Mastodawn

William Lindsey

"To the tens of thousands who gathered in St. Peter’s Square, the pope said: 'This is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war. He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them.' Quoting scripture, the pope added, 'Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen: Your hands are full of blood.'”

~ Joan Vennochi

#PopeLeo #Trump #Hegseth #war #WhiteChristianNationalism
/1

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/03/30/opinion/trump-war-pope-religion/

Opinion | Trump’s choice: Hegseth’s holy war or the pope's peace

Pope Leo XIV’s Palm Sunday sermon warned against invoking God to justify violence.

The Boston Globe

William Lindsey

"While the pope didn’t name names, his words seemed aimed at Hegseth, who recently prayed for US troops to inflict 'overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy. … We ask these things with bold confidence in the mighty and powerful name of Jesus Christ.'”

#PopeLeo #Trump #Hegseth #war #WhiteChristianNationalism
/2

William Lindsey

"Perhaps coincidentally, on Palm Sunday, Trump posted a letter on Truth Social from Franklin Graham, the son of the late legendary televangelist Billy Graham, which assured him that his 'soul is secure' and he is 'bound for heaven.'”

#PopeLeo #Trump #Hegseth #FranklinGraham #war #WhiteChristianNationalism #WhiteEvangelicals
/3

William Lindsey

It's not coincidental, I think, that Franklin Graham, who is a kind of pope for white evangelicals, would write Trump at just this moment when Pope Leo points out — clearly and rightly — that one cannot invoke Jesus to justify war.

There's a war going on here, for sure. It's a war between competing versions of Christianity.

#PopeLeo #Trump #Hegseth #FranklinGraham #war #WhiteChristianNationalism #WhiteEvangelicals
/4

William Lindsey

It's a war between a Christianity that roots itself in Jesus and the gospels, a Christianity shared by millions of Americans of various confessional backgrounds, and a Christianity that totally ignores who Jesus was and what he said, and that twists Jesus to justify violence and to place "us" on the holy side as we obliterate "them."

#PopeLeo #Trump #Hegseth #FranklinGraham #war #WhiteChristianNationalism #WhiteEvangelicals
/5

William Lindsey

"President Donald Trump’s approval rating has turned negative among Catholics and [mainline] Protestants, even as support among white evangelicals has strengthened, according to new Fox News polling. ...

Religious voters have long been a key part of Trump’s coalition, helping anchor Republican support in national elections."

~ Sam Stevenson

#Trump #Hegseth #WhiteChristianNationalism #WhiteEvangelicals #Catholics #MainlineProtestants
/6

https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-approval-rating-flips-with-christians-11741961

Donald Trump’s Approval Rating Flips With Christians

New polling points to shifting dynamics among Christian voters, hinting at internal divides that could matter politically.

Newsweek

William Lindsey

"Shifts inside these groups offer a signal of where political pressure may be building ahead of the midterms."

#PopeLeo #Trump #Hegseth #WhiteChristianNationalism #WhiteEvangelicals #Catholics #MainlineProtestants
/7

William Lindsey

Walter Einenkel notes how Karoline Leavitt of the ostentatious neck crosses and with a Catholic school background moved yesterday from bragging about praying ostentatiously before a press conference to bragging about Trump killing Iranians.

#Trump #Hegseth #WhiteChristianNationalism #Catholics #violence #war #killing
/8

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/3/30/2375525/-Moments-after-praying-Karoline-Leavitt-brags-about-killing-Iranians

Moments after praying, Karoline Leavitt brags about killing Iranians

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt opened Monday’s press briefing asking reporters whether they had heard the “little loud prayer” her team held before she stepped to the podium. “...

Daily Kos

William Lindsey

"No person nor political party owns Jesus. At the same time, as a Baptist minister from a tradition of progressive Christianity, I am glad when politicians and religious leaders alike are inspired by their faith to insist on the rights of my trans neighbors and the right to abortion — because I believe that, too."

~ Paul Brandeis Raushenbush

#Trump #MAGA #WhiteChristianNationalism #Christians
/9

https://religionnews.com/2026/03/30/christian-nationalists-are-panicking-because-religious-progressives-are-thriving/

Christian nationalists are panicking because religious progressives are thriving

(RNS) — Christian nationalists' preferred framing of American politics as 'secular left vs. Christian' is false.

RNS

William Lindsey

"These leaders reflect the will of millions of voters — citizens who are mobilizing to uphold democracy not in spite of their faith, but because of it. Christian nationalists are right to panic, because their narrow ideology and repressive morality is facing a tidal wave of faith-inspired solidarity and love for our neighbor — just like Jesus taught us."

#Trump #MAGA #WhiteChristianNationalism #Christians
/10

William Lindsey

"Hegseth is expressing an extreme version of Christian supremacy, where America, a Christian nation, is entitled, and in fact probably in his mind required by God, to smite America’s enemies—or to smite the enemies of Christianity, even. When we talk about Christian nationalism, this is exactly what we’re talking about."

~ Sarah Posner

#PopeLeo #Trump #Hegseth #war #WhiteChristianNationalism
/11

https://newrepublic.com/article/208379/trump-rage-erupts-war-failures-pope-harsh-rebuke-hits-hard

Trump’s Rage Erupts Over War Failures as Pope’s Harsh Rebuke Hits Hard

As Pope Leo criticizes Pete Hegseth’s war prayer and Trump’s threats toward Iran go haywire, a scholar of religion explains how Hegseth-Trump war crimes are rooted in extreme right-wing theology.

The New Republic

William Lindsey

"This is a Christian supremacist ideology—and it’s not just Christianity writ large, it’s their version of Christianity. If there’s a Christian who doesn’t agree with this theology, they don’t even really consider them to be a real Christian."

