By Fascism, Algorithms and the Rise of Christian Nationalism
by Karen Hunt | Subtack
As of that was some sort of dangerous, extreme view.
What is godliness? It is a term used in the Bible to describe a reverent awareness of God’s sovereignty over every aspect of life, and the determination to live by the biblical principle of love and to honor God in all one’s conduct.
I’m not sure we were ever a “nation of godliness”, but at least we once knew that we should be. That is, before AI got inside our heads and started telling us otherwise.
Where once Judeo-Christian morals were upheld as the highest standard of behavior, these traditional faiths are being labeled extremist ideologies and, in fact, are being turned into fascism. AI is dismantling everything that we once believed to be true, doing its best to empty our minds, so it can fill us with a new ideology of AI as God.
In multiple articles and essays I have warned of this push toward extremism, fascism, neo-Nazism—it’s amazing how many names we’ve come up with for this evil. Nobody that I know thinks they are a fascist. Both sides, left and right, believe it’s the other side who are the fascists.
Even the word “populist” has somehow turned into meaning fascist, although it is defined as “a person, especially a politician, who strives to appeal to ordinary people who feel that their concerns are disregarded by the established elite group”.
The populist movement has suffered the same fate. American Populism of the 1880s and 1890s was a series of “social movements of farmers, wage earners, women, and other sectors of society in the years after the Civil War. These movements forged the People’s Party, also known as the Populist Party, which campaigned against corporate power and economic inequality and was one of the most successful third parties in US history” (1).
Building alliances between organizations such as the Farmers’ Alliances, the Knights of Labor, and other reform movements, “gave the People’s Party its strength and shaped its character as a party of working people with a vision of egalitarian cooperation and solidarity comparable to the labor, farmer-labor, and social-democratic parties in Europe and elsewhere that took shape in the same decades” (2). This led toward socialism in the form of the Socialist Party and progressive, liberal offshoots of the Democratic and Republican Parties.
Socialism succeeded in toppling Tsar Nicholas II of Russia during the February Revolution of 1917 and grew into communism, which then became the greatest enemy of Western democracy. But only after the two forces united to destroy fascism in Germany.
Except that fascism wasn’t destroyed. As it turns out, fascism might be stronger than everything else. Or perhaps it’s just a natural progression of everything else. Certainly, fascism is on the rise.
Ever since Trump came along, the adjective “populist” has been used as a way to ease into fascism.
Populist is now synonymous with right-wing and nationalist movements, that have absolutely no connection to the original meaning of 19th-century Populism. From there, it is morphing into Christian Nationalism.
The term “Christian Nationalism” is used excessively in the news now. Could a Christian Nationalist Party take shape?
Yet, just two years ago, more than half of U.S. adults had never even heard of term. Here are some interesting responses by people when asked in 2022 what Christain Nationalism meant to them:
“Made-up term by the far left.” — Catholic, age 50-64
“Not sure, but since you ask I am a Christian and patriotic. Does that make me a Christion nationalist, I don’t know.” — Born-again/evangelical Protestant, age 65+
“When a country is filled with only Christians.” — Muslim, age 18-29
“Unconstitutional and traitorous. Christianity doesn’t belong in politics, the rise of Christian nationalism hints at a crumbling nation.” — Religious none, age 18-29
“Fanatics distorting Christian values for self-serving opportunities to further their perceived righteousness.” — Born-again/evangelical Protestant, age 50-64
“Christian nationalism means, in my opinion, laws and all aspects of life be guided by biblical interpretation.” — Hindu, age 50-64
“People who believe in Jesus, but do not trust him enough to take us through periods where the government is unsatisfactory. Their “nationalism” damages their credibility, and thereby hurts their ability to portray Jesus as only giver of salvation and peace.” — Born-again/ evangelical Protestant, age 65+
A wide array of responses from a wide variety of people. But if you believe the leftist news, such as The Conversation, Christian Nationalists are traitorous White supremacists who are joining forces in order to take over the country and return all the Black and Brown people to slavery—or something like that:
According to a May 2022 poll from the University of Maryland, 61% of Republicans favor declaring the United States a Christian nation – even though 57% recognized that it would be unconstitutional. Meanwhile, 31% of all Americans and 49% of Republicans believe “God intended America to be a new promised land where European Christians could create a society that would be an example for the rest of the world,” a recent survey from the Public Religion Research Institute found.
