The New Crusade - The Rev. Philip DeVaul

There is nothing holy about war. We do not glorify God when we carpet bomb Tehran. Even if this war were “necessary” – which we all know it is not – we would not be agents of God.  Our Christian duty at this time includes shuddering at the human cost of our actions, mourning our inability to choose diplomacy, and working for real peace for as many people possible as quickly as possible. 

Our actions in Iran are not foretold in the biblical book of Revelation. This is a gross misinterpretation of Scriptures that has sprung from a faulty doctrine that originated just over 100 years ago. It has no connection to historic Christian beliefs, or the teachings of Jesus. The Book of Revelation is not a literal prediction of the end of the world. It was a coded critique of the audience’s contemporary culture and a message of hope meant to remind socially powerless members of a marginalized religious group that God had not forgotten them, that love and justice would prevail – even if it didn’t seem like that was possible.  

The violence in Revelation is a prophetic statement about a culture that depends upon, indulges in, and celebrates violence as a way to achieve so-called peace. That we would interpret this text as an endorsement of our violent acts upon others in Jesus’ name is the baldest irony. 

Have you ever heard the phrase “death cult”? It is used to describe a fringe religious group that is obsessed with and glorifies death. A Christianity that salivates at the possibility of ushering in the end of the world is a death cult. And Christianity was not meant to be a death cult. It has been perverted by some in various ways over the years in order to be understood and practiced as such – but that was never Jesus’ plan, never part of his teachings, and not the desire of his first followers. Exalting in violence and death is not of Christ. Period.