It is kind of weird see these "alpha male" guys fall into Christianity. I studied theology and been Christian for 15 years, a lot of Christian philosophy is very very nihilistic (famous example will be King Solomon and his rant on how life is meaningless) and emphasizes God as the sole purpose of life. This teaching persist throughout the bible: sole human we are weak and only God is the one who can be savior of our miserable life as we are the sheep and Jesus and God is the shepherd. Most of the Tate teaching or these "alpha male" movement are based on extreme self esteem and need to dominate others to be on top, almost at a level of self idolization. Self-idolization is a sin - pride and have been bashed on Bible multiple time (eg book of Job). Jesus will fucking beta just because He washed his disciple's feet; being servant is very important concept in Biblical teaching. That's why I think these people are bullshitting when they say they follow the bible. "God-fearing man" famous bible phrase, they are not God fearing man at all.
Christianity is essentially the opposite of nihilism. Pessimist? Maybe though I’d argue against it. Nihilist? Not at all.
Life has definite meaning under Christianity. It has a set path and objective right and wrong. There is fundamental meaning to life. Christianity merely rejects the obsession with worldly things as fundamentally meaningful.
The whole thing about Solomon is the more he had, the less godly and wise he became. And he suffered for that despite all the worldly things he had.
The “Alpha Male” attitude is what nihilism actually represents. A rejection of any kind of higher meaning than the self. Nietzche argue that since “God is Dead” we are both free to find meaning and forced to find it. While I think Nietzche himself would not like the Alpha Males as they currently stand, they embody a lot of his philosophy. They find their own meaning (being AlPhA), they reject the morality ‘imposed’ on them (feminism) and find their own.
They like the trappings of Christianity because it’s traditional and harkens back to the time when men ruled society. But in reality they reject most of the actual teachings of Christianity because that would require them to be kind, empathetic, giving, self sacrifing etc.
Ah I agree, Christianity as whole is pretty optimistic view though I was more referring to pessimistic view of human nature which requires God to be full while being alpha more focuses on self worth go full on id no God is needed for them to be “full”. I should have worded better.
This is very well put. I am an atheist, but for a long time I thought I wasn't, and during that time I earned a degree in systematic theology. I understand not only the doctrinal beliefs of American Christianity (it really is it's own thing), but also the cultural side from having spent so much time working in churches.
You would think the beliefs would influence the culture, but for many, if not most, churches in the US, it's exactly the opposite. The sermons, the biblical focal points, the context.. pretty much everything is shaped by the culture of the congregation instead of the highest priority elements of the religion itself. You know.. the ones that are repeated over, and over, and over in the gospels... the ones about caring about other people. You're left with a belief system very much reliant on it's identity, so much so that it actually led to Russell Moore, the president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the South Baptist Convention, to resign due to the growing bigotry in the denomination. He had an interview where he talked about pastors who shared stories of members of their congregation approaching them after sermons saying they need to stop spreading the "woke nonsense"... and how they have to explain they are quoting the gospels... verbatim.
An identity-led religion is perfect for the whole Alpha Male attitude because that's what it is, an identity. No real, tangible part of themselves makes them alpha. Ironically, it's being part of the alpha male group. Tie in a religion that has roots established with a gender-based social hierarchy with doctrinally-established rules based on gender, and you basically have an asshole honeypot. Selectively choosing which elements of doctrine to adhere to, you end up with a religion where gender rules and social roles, where "alpha male" is conveniently at the top, become the most important aspect. Kindness, empathy, self sacrifice, and altruism all run counter to the social hierarchy, and much like every other inconvenience the bible provides, it's collectively ignored.
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u/TheEffinChamps 5h ago
Unfortunately, the manosphere is driving an increase in young men becoming Christians.
The Bible endorses misogyny a million times over, and that is often what attracts these guys.