemmy.World

Since becoming defense secretary, Pete Hegseth has found no shortage of ways to bring his strand of conservative evangelicalism into the Pentagon. He hosts monthly Christian worship services for employees. His department’s promotional videos have displayed Bible verses alongside military footage. In speeches and interviews, he often argues the U.S. was founded as a Christian nation and troops should embrace God, potentially risking the military’s secular mission and hard-won pluralism. Now the defense secretary’s Christian rhetoric has taken on new meaning after the U.S. and Israel went to war with Iran, an Islamic theocracy.

Itdidnttrickledown Mar 20

A fake christian who just uses it to manipulate. I’m not christian but I recognize a manipulator and the soft brained snowflakes who blindly follow anyone making the right grunts and hoots of their faith.

Pricklesthemagicfish Mar 20

Chuckles in all religions

waddle_dee Mar 20

Can’t miss out if you dedicate yourself to all the religions!

Then you die and find Anubis weighing your heart and he’s all “Surprise, Motherfucker!”.

waddle_dee Mar 20

And I’m like, “Huh, I figured pirating was gonna weigh something but that seems a little much”

Weighs as much as the bits that are written to disk.

Throbbing_banjo Mar 20

My brother in Baphomet, they’re all fake. Religion exists solely to manufacture consent for authority. That’s it.

givesomefucks Mar 20

Religion exists solely to manufacture consent for authority. That’s it.

No…

It was a way to instill morals before public education existed.

We don’t use religion for morals, and we don’t use public education for it either.

And people still act fucking shocked people don’t have morals.

They’re not innate, humans aren’t better than other animals.

And insisting that attempting to teach morals is pointless is only going to cause issues.

You might not need religion, I know I don’t, but that’s human variation. Some people fucking need it or they’re problems for the rest of us.

Like, your comment is the most ironic thing I’ve seen in a very long time. You don’t understand that your the problem and a complete lack of human empathy prevents you from understanding not everyone is like you.

It would be like someone with 20/20 vision spending their time trying to outlaw prescription eyeglasses.

You don’t need it, and you just can’t fucking imagine anyone is different than you.

Absolutely stunning.

waddle_dee Mar 20

Honestly, that’s it in a nutshell. The complete lack of human empathy is the issue. Whatever tools are available for someone to take advantage of, will be. Humans are animals. We like to act like we’re some superior species, advanced so far, but in the grand scheme of the universe and knowledge, we’re so young. We know absolutely nothing. The arrogance of humanity.

givesomefucks Mar 20

The complete lack of human empathy is the issue

No, the problem is there is no innate human empathy for humans…

Just for “us” which was likely the reason every species close to us, isn’t around anymore.

Oxytocin is pivotal neurotransmitters for group bonding, it’s why we get lonely, fall in love, and think babies are adorable despite being disgusting.

But oxytocin also makes us hate “them”

Where “them” is anything we weren’t exposed to as toddlers.

Racism/bigotry is baked into humans, and it takes effort to teach every generation that “us” is a very very wide group. Where “them” is basically just billionaires and people doing their building. That’s already where the wealthy have been drawing the line for centuries.

It’s like socializing a puppy around cats so that when the puppy grows up it doesn’t have a prey instinct kick in and chase cats.

We need to socialize kids so that when they grow up they don’t freak out over diversity.

And we’ll never be able to stop, every single generation till the end of humanity will need that step

waddle_dee Mar 20

Religion, government, business, a non profit, it doesn’t matter what it is, people will assume a position of authority in whatever power structure that has space, and corrupt it. It’s not unique to religion. It’s only because religion has been corrupted by people desiring power, that people hate religion. But in that same vein, the fight should be about dismantling power structures and creating equality. Which, would be in line with some religions, ironically.

atomicbocks Mar 20

No, in your list only religious people told me I was going to hell when I was 12 because I wouldn’t disown my lesbian parents. The kind of corruption an evil entitlement that people get is indeed unique to religion.

Nope, my MAGA coworker hates gay people and is staunchly Athiest.

atomicbocks Mar 20

Your coworker being the religious equivalent of a log cabin Republican doesn’t change anything as far as I can see, the MAGA movement is still fueled by Christian overtones.

The kind of corruption and evil entitlement that people get is indeed unique to religion.

That sure as hell sounds like goalposts shifting to me.

atomicbocks Mar 20

I’m not goal post shifting. Nor am I interested in having a conversation about who’s an asshole opinion stinks worse. Have a good day.

You absolutely did, but let’s take your statement to its logical conclusion.

Roughly 85% of the world is religious. By your definition, they are simply all evil. So why then would you care about Venezuela being bombed, Iran being bombed, literally anywhere being bombed — they’re evil! Anywhere that has religious people is fair game, because religion is evil.

AngryCommieKender Mar 20

Ask him if he’s also pro life? If he is he has to support gay people. They get less abortions than anyone!

I’m sure he’d pivot away to something else, considering that he pivoted from talking about trans rights to try and say “I shouldn’t have to worry about walking with my daughters down the street and walking into two dudes making out.” Basically suggesting that gay and trans people are the source of moral decay in the U.S.

The guy is the literal poster child of boomer moral decay, by the way. Digustingly obese, entitled, racist, MAGA.

