The God of War

As someone who grew up Jewish and married a Christian, I’ve become more acquainted with that Christianity over the past decade-plus than I did for the entirety of my upbringing. When you look at Jesus’ teachings, they can be so beautiful that I ended up purchasing The Logia of Yeshua, a compilation of everything Jesus says in the Bible. You can understand the allure of a faith that says it’s not how much money or power you have that gets you into Heaven or defines your morality, which was a notable change from the might-makes-right polytheism and culture of the Roman empire. Christianity didn’t win by amassing forces against the Romans but by becoming so widespread that the Romans did what they usually did and simply adopted something preexisting as their own.

The “Christianity” preached by those now in power bears little resemblance to the teachings of Jesus. Jesus said, “Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God,” (Matthew 19:24). And he preached, “And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’” (Matthew 25:40) Even to let himself be crucified (for surely Jesus had the power to halt such an action) is a testament not to violent domination but for pacificism. You shall not harm another, but “forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:24) There is a more violent Jesus of the Book of Revelations, but that book is A) railing against Emperor Nero (who is dead, so mission accomplished); and B) weirdly canonized in the first place.

But the more furious and domineering Christianity, arguably a Romanized Christianity, is what we’re seeing today from those who pretend to uphold a faith tradition as they clearly pursue their violent delights. Pete Hegseth, an abusive drunk who doesn’t know how to transmit war plans securely, recently quoted Ezekiel 25:17. If you check your bible for Ezekiel 25:17, you won’t find it. It’s a quote from the Quentin Tarantino movie Pulp Fiction, which Tarantino in turn took from the Sonny Chiba movie Bodyguard Kiba. If you’re media illiterate, as I suspect Hegseth is, then you likely only know Ezekiel 25:17 as what the hitman Jules (Samuel L. Jackson) says before he and his partner Vincent (John Travolta) murder a group of guys who stole an item belonging to their boss. At the end of the movie, Jules even acknowledges, “I never gave much thought to what it meant. I just thought it was a cold-blooded thing to say to a motherfucker before I popped a cap in his ass.” He then unpacks it, rethinks it, and chooses mercy rather than violence. So while the quote may not come from scripture, it comes from a movie where a character decides to repent and “walk the Earth” while his comrade, who chooses to dismiss repentance, is murdered in a bathroom.

Just as Hegseth plays favorites with what he wants to believe while cloaking it in the name of Christianity, so too does Vice President J.D. Vance. Vance converted to Catholicism in 2019, meaning that he’s been a Catholic for less time than there’s been a Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, because Vance is exceedingly arrogant, he felt confident enough to lecture the Pope on staying in his lane. This is all because the Pope, as modern pontiffs tend to do, preaches peace and nonviolence. President Trump, whose brain appears to be melting, lashed out at the Pope on Twitter, calling him “weak on crime” (I’m not sure how this will affect the Pope in the next election). Vance, not even for a moment torn between his President and his Pope, proceeded to let the Pope know that he can’t cross Trump, a man who likes all the Bible verses equally but is partial to “Two Corinthians.”

Hegseth and Vance, like many in the Trump Administration, present themselves not only as Christians but also as people who believe that Christianity must be the dominant force in all of American life. And yet their version of Christianity is always far removed from what Jesus says in the Bible. Moreover, as we’ve seen in the past couple of weeks, they have no patience for actual Bible verses or for anyone who knows more about theology than they do. To engage with Christian teachings of charity, nonviolence, and seeking forgiveness would go against their true passion, which is harming others in the pursuit of power. That’s what they worship, and that’s why they find themselves in proper alignment with Donald Trump. 

I’m not Christian, but I know those who are devout and care deeply about the lovely values espoused by Jesus. It pains me to see such cynical individuals as Hegseth, Vance, and Trump (who depicted himself as Jesus, and then lied about saying it by saying he thought it was a picture of him as a doctor) saying that they’re acting to make a more Christian nation. I’m not going to unpack a couple of millennia's worth of history, but we don’t have to accept that these men are Christians in any sense of Jesus’ teachings. We can see what they truly worship.

What I’m Watching

I finally finished the TV series Ted, and while I enjoyed the movies, the show is probably the funniest thing Seth McFarlane has ever done. While I liked the first few seasons of Family Guy, its animated nature means the jokes can always arrive from tangents and non-sequiturs, giving the humor a randomized feel. The live-action sitcom of Ted forces McFarlane to stay tethered to the action, which makes the comedy feel more earned. It also helps that he assembled a terrific cast with Max Burkholder being a billion times funnier than his adult counterpart, Mark Wahlberg. The show also has a secret weapon with Alanna Ubach, who steals every episode. The show won’t continue because of its cost, but at least we got an unexpected gem of a sitcom for two brief seasons.

I’ve now finally started in on The Pitt, and I’ll probably pick up Margo’s Got Money Troubles because I enjoyed the book so much.

What I’m Reading

The Vonnegut project continues apace. I finished reading Breakfast of Champions this past weekend, and so I’ve finished half of his fourteen novels. While they’ve been impressive works, there have certainly been times when I’ve struggled to get my arms around his post-modernist and meta-fictional approach. He can also be so brutal in his character descriptions that the dark absurdity borders on nihilism. And yet it all remains fascinating as well as breezy to read, so I’ll continue onward.

What I’m Hearing

I’m always going to listen to the new Nine Inch Nails thing, and that’s now Nine Inch Noize, which is a collaboration between Nine Inch Nails and Boys Noize. It’s not bad, but it didn’t blow me away like other recent NIN albums. Meanwhile, I’m looking forward to the new Metric album, which arrives on Friday.

What I’m Playing

I’ve started up Mouse: P.I. for Hire, and I’m enjoying it so far. The animation style is fantastic, and it’s not like many video games are trying to channel classic noir (L.A. Noire was disappointing, but I wish Rockstar had tried to improve on it with a sequel). Before Mouse, I decided to play Epic Mickey: Rebrushed since it was available for PlayStation Plus Premium members. It’s a nifty little platformer that’s certainly made for younger audiences (it requires none of the quick reflexes of a game like Astro Bot, for example), but I wish they had handled the haptics a little better. The vibration when you’re painting or thinning objects is unpleasant. I also wish it had a better exploration system so you could revisit worlds rather than having them shut off once you beat the level.

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