How Christianity Contrived to Bring Authoritarianism to America A philosophical exploration on what made Americans decide to give up their freedoms and tank their democracy

By a great writer, my guest and friend! Walter Rhein Dec 06, 2024

This article is in response to a question by

Jeffrey David Hines, PhD

He sent me a message to say that he'd been reflecting on the intersection points of philosophy and reality. He wondered how so much of the country could support somebody who had declared himself to be [a] champion of policies that were going to cause widespread harm.

How is it possible that such a man could generate so much support?

Is it nihilism, absurdism, [or] something else?

His newsletter features a post titled Not to be Pessimistic. In this post, he references Immanuel Kant and goes into the idea of whether humanity is crooked or morally flawed.

That idea got me thinking because I think Kant himself, perhaps without being consciously aware of it, is adversely influenced by the ideology that has caused more problems than any other philosophy in human history. Personally, I reject the idea that human beings are inherently flawed. I think that is a deceit, and it has its origins in the teachings of Christ, which I think are incorrect and profoundly dangerous.

A lot of people like to say that they are frustrated with Christianity, but that they think that there is something to be saved there if we go back to the teachings of Christ. Yes, there are some good things contained in the teachings of Christ. For example, when he talks about helping the poor and healing the sick. Both of those ideas should be the objective of any civilization.

In practice, apart from various acts of performance charity, there are few examples of honest efforts to transform our society into one that values compassion and respect for human dignity. In fact, billions of dollars are diverted annually from public schools to fund religious private schools. There have long been concerns over whether religious private schools discriminate based on things like race and sexual orientation.

Most people can agree that there are problems in our society which have lingered for as long as anyone can remember. Perhaps the solutions can be found in a renewed examination of the truths we’ve long held to be self evident.

I believe Christ gets into problems when he talks about sin and the debt that is owed. For the sake of argument, let us presume that it is a false claim to state that human beings are flawed and sinful creatures.

If you believe we were created by a superior power and that that superior power made us flawed, then that flaw is the fault of the creator and not of the creation.

We're living in a time when the evil inherent to the concept of indebtedness could not be more apparent. Debt is the enemy of freedom. Debt is a tool of control. It doesn't matter if it's moral debt or financial debt, the idea should be rejected. It should be rejected with prejudice if we're talking about indebtedness for something which is an assumption and cannot be proven.

We can't prove if human beings are flawed. Claiming “flawed humans” is the root of white supremacy, bigotry, genocide, and most of the other atrocities of human history. That vile concept is assumed based on the delusional belief that there's something to be gained from assigning ugly flaws to our otherwise beautiful existence.

When I looked upon my newborn children, I didn't think to myself that they were flawed.

They looked perfect to me.

What kind of monster looks upon his babies and attempts to convince himself that they were born of sin? What agony does indulging in that foul argument inflict upon your life? These are questions that are worth our consideration.

As I've gotten to know my children, I haven't fabricated evidence for flaws out of loyalty to a false god. I see my children as they are, and that's been the greatest source of joy and fulfillment in my life. I encourage you, too, to reject the concept of sin.

Hate groups draw their ideology from the concept of a flawed humanity. You don’t have to invite that into your house. You can give yourself permission to see your children as perfect. It releases you from a sense of obligation that you must punish them.

As for me, I've rejected the ideology of punishment.

Instead, I have embraced the ideology of love. This represents a change in focus. I do not spend my time fabricating evidence for inherent flaws I’ve been taught to believe must be present.

I allow myself to experience the joy and pride of being a parent.

When my children do something wrong, I warn them of the error of their ways and explain how it will cause them harm. I don't see their mistakes as proof of a corrupted soul. Instead, I see it as an opportunity for gentle nurturing.

I ask them to correct their behavior because I do not want to see them hurt. My behavior is guided by love, not retribution. This doesn't require me to scream at them or to “other” them or say that they are sinful.

My philosophy allows me to reinforce all my actions with care and affection.

What we see in the United States is an embrace of authoritarianism. Essentially, when you look at Christianity, it's an ideology that serves to normalize authoritarianism. It grooms our population to accept the cruelty of unjust punishment.

Like other forms of authoritarianism, Christianity attacks the LGBTQ community, it prohibits women from attaining positions of power, and it has enabled sexual predators in positions of authority.

