United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is a convinced Christian nationalist, often boasting about his faith and embarked on the mission of selling the war against Iran as a “holy war.” This Wednesday, however, he demonstrated a somewhat pious knowledge of the Bible − or, at least, filtered through movies − when he recited a passage supposedly belonging to the Book of Ezekiel from the Old Testament. Instead of sticking to the Holy Scriptures, he read a monologue by Samuel L. Jackson in the violent classic of 1990s cinema Pulp Fiction, by Quentin Tarantino.
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He did so during a religious service held at the Pentagon. His intention was to honor the military of a rescue corps deployed in Iran. And he recited, almost word for word, the alteration of a Bible passage, taken in turn by Tarantino, one of the best screenwriters of contemporary cinema, from a Japanese martial arts film of the 70s.
Hegseth read this: “The path of the downed aviator is besieged everywhere by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of camaraderie and duty, guides the lost through the valley of darkness; for he is truly the guardian of his brother and the finder of lost children. And I will unleash upon you, with great vengeance and furious anger, my punishment against those who attempt to capture and destroy my brother; and you will know that my call sign is Sandy One when I bring down my vengeance upon you. Amen.”
The passage recited by the character played by Jackson, a hitman in a black suit, is this: “
