ONE WAR – THREE GODS: where is Jesus?

A meditation on Iran, Israel, the USA, and the contested name of God

Entering the 5th week of death and destruction in Iran, the conflict has moved beyond geographical fault lines and political ambitions. It has now become a war of merciless murders and indiscriminate displacements in the name of god. But not just one god.  Three nations – America, Israel and Iran – each justifying their aggression in the name of their respective deities.  All three sharing the same character traits of vengeance, anger and violence.  No one different than the other.

On Wednesday 25 March, the USA Secretary of Defence, Pete Hegseth, hosting his first monthly Christian worship service at the Pentagon since the Iran war began, prayed:

“… that every round of ammunition will find its mark … against those who deserve no mercy.”

“Every month it is fitting to be right here,” he told the gathered civilian employees and uniformed military personnel. “All the more fitting this month, at this moment, given what tens of thousands of Americans are doing right now.”

He then prayed the following prayer during the livestreamed service:

“Let every round (of ammunition) find its mark against the enemies of righteousness and our great nation.  Give them (our service men and women) wisdom in every decision, endurance for the trial ahead, unbreakable unity, and overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy.”[1]

This prayer for overwhelming violence and merciless action could just as easily have echoed from a mosque in Tehran by a group of Muslim Mullahs praying for the Revolutionary Guards in their fight against America and Israel.  Or even the Amalek prayer from a synagogue in Jerusalem prayed during a gathering of Jewish Rabbi’s blessing that IDF soldiers as they destroy every living being in Gaza – even the donkeys.  Each nation imploring a god they have created in the image of man in a fight without mercy.  The call to show no mercy fits the profile of the gods they have created and whom they follow.

The god to whom Mr. Hegseth prayed is not the Christ of Easter who, by His death, displayed mercy for the enemies of righteousness.  Which, by the way, includes him and me.

The god of Mr. Trump is no different than the religious fanatics he fights.  He who believes his enemies deserve no mercy. If he – and I – truly want to fight the enemies of righteousness we need to look no further than the nearest mirror

When Christians pray, we implore a different deity.  A GOD OF MERCY!  When we pray, we pray in the name of the One who called His followers to reveal a different spirit, an alternative way, and a transformed imagination.

THE BATTLE OF THE GODS

America, Israel, and Iran have all followed the same tragic pattern: they have baptized their fears, weaponised their faith, spiritualised their histories, and prophesied their national ambitions in the name of their chosen deity.

THE USA

• A nation where 69% of the population confess that Jesus is the Son of God.
• A nation that is home to an estimated 380,000 churches (depending on how “church” is defined).
• There is roughly 1 church for every 1,000 Americans.
• Texas has the most churches (22,000+), while Vermont has the fewest (-400).
• Sadly, more churches closed during the last year than new churches opened—signalling a historic shift in Christianity.

America is a nation that invokes God at inaugurations and on aircraft carriers.  But, sadly, with the USA’s aggressive military invasion in 9 countries during 2025, it is perceived as a nation that follows a God who blesses the nation’s dominance more than the world’s wounds.

America is home to a president who wraps himself in a civil-religious Christianity where God becomes the guarantor of power, prosperity, destiny, and military might.

There’s a strain of American Christianity that doesn’t just tolerate war — it worships it. Not as a tragic last resort, but as a sacred mission, a step on the prophetic road to Armageddon. (www.filmsforaction.org/watch/the-american-christian-death-cult/) 

Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defence of the USA, carries several tattoos on his body — especially the Jerusalem cross and the Deus Vult motto — that are widely recognized symbols of medieval Christian Crusades against Muslim nations. He publicly recited Psalm 144 at a Pentagon press briefing:
“Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle.”

A U.S. military commander told troops that:  “President Trump has been anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon and mark his return to Earth.”

This is not the same God who revealed Himself through Christ Jesus who, in His own words, declared (Luke 4:18):

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour. Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” 

(43)  But he said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” 

ISRAEL

• A nation where 73% of a Jewish population reject Jesus as the son of God.
• A recent 2026 dataset lists 517 churches across the country, with the highest concentration in Jerusalem.
• There is roughly 1 church for every 19,500 Israelis.
• Israel has approximately 20,000 Jewish gathering places (depending on how you define “synagogue.)
• There is roughly 1 synagogue for every 500 Israelis.

