End times
Within days after the US illegally attacked Iran, the war is escalating across the Middle East. The world is in a dangerous moment as small-minded men launch weapons of massive destructive power, simply because they can. This is soul-searing violence. It is being carried out with a level of callous disregard for human life that will have far-reaching consequences. There will come a reckoning. Chickens do come home to roost.
The pretense by mainstream media that such actions could be justified or are a problem because they lack a rationale or approval shows how little moral sense is left in this country.
This administration is committing war crimes. Since January of 2025, Donald Trump has attacked seven countries. He has attacked Iran twice. Roughly every 50 days, he has ordered military strikes resulting in the deaths of people from the Caribbean to Africa.
The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED) reported that the US had carried out – or been a partner to – 622 overseas bombings, using drones or aircraft, since January 20, 2025, when Trump took office.
These actions are making the USA the most hated nation on earth. Our people are in greater danger than we have ever been from forces seeking revenge.
We know that violence only begets violence. Naming war as peace does not make it so. It does not alter the reality in people’s lives.
Much of this violence is being driven by authoritarian forces steeped in white Christian nationalism.
White Christian Nationalism is not new. It is embedded in the history of this country. Its origins are in 15th century theology linking colonial expansion to Christian conversions. Ultimately, this thinking underscored the “doctrine of discovery,” bringing death and pain to millions. The use of Christianity to justify slavery is well documented. In response to the Civil Rights movement and court-ordered desegregation of schools, Southern states set up white Christian academies.
The toxic mix of race, religion, and violence gained momentum in the 1990’s with the popular “Left Behind Series.” Authored by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, these novels swept the evangelical world, blending Christianity with pro Zionist, anti-globalist, racist, and misogynist ideas. The series invokes the idea that the second coming of Christ requires the flames of Israel. This massive destruction will usher in 1000 years of peace for the true believers. The people currently standing in the way of this “new world order” are liberals, progressives, secularists, feminists, supporters of the UN, communists, and weak people who want peace.
These are the ideas shaping the use of US military force.
Shortly after US bombs dropped on a school for girls, killing nearly 200 children, Democracy Now reported on the efforts of US military personnel, including the Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, to frame these actions as “part of God’s divine plan.” The Military Religious Freedom Foundation had been “inundated with over 200 calls” where service men and women were concerned about commanders framing the war as just, because “President Trump has been anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon and mark his return to Earth.” This, they believe, is the end times.
Those of us who believe in a world of sacred traditions, life-affirming connections, and compassionate care for each other and the planet, are approach and end time as well. We are at the end of the illusion that the violence of our culture is the result of one aging elected official or political party. It is a violent massaged and protected through generations. Perhaps we are now at the point where we can see this more clearly, where we can understand more deeply the changes we can make to shift from a culture of violence to a new world rooted in peace, protection, and love.