For some Christians, Hegseth's plan for public execution fits a biblical mandate
asserted
plan → fit → mandate
It is not clear if the public execution of the man behind the Fort Hood attack will be livestreamed, as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said it would be late last week.
asserted
it → livestreame → attack
When asked about it on Tuesday, President Trump said, "We're looking at it," and Vice President JD Vance has stated that he would not watch it, raising doubts about whether it would happen.
asserted
it → ask → doubts
But whether or not the public execution proceeds, some religious scholars worry that damage has already been done.
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damage → proceed → ?
"I think one of the most worrisome parts of this development is that … it pushes the boundaries of what's acceptable," said Julie Ingersoll, a professor of religion at the University of North Florida who specializes in the religious right and Christian Reconstruction.
asserted
who → think → right
"Just saying it out loud moves the boundary."
asserted
saying → say → boundary
The last time the U.S. government conducted a high-profile public execution was 90 years ago.
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government → conduct → execution
But Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth suggested that livestreaming Nidal Hasan's death by firing squad would deter future, similar attacks.
uncertain
livestreaming → suggest → attacks
Hasan, a former U.S. army major and violent Islamist extremist, killed 13 people and injured 32 in a 2009 attack at Fort Hood.
asserted
Hasan → kill → Hood
His execution is set for Dec. 3.
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execution → set → Dec.
"We'll make sure that people are able to … watch it, that it's public, because people need to understand that … there's serious consequences for these types of things," Hegseth said in an interview with Real America's Voice, a right-wing streaming network.
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Hegseth → make → Voice
For Ingersoll and some other religious scholars, Hegseth's promotion of an idea that has largely fallen out of favor with the American public ties in closely with his religious background.
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that → fall → background
Hegseth affiliates with the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches, or CREC, whose leader identifies as a Christian Nationalist, envisions a theonomous America where women are denied the right to vote and has defended the institution of slavery.
asserted
women → affiliate → slavery
"These are extreme ideas and these are extreme leaders, and I don't have a better way of phrasing it than to just note that Pete Hegseth is a religious extremist," said Matthew Taylor, a visiting scholar at the Center on Faith and Justice at Georgetown University.
asserted
Taylor → have → University
"He holds ideas that are far outside the mainstream.
asserted
that → hold → mainstream
He is trying to implement those ideas within the U.S. military structure within the Pentagon."
asserted
He → try → Pentagon
Near "unanimous endorsement" of the death penalty in the CREC
Hegseth's announcement of a livestreamed execution elicited reactions of disgust and condemnation from some faith leaders and politicians.
asserted
announcement → livestreame → leaders
Archbishop Timothy Broglio, who serves Catholics in the U.S. military, issued a statement of disapproval on the proposal and instructed any Catholics who may be assigned to the firing squad to request an excusal.
uncertain
who → serve → excusal
Taylor said he believes Hegseth's idea represents "an outlier position within American Christianity," including, he said, within right-wing Christianity.
asserted
he → say → Christianity
But Ingersoll said that within Hegseth's church, it is not an outlier.
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it → say → church
"The religious community from which Hegseth comes is very comfortable, shall we say, with the death penalty.
asserted
we → come → penalty
There's a pretty much unanimous endorsement of it," Ingersoll said.
asserted
Ingersoll → be → it
"The crimes discussed in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament that carried the death penalty are understood by them to still carry the death penalty.
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that → discuss → penalty
So execution, and even public execution, is very much a part of the way they see the punishment for crime in general.
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they → see → crime
But some are also asking whether Hasan's religion may partly account for a public proposal that is, to many Americans, abhorrent.
uncertain
that → ask → Americans
"The question is, why is he being punished differently than everyone before him?," said Joshua Salaam, president of the Association of Muslim Chaplains.
asserted
Salaam → punish → Chaplains
"And the answer that most people from my community will say is it has something to do with his religious beliefs, his religious identity."
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it → say → beliefs
Indeed, Ingersoll said that the CREC goal to enact Christian governance, and Hegseth's own apparent animus toward Islam, are key factors in this discussion.
asserted
goal → say → discussion
"I think he sees himself as engaged in a battle on behalf of God against the infidels," she said.
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she → think → infidels
A new "crusade" from the Pentagon
When Hegseth was nominated to head the Pentagon, his tattoos drew national attention.
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tattoos → nominate → attention
At the time, he had tattoos of the Jerusalem Cross and of the phrase "Deus Vult" on his body.
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he → have → body
At some point later, he also added another tattoo in Arabic script of a word that means "infidel."
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that → add → infidel
Taylor said all this, plus his authorship of a book titled American Crusade, point to a clear worldview.
asserted
this → say → worldview
"Hegseth is, for lack of a better term, obsessed with the Crusades," Taylor said.
asserted
Taylor → obsess → Crusades
Within the context of the CREC's goals, this history of civilizational conflict between Western Christendom and Islam holds particular importance, said Ingersoll.
asserted
Ingersoll → hold → importance
"There is an idealization of the Christendom of the medieval period," she said.
asserted
she → be → period
"Because that was a Christian society, it was the theocratic kind of world that they wanted built.
asserted
they → build → that
So, much of the viewpoint that seems medieval, actually is."
asserted
that → seem → viewpoint
Today, Ingersoll said, a term often used to describe this project is "dominionism."
asserted
term → say → project
It is a concept that extends beyond the CREC to other strands within the Christian nationalist movement.
asserted
that → extend → movement
…and 15 more, not listed.
The Aporia
