{
  "id": 8046742,
  "title": "Pete Hegseth’s Unholy War",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/17/pete-hegseths-unholy-war-8046742",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-17T15:10:43.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Intercept",
    "slug": "the-intercept-theintercept",
    "url": "https://theintercept.com/2026/09/17/hegseth-christianity-jesus-iran-war/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Pentagon officials mock the self-proclaimed War Secretary, Pete Hegseth, for numerous reasons. During a 2025 incident, Hegseth publicly reprimanded America's admirals and generals. Some of his criticisms have centered on troops' testosterone levels, and a significant portion of the criticism revolves around his monthly Pentagon prayer services. At these gatherings, Hegseth promotes a brand of Christianity characterized by anger and a desire for bloodshed. Hegseth, a member of the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches, a conservative network of Christian congregations co-founded by Christian nationalist Doug Wilson, is known to disseminate extreme religious statements. At one service, he presented a fabricated Bible verse from Quentin Tarantino's movie \"Pulp Fiction,\" which is supposedly recited during combat search and rescue missions in Iran. Hegseth also claimed to recite words spoken by a military chaplain before the invasion of Venezuela. Hegseth's modified version of Ezekiel 25:17 has been shouted during his sermons, demanding vengeance and furious anger against his perceived enemies. Hegseth has effectively replaced the traditional teachings of Jesus with a more aggressive Christ figure, one who craves war, revels in violence, and seeks to send America's foes to an eternal hell. This theology raises the critical question of what Jesus would do in the face of war, authoritarianism, and other crises.",
  "summary": "What kind of Christianity is being proclaimed when the language of Jesus is attached to military power? The post Pete Hegseth’s Unholy War appeared first on The Intercept .",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Intercept",
        "title": "Pete Hegseth’s Unholy War",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/17/pete-hegseths-unholy-war",
        "published": "2026-09-17T15:10:43.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}