When the United States and Israel bombed Iran Feb. 28, the motivations and repercussions were religious as well as political.
We cannot think of Iran as a modern state unhinged from its religious moorings. And we cannot think of President Donald Trump’s relationship to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu without thinking of the religious ties that bind.
Throw in the assassination of Ali Hosseini Khamenei and Trump’s war of choice takes on the mantle of Holy War.
Imagine, for example, if Iran had assassinated the pope.
“Imagine, for example, if Iran had assassinated the pope.”
I’m not saying the ayatollah was as kind and benevolent as Pope Leo; he was not. He was indeed an evil man who brought death and persecution to millions. But he was the supreme religious leader of a sovereign nation.
Given the ideological war U.S. Republicans currently are waging against even peaceful Muslims — see Texas and Florida for examples — it’s hard to miss the religion angle to this international story.
And yet, the story gets complicated quickly by crossing ideological lines.
Personal pain
Samaria Izadi Page is my dear friend of 27 years. Born and raised in Iran, she and her husband and two young children fled Tehran on short notice for fear of their lives and ended up in Dallas. Soon after, she landed in my brand-new Sunday school class and her boys became friends of my boys at church.
I was a founding board member of Gateway of Grace, the refugee resettlement ministry she started after graduating from seminary and being ordained in the Episcopal Church. The refugees she works with every day have been harmed by the cruel policies of the Trump administration.
And yet … when I checked her social media feed over the weekend I saw a large photo of the ayatollah stamped in red letters across his face, “ELIMINATED.” And another post with these words: “The Supreme Serpent of Iran is killed according to Israeli sources!”
I know Samira well enough to know this is personal for her. The Iranian regime has caused untold personal harm to her and her family and to many people she loves. Deposing a despot by any means possible must be a victory.
And yet I also know her well enough to predict she’s not celebrating our rogue president possibly launching World War III.
She also posted a message from Sean Rowe, presiding bishop of The Episcopal Church, that urges prayer “for all the people of the Holy Land, and especially for the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East and its leader, Archbishop Hosam Naoum.”
He added: “As news reports tell us of fear and panic in Iran, I ask you to pray especially for the people of the Diocese of Iran and for all of the Iranian people. In recent weeks, we have mourned as the regime in Iran has killed peaceful protesters and watched with alarm at both its increasing repression of the Iranian people and the escalating response of the U.S. government. As Christians who follow a Prince of Peace, we mourn that today’s attacks will surely mean further hardship for the most vulnerable Iranians and, as retaliation inevitably follows, suffering that will spread across the entire region.”
MAGA reaction
That kind of nuanced approach to this dramatic military action was not standard fare in all quarters of U.S. Christendom.
MAGA pastor Greg Locke of Nashville posted on social media: “The modern-day Haman, threatening to eradicate the Jews, has been eliminated just a couple of days before the feast of Purim begins. Here we are prophetically living in the book of Esther. I’m here for the whole thing.”
And this: “I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: IRAN WILL BE FREE. This is historic and prophetic.”
Self-appointed Trump prophet Lance Wallnau posted a video Saturday evening pointing to New Apostolic Reformation “prophet” James Goll who 10 years ago prophesied Iran would fall in the 47th year. Wallnau also claims the original leader of the Islamic Revolution used “Democrat” terms by dividing the world into “oppressed and oppressor.” He then pivots to saying the Quran says the messiah (really the antichrist to him) will return during global chaos and ties it back to the Bible.
Revisionist historian David Barton posted on X: “It took us 47 years. But we did it. I remember when the Islamist regime took our people as hostages. They’ve destroyed the lives of the good people of Iran for 47 years. Today their evil leader is dead. I thank God for President Trump. GOD BLESS AMERICA.”
MAGA troubadour Sean Feucht posted: “How should Christians respond to the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader?! The greatest harvest in the history of Iran is coming!”