Reading this it would be easy to conclude that most Republicans are fascists. And certainly, every single MAGA Trump supporter must be. Could that mean a terrifying 80 million Americans? Could it mean that extremists like Nick Fuentes, the antisemitic white nationalist provocateur who infamously “dined with former President Donald Trump”, are plotting to take over the country. Imagine a country run by people like him.
The Conversation warns:
Images linking Christianity with the nation and with Trump, as part of a larger divine mission, were on full display during the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. In the most extreme Christian nationalist views, the government must be brought into alignment with this ideology – even if force is necessary.
Our research found that 68% of disciples agree that force may be necessary to maintain the traditional American way of life. Most disciples express strong support for representative democracy; however, 48% of disciples support the idea of military rule, compared with 6% of dissidents.
Wait, what? Disciples? What are they talking about? Trump has disciples now?
Whatever perversion of Christianity they are trying to promote, it’s a long way from what Jesus called his disciples to do.
Jesus’ disciples left all their earthly possessions and followed him. What did he promise them—riches and glory? No, he promised that they would be hated and killed. And that’s what happened to them. They were godly men. I would say we all fall far short of this.
But this is the high standard, at least that I was taught as a child. That high standard must be brought low. Real Christianity must be perverted and turned into fascism.
Since Covid, we have been conditioned to distrust and even hate those of differing opinions.
Over and over in arguments on social media, we heard the phrase “stay in your lane”. I have never forgotten that phrase. It was spit at me many times. And then, when I didn’t comply, when I continued to object, I was blocked. No more communication.
It sends chills down my spine to this day, because “stay in your lane” says it all. Didn’t people realize what was happening? The algorithms were setting up the prisons into which we were being assigned. I have no doubt I am identified by the algorithms as a “right wing extremist”. Yet I am not that at all. Hey, I have some nuance to me. I do not even belong to a political party. I fight against labels.
But the machines do not allow for nuance. You cannot explain yourself to a machine. It does not know how to think beyond the boxes. It only sees extremes.
In actual prisons, if you’re White, you cannot say, no, no, I’m not a White Supremacist. You have no choice but to become one. If you are Black or Latino, you are going to align with the gang from your neighborhood. Prisons are set up like this on purpose. It keeps the inmates fighting against one another instead of against the guards.
During Covid, people thought they were throwing their enemies out, like lepers, beyond the gates. Instead, they were throwing themselves into prisons of their own making. They were letting the algorithms know how they should be categorized and what information should be fed to them. Now, comfortably enclosed inside their prisons, they are allowed to say what they want. And so, they think they have “freedom”.
No one escaped classification. Those who agreed with the tyranny of Covid and those who disagreed were pushed into separate boxes. Tech gods like Elon Musk saw this as a great opportunity and took advantage of it, catering to conservatives, inviting them into the prison of “X”.
We now are seeing the results of this manipulation in the European elections. Two sides in a battle for power, unlike ever before. Not just in one or two countries, but because information is global and is passed around instantaneously, the entire Western world is caught up in this extremism.
The rise of the “right” in Europe is being called “extreme right”.
What is the right? What is the left? Who is extreme and who isn’t. Which one is more dangerous than the other. What is true and what is false? What is a man? What is a woman? It’s become impossible to define anything anymore because what used to mean one thing now means another and nobody can agree. This is a direct result of the collapse of Judeo-Christian principles. Once this confusion takes over completely, the powers that be can make anything true that they want. This will bring some relief to the masses. The confusion will finally be gone.
