This morning, the Washington Post shared an interesting look into some of the controversies surrounding Donald Trump’s recent nomination to head the Department of Defense: Pete Hegseth. This story captures some key distinctions that demonstrate the difference between real Biblical faith and false political faith. It is worth a read for those seeking to resist the descent into deception we are heading toward.
Pete Hegseth became famous as a Fox News commentator. As a member of the National Guard, his resume over the last decade reads like a timeline of the culture wars and the conservative fight against the social justice movements. A member of the military, he served in Iraq and Afghanistan. His guard unit in Washington DC activated amid the riots following the death of George Floyd. During the Black Lives Matter protests, he stood guard at the Vietnam War Memorial. He states he was also near Lafayette Square during that time after authorities cleared the area of protesters near the White House using flash grenades and irritants.
Some may remember that moment as the infamous occasion when then-President Donald Trump marched toward a church near the White House and held a Bible in his hand for the media to photograph. The President made no remarks except, “It’s a Bible.” He was using the symbol of scripture to remind Christians throughout the country who stood for them.
The Washington Post article notes that controversy stirred in January 2021 when a naval intelligence officer spotted a photo of Hegseth at a swimming event and noticed his tattoo of a Crusader Cross and the phrase “Deus Vult.” Deus Vult is a Latin phrase meaning “God wills it.” It is popular among white supremacists like the Proud Boys, Three Percenters, and other extremist groups. It is also popular among some ordinary Catholics. It was first proclaimed by European Christian Crusaders who believed God called them to slaughter infidels in the holy land in His name. In other words, in the name of a faith that calls on its followers to lay down their lives for others, extremists in the 11th century usurped the faith and called on the faithful to kill their religious enemies. Deus Vult!
These types of symbols and phrases offer a contrasting perspective that stands at the heart of the difference between authentic faith and Christian Nationalism. True faith in Jesus invites us to forgive, love, die to self, progress toward spiritual maturity, and take up our cross to follow the path of Christ. Christian Nationalism invites us to embrace nationalism and patriotism with a religious fervor that assumes the support of God. In the name of God, Christian nationalists foment hatred and fury to stir up the masses and take power. It is not new. The Crusaders did it. Various tyrants throughout history have done it. Even Hitler did it.
The Hegseth story is interesting because it offers such a clear picture of the nuances that distinguish Christian Nationalism from true faith. When the naval intelligence officer observed Hegseth’s tattoo on social media he alerted military leaders that Hegseth could pose an insider threat if deployed with his unit to Washington DC following the January 6, insurrection. When the future nominee for Secretary of Defense was told to stand down and not report for duty, he was incensed.
Hegseth soon resigned from the National Guard, describing his decision with these words:
“It was the strangest feeling, like my foundations had shifted – leaving me out of balance. [The D.C. Guard] turned their back on me. The message was clear: you are not wanted here. So, I resigned. On January 20, 2021, I drafted the letter. F*** Biden anyway.”
This is not the only controversy surrounding Hegseth’s nomination to the powerful role of Secretary of Defense. In 2017, he was accused of sexual assault. Charges were never filed, and Hegseth’s lawyers say the encounter was consensual. Many Trump supporters and loyalists today see these controversies and attacks against Hegseth as an assault of woke ideology on traditional Judeo-Christian values. Hegseth believes the controversy over his tattoo is based on the image of the cross, not the Deus Vult phrase.
The Washington Post article closes with the following sentences:
“In the book American Crusade, Hegseth ties his belief in an existential struggle over America’s ‘native’ and ‘Judeo-Christian’ culture to the Crusades, writing that Christians, along with their ‘Jewish friends and freedom-loving people everywhere,’ must fight back against secularism, globalism, and Muslim immigration. ‘See you on the battlefield,’ he writes in closing out the book. ‘Together, with God’s help, we will save America. Deus Vult!”
It should be simple for Christians in America to see the difference between Christian Nationalism and true faith. Unfortunately, in these dark times, it is not. As deception flows through this generation, many continue to mistake symbols for actual faith. When Donald Trump held up a Bible outside a church amid the Black Lives Matter riots in Washington DC, he was presenting a symbol. It was not truth. It was not faith. It was not anything related to the Kingdom of God. It was a symbol employed to benefit the power and interests of a man.
When Pete Hegseth employs a Latin phrase like Deus Vult, it is a symbol. His cross tattoo is a symbol. His challenge that with God’s help, we can save America with a Crusade is a symbol. Christian Nationalism relies on such symbols to channel the responses and loyalty of believers toward the benefit and interests of those who seek political power.
Through a trust in symbols rather than principled truth, many Christians have set themselves up to be deceived. We live in an era when Christians allow a man to use the symbols and language of our faith while at the same time publishing, “F*** Biden anyway.” Somehow, many Christians do not notice the problem in that paradox. When did fornication become acceptable behavior for a man who calls the faithful to an American Crusade against unrighteousness? (The Bible never highlights mere consent as a guideline for ethical sexual behavior among Christians.)
Jesus confronted similar religious nationalists when He quoted the prophet Isaiah’s words:
“These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.” Isaiah 29:13 (Matthew 15:8)
The truth of the Kingdom of God does not access our lives through symbols and lip service. It comes when we allow our hearts to be impacted and changed by the Word and Spirit of God. This is the point! We cannot touch the Kingdom of God without experiencing personal change from the inside out. An overreliance on Christian symbols and lip service is the telltale sign of hypocrisy. We live in an age of deception, and those who place their hope and trust in lies will reap the fruit of deception.
Some believers may take exception to the words within this article and note that God’s Word also offers forgiveness to sinners like Trump and Hegseth. That is true, but it is also missing the point. They have not presented messages about the good news of God’s forgiveness of our sins. They have presented a message of American greatness. These two things are not the same, but believers should know better.