MAGA evangelist Franklin Graham posted: “Thank you President @realDonaldTrump for giving the Iranian people a chance to be free. Pray for him and for all those in our military who are risking their lives to protect America and bring freedom to the Iranian people. This regime has been killing Americans for years, and we haven’t had a president who had the guts to take them on. Thank you, Mr. President, for standing up to bring this evil empire to an end.”
Southern Baptist megachurch pastor Jack Graham retweeted a comment from Pope Leo and said of the Catholic leader: “Total nonsense from a false office. Leo should actually study the Middle East before pontificating.”
On the other hand
What had the pope said?
“If violence and war is the way to peace, then Rome was right, and Christ died for nothing.”
Just this: “I am following with deep concern what is happening in the Middle East and in Iran during this tumultuous time. Stability and peace are not achieved through mutual threats, nor through the use of weapons, which sow destruction, suffering and death, but only through reasonable, sincere and responsible dialogue. Faced with the possibility of a tragedy of immense proportions, I make a heartfelt appeal to all the parties involved to assume the moral responsibility of halting the spiral of violence before it becomes an unbridgeable chasm. May diplomacy regain its proper role, and may the well-being of peoples, who yearn for peaceful existence founded on justice, be upheld. And let us continue to pray for peace.”
I’m not sure what Jack Graham thinks Leo got wrong in that call for peace, but it’s clearly not what Donald Trump thinks is peace as he now has deposed the leader of a second nation on his own questionable authority.
Michael Gorman, a New Testament scholar who serves as Raymond E. Brown Professor of Biblical Studies and Theology at St. Mary’s Seminary and University, offered a sober warning in line with the pope’s words: “If violence and war is the way to peace, then Rome was right, and Christ died for nothing.”
Let us not forget some important things that happened in the days leading up to this attack on Iran.
First, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee — a former Southern Baptist pastor — told Tucker Carlson Israel is entitled to control all the land in the Middle East if it wants to because the Bible told him so. Never mind that’s not what the Bible says, his comment reveals the Zionist mindset of Huckabee and those around him.
Huckabee had to know when he said this what was about to unfold in the Middle East.
Second, remember that just last week, our unqualified secretary of defense — who wants to be called secretary of war — invited Doug Wilson to preach at the Pentagon. Wilson is one of the most dangerous advocates of Christian nationalism today.
Wilson told Pentagon staff: “If you bear the name of Jesus Christ, there’s no armor greater than that.”
Seems an echo of what those fighting the Crusades likely were told as they traipsed into battle.
It’s all about religion except …
Whatever unfolds in the Middle East in the coming days and months will have religion at its center. There’s just no denying it.
But for one very influential person, religion is not the primary driver. Listen to the sage wisdom of my friend — and substitute editor — Marv Knox, former editor of two state Baptist newspapers and a seasoned editorial writer:
“Without question, the regime that has controlled Iran since 1979 is one of the cruelest autocracies in recorded history. Obviously, the ayatollahs and their minions do not value the lives of their own citizens, much less people across the Middle East and around the world.
“That said, starting a war in Iran is a classic Donald Trump move. He doesn’t care about democracy in Iran; he doesn’t even care about democracy in the United States. He doesn’t care about the lives of Iranian citizens; he doesn’t even care about the lives of U.S. citizens. This is a diversion.
“Trump is upside down in U.S. opinion polls. He is failing to revive the U.S. economy. Americans see through his immigration charade and disagree with his policies. Americans hate his disregard for the lives of fellow citizens. Even his hand-picked Supreme Court justices said his tariff policies are unconstitutional, and a few members of his own political party have the temerity to oppose him. And, of course, he remains front and center in the Epstein saga, including engagement with the notorious pedophile far beyond what has cost other friends of Epstein their jobs.
“So, Trump believes he needs a diversion — something so outlandish people will not think about all his failures. He even acknowledged the lives of U.S. military personnel could be lost because of his war. But that is nothing to Trump. They will be collateral damage in his never-ending quest for redemption.”
Mark Wingfield
Mark Wingfield serves as executive director and publisher of Baptist News Global. He is the author of Honestly: Telling the Truth About the Bible and Ourselves.