Aoife Ashmore discusses the theological (non-)basis for 'Holy War' with reference to the ongoing US/Iran/Israel conflict, and examines how modern Christian apologetics and nationalism in the US acts as a religion unto itself.
On Feb 28th of this year the US and Israeli military conducted a joint attack on Tehran that killed Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. On the same day the US bombed an all-girls school in Minab, killing 175 people, most of whom were children. Since then, the US, Israel and Iran have exchanged strikes with Iran targeting US military bases in neighbouring countries.
As early as March, reports surfaced from religious freedom watchdogs that military commanders were internally framing the conflict as a “holy war”. Democracy Now!, reporting on the surfaced comments, noted that the conflict was labelled by high ranking military officials as “part of God’s divine plan” and that “President Trump has been anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon and mark his return to Earth”.
US Secretary of Defence (now ‘secretary of war’) Pete Hegseth has given numerous speeches since the initial strikes, many – if not all – invoking Chrisitan imagery and “God-given rights” in support of his calls for prolonged war. Evocative of the Book of Revelations and its description of Armageddon, his speeches suggest a broader divine plan and justification of untold destruction to come.
US Secretary of Defence (now ‘secretary of war’) Pete Hegseth has given numerous speeches since the initial strikes, many – if not all – invoking Chrisitan imagery and “God-given rights” in support of his calls for prolonged war
Since Feb 28th Pope Leo XIV has made several statements against the conflict and the invocation of God by US officials. In a statement on Palm Sunday, he declared: “Jesus is the King of Peace, whom no one can use to justify war”. Although his statement was powerful and has persuasive potential, Hegseth is aligned with an evangelical denomination famous for its rejection of Catholic doctrine as blasphemous and Trump has previously declared himself a non-denominational Christian.
There is an obvious Christian theological basis to point to in discrediting the war against Iran: the image of Jesus as a pacifist; the commandments: thou shalt not kill; love thy neighbour as thyself, etc. Despite the lauded importance of these tenets, they seem to fit comfortably within the cognitive dissonance of Christian Nationalist belief in the US. They remain steadfast in discussion but are not universally acknowledged. What Chrisitan nationalists do acknowledge is Christian history. Hegseth has tattooed across his arm “Deus Vult” – God Wills it – slogan of the first medieval Crusaders that waged a violent “holy war” against Islamic leaders.
It might do us some good then, to look at the history of Christian political thought. A key figure in this tradition, found in every political theory introduction class, is Enlightenment figure Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Rousseau was a devout Christian that argued in support of a “civil religion” as a moral basis for the ideal society. However, in his assessment of the relationship between a society of Christians and politics he wrote: “...a society of true Christians would no longer be a society of men.” Here Rousseau argues that while a society of devout Christians may function perfectly well, their ultimate allegiance would be to the kingdom of heaven which would cause an eventual conflict of interest. He continues further along: “The homeland of the Christian is not of this world. He does his duty, it is true, but he does it with a profound indifference...” This, he argues, would undermine any truly Christian society. It is here that the inherent contradiction of Christian Nationalism as a concept is revealed.
Here Rousseau argues that while a society of devout Christians may function perfectly well, their ultimate allegiance would be to the kingdom of heaven which would cause an eventual conflict of interest.
This aligns with the thoughts of 13th century Christian thinker and theologian, St. Thomas Aquinas. Aquinas refused to complete his magnum opus the Summa Theologiae, after he experienced divine revelations. When asked why he would not complete the work, he is said to have famously declared: “Such things have been revealed to me that all that I have written seems to me as so much straw.”
Additionally, referring to New Testament, in Colossians 2:8 the Apostle Paul wrote to the Christians of Colossae: “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental forces of this world, rather than on Christ.”
Author and former pastor Chris Hedges claims that modern US Christian nationalism acts as a religion unto itself that venerates war through rituals and displays of national and military pride. He argues that, in doing so, Christian nationalists have separated themselves from the Christian understanding of Jesus and his teachings. The humility espoused, the renouncement of worldly possessions and the condemnation of greed, central to the image of Jesus, is in direct contradiction to the bloody war currently being waged on the basis of Christian nationalism today. Indeed, the concept of “holy war” itself has demonstrated itself to be a paradox.