AngryCommieKender Mar 20

To be fair, I wasn’t being serious. That’s a Cliff Cash joke

Well, I’m an idiot and sometimes I need help 😂

waddle_dee Mar 20

What role did religion play when my sisters ex partner, who was an atheist, beat the shit out of her and raped her? Please explain, as my life experiences are clearly limited.

atomicbocks Mar 20

What does that have to do with anything I said? Nobody was talking about domestic abuse.

waddle_dee Mar 20

I’m sorry, I thought we were interjecting personal experience as conjecture.

In direct response to your original comment, you have proven my point exactly. People who were in a position of power/authority abused it. It doesn’t matter what the modus operandi is when the fundamental consequence is the same. People want power, people get it, people abuse it. It’s not inherently unique to any one thing in humanity, it’s ubiquitous.

atomicbocks Mar 20

You made a list. I was commenting on the list elements vs each other, not anything that wasn’t on the list. My comment was not intended to prove or disapprove any point since yours and mine were both opinions.

waddle_dee Mar 20

No, in your list only religious people…

You started off your comment by saying no. This indicates a negative position. Since you responded to my comment, I can only assume you are taking a negative position against my comment.

Then you followed that position up with anecdotal evidence, not responding to the key position I maintain; that this is not unique to religion, but every structure in which power and positions of authority exist. If it exists, it can be corrupted. Again, modus operandi, does not matter, since that is inherently a key part of my position.

If you were just commenting a personal experience, then why did you start off with, “No”? What is your position in this debate? Because, I am finding myself further, and further lost.

atomicbocks Mar 20

Disagreement isn’t proof or disproof or even an attempt at such. At this time I’m completely lost as to your point. You didn’t say every structure, you made a list and I felt that one of those things was not like the others. That one of those things does have a unique form of evil attached to it. I really don’t understand why you’re trying to add more to this conversation than actually exists.

waddle_dee Mar 20

I did say every structure through inference. You are still disagreeing with me. If you can’t see it, so be it. I’m Audi

SreudianFlip Mar 20

Ooh, hi Audi, I’m BMW! I also go too fast, and have inscrutable motivation!

waddle_dee Mar 21

haha, thank you for brightening my day!

HalfAFrisbee Mar 20

No true Scotsman.

Soulphite Mar 20

Pete Kegsbreath is as Christian as Kenneth Copeland… which is to say exactly nill. It’s a facade. They’re both exactly opposite of Christian.

Anti-Christ.

All these millions of Christians who believe what they believe and support them must be fake christians too, huh? Sure is lucky youre here to tell us who is and isnt a real Christian.

leaky_shower_thought Mar 20

“We’re fighting religious fanatics who seek a nuclear capability in order for some religious Armageddon,” Hegseth said of Iranian leaders. “But from my perspective, I mean, obviously I’m a man of faith who encourages our troops to lean into their faith, rely on God.”

i believe more that he is a man of spirits than faith.

thesohoriots Mar 20

As Johnnie Walker 2:5 says…

resipsaloquitur Mar 20

Jameson 3:16.

Miller High Life 4:20

Vandals_handle Mar 20

3:17, St Pats and all

Holy projection… Pretty sure Iran would only want nukes for the protection a country gets by simply having them. I’ve never heard anything about them wanting nukes for a religious Armageddon.

On the other hand, Hegseth and others have been very fucking clear that this shit is about stupid biblical prophecy.

leaky_shower_thought Mar 21

yeah, it’s the pot calling the kettle black on the gospel of nuke.

SabinStargem Mar 21

I think he is projecting what he wants to do: Using American nukes to cause the rapture.

leaky_shower_thought Mar 21

playing the victim card, now in religion flavor

thefluffiest Mar 20

So we have American Christian zealots and Israeli Jewish zealots together fight Iranian Muslim zealots.

Meanwhile the rest of the world just watches this circus of idiots and wonders how we ever ended up here

Sonicdemon86 Mar 20

Just call it like it is. This is a crusade, just not sanctioned by the pope this time.

SabinStargem Mar 21

Hopefully the crusaders go into the desert, and never return. Alas, the likes of Pete Hegseth wouldn’t dare to set foot in any place where he could lose it.

NotMyOldRedditName Mar 21

It’s Ya’ll-Qaeda’s crusade.

Lushed_Lungfish Mar 21

If I recall, the first crusade was called because the Byzantine empire wanted help getting some stuff back from the Turks. Alexius Comnenus just wanted some military assistance, I don’t think there were crazy religious undertones at that point (at least not beyond what was normal for that time). Then the Pope got involved and some wackos in Western Europe took things WAY too far.

CharlesDarwin Mar 21

Wait, is the “Secretary of War” admitting it’s a war?

BarneyPiccolo Mar 21

Whenever I hear some “leader” start extolling any religious nonsense, I immediately conclude that they are either a lying conman, or have a lukewarm IQ. There can’t be any in between.

HugeNerd Mar 21

Religion is a mental illness and by far the greatest threat humanity is facing.

Guy Ingonito Mar 21

It’s pretty incredible how the promise of eternal paradise after death turns people into utter shit lords.

That guy is anything but christian…

You’re drunk, Hegseth.