Hegseth invited pastor who calls for Christian theocracy to lead Pentagon prayer service

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/ar-AA1WGL3M

controversial pastor who supports repealing women’s right to vote and believes homosexuality should be a crime led a worship service at the Pentagon this week, saying he was invited by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

During a 15-minute sermon in the Pentagon’s auditorium and broadcast live on the department’s internal TV network, Douglas Wilson delivered a sermon sprinkled with military-themed jokes about putting Jesus Christ first and what Jesus can accomplish through believers.

“God can do what he likes, and as we should know by now, what he likes to do is to take the most unlikely materials and do something glorious with it,” Wilson said, according to video of the sermon obtained by CNN. “Take a prayer meeting at the Pentagon for a possible example. Many stranger things have happened. God is great.”

A source who attended the service told CNN Wilson’s message was “pretty vanilla” and steered clear of political rhetoric. Attendees didn’t hear Wilson’s stance on women in the military and in combat.

The service from Wilson, a self-described Christian nationalist, was part of a regular monthly Christian worship series Hegseth started at the department last summer that critics say has underscored the erosion of the separation of church and state under the Trump administration.


Wilson has publicly described his belief in a patriarchal society where women are expected to submit to their husbands and supports repealing the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote. Women are banned from leadership positions in his church and are not allowed to vote in congregational decisions.