At Pentagon Christian service, Hegseth prays for violence 'against those who deserve no mercy'
https://apnews.com/article/pete-hegseth-pentagon-christian-worship-service-30db48b6ceb8af5e6172fb3ba2eafaa0Open linkView original on lemmy.world619
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I thought the point of Christianity was that everyone deserves mercy?
Theologically speaking, it's the opposite: nobody deserves mercy, but God gives it to them anyways. But you'd have to open a Bible to know that, which none of these ghouls have.
I thought that was no one deserves God's mercy. Not that the mewling masses don't deserve mercy from each other.
Are we really quibbling over the logic in a make-believe book about sky daddy?
in fact I do, which is why I don't waste times on unprovable, untestable, pointless garbage that's overwhelmingly been used to manipulate the species.
But have fun with your skycake.
then stop calling yourself agnostic.
please, it's embarrassing to us both.
Yeah it's pretty sad to see comments such as this. It's a terribly unpoetic way to live life, cutting themselves off from 90% of the intellectual discourse produced during humanity's history :(
bwahahaha you think religion represents 90% of the intellectual discourse?
ah jeeze that's sad for you
No, i'm saying 90% of intellectual discourse is at least influenced by religion because it comes from people who are religious. Atheism being significant is a very modern phenomenon so if you're going to study anything in history, philosophy, art or science, it's gonna be full of religious people acting out their religious beliefs.
Even today something like 4 out of 5 people are religious, and most atheists are influenced by that common culture in some way. Dismissing the whole cultural reservoir as fairy tale is a terrible footgun, it can only make everything confusing. Everybody else is pulling from it and you refuse to even acknowledge it, that's not gonna work.
You're going to read poetry but it will make no sense and the climax won't land because you can't empathize with the religious sentiment. You're going to read greek philosophy but it will feel drawn out and theoretical because you can't empathize with the religious imperatives of the author. And i say this as a strict agnostic, i'm really not the kind of guy you'll find in a church. But you can't get to the meat of most intellectual discourse if you dismiss religion, just like you can't get to the meat of most physics if you dismiss math.
Also, noone is given authority to mete out god's judgement.
The point of Christianity is that if you can convince people that they shouldn't expect any rewards until they die, you get a really compliant set of workers and soldiers who will let you impoverish and mistreat them because "the meek will inherit the earth." You know, after your value has been fully extracted by the owners.
Christianity went from a cult to a state religion REALLY fast because of this concept.
More broadly that's the utility of all monotheism. It is extremely effective at uniting people but also teaches them to abide by an authoritarian hierarchical framework.
Not Nazi Christianity.
It is.
It is, if you actually believe in it. Unfortunately practically none of them actually do. And discouragingly, most atheists would love for you to believe that the world would be no better off if they actually believed in and followed the teachings of Jesus. It clearly would be. Does that mean Christianity isn't full of issues? Nope. But it does mean that clearly we'd be better off if people treated each other as they wished to be treated themselves. And yes before the atheists say it, we ALL KNOW this idea is not unique to Christianity. But it's kind of key to that religion for the small minority of Christians who actually give a shit about it.
What a shallow caricature. I've never met an atheist who didn't basically agree with the teachings of Jesus, even if they didn't believe he existed. But I've met many Christians who seemed completely at odds with them.
What a shallow reading of my comment. This thread is full of people raging about Christianity being an evil cult. So I don't really have to prove that point. Just about any thread on Lemmy where this comes up is the same.
Not long ago someone flipped out on me for making this point, accusing me of defending the church which I hadn't done in any way. What usually is happening, when people disagree on this, is assumptions are being made about what each party believes. I am sure most atheists would agree with those teachings yes, but online if it comes up you're either a brainwashed Christian or a hardcore atheist who hates Christianity. At least that's how people think of each other. The nuance is erased, and it's a damn shame.
This is a Gnostic point of view, and Gnosticism is opposed by Christianity. The Christian view is to treat others how God wants you to treat them.
Only for those who have actually read the book...
The problem is what parts you choose to read and focus on. Violent abusers are all about that old testament. The only good Samaritan to them is a dead one. They generally shun the new testament because that's where all the namby pamby you are your brothers keeper stuff comes in.
Oh, the book is horrendous. Cannot recommend.
But the overarching story of this Jesus character they obsess over, I think that guy had something to say about mercy.
Yep, even their Jesus is OT. A brutal conquering emperor. That would crush all who opposes him. Not a meek man generally preaching tolerance and sacrifice.
I think a lot of them would love to be one of the Romans "helping out":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPQH0woWShA
If you consider the Inquisitor Cycle, people do not. Jesus took revenge after the Romans tried to kill him, and refused to die for anyone's sins. Christianity is based on having no mercy whatsoever.