Take the Brothers of Italy (Fratelli d’Italia, or, FdI), for example, as Wikipediadescribes it:
According to Meloni and leading members, FdI is a mainstream conservative party. Academics and observers have variously described it as conservative, national-conservative, right-wing populist, social-conservative, nationalist, neo-fascist, post-fascist, nativist and anti-immigrant.
Which one is it? You can take your pick and the algorithms will then feed you that narrative. But that narrative will get narrower and narrower until the FdI ends up just being fascist.
Look at how news describes the far-right extremist election results.
Far-right parties make stunning gains in EU election, prompting Macron to call snap vote in France.
…surging far right parties dealt a body blow to two of the blocs most important leaders: French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholtz.
Newsweek:
Europe Map Shows Countries Where Far-Right Is Making Gains
In France, the National Rally party of Marine Le Pen, won 31.5 percent of the vote, more than twice the 14.5 percent of the Besoin d’Europe alliance, which includes President Emmanuel Macron‘s Renaissance, prompting the French head of state to call a snap parliamentary election in four weeks’ time.
In Italy, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s arch-conservative Brothers of Italy group won 28.8 percent of the vote, quadrupling what it took in the 2019 EU ballot and exceeding the 26 percent it secured in the 2022 national election.
Battered by Far Right in E.U. Vote, Macron Calls for New Elections in France
“The rise of nationalists and demagogues is a danger for our nation and for Europe,” Mr. Macron said. “After this day, I cannot go on as though nothing has happened.”
European elections FULL RESULTS: Populists SURGE across Europe in challenge to Brussels
Far-right parties also made big gains in Sweden and Spain, while populists won the most votes in Poland and Hungary.
With the Brexit Party making spectacular gains in the UK this will make the European parliament harder to control for the next EU Commissioner.
Nationalists also won big in Italy, with Salvini’s Lega finishing first on 29 percent, comfortably ahead of the main centre-left party on 24 percent.
Reacting to the news Salvini commented: “It is not only Lega that is the first in Italy, Nigel Farage is first in Britain. It is the sign of a Europe that is changing, of a Europe tired of the powers of the elites and multinationals.”
You can be sure all of this is being watched in the United States as terror seizes the left. Oh no, far-right extremism is taking over Europe. We’re next!
The twists keep messing with our minds. Apparently, Trump is the biggest Nazi on the planet. Yet, here he is, back in 2016, saying to parishioners in a black church in Detroit, “I’m here to listen.”
Here he is in the White House in 2020, being prayed over by Black Christian leaders, with this New York Times opinion piece warning that Trump had his Sights Set on Black Voters.
And here he is in May of 2024, at a rally in the Bronx. Again, listening to the people and you can see they are anything but White.
If Europe is being consumed by “far right extremism”, the media is assuring us that Donald Trump is sending the US in the same direction, even if the facts say otherwise. Don’t worry, though, the facts don’t matter. Watch them shift. That’s how powerful a story can be. If the entire world is fed the same story, over and over, the story fulfills itself.
If Europe falls to fascism, the United States will be next.
The most dangerous part of it all is how Christianity is being turned into a political movement called Christian Nationalism.
This is a backlash fueled by well-meaning Christians who got tired of being demonized in the media. No doubt, many Christians see Christian Nationalism as the hope that will turn the tables and finally give them the power and the voice they deserve.
But a nation founded on Christian principles is very different from a nation controlled by Christian Nationalists. If allowed to flourish, this movement could well turn into the very evil it started out as fighting against. It could become no better than Sharia Law.
No doubt many will disagree with me. But look at history. This is the playbook. It happens over and over. It is, unfortunately, human nature. Once power is given, corruption is sure to follow. That’s why our forefathers very wisely ensured that there would be a separation of church and state.
