Wednesday, April 08, 2026

Slow Down, Christian Soldiers


I can still remember the words to that oddly militant hymn sung in my church as a youth:

“Onward, Christian soldiers, 
marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus
going on before!
Christ, the royal Master,
leads against the foe;
Forward into battle,
see his banner go!”

I didn’t like the song then and I don’t like it now. But the difference is that today, under the expansionist “Christian Nationalism” of Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth, for the first time I fear the meaning behind its lyrics.

By threatening the "whole civilization” of Iran with destruction Monday, Trump tried to frame his illegal war against Iran into a fight to the death between Islam and Christianity.

He also committed a war crime, according to modern standards.

In the process, he sank to the same hateful level as the mullahs who’ve run Iran for 47 years with their “Death to America” and “Death to the Jews” chants.

The great majority of the Iranian people do not share those sentiments at all. Like you and me, they love their families and friends, they work hard, and they hope for a safer, more secure world for their children and grandchildren.

Then, with the world holding its collective breath, just before his so-called deadline last night, Trump backed down. He did what he usually does — change his mind — and for that we can thank whatever God we believe in (or not). It’s obvious that for now he has seized the cover of a two-week ceasefire agreement offered via Pakistan to try and save face from the horror of his earlier statement.

But so much damage has been done. 

Meanwhile, Iran now claims it has achieved control over the Strait of Hormuz under the new ceasefire, which if true would constitute an epic failure on Trump’s part. Like most of the Crusades of yore, this one too appears to be ending in failure.

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