“We think about God as a God of love. We know that ‘God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but should have everlasting life.’ We know that God loves. But did you know that God also hates? Do you know that God also is a God of war?” –Franklin Graham *
This is NOT the way I would start a Christmas sermon. And if online comments are any indication, few other pastors would either. Rev. Graham spent the next 8 minutes telling the story of God’s “hatred” for the Amalekites after they had ambushed the Israelites in the wilderness (Exodus 17:8ff). The Amalekites were defeated, thanks to a miracle, but God never forgot the attack. Four hundred years later, God commanded King Saul (1 Samuel 15) to completely obliterate the Amalekites as punishment for their attack in the wilderness. Saul was told to kill every man and woman, every infant and child, every animal–cattle, sheep, camels and donkeys. Saul violated God’s command by sparing the king of the Amalekites and keeping the best of the animals. Because of Saul’s failure to obey, God rejected Saul as King.
Rev. Graham mentioned Jesus’s birth, his death for the sins of the world, his resurrection and the promise of his second coming toward the close of his sermon, but I was so distracted by the first 8 minutes of the message focused on God’s 400-year-old grudge and the retribution God ordered that I couldn’t concentrate on the remaining 5 minutes.
This was a Christmas message? And what was the message those in the audience were to supposed to take from the sermon (especially in the context of the location–the Pentagon, headquarters of the Department of War–and recent military action–the destruction of small boats and the people onboard)? Was it a message that God destroys sinners and uses patriots to accomplish God’s destruction? Was it a message to suggest that God is on side of the modern-day state of Israel and a justification for its ongoing genocide of their enemy, the Palestinians in Gaza? Was it affirmation that God blesses the use of US military might to punish God’s (and our) enemies? Was it a subtle blessing of our leader’s incessant pursuit of punishment of those who oppose him? Was it a reminder to the US military brass that following orders is a moral obligation no matter what those orders are? Was it a warning on the consequences of disobeying the Commander in Chief?
Whatever people took from the sermon, Brian Kaylor, editor-in-chief of Word & Way, noted that “Graham offered the Secretary of War [Pete Hegseth] a Christmas gift by proclaiming a God of war.” Hegseth took that gift and ran with it. On December 17, the Secretary of War issued an order for the destruction of a boat in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, claiming the boats were “engaged in narco-trafficking operations” without providing evidence. Four people were killed in the attack. And then, on December 18, two more boats were destroyed, killing 5 people. Since September 2, over 100 people have been killed in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.
Here’s a message from Jesus, the Word made flesh who dwells among us: “You have heard it said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemies.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven, [who] causes [the] sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”
* (These are the opening sentences of Franklin Graham’s sermon at the Pentagon’s inaugural Christmas Worship Service on December 17, 2025.)
Tongue on Fire 