At a Pentagon Christian prayer service last week, U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth prayed for “overwhelming violence” against enemies and spoke of those who “deserve no mercy.” Without even an attempt at subtlety, Hegseth’s prayer did not merely ask for protection. It asked for violence…and asked for it in God’s name.
“Let every round find its mark against the enemies of righteousness and our great nation,” Hegseth said in the prayer service. “Give them wisdom in every decision, endurance for the trial ahead, unbreakable unity, and overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy.”
The remarks came a day after Hegseth announced changes to the military’s chaplain corps, which he said in a video message had been “infected by political correctness and secular humanism” until they were “watered down” to be “nothing more than therapists” who focused more on “self-help and self-care” than faith or virtue.
Kalikellett 