Yesterday Trump announced he's nominating Pete Hegseth as his Secretary of Defense.
Hegseth's a prominent Fox News personality & veterans advocate, but he also has strong ties to the Christian far right that I've not seen fully exposed yet.
Here's a thread w/ receipts... 1/
1st, what's the Christian far right?
It's a coalition of different Christian social movts bound together by aggressive theologies & (often but not always) white supremacy.
This is the extreme, militant end of the spectrum of what is popularly called "Christian nationalism." 3/
Theologically & socially, there are at least 3 distinct, major strands of the Amer Christian far right today (w/ lots of smaller ones too):
1) Radical Traditionalist Catholic networks & influencers, Opus Dei, etc. -- This is the world of JD Vance. Not my area of expertise. 4/
2) Independent Charismatic celebrity, spiritual warfare, & apostolic networks (often simplistically labeled the NAR) -- This is my area of expertise & what my book is about.
These networks are known for charismatic (i.e., supernatural, ecstatic) practices & focus on revival. 5/
The 3rd major strand of the Christian far right is:
3) Reformed Reconstructionist networks of churches & leaders. This is the world of the so-called "theo bros", usually bearded, chauvinistic, Hyper-Calvinist, male influencers.
These are the circles Hegseth travels in. 6/
Here's an article I wrote earlier this year describing the origins of these two Protestant Christian supremacist movements (Independent Charismatic/NAR & Reformed Reconstructionist) & their agendas. 7/
-Postmillennial eschatology (i.e., building the kingdom of God on earth)
-Theonomy (applying biblical law to every society)
-Alternative education (homeschooling or classical Xn academies)
-Exclusive male leadership & masculinity 8/
In this 2023 profile of Hegseth for a local TN Xn magazine, he describes:
-reading Doug Wilson (the godfather today of the Reformed Reconstructionist movement)
-sending his kids to a classical Christian academy
-finding "fortification of brotherhood" 9/
Hegseth has been a guest on Haymes & Potteiger's podcast "Reformation Red Pill" (doesn't get much more far-right Reconstructionist than that), &, as recently as last month, he was promoting their podcast. 11/
Last yr, Hegseth also promoted an Advent devotional published by Haymes & Potteiger's Forge Press.
Forge Press says it "arms Christians w/ tools & weapons to build, defend, & expand the new Christendom." This is textbook Reconstructionist. 12/ facebook.com/PeteHegseth/po…
"Christendom" for Reformed Reconstructionists is the ideal Christian society, the phys. territory controlled & governed by conservative Christian morality & leaders.
This is why you often find Reconstructionists justifying the Crusades, the iconic "expansion" of Christendom. 13/
And, sure enough, Hegseth has 2 Crusader tattoos: a Jerusalem Cross, the symbol of the Crusader kingdom of Jerusalem on his chest, & "Deus Vult" the Crusaders' theological cri de coeur ("God wills it") on his bicep.
"Deus Vult" means God mandated Crusaders' violence. 13/
These Crusader tattoos are part of Xn far-right iconography &, when Hegseth's Nat'l Guard unit was called up to serve in DC for Biden's inauguration, Hegseth + several other service members were told they couldn't serve b/c of their extremist tattoos. 14/
.@mmfa here has a good breakdown of Hegseth's 2020 book, literally titled "American Crusade."
He echoes many far-right talking points about the threat of Muslims to Western Civ, the need for modern Crusades vs. Islam, & rampant Islamophobic lies. 15/
"There's no reason why the miracle of the reestablishment of the Temple on the Temple Mount is not possible."
This is a far-right, Christian Zionist fantasy: that the Muslim holy sites can be removed. 16/
The idea that some entity (the U.S.? Israel?) could raze the 3rd holiest site in Islam (Dome of the Rock/Haram al-Sharif) to build the 3rd Jewish Temple is the sort of wild scheme you read abt in bad Christian apocalyptic novels. Now, it's also the hope of the future SecDef! 17/
This is what I found from an hour's worth of digging. I'm sure there's more.
