How Christianity Became the Empire It Was Supposed to Resist
They Used Religion to Conquer the Mind — Not Save the Soul
Introduction
There’s a saying I once heard:
“Three kings rule the world. First, we have the the king of banking. Next we have the king of the military. Last we have the king of religion.”
Most people in the alternative space have no problem questioning the first two.
But very few ever dare to challenge the third.
That’s changing now.
Lately, a few familiar names in the conspiracy and alt-thought world have begun re-examining the religion they were handed.
launched a series questioning the faith he grew up in. followed with his commentary.And for a while now, I’ve been exploring this myself—not just as a researcher, but as someone who grew up inside the system.
If you’ve been reading Unorthodoxy for a while, then you already know where I stand. But if you’re new, let this be your invitation—not to destroy faith, but to reclaim it.
Because the Christianity most of us know isn’t rooted in divine truth.
It’s rooted in control.
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When Belief Is Rooted in Fear
Most people don’t follow a religion because they’ve done deep theological study or spiritual excavation. They follow it because they’re afraid.
Afraid of hell. Afraid of punishment. Afraid of being wrong.
But the moment fear becomes the foundation of your belief, you are no longer practicing faith—you’re performing obedience. You’ve been conditioned to submit.
And the truth is, much of what we call Christianity today was never about liberation. It was designed to keep empires intact.
The following are some of the articles I’ve written on the faith to help shine light on this aspect of control.
1) The Rapture Was Invented—Literally
In one of my more controversial articles, I broke down how the modern “end times” theology—complete with Rapture, Tribulation, and Antichrist—is not biblical at all.
These ideas were first introduced by Jesuit priest Francisco Ribera in the 1500s. His reinterpretation of Revelation wasn’t about uncovering truth. It was a defensive strategy—meant to deflect Protestant accusations that the Roman Church was the Antichrist.
By inventing a future, fictional enemy, the real system of control could remain untouched.
We’ve spent centuries looking forward for signs of the Antichrist, never realizing it was the institution we were raised to trust.
That revelation alone is enough to shake the foundation of belief.
But it’s only the beginning.
2) I Wouldn’t Be Christian If It Weren’t for War
This next piece is a reality a lot of us face:
If it weren’t for conquest and colonization, I wouldn’t have been introduced to Christianity.
As someone of African origin, I’ve had to confront this reality head-on. The only reason Christianity dominates the continent is because it was forced onto us—through invasion, suppression, and the erasure of indigenous spiritual systems.
European missionaries didn’t just preach the gospel. They replaced entire cultures. And let’s be honest: Europe was—and still is—the Roman Empire in new clothing.
The same empire that crucified rebels, burned libraries, and silenced mystics now rebranded itself through religion. And people bowed, not out of devotion, but out of fear.
African spirituality—deeply aligned with ancient Judaism, Hinduism, and Eastern mysticism—was labeled voodoo. Demonic. Uncivilized.
Not because it was evil, but because it couldn’t be controlled.
3) The Empire Didn’t Fall. It Rebranded.
Rome never fell. It simply changed robes.
Today, it governs through subtle means: calendars, holidays, institutional dogma, “universal” truths that were never universal at all. The Pope wears a different hat, but the structure remains the same.
We still live by Roman time. We still celebrate Roman festivals, even when we call them Christian. We still believe in Roman myths of power, punishment, and divine hierarchy.
And that brings us to the biggest buried truth of all.
4) The Christianity They Silenced
There was a time when Christianity wasn’t about external worship.
It was about internal transformation.
The Gnostics, early mystic Christians, believed salvation came through gnosis—direct knowledge of the divine. They taught that each of us carries a divine spark, that the world is a kind of illusion, and that the god of this world might not be the true Creator at all.
These teachings were dangerous—not because they were false, but because they freed people from external authority.
So Rome erased them.
They called it heresy. Burned the texts. Hunted the believers.
And what remained was a religion designed not to awaken—but to domesticate.
So Why Does This Matter?
Because if you never question the source of your beliefs, then you’re still living in someone else’s reality.
And when it comes to faith, the cost of ignorance is your soul’s sovereignty.
Ask yourself:
Why would a loving Creator design eternal damnation for its own creation?
Why is fear the dominant fuel of most Western spirituality?
Why have all ancient systems that emphasized direct knowledge been labeled dangerous?
If you don’t ask, you’ll never remember.
Over the past few years, I’ve written extensively about these topics—from the hijacking of the end-times narrative, to my personal reckoning with inherited religion, to the deeper esoteric truths that were buried under centuries of control.
And I believe these writings are more needed now than ever.
All of the pieces I mentioned are part of my members-only archive. When you subscribe, you’re not just supporting the work—you’re supporting a rediscovery of that which was lost. And bringing forth a reality they chose to hide from us.
Let’s go there.
Let’s walk the narrow path.
Because the faith they gave us?
It was never ours to begin with.
It’s time to take it back.
As always, thank you for the time and the attention. Let me know if there are any questions.
Ashe,
Franklin O’Kanu
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Beautiful Franklin! The True Gnostics Know!
Interesting this should come into my feed right while I'm questioning the leadership of the current "church" system! How do you, Franklin, interpret Matthew 15 vs 24 and the surrounding content? How do you deal with the concept questioning who Israel is today vs back then? https://www.courageouslion.us/p/is-it-time-to-take-another-lookwho I am CONVINCED that the modern "church" system has become a Babylonian whore with the way they have embraced a business model with 501c3 tax except status and other man made requirements. I can't get any near me to allow me to sing songs of praise without jumping through hoops and following man made traditions! It's so DISCOURAGING! And yet Father keeps pushing me forward. Even if I am shunned in the process I'm starting to realize that the Lion of Judah, that dwells within me is who they are rejecting.