Watching a nominee for SecDef - a post of monumental trust and responsibility - wave off concerns about his history of problem drinking, spousal abuse and rape with a blithe, "I've fallen short, Jesus forgives" line makes me pine for the days when repentance might have meant taking monastic vows. - ThreadSky

bretdevereaux.bsky.social • 156 days ago

Watching a nominee for SecDef - a post of monumental trust and responsibility - wave off concerns about his history of problem drinking, spousal abuse and rape with a blithe, "I've fallen short, Jesus forgives" line makes me pine for the days when repentance might have meant taking monastic vows.

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amateurmonastic.bsky.social•156 days ago

Didn't Henry II have to do some literal creeping on his knees as penance for the death of Becket? We should bring back that sort of thing.

mgraalum.bsky.social•156 days ago

I think an excommunicated Holy Roman Emperor had to beg the Pope at one point

namehereguy.bsky.social•155 days ago

The Pope made him wait outside in the snow for three days to make a point.

hattusilas.bsky.social•155 days ago

OT, but if you haven't seen this, it's probably of professional interest to you:
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/jan/15/iron-age-men-left-home-join-wives-families-dna-study-reveals

robjlow.bsky.social•156 days ago

Or at least taking the 'and sin no more' bit seriously.

stephenmj.bsky.social•155 days ago

forgiveness and repentance are not the key ingredients of readiness; an attitude that claims to prize standards is meaningless unless those standards seek to forestall crime and compromise of personnel security as well as guarantee strength and fortitude

bretdevereaux.bsky.social•156 days ago

Instead, grace seems to have become just another professional rebranding - no need to step back and seriously consider one's life, no need to adopt a life of quiet service, just a straight route back to unreflective power, wealth and prominence.

l-r0b.bsky.social•156 days ago

Henry II would not be amused, among others.

ianboudreau.com•156 days ago

Who needs expertise or character when you've got unwavering loyalty and debt to the sovereign? I'm sure there's no precedent for this system ever going disastrously wrong

dirtside.bsky.social•156 days ago

is being thrown into a volcano for displeasing the gods still on the table?

tancred1098.bsky.social•156 days ago

I will refer to him every time as SecPoS if/when he makes it through confirmation.

fishfoode.bsky.social•156 days ago

sola fide ruins everything once again

bretdevereaux.bsky.social•156 days ago

I don't think the problem here is sola fide, I think the problem is quite clearly that Hegseth and the people around him don't really think he did much of anything wrong.

If one felt deep remorse and grief over past actions, they'd respond rather differently to being questioned about them.

spiritusnox.bsky.social•156 days ago

The world we would live in if some motherfuckers took a vow of silence.....

foxessa.bsky.social•155 days ago

And wearing a hair shirt 24/7, living on bread and water only, and never leaving his cell, or speaking, writing, or doing anything except praying.

tinydoctor.bsky.social•156 days ago

Hegseth has already taken the crusader vow.

tinydoctor.bsky.social•156 days ago

Which pretty much absolves crusaders of any sin they commit before or after.

bretdevereaux.bsky.social•156 days ago

This would be ironic as reformed theology - he is a member of a reformed church - would reject the ability of the Pope to offer any such absolution on his authority.

But I'm not expecting any real theological rigor from this fellow.

tinydoctor.bsky.social•156 days ago

No kidding. One might suspect rigor mortis, but that's only a stage in decay.

breadlife.bsky.social•156 days ago

Much smaller transgressions have tempted me to live on a pole for a few decades so I could have a good think about how I fucked up so much.

umotu.bsky.social•156 days ago

Would love to know which church he belongs to and how often he attends. Do you think it’s just a Trump autographed Bible?

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