Christianity is Cobra Kai???
Maybe Terry Silver.
You can't get them with logic
There are many sects of "Christianity". A flavor for every world view. These are Christian Nationalists. Their version of it has little to do with such woke things as "mercy". It's mostly an authoritarian view with a strict hierarchy.
The Christian god is actually very wrathful and routinely causes death and suffering in the bible
Well, ya see, they’re morons. That’s why I sacrifice to Odin. You want no mercy? Pray to the guy who hung himself on a tree by choice, not the one who got his pacifist ass nailed to one by the authorities.
I don’t think that applies here. Hegseth is straight up evil.
Yes but he can/is using religion to get what could otherwise be good people to do evil things.
I say could be otherwise good because once you're doing evil...well, evil is as evil does.
Seems like an oversimplification to me. This is applicable to any ideology - not just religion.
And what is it that rotted Hegseth's mind, so that from an early age he failed to learn critical thinking, and instead learned to "go with what feels good", to accept moral decisions being made by Someone With Greater Authority, to have firm beliefs based on no fucking evidence?
Hegseth was not "born evil" -- he didn't start murdering his preschool classmates. He learned to stop thinking, to just take orders, to abdicate responsibility ... which are what makes him evil.
There is some truth to this. As in religious extremism does convince good people to turn bad. But good people do evil things all the time.
Not sure that’s how Christianity is supposed to work…
glances at the history of Christianity
The saddest thing about the history of Christianity is just how juxtaposed it is to the actual theology contained in the new testament. Anytime in history a movement actually starts to apply the actual lessons of Christianity they seem to get hunted down by their fellow Christians.
My dad's side of the family got kicked out of Europe towards the end of the bohemian reformation, and then got kicked out of colonial georgia for accepting slaves and native Americans into the church.
Jesus is a marketing mascot. Expecting the Christian religion to behave according to the teachings of Jesus is like expecting the Nestle corporation to behave according to the teachings of the Quik Bunny.
This is unexpectedly poignant.
There isn't a religion on the planet that hasn't been manipulated and misconstrued to encourage violence against others.
It almost seems like that’s the whole point…
"a way of thinking". It's not just religion that gets people blood thirsty. It is human nature unfortunately. We need to rise above our animal selves
Yeah, but when a way of thinking is based from the outset around letting authority figures dictate your beliefs it becomes a hell of a lot easier to manipulate. Other ideologies have to at least pretend to be logically coherent. Religion doesn't have that limitation.
Other ideologies do not have to pretend to be logically coherent. Phrenology and Eugenics were fairly widely accepted by colonial era Europeans and had no logical coherence. White supremacy continues to be a worldview/ideology for a not so small minority even today and has no real logical coherence.
Any ideology can gain widespread adoption if it fits with what people want to believe.
Maybe not how it's supposed to work, but it is how it's always worked.
It is for most "Christians".
To be fair, the real ones some like this... But how many of those are left?
Why the fuck is the Pentagon hosting a Christian service anyway?
As an aside, with as evil as they are, we should be calling them The Pentagram.
Don't put these weirdos in the same boat as satanists, who generally try to actually help the masses.
I think it's a logical extension of having chaplains in the armed forces. It makes sense, provided that there are services for other denominations including non-denominational. No idea if that's the situation or not.
Oh man, he really wants to subject himself to that? Well good for him, he deserves no mercy
Don't cry when violence comes to your doorstep then, Petey.
When you encourage violence against others, you invite it on yourself. It would normally destroy me if I caused grievous harm to another, but Nazis? I could off them and sleep with a clear conscience.
This is a religious war for these people. They believe they are sending the next wave of the crusades.
Some years ago I'd seen studies showing a 'religiosity cycle' - war and strife drives people to religion, religion drives more war and strife - and I can't help but wonder if that's the goal here.
Well crusades always work out great. Let’s read about a famous one!
Did he consider that if his prayer was granted, he'd get a lightning bolt right up his own ass?
Little Lindsey "Tinkerbell" Graham takes notes...
"Ouch! That felt kinda like divine judgement! But can't be that the good lawd would ever object to putting His name on my atrocities. . . I guess this gosh darned electric butt plug must be acting up again."
Religion doing what religion does, I see
Does this guy know anything about Jesus, at all?
I’m so sick of these fake Christian assholes.
Jesus? The guy who makes threats like these to any who oppose him? What a hideous, vile individual. He'd be a great roommate for Pol Pot, Stalin, or Kim Jong Il. Don't sanewash his brutality.