Israel is a nation that leans on the God of the Abrahamic covenant of being blessed, but not the Abrahamic fulfilment of being a blessing.  Israel conducted more than 10,600 military attacks in at least six countries during 2025.

Israel is a nation that depends on military survival, ancestral promise, and geographical expansion.

Israel is a nation, contrary to America – and even Iran that at least recognises Jesus as a prophet – where 4 out of 5 people completely reject Jesus as the son of God or a significant prophet.

Israel is a nation that follows a God that intertwine trauma, memory, and the existential demand to never again be powerless.

During a televised press conference defending the joint U.S.–Israeli strike on Iran (February 2026), Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu quoted historian Will Durant and said: “History proves that, unfortunately and unhappily, Jesus Christ has no advantage over Genghis Khan… if you are strong enough, ruthless enough, powerful enough, evil will overcome good. Aggression will overcome moderation.”

IRAN

• A nation where 95% of a Shia population acknowledge Jesus as a prophet but reject Him as the Son of God
• A recent poll listed 650 registered churches across the country, with thousands more unregistered secret churches.
• There is roughly 1 registered church for every 143,000 Iranians.
• Iran has an estimated 79,000 mosques, making it one of the most mosque‑dense countries in the world.
• There is roughly 1 mosque for every 1,200 Iranians.

Iran is a nation that leans on the God of Shi’a memory — a God invoked through martyrdom, resistance, and the sacred duty to endure — yet not always the God who calls His people to be a mercy to the nations.

Iran is a nation that, in 2025, carried out thousands of military operations across the region, convinced that survival, honour, and ideological guardianship require perpetual vigilance and calibrated force.

Iran is a nation that depends on revolutionary identity, sacred history, and the conviction that its geopolitical mission is divinely sanctioned.

Iran is a nation where Jesus is honoured as a prophet, yet where the vast majority do not recognise Him as the Son of God, and where Christian expression is tightly constrained, monitored, or restricted.

Ayatollah Khamenei has repeatedly framed Iran’s military resistance and victories as acts helped, blessed, or empowered by God.  He frequently used phrases like “with God’s help,” “by God’s grace,” “divine blessing,” or “in the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.”

One war, three Gods.  Each nation believing their God is the One True God.  Each nation defending their perceived understanding of justice and righteousness.

But, where is Jesus?

WHERE IS JESUS?

The irony is that each side believes it is fighting for righteousness.
The tragedy is that each side believes God is on their side.
The lie is that each side believes the other is the threat to the sacred.

None of these are the full, unfiltered God of their scriptures.  They are political theologies, shaped by history, fear, and national imagination. And when politics and theology collide, they rarely resemble the God they claim to defend.

Three gods— none of them the God of the New Testament

So, where is Jesus?

Observing the life and teachings of Christ, the conclusion is more than an observation, it is a revelation.

Jesus is not the chaplain of any nation-state.

• He is not the mascot of the American military.
• He is not the guarantor of Israeli nationalism.
• He is not the banner of Iranian ideology.

Jesus refuses to be conscripted.  He will be found on the fringes:

• at the gravesite where family of the innocent stand mourning
• in the rubble where children cry
• in the hospital corridors where nurses work without sleep
• in the refugee camps where families wait for news
• in the quiet courage of those who refuse to hate
• in the prayers whispered by mothers on every side
• in the activists who risk their lives to say “not in our name”

• in the wounded, the displaced, the grieving, the forgotten

He is the one who says: “Blessed are the peacemakers,” even as the world blesses the war-makers.
He is the one who says: “Put away your sword,” even as nations sharpen theirs.
He is the one who heals the ear of the enemy soldier, even as His own disciples reach for violence.

He is the unclaimed God.
The God who stands in the crossfire unarmed.
The God who refuses to choose a side
because He has already chosen humanity.

[1] https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/at-pentagon-christian-service-hegseth-prays-for-violence-against-those-who-deserve-no-mercy?utm_source=flipboard&utm_content=topic/world