Well, that's not disturbing AT ALL...
Mar. 3rd, 2026 11:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
which_chickThe Military Religious Freedom Foundation claims it is getting complaints that at least one US military commanding officer has told troops that the current efforts in Iran are "a biblically sanctioned conflict intended to bring about Armageddon and the return of Jesus Christ." This alleged "news" is getting some traction.
Claiming someone in charge of military forces publicly said, President Trump has been anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon and mark his return to Earth.... that's bold. (This is allegedly a direct quote from one of the alleged complainants.)
But I am suspicious.
Is the MRFF telling the truth? Is it? I mean, I would LIKE an organization like the Military Religious Freedom Foundation to be telling the truth. Truth is important for purported watchdog organizations.
But... this article raises fairly compelling arguments that maybe the MRFF is not ... being entirely truthful about the alleged complaints. The article notes a strange similarity that this complaint shares with others, going back years. The linked article also suggests that it's damn difficult to fact-check anything if absolutely all the identifying information has been redacted. Finally, the article asks why no OTHER news organizations have picked up this very compelling, lots-of-clicks story.
Given all those points, I detect a strong salmon aroma rising from the MRFF story.
The MRFF story is designed to fucking terrify people. It terrifies me even though I find it a bit sus. I do not want apocalyptic zealots in charge of military activities. Probably a lotta folks don't want apocalyptic zealots in charge of military activities.
Y'know, I bet that kinda Do Not Want generates a lot of donations to MRFF from Very Worried People. The MRFF is funded by donations, got about three quarters of a mil in donations in 2024. "Moo-moo," says the salmon-scented cash cow. "Mooooo."
Let me be clear. I'm not at all sure we should be fighting with Iran in the first place. I agree that Iran is currently under the control of an alarmingly conservative and religious government which abuses its citizens, particularly women, lgbtia+ folks, and anyone who isn't a Muslim. It's been that way since the late 1970's. I don't think that this state of affairs is good for the Iranian people. I don't know if they're terrorists or whatever. Maybe they are, but we haven't historically been great at knowing what the fuck is going on in the Middle East. (See Lack of WMD's in Iraq, ca. 2003-2004)
TL;DR
We should not be doing military stuff in Iran or anywhere else without good cause.
I feel pretty strongly that "to bring about the End of Days" in accordance with the extremist views of a small group of Christian Nationalists does not constitute "good cause".
However, I also do not believe the MRFF when it says that commanding officers are delivering the "End of Days" message to the troops.
The MRFF's claims are a fucking problem, because they are clickbait believe-able.
First off, apocalypticism is a thing in Christianity. It's been a thing for Christianity since the time of Jesus. Heck, Jesus was an apocalyptic Jew. Like, that's actual scholarly thought on the subject. I know that the link is a feltboard animation narrated mostly by Felt Satan, but the scholars are real and the scholarship is real. I do not deny that there is a (small, fringe) group of religious folk who are accelerationist about the End Times... but I really do feel it's a small, fringe group that in no way represents the bulk of Christians.
Secondly, a lot of the people who are already against the current Iran thing are probably also against religious beliefs coloring official political/military actions.
My point here is that this is a very targeted, very appealing message for MRFF to spread about while angling for moar donations. Hell, I'd eat that. I almost DID eat that -- this post has been significantly revised since it started life as an OMFG, THE CHRISTIAN NATIONALISTS ARE TRYING TO HAVE A HOLY WAR, CAN YOU FUCKING BELIEVE IT?!?! post.
It turns out that no, I cannot fucking believe it. The MRFF's alleged "news" has a definite whiff of fish about it. It sounds exactly like all their other alleged news. It is conveniently completely uncheckable beyond trust me, bro. No other news source is saying a word about it, so apparently the hundreds of troops who heard this shit all either said nothing or just called this one guy at the MRFF.
No. I cannot fucking believe it. Neither should you.
There's enough shit going on in the world that is terrifying and real. We do not need pretend shit floating around to muddy the waters.
Claiming someone in charge of military forces publicly said, President Trump has been anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon and mark his return to Earth.... that's bold. (This is allegedly a direct quote from one of the alleged complainants.)