All of this is possible because the population has been brainwashed to believe it is “flawed” and deserving of punishment. We're supposed to feel indebted that we're not punished for the inherent sin of our flawed nature. The cruelty of this ideology is disguised with community, and it's disguised with false forms of affection. Sadly, this is the only form of affection most Americans are familiar with. So, they embrace authoritarians without even recognizing the dangers.

When you have an authoritarian parent who is cruel, who makes a mockery of kindness, you find yourself adopting their belief system in order to avoid punishment. You yourself ultimately reject kindness and think of compassion as weakness.

But later in life, if you're fortunate, you perhaps have the ability to embrace a new path that will lead to the life satisfaction you desire. This comes from experiencing the perspective shift where you stop assuming everyone you meet is flawed.

The problem with embracing cruelty, grievance and the idea that human beings are indebted to a superior power, is that it deprives you of control over your own life. It deprives you of control over your own perception. If you insist newborn babies are “sinful,” you’ll fabricate the evidence to comply with your beliefs.

When people assume you're guilty of horrible deeds, they become more willing to punish you. This happens even in the absence of evidence. Believing in the concept of sin creates a spiritual imbalance that leads to misguided retribution. Our whole society has been brainwashed to think of punishment as righteous. Too often, history has shown that we punish the innocent and allow the guilty to go free.

During the last presidential campaign, I saw yard signs that said “Vote Biblically.” That confused me because it clearly did NOT mean to vote for compassion or human rights or diversity or empathy. Instead, the signs encouraged a vote for punishment and the submission to authority.

That's revealing.

There is evidence that the people of the United States associate Christianity with authoritarianism. They want to see people punished. They don't seem to care if the people who are punished have done anything wrong or not. In fact, they assume they've done something wrong in the same way they've been trained to believe a newly born, innocent baby is guilty of sin.

That's the indoctrination of cruelty. You need to reject it and accept that human beings are not flawed. Human beings are taught to be flawed by false teachings. Among those false teachings are the words of Jesus Christ.

When you've been trained to tolerate authoritarianism, you become willing to subjugate yourself to a higher power. But there's no escape to be found in obedience.

That, I think, is the hardest lesson that people are going to learn.

If you bow down to a corrupt god or human being, you condemn yourself and everyone else to abuse.

That's the only outcome here.

Maybe what we need to do is recognize that if we have a concept of god, it must be feminine because only women are able to create life. Perhaps what we need to do is change our cultural ideology to reject false authoritarianism and false assumptions of wrongdoing. We must reject assumptions of the essential flaw in humanity and instead cultivate appreciation for the divine beauty of creation, community, and mutual support.

We need to start having more honest discussions about the crimes of Christianity. We must speak honestly about the evil that has come from the ideology of grievance and the philosophy that all people are sinful and deserve to be punished.

These are the beliefs that we need to reject, and they're fundamentally fused with our cultural and personal ideologies. Until we free ourselves, and open ourselves to the possibility that we can achieve the things that we want through kindness rather than punishment, we're going to be condemned to misery and failure as a society and as a race. We have to support each other, rather than continually find scapegoats among the innocent to take the blame for the consequences of our flawed beliefs.

We are equipped with the ability to think for ourselves. That means examining even the things that we've held to be true for thousands of years. I feel as if we're at a point in history where it's going to be difficult to avoid observing the hardships that arise out of cruel assumptions.

The question is whether we're going to grant ourselves the mercy that comes from seeing the truth, or whether we will continue to inflict pain upon ourselves and upon our children.

I very much hope we will finally grant ourselves the wisdom to embrace kindness. Ask yourself, do you have the courage to look at your own children and allow yourself to believe, deep in your heart, that they are not flawed by their humanity?

How can you persist in believing your children are “sinful,” and claim that you love them? Why is our society so insistent on inflicting punishment for crimes that have not been committed? Don't you see that this is the ideology of hatred?

It doesn't work. It's time to give love a chance.

[A Note from Jeffrey David Hines: Walter, Bravo! Your post blew past my highest expectations. Your response to my question is, without a doubt, the best answer I have ever received on any question, and I have posed many! I can see you have so much to offer, and I can learn so much from you! I will add a postscript referencing your response to my question in my original Immanuel Kant post. Why? Your reasoning forced me to reconsider Kant’s theory and my beliefs. I sincerely thank you for that, my friend. I DO want to see the world and humanity in a positive light, and I believe you have started me on that path. Thank you, Walter. Best always, Jeffrey]

This publication is reader sponsored. If you have the means, please consider sponsoring at whatever level is comfortable for you!