Last week my colleague Donovan Sharpe published an article entitled A Red Pill Perspective On The Existence Of God. The article is a meditation on how belief in God, specifically from a Christian perspective, can be sustained in light of neomasculine philosophy. The topic is infinitely important for our lives so Donovan’s article deserves an intelligent response. Here is my attempt.

Modern Christianity is weak, cucked, and often plain wrong

Modern Christianity has watered down the message of Christ in many ways. Donovan mentions one of them: The “God has a wonderful plan for your life” slogan. This slogan was developed by Bill Bright who founded the Campus Crusade for Christ in the 1950s. Bright tried to boil down the Christian gospel to an easy-to-present plan to facilitate making converts.

The problem with the “God has a wonderful plan” slogan is that it is patently untrue. Traditional Christianity teaches that God does indeed have a plan for our lives, but that it might not be what we consider wonderful. The Twelve Apostles did not have wonderful lives. They were poor and persecuted during their lives and were martyred for their belief. Other saints through the ages experienced every sort of deprivation. If we wanted to develop a more accurate slogan for Christianity it might be: “God wants you to be with him eternally. Your life here may or may not be that great.”

This message that God promises people a wonderful life has had a deep impact on the lives of many modern Christians. It is a message that fits perfectly with our hedonistic culture that puts pleasure above duty. Christian couples forego having children so they can travel or drive luxury cars. Lukewarm Christian women divorce perfectly good husbands in pursuit of the Prince Charming they think they deserve. Bishops and pastors preach only those parts of the gospel that make them popular with the secular culture.

Modern Christianity is also compromised in other ways. Rather than standing against the culture, Christian churches have tried to accommodate as much of the culture as possible. Some denominations have embraced Christian feminism, push for left wing social causes such as open borders, and bless gay marriages. For that reason, if you want to learn what real Christianity is, you will have to ignore recent teaching in favor of the past.  A good rule of thumb is to simply avoid reading Christian material written after 1900. Listen to your Sunday Sermon but take it with a grain of salt.

But does it work?

Donovan’s article is written from a practical perspective: Does it benefit red-pill men? Here is my personal take on whether Christianity is helpful. To begin, the only reason to become a Christian is if you happen to believe it is true. If you believe it to be true, you have no choice. There are times when I wish Christianity wasn’t true because it makes me uncomfortable. That said, there are both advantages and disadvantages to Christianity.

The biggest disadvantage of Christianity is that it cramps one’s style. For men, the biggest hit comes in the form of sexual morality: you can only have sex with your wife. And you can’t divorce her. No fapping, no polygamy, and no concubines. If you are a PUA, becoming a Christian will end your pick-up career. That said, Christian morality, even sexual morality, is conducive to success in life.

As for advantages, I believe my life is better than it would have been had a remained an agnostic. I happen to like being married. Fathering children has been the greatest joy in my life and I can’t imagine doing it outside of marriage. Being a Christian was what made me realize that there was something very wrong with modern culture. I attribute becoming red-pilled to reading older Christian books. I have not found that Christianity leads to becoming a beta cuck. On the contrary, it is a call to be a man fully alive.

But ultimately, Christianity is not about earthly benefits. G.K. Chesterton was once asked why he had become a Christian and he responded, “To have my sins forgiven.” Christianity promises more than just heaven to believers: It promises nothing less than divine sonship—to be a son of God. The divine adoption of a Christian is not something that starts in the future, although it will receive its fulfillment there. It begins in the here and now. If becoming a son of God is not a good enough reason to become a Christian, I don’t know what is.

Islam and Women

Donovan ends his article with the observation that Islam appears to do a much better job at dealing with women than Christianity. From an external point of view, this does indeed seem to be the case. In an Islamic society, women are forbidden from doing many things such as voting or driving. They also must not be seen in public without some type of covering. We might imagine that women in Islamic society are loving and obedient to their fathers and husbands. In my experience this romantic view of life under Islam is a myth.

While I was in college I had several Muslim friends so I was able to observe some differences between Islam and Christianity. Jesus laid great emphasis on interior disposition. He criticized the Pharisees for being obedient to the letter of the law, but not its spirit. For example, Jesus taught that it was not only wrong to commit adultery physically, but that one must also refrain from lustful thoughts. Serious Christians, therefore, make an effort not just to appear to be good on the outside, but to be good in their hearts.

Islam, on the other hand, appears to be a religion that is very much devoted to external forms. As long as you obey the letter of the law, you are bound for paradise. This is why the 9-11 hijackers saw no discrepancy between visiting a strip club before they flew planes into the World Trade Center. This legalistic attitude played a big role in the Muslim girls I knew. While they were technically virgins in that they still had a hymen, they were very promiscuous in every possible way that did not violate their virginity. These Muslim girls also tended to be very materialistic. All those hijabs in Saks and Barney’s are not just window shopping. And even the perception of obedience seemed to be a myth: Muslim women can be very demanding of their husbands. I will caveat my observations by noting that my sample size was very limited. I’m certain that some Muslims do interiorize their faith, but I didn’t witness that.

In contrast, devout Christian girls, while not perfect, are the real McCoy. If they are virgins (yes, they exist), they are more likely to be actual virgins, not just technically. While all girls like nice things Christian girls are less materialistic than non-Christians. And Christian women tend to be loving and faithful wives and excellent mothers. The only bad thing I can say about the Christian women that I know is that there are so few of them. They are usually the result of being raised in deeply Christian households. But the rarity of Christian girls is not a flaw in Christianity, but a deficiency of Christian leaders who have watered down the teachings of Christ to fit in with the wider culture.

Conclusion

We live in a post-Christian civilization. Most people who call themselves Christians, including many ministers and priests, have a weak faith that shrinks under the slightest opposition.It is natural that masculine men reject this flaccid philosophy. But true Christianity is anything but weak. If you are going to give Christianity a try, make sure it is the genuine article and not a modern day fake.

Read More: Philosophical Approaches To Proving The Existence Of God