John 3:18
John 3:36
Matthew 25:41–46
Matthew 13:41–42
None of those quotes actually call for people to be or celebrate violence though.
Nahum 1:2
Leviticus 20:27
Try reading the Old Testament. You don't get to disown these people. They absolutely are Christians.
Okay but “Christian” includes the New Testament and the new covenant. That replaces a lot of the suffering/sacrafice/punishment based covenant in the Old Testament.
I’m not a theologian so I can’t argue good here. You kinda have Christ in your teachings and heart or you don’t.
Do I really need to quote Matthew 5:17-19again?
And remember, those laws included explicitly outlined rules for how you should treat your slave.
"My god is the god of love and compassion, and if you don't believe in him, fuck you, I hope he kills you before I do."
I always loved getting Buddhism as a religion in Civilization. Then spreading it everywhere at the point of the sword.
YOU WILL ACCEPT PEACEFUL ENLIGHTENMENT, OR YOU WILL DIE!
Um... Buddhist nationalism is a thing. For example: https://radicalisationresearch.org/research/jerryson-2011-buddhist/
He's praying for violence against the United States?
I mean... he has crusade tattoos on his chest. Tf did Americans expect?
They didn't expect it was going to affect them personally.
Like everything they were fine with killings and wars abroad on their name, but the rise in gas prices, that's just unacceptable.
His words are antithetical to Jesus's teachings. Diametrically opposed even. Perhaps even a smidge Anti-Christ-ian to anyone with morals or brains or a shred of bravery to stand against this? Hmmm?
It irks me when people try and counter this kind of stuff by arguing that Jesus was all about love and peace and kum-bah-yah blah blah blah. Because
So, your argument is "he kinda really wasn't" peaceful and that it's more important to oppose religion in government then it is to say they are doing religion wrong?
Wow it must be hard to be so enlightened.
I mean, yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. It's not hard at all to be enlightened enough to think religion and government have no business mixing lmao
That's just a non-fundamentalist position, surely?
It's the only rational position lol. There are like 40,000 different denominations of Christianity, telling any one of them that their version of "wrong" is worse than sisyphusian.
Similar to how the person I replied to thinks it doesn't matter if jesus opposed violence because religion shouldn't be in government, I believe the US government shouldn't exist so it's pointless to discuss if it should include religion or not 🤷♀️
He thinks he’s the cool kid. It’s in every expression.
He's the dumbass that peaked in high school.
That doesn't matter if he's been failing upwards ever since.
Generous of you to suggest there ever was a peak. Guy's like this stay steady mid tier or below forever. Their anger is often a manifestation of coming to terms with that. I guarantee you this guy questions whether he's in over his head with some frequency and it's exactly his mediocrity that makes him push forward. I don't sense confidence from this guy at all. He's clearly been faking it for a long time and will probably continue to do so, hoping the rest of us don't see the insecurity and incompetence painted on his face every time he opens his mouth.
Such a wonderful Christian soul.
There’s so many Christian’s that are going to Hell
As a total atheist, the older I get the more I hope I'm wrong about Hell....
There is no hate like Christian love.
They will love you to death.
What, like me saving my squadmates to death in Helldivers?
Calling in a 380mm barrage of God's Divine Light
Hahaha
I loathe barrages. They're good for two things:
Barrages will miss every bot fabricator while somehpw fragging all 4 of you with laser precision.
"I forgive you, because I love you, and I love you...
...to death."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geI5is31P1M
Like child rapists, pete? Pete? PETE WHY ARE YOU SILENT?
I feel like the Pope really oughta excommunicate this dude.
I think he would just see that as validation.
Yeah, he's not Catholic, so he'd spin it as a badge of honor for sure.
Man saw the opening oh Zardoz and was like HMMM
Just like Jesus wanted!
Ah yes, there's no hate quite like Christian love
Does anyone here read Dungeon Crawler Carl? I Uzi Jesus wouldn't carry this, but that was the first thing that came to mind.
fuckin spoiler warning please, some of us are on book 3
I am the way, motherfucker.
Ah, so the GOP and MAGA.
I too pray for violence against Hegseth, Trump, and others
I‘m no expert but that‘s some antichrist shit.
He and his entire administration cohort deserve no mercy
When did "cohort" start being used this way outside maybe academic/scientific settings?
I started hearing it a couple of years ago. For 40 years ago it was only ever "you and your cohorts", more like "gang".
Cohort has been a military term since at least roman times.
God is
loveDEATH! Praise Jesus!Religion: make it up to be whatever you want it to be.
Well technically it was made up on the first place…
GOD wants
to HELP thy Neighbor!to LOVE thy Neighbor!to RESPECT thy Neighbor!to MURDER PEOPLE!-Christians!
