What's Up with Peter Thiel's Obsession with the Antichrist?
9 hours ago
- #Political Theology
- #Antichrist
- #Peter Thiel
- Peter Thiel is delivering a four-part lecture on the Antichrist in San Francisco, framing it as 'political theology.'
- Thiel has previously given off-the-record Antichrist lectures at Oxford, Harvard, and the University of Austin.
- Thiel's interest in the Antichrist reflects his belief that religion is a weapon for political warfare.
- Historically, Americans have used the Antichrist concept to demonize political enemies, from Native Americans to Barack Obama.
- Thiel draws on Nazi philosopher Carl Schmitt and Catholic thinker René Girard to frame politics as a struggle against existential enemies.
- Thiel's rhetoric aligns with QAnon and other conspiracy theories, turning politics into a zero-sum holy war.
- Thiel has named potential Antichrists, including Greta Thunberg, communism, and tech regulation.
- Thiel's own actions, such as co-founding Palantir, mirror the traits he attributes to the Antichrist.
- Other tech figures, like Nicole Shanahan and Katherine Boyle, also invoke religious themes in their rhetoric.
- Alexander Dugin, a Russian ultranationalist, shares Thiel's fixation on the Antichrist, framing the U.S. as the 'country of apocalypse.'
- Traditional religious conservatives have criticized tech billionaires for their apocalyptic rhetoric.
- Thiel's Antichrist theories are seen as a highbrow version of MAGA End-Times theology.
- Naming the Antichrist fosters a crisis mentality, justifying violence and persecution.
- Recent events, like the assassination of Charlie Kirk, show how apocalyptic rhetoric can escalate into real-world violence.
- The article suggests tech billionaires should focus on empathy and forgiveness rather than hunting for Antichrists.