But I am suspicious.
Is the MRFF telling the truth? Is it? I mean, I would LIKE an organization like the Military Religious Freedom Foundation to be telling the truth. Truth is important for purported watchdog organizations.
But... this article raises fairly compelling arguments that maybe the MRFF is not ... being entirely truthful about the alleged complaints. The article notes a strange similarity that this complaint shares with others, going back years. The linked article also suggests that it's damn difficult to fact-check anything if absolutely all the identifying information has been redacted. Finally, the article asks why no OTHER news organizations have picked up this very compelling, lots-of-clicks story.
Given all those points, I detect a strong salmon aroma rising from the MRFF story.
The MRFF story is designed to fucking terrify people. It terrifies me even though I find it a bit sus. I do not want apocalyptic zealots in charge of military activities. Probably a lotta folks don't want apocalyptic zealots in charge of military activities.
Y'know, I bet that kinda Do Not Want generates a lot of donations to MRFF from Very Worried People. The MRFF is funded by donations, got about three quarters of a mil in donations in 2024. "Moo-moo," says the salmon-scented cash cow. "Mooooo."
Let me be clear. I'm not at all sure we should be fighting with Iran in the first place. I agree that Iran is currently under the control of an alarmingly conservative and religious government which abuses its citizens, particularly women, lgbtia+ folks, and anyone who isn't a Muslim. It's been that way since the late 1970's. I don't think that this state of affairs is good for the Iranian people. I don't know if they're terrorists or whatever. Maybe they are, but we haven't historically been great at knowing what the fuck is going on in the Middle East. (See Lack of WMD's in Iraq, ca. 2003-2004)
TL;DR
We should not be doing military stuff in Iran or anywhere else without good cause.
I feel pretty strongly that "to bring about the End of Days" in accordance with the extremist views of a small group of Christian Nationalists does not constitute "good cause".
However, I also do not believe the MRFF when it says that commanding officers are delivering the "End of Days" message to the troops.
The MRFF's claims are a fucking problem, because they are clickbait believe-able.
First off, apocalypticism is a thing in Christianity. It's been a thing for Christianity since the time of Jesus. Heck, Jesus was an apocalyptic Jew. Like, that's actual scholarly thought on the subject. I know that the link is a feltboard animation narrated mostly by Felt Satan, but the scholars are real and the scholarship is real. I do not deny that there is a (small, fringe) group of religious folk who are accelerationist about the End Times... but I really do feel it's a small, fringe group that in no way represents the bulk of Christians.
Secondly, a lot of the people who are already against the current Iran thing are probably also against religious beliefs coloring official political/military actions.
My point here is that this is a very targeted, very appealing message for MRFF to spread about while angling for moar donations. Hell, I'd eat that. I almost DID eat that -- this post has been significantly revised since it started life as an OMFG, THE CHRISTIAN NATIONALISTS ARE TRYING TO HAVE A HOLY WAR, CAN YOU FUCKING BELIEVE IT?!?! post.
It turns out that no, I cannot fucking believe it. The MRFF's alleged "news" has a definite whiff of fish about it. It sounds exactly like all their other alleged news. It is conveniently completely uncheckable beyond trust me, bro. No other news source is saying a word about it, so apparently the hundreds of troops who heard this shit all either said nothing or just called this one guy at the MRFF.
No. I cannot fucking believe it. Neither should you.
There's enough shit going on in the world that is terrifying and real. We do not need pretend shit floating around to muddy the waters.
no subject
Date: 2026-03-05 03:25 am (UTC)BUT. Without any verifiable details, I do think that MRFF article is more than a bit salmon-scented. I've seen it shared around several times in several places, and I was ALSO on board with "HOLY FUCK THIS IS BAD" at first... but like you said, the details are just vague enough to be near-plausible but not at all verifiable.
I mean, if it IS true, and someone ends up with some actual evidence of this being stated, whether once or repeatedly, I will absolutely be properly horrified. But it does seem an awful lot like a fundraising ploy right now.
no subject
Date: 2026-03-05 11:10 am (UTC)