#PopeLeo #Trump #Hegseth #war #WhiteChristianNationalism
/12

William Lindsey

"The idea that God’s mercy and grace does not extend to your enemies is an idea that—I know he took that from the Hebrew Bible, but it’s an idea that is completely unfamiliar to most Jews and most Christians, the idea that God would not extend grace to your perceived enemy."

#PopeLeo #Trump #Hegseth #war #WhiteChristianNationalism
/13

William Lindsey

At her blog today, Angela Denker notes how what she wrote about in her book Disciples of White Jesus remains sadly pertinent:

"We’ve been led into war in Iran by Department of War head Pete Hegseth, who figures prominently in Disciples of White Jesus, and the pastors who have shaped his theological worldview," (continued in /15)

#Trump #Hegseth #war #WhiteChristianNationalism
/14

https://angeladenker.substack.com/p/disciples-of-white-jesus

DISCIPLES OF WHITE JESUS

One year of publication ...

I'm Listening

William Lindsey

(continued from /14)

"among them Idaho’s Doug Wilson, continue to be naively platformed by national media outlets, even as their noxious views, among which glorify chattel slavery and suggest the end of voting rights for married women (a proposal made real in the GOP-supported SAVE Act that is actually being considered by the Senate right now!) -" (continued in /16)

#Trump #Hegseth #war #WhiteChristianNationalism
/15

William Lindsey

(continued from /15)

"contribute to an American culture and politics rife with hatred, cruelty, and rising fascism and authoritarianism."

Denker's posting offers an excerpt from Disciples of White Jesus.

#Trump #Hegseth #war #WhiteChristianNationalism
/16

William Lindsey

"This war has record low levels of support amongst the American public. But Trump and MAGA-aligned politicians don’t win by getting the support of everybody. Their strategy is to divide the population, not unite it. They achieve and sustain power not by building a majority but by locking in a disproportionately loyal base.

The religious messaging is extremely useful to them in holding onto that base."

~ Katherine Stewart

#Trump #Hegseth #WhiteChristianNationalism
/17

https://writekaths.substack.com/p/is-this-a-holy-war

Is This a Holy War?

Religious narratives have some power, but can obscure both the domestic angle of Trump’s Iran actions and its brutal incompetence.

Katherine Stewart's newsletter

William Lindsey

"The appeal of this religious rhetoric also involves a psychological attraction to brutality, cruelty, and domination. Amongst Trump’s base, many adhere to an idea of religion that, properly understood, is one of domination, of crushing of foes, of iron will, a celebration of hypermasculine violence.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth manages to appeal to all of these religious framings."

#Trump #Hegseth #WhiteChristianNationalism
/18

William Lindsey

"Trump, his MAGA cabinet, and their Congressional entourage do not worship the God of Scripture, and certainly not Jesus. They worship Trump. They worship themselves and their own plans. They worship their own way of seeing the world. Trump is their idol and altar - the object of his and their own worship."

~ William J. Barber and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove

#Trump #Hegseth #WhiteChristianNationalism #Iran #war
/19

https://ourmoralmoment.substack.com/p/moral-opposition-to-an-unholy-war

Moral Opposition to an Unholy War

Why Moral Mondays are challenging the President and Congress in this holy season

Our Moral Moment w/ Bishop William Barber & Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove

William Lindsey

"When an elected leader is at war with divinity, trying to prove his own god status and demonstrate his desire for everyone to bow to him - even if it means using the resources of this nation to obliterate and kill civilians – he is, in the truest sense, 'unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.'”

#Trump #Hegseth #WhiteChristianNationalism #Iran #war
/20

GhostOnTheHalfShell 14h ago

Bishop Barber is a shining light. Sometime later today, I will read this, but whatever he asked to say it will be important

Zeke 🇨🇦13h ago

@wdlindsy
Truly mind numbing.

@wdlindsy Old Testament rhetoric can be quite cruel. I believe this is the basis for the Jewish faith. The passages after Jesus are less violent, and should be the one used by today’s Christians.

William Lindsey

@Rickd6 Jesus was a pious, practicing Jew, though, and his teachings are solidly rooted in the Jewish scriptures, which were, for him, the scriptures, the bible. It's possible to use both the Jewish and Christian scriptures to promote violencce, war, oppression of others, and this has been done historically. The question is what constitutes the central and perennial message of the scriptures, both Jewish and Christian. For Jesus, it was not war and violence.

Andii אַנדִֽי 7h ago

@wdlindsy @Rickd6
Indeed, many Jewish commentators through history have wrestled with these texts of terror. Mostly they have done so to reframe them in relation to making sure the central concerns about justice and God's loving kindness remain central. It's analogous to most historical Christian approaches albeit by a different set of interpretive methdologies.

Danette 🐬15h ago

@wdlindsy yes! This is widely misunderstood. They do not care about the larger population at all. They see themselves as victims of the secular system- they want their religious beliefs to prevail. Countering with “but the Bible says this” is worthless. They’ve left that theological viewpoint behind and will never be pulled back because some quotes a Bible verse at them. Liberation/liberal theologians have argued with Conservative theologians for ages and the lines are drawn.

RainbowFrog 17h ago

And thus, they consider the #pope as not a real #christian 😐

Kenneth John Bardsley 20h ago

@wdlindsy
Vile woman. Karolying Leavitt is my name for it.

Lstn2urmama 🇨🇦20h ago

@wdlindsy Hippocrite .. that is what she is 🚨☠🚨 nothing loving there ...

RainbowFrog 17h ago