Christmas at Department of War
By Don Holladay, Founding Member. Published in the Norman Transcript and Substack
According to news accounts, on December 17, evangelist Franklin Graham spoke at a Christmas service at the Pentagon. He was there by invitation of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Reports of the service mention Secretary Hegseth’s wife was enthusiastic about her husband’s invited speaker, calling Graham and his ministry a “special force of Jesus.” Christian rock music was also on the program. Reverend Graham’s message apparently did not disappoint his host. Quoting a verse from the book of Samuel where God orders the total destruction of the biblical Amalekites, Graham said: “We know that God loves, but did you know that God also hates? That God is also a god of war?” The chosen scripture called for the killing of the enemy’s women, children and animals.
Graham’s remarks were reminiscent of the late Jerry Falwell’s description of a Christian god that throws temper tantrums when he (it’s always a “he”) doesn’t get his way. When the tragedy of 9/11 happened, and America was in mourning over the loss of human lives, Reverend Falwell told the nation to blame the abortionists, feminists, and gays for what had happened. Now Falwell’s version of an Almighty is back again, invented just in time to justify the polices of the Trump White House.
Franklin Graham’s updated version of the Almighty is tailor-made for this administration. It paints a god made in man’s own image, one where the language of violence, hate and killing can be used unsparingly as political tools; one where the Defense Secretary can explain the taking of human lives without concern for the rule of law, international law, or the Geneva Conventions. This version of an Almighty is one that would never worry about deliberately killing survivors clinging to the wreckage of a boat presumed to be carrying drugs. This version of a higher Almighty would not be concerned about a mounting death toll of hundreds of thousands of starving children, dying because of this administration’s dismantling of America’s international aid programs.
There are still a few problems, though with Reverend Graham’s man-made Almighty. Cheeseburgers will now need to be eaten well-done and not rare. The book of Samuel is clear on this point. Eating meat with undrained blood is forbidden, and for soldiers, there is the curse for eating anything before the evening hours. And then there are some methods for killing and torture that may cause squeamishness. Those include the practices of beheadings and the cutting off of hands and feet. Equally disturbing is the passage about Saul’s requirement for giving his daughter in marriage. For that to happen, Saul requested a hundred foreskins from the bodies of Philistines. But these are just small details, stuff one can overlook to hear the big message offered by Reverend Graham to the Pentagon worshippers: The Almighty is both a hater and a god of war. Get on board or suffer the consequences.
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Christmas at Department of War - by Don Holladay
By Don Holladay · Launched 3 days ago