Pray for violence is a good band name
A previous statement by Hegseth some time ago. Man, this guy's bloodthirsty.
Who is we? I don't see him out in battle.
He is full of shit. Israel kills Americans with impunity snd he covers for them.
Early christians where martyred for refusing Roman military service
Doesn't this fool know you're supposed to be very careful and specific in how you word your wishes?
He's a neonazi christian fundamentalist, you really think he read One Thousand and One Nights?
I don't think he reads at all. Especially not the Bible.
They need to stop lying to themselves and others and just admit that their patron deity is Ares.
Why do you wish violence on yourself hegscuck?
Is he being passive aggressive against his boss and the Epstein class?
Enough of that, it's nearly time for the Two Minutes Hate!
Religion is just a test, "are you willing to sit there and pretend you believe insane bs?". Okay then i can pay you to tell our customers (or voters) insane bullshit.
I always thought the subtext of that song was butcher Pete was a sex manic
I think it depends on what mindset someone has at a given time. It really matches up to Fallout's atmosphere when wandering the wastes. But yes, your interpretation is certainly an option.
That said, I don't want the likes of Hegseth to get any action from anyone. He is likely to be an abusive lover, considering how he treats the world in general.
Ah yes, the racist warrior Jesus killer of innocents cult.
I hope he takes his lethality and shoves it so far up his ass he tickles his tonsils.
Song: Circle Jerks - Killing for Jesus
Nobody likes an angry drunk, Pete.
Pete Hegseth is a weak dork.
Is this about his ex partners?
Hegseth is firmly in the dangerous, misogynistic, bigoted nutter class
its funny how these christians prefer their god to be like the roman ones. dear god of war. let our weapons hit their mark. the end.
Right on par with the lunatics in charge of Israel and Iran.
You know these douchebags are lying Atheists, because if they really believed in God and an Afterlife, they would NEVER behave like this, or they would KNOW they are going to Hell.
A true Atheist/Agnostic has realized empathy just pondering why all this is happening.
This man has never done that. He 'believes'.
Is he saying he’s going to commit suicide or just wants to be dommie stomped to death?
ITT: people discovering why there are so many branches of Christianity
Don’t worry guys a 4th wave of Ska is coming & will speak SO much truth to SO much power via dance, good vibes, and energy omg wicked men like this will crumble and look like chumps
I don't know what abuse or trauma he went through in his younger years to become the complete shitbag of a person he is today. Or what toxic personality traits he's been nurturing. But regardless, I wish he'd get himself into some therapy so the rest of the world didn't have to put up with his bullshit any more.
So he's suicidal now?
I see he understands the weight of committing the Sins of Mercy and Charity. The Butcher of Nazareth would never tolerate such weakness.
The heretics believe that Jesus died for our sins. In reality, He came down from the Cross, brutally murdered every single person who turned Him in to the Romans, and personally executed Emperor Tiberius during His campaign against Rome.
The Rise of Vengeful Christ and the Purge of His enemies
He can't be that stupid. I want to know who feeds him his lines.
The drunk religious nutter sack of shit is now a war criminal.
None of that 'turn the other cheek' bullshit around here! Nothing but woke nonsense!
Sooo does he need to be on list for threatening all of Congress...?
Why is no one nuking them then?
Genuinely curious why these chuckle fucks haven't done a Hiroshima over Tehran by now. It's just about the only thing they (and Israel) haven't tried.
The only two explanations I've got is (1) the protocol for releasing nuclear weapons for active use is such a slog that these dipshits don't want to go through the paperwork or (2) our nuclear arsenal isn't remotely as battle-ready as we've advertised.
(3) a lasting war is more profitable.
But imagine the returns on that Kalshi bet.
They just complained about running low on Tomahawks. Don’t give them any ideas.
Seems like he’s a prime candidate.
So, uh, I'd like to give a prayer for stuff.
I would pay good money to hear Mr. War try to explain how this is different from Jihad
I get what you're saying, but jihad has a more complex definition. This is closer to shouting 'deus vult' during the crusades.
What did he say at the Islamic service at the Pentagon? That's not being reported on?
Glad we're on the same page. I too pray for violence against the US armed forces and the Israeli Death Forces from the IRGC 🙂
Boom Boom Tel Aviv 💥 Tel Aboom
There's just something so uplifting about watching vieeos of Gazans cheering the sight of Iranian missiles raining down on and lighting up the sky of
IsraelOccupied Palestine while the rats hide in the sewer and flee the sinking ship 🥲To be fair this seems like the position of Christianity that I've known my whole life. Anybody remember the first Gulf war?