Deus Vult!? What Does It Mean Now?

Deus Vult! ? What Does It Mean Now?

”Deus Vult!” The historic motto and cry of the European crusades of the eleventh and twelfth centuries—against the Muslims of the Middle East, especially Palestine.

Of course, it means “God wills it!” However, today, in the third decade of the twenty-first century, it is coming to have a specific cultural meaning as a meme and motto of “Christian reconstructionists.”

Trump nominee Pete Hegseth, among others, touts the motto—in his case with a tattoo on his bicep. (Hegseth is Trump’s nominee to be Secretary of Defense.) The motto is also visible on a popular tee shirt. It is going around as a meme on social media.

People are now debating what it means TO conservative Christian nationalists who wear and repeat it. The worry is that it means holy war—against perceived enemies of Christian nationalists. But who are they?

To historians and others, Deus Vult! Is linked to the crusades in which many thousands of Eastern Christians and Muslims were slaughtered. Ultimately, the goal of those crusades was not reached. It was reached temporarily with a Kingdom of Jerusalem, but, in the end, the crusades failed. And they were bloody.

Should Christians EVER encourage holy war? As an Anabaptist, I say no. However, I acknowledge that some wars have been justified, especially the war of the Allies against the Axis powers in WW2. But was that a holy war? No. No war is holy—before God himself intervenes to overthrow the Antichrist.

Evangelical Christian leaders need to speak out against the modern Deus Volt! Mindset.

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