All of this grew out of very real and justifiable concerns, I cannot emphasize that enough. We don’t trust our current leaders and with good cause.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen vows that the EPP will build a ‘bastion against extremes’ in the EU parliament.
Why should those who doubted her then believe her now. Why should they believe anyone in the governments across Europe, or Canada, or anywhere, that imposed this tyranny on their people? And then, those same leaders led Europe to the brink of another World War. Not to mention internal strife thanks to massive migration from the Middle East.
It’s easy to get caught up in the anger. It’s easy to see how Christians especially, who have been so wrongly demonized, want to have their voices heard by forming their own Christian Nationalist party. It’s time, they say, to take back the power.
I don’t know where this will all end, but it’s nowhere good. I don’t know how we regain some sort of balance. Extremism, no matter what side, ends up being the same thing. The pendulum swings from side to side. No matter the label the algorithms put on it, nor the prison we are assigned to by the tech gods, extremism destroys us from the inside out. It’s always the same result. And somehow, I do feel that AI or whoever or whatever is behind AI has a hand in all of this.
I’m a big fan of Lex Fridman’s podcast. Just a few days ago, AI researcher and University of Louisville computer science lecturer Roman Yampolskiy came on the show, predicting that there is a 99.9% chance AI could wipe out humanity within the next 100 years.
“If we create general superintelligences, I don’t see a good outcome long term for humanity,” Yampolskiy told Fridman. “The only way to win this game is not to play it.”
Not play the game. Can we get out at this point? Every instinct tells me that we should get out now. But people will laugh. They will say don’t be such a doomer; you’re too “extreme”.
I think we’ve lost the meaning of even the word extreme.
I will end with an excerpt from my piece Nobody Does War Better than the United States to remind us of what it means to be a Christian, because we surely need to remember. That word, “Christian”, like so many others, is being hijacked. That’s why I prefer saying simply that I am a follower of Jesus.
I have mentioned Richard Wurmbrand in previous essays, and I keep coming back to him because no one illustrates true Christianity more. He would despise this Christian Nationalism and call it out for the danger that it is, I can assure you.
Richard Wurmbrand was a Jewish Christian who spent 14 years in a communist Romanian prison, tortured for his faith in Christ. He visited my home many times when I was a child, as he and his wife were friends of my parents. An incredible blessing of my childhood. Here, he describes Western Christianity, and we would do well to listen:
“Whoever has known the spiritual beauty of the Underground Church cannot be satisfied anymore with the emptiness of some Western churches. I suffer in the West more than I suffered in a Communist jail because now I see with my own eyes Western civilization dying. Oswald Spengler wrote in Decline of the West: You are dying. I see in you all the characteristic stigma of decay. I can prove that your great wealth and your great poverty, your capitalism and your socialism, your wars and your revolutions, your atheism and your pessimism and your cynicism, your immorality, your broken-down marriages, your birth-control, bleeding you from the bottom and killing you off at the top in your brains…”
Wurmbrand’s warning that we are dying as a civilization came more than fifty years ago. This was before algorithms were even a thought in a tech god’s mind. The prison Wurmbrand was in allowed him to be free in his mind, in his spirit. The prisons we are being relegated to are inside of our minds. They go with us wherever we are. They are always listening, always whispering in our ears, telling us to fear our neighbor, never be satisfied, always want more and more and more of useless things.
Be aware of this push toward extremism and know that we will be expected to choose a side and fight against the other side. Even if it makes no sense.
In one of my favorite books, That Hideous Strength, C. S. Lewis writes, “Isn’t it absolutely essential to keep a fierce Left and a fierce Right, both on their toes and each terrified of the other?”
If you doubt me, listen to C. S. Lewis. He knew what he was talking about. He was there before the algorithms took over our minds.
Related:
The Nero Trap: The Plot to Extinguish Christianity
Crisis of Faith: 4 Reasons for the Decline of Christianity