It's another sign of the hand-in-glove rel'p b/w Christian extremism (in all its varieties) & Trump's coming regime.
We need more reporting & exposure of Hegseth's theology & who influences him. 17/
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I was asked to identify which NAR or NAR-affiliated people I see in this pic of religious leaders from the White House today.
I did you one better and labeled the picture with all the major nondenom charismatic players I see in the room. I probably missed some in the back:
1/
From Right to Left, I see:
-Malachi O'Brien - acolyte of Paula White-Cain, apologist for IHOPKC abuses, I believe he's S. Bapist
-Todd Lamphere - Paula White's right-hand pastor assoc
-Pasqual Urrabazo - respected NAR prophet, a pastor at ICLV who prophesied over Trump
2/
-Jenny Korn - administrator of the National Faith Advisory Board, who, according to LinkedIn is now "Deputy Director and Special Assistant to the President at The White House"
-Jentezen Franklin - Church of God royalty and a key religious adviser to Trump from early on
3/
Amid the many crises & distraction-chaff of Trump 2.0 we're all reeling, but you should pay attention to what Trump announced today at the Nat'l Prayer Breakfast.
He not only aligned his admin w/ Christian nationalism, he's plans on enforcing it. 1/
I've argued for years that, in the Trump era, charismatic (i.e. ecstatic, supernaturalist, revivalist) evangelicals have displaced the old guard of the relig right & brought a new more aggressive evangelical politics.
That was on vivid display in TX today.
h/t @RobertDownen_ 1/
That video is of charismatic prophet & pastor, Brandon Burden--who's associated with the Dutch Sheets wing of the extremist New Apostolic Reformation networks--praying Ekklesia/dominion theology (that Christians should rule over all societies) over a group of lawmakers. 2/
Burden is locally famous for telling his congregation on 1/10/21 (a few days after the violence of January 6th, much of it perpetrated by right-wing Christians) to "keep their guns loaded & stock up on food & water" before Joe Biden's inauguration. 3/
Crucial profile of Jenny Donnelly (NAR apostle, anti-LGBTQ "parental rights" advocate, and leader of an activist network with 1000s of "mama bears") by @aliceraeherman | @guardian.
These networks were a major force galvanizing Trump's Xn base in 2024. 1/
FWIW, centrist/Leftist activists & orgs who are opposed to the Trump admin's agenda would do well to learn from the vast organizing infrastructure & impact of these -- sometimes grassroots, sometimes grass tops -- networks on the right.
They reach people media can't reach. 2/
In a decentralized media landscape & polarized political atmosphere, multiethnic networks of angry Xn mom-activists can have outsize influence, b/c:
A decade ago, Metaxas was on track to be a popular & respected evangelical public intellectual. Raised in NYC & educated at Yale, he styled himself as an erudite & engaged public figure.
He wrote pop biographies of William Wilberforce, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, & Martin Luther. 2/
In truth, Metaxas has no pedigree as a historian nor as a theologian, but he wrote enticing books that spoke in evangelical-friendly ways about evangelical heroes.
Real scholars pointed out these books were littered w/ factual errors & poor analysis. 3/
It's bracing to hear the dauntless words that theological giants used to hold each other to the cause of resisting fascism.
This 1933 letter from Karl Barth to Dietrich Bonhoeffer -- "You are a German & the house of your church is burning" -- summons us to Christian courage. 1/
We don't know whether 2025 will be a 1933. These things can happen fast. Dachau concentration camp was opened in March 1933 -- 2 months after Hitler came to power.
But we do know that's where casual dehumanization & demonization of vulnerable communities leads eventually. 2/
Trump & his regime have already found their "court evangelicals" (h/t @JohnFea1) who will genuflect & offer to bless his every despotic whim & assertion.
Pastors, theologians, Bible professors, & religion scholars: now is the time to find the courage of Barth & Bonhoeffer. 3/