Modern Crusade Against Iran

TEHRAN (Defapress) - Pope Leo XIV’s apparent clash with President Donald Trump should not be dismissed as a mere superficial argument. It is a clear manifestation of a deeper, longer-term battle between two opposed narratives of Christianity, rooted in years of hidden antagonism and set to take on more dangerous dimensions as America’s war on Iran intensifies.

At the heart of this conflict lies the fundamental difference between the Catholic Jesus (the symbol of authentic, moral, and peaceful Christianity) and the MAGA Jesus (the MAGA movement’s distorted, belligerent version of Christianity). The Catholic Pope, relying on the teachings of the Gospels, the Epistles, and the Church’s social teachings, sees Christ as the “King of Peace” who rejects war and condemns bloodstained hands.

But the MAGA Jesus paints a completely different and distorted picture of Jesus; the warrior Christian, the action hero of the Book of Revelation, with blazing eyes and a blood-soaked robe, leading the armies of heaven, and now appearing at Trump rallies wearing the red MAGA hat.

Trump and the MAGA movement are in a systematic effort to change the image and true meaning of Christianity. By sanctifying the war against Iran, they present it not as a political-military conflict but as a theological and apocalyptic event that is supposed to be the prelude to the second coming of Christ.

Trump has publicly declared that “God supports America’s war with Iran,” and his Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, has called on Americans to “get on their knees every day” to pray for military victory “in the name of Jesus Christ” against “Iran’s apocalyptic enemies.” This narrative has transformed Christianity into a tool for justifying violence, power, and war.

MAGA is no longer just a political movement; it is a full-fledged religious movement that sees Trump as the “chosen one” and Israel as the “chosen nation.” With its white nationalist Christian theology, fake miracles, specific religious symbols, and prophets, this movement has led Christianity away from its core teachings of kindness, humility, and nonviolence, and toward a “will to power” and “holy tyranny.”

Scholars such as Peter Wehner have warned that the far right has “further separated Christianity from the ethics and teachings of Jesus” and that the Trump administration has “sold tyranny in the name of Jesus” by turning the Christian faith upside down.

In the face of this distortion, Pope Leo XIV has stood firmly and authoritatively against this notion. He has tried to preserve the true image of Christianity by emphasizing greater morality and directly confronting anti-war rhetoric. Pope Leo seeks Jesus not in the Book of Revelation and its violent imagery, but in the four New Testament Gospels and Catholic social teachings; Teachings that require caring for the poor, opposing the death penalty and abortion, prohibiting the targeting of civilians, and the need to avoid war.

He has explicitly called Jesus “the King of Peace, who is against war” and, citing Isaiah, has called the prayers of war-mongering leaders “hands full of blood.” The Pope has condemned the Iran war on social media and emphasized that “a true disciple of Christ will never side with those who hold swords and bombs.”

These positions are not only a political criticism, but also a profound attempt to return Christianity to its moral and peaceful roots. Unlike his predecessor, who was sometimes taken seriously as an “anti-American leftist,” Pope Leo XIV cannot be easily ignored because of his American roots, and the authority of his words has created a heavyweight against the MAGA movement.

Vice President J.D. Vance has also entered the fray, attempting to undermine the Pope’s moral position by asking him about the “just war” and referring to the liberation of France from the Nazis. But these responses are more indicative of MAGA’s attempt to legitimize the war.

In fact, the Catholic Church’s “just war” doctrine, which allows war only in self-defense and after all other peaceful means have failed, is the exact opposite of MAGA’s narrative. Pope Leo draws on this tradition to show that Catholic Christianity is defined by peace and justice.

Many white MAGA evangelicals see the conflict with Iran as a sign of the “apocalypse” and a prelude to the return of Christ. Diana Butler Bass, a prominent historian, has stated explicitly that there is “a kind of spiritual longing for war in the Middle East” among them; An enthusiasm that makes war seem not a disaster but a sacred event for the coming of Christ. This vision is exactly what Trump and the MAGA are seeking: to transform the Iran war into a modern crusade, a holy war in which victory guarantees the return of Christ.

In conclusion, Donald Trump and the MAGA movement are trying with all their might to turn the devastating war against Iran into a holy war; a war that, with bloodshed, bombing, and destruction, is supposedly setting the stage for the return of Christ. By portraying Jesus as a victorious warrior and employing apocalyptic symbols, they want to make this conflict seem more than a political conflict, but a divine and inevitable one.

But this effort will never bear fruit. The true definition of Christianity is rooted in the teachings of the Gospels and the peaceful message of Jesus Christ: a prophet who rejects war, condemns bloodstained hands, defends the weak, and prefers kindness and humility over power and violence.