After I read the transcripts of Peter Thiel’s four lectures on the antichrist at the Commonweal Club in San Francisco, I invited him to a debate on the topic.
I have some credentials for such an exchange, as a theologian who published a book on the Antichrist 14 months ago. That book included two major artists over the centuries: Hildegard of Bingen, now a saint and doctor of the church. And Luca Signorelli, who painted a giant fresco on the antichrist in 1501 in the stunning Cathedral in Orvieto, Italy.
Sigmund Freud visited this very fresco three separate times to study it—a unique story since Freud was not a regular visitor to churches or synagogues, to put it mildly, being an atheist by choice.
I invoke Carl Jung as well, who discoursed at some length on the attraction and dangers of the antichrist archetype.
It seems to me that Peter Thiel and I have a lot to discuss about the antichrist. So I extended my invitation to do so in two DMs two weeks ago, and in a private letter I sent him. Many people have asked me when the debates are happening. Perhaps he has not received any of these communications. In which case, I reiterate my offer here.
I do wonder why he has not responded to my invitation.
Perhaps, being a protected billionaire, he only talks to people who don’t challenge him.
Or, being a maker of “kings,” i.e., vice-presidents, he has no need to learn from others.
Perhaps he fears he could not control the truth, as other billionaires are busy doing these days by buying up media such as CBS, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, X, Facebook, etc. And he serves a president devoted to shutting down PBS and NPR altogether—with, of course, the complete acquiescence and silence of the entire Republican Congress.
Maybe because the truth about the antichrist might point to himself—a reality he himself actually hints at.
Or to his allies in MAGA, including the president, vice president, and many Republican senators and congresspeople who seem to have sold their consciences years ago. (Note: See the current movie, Truth and Treason! The best movie on conscience ever.)
Or perhaps Mr. Thiel does not want to be reminded of the real message of Jesus that a world and “kingdom/queendom” of peace and justice, and compassion is actually possible for humanity to create.
Or, having declared he is “religious and not spiritual,” Mr. Thiel is not interested in learning about a spirituality that calls for developing Gratitude and Justice and Compassion toward self and other creatures, including Mother Earth herself.
Or perhaps he has suffered such abuse at the hands of his father that a religion of punitive fatherhood, i.e., fascism, owns him.
Maybe it is because he has his own religion, which he and certain other Silicon Valley billionaires are busy promulgating.
Maybe he fears all of MAGA will be exposed for bearing antichrist energies and values contrary to those of Jesus. Such as hatred vs love; revenge vs forgiveness; greed vs sharing; fatalistic self-hatred vs community building; control vs. wisdom. Values such as “young republicans” were talked about in leaked conversations recently, with language such as “I love Hitler” and “I have a streak of Nazis in me” (the latter from a Trump nominee for a high post at the DOJ).
Or maybe he just doesn’t want to waste time with a Christian priest—though he does seem to call himself a Christian and cites Christian philosophers and theologians and gives advice freely on such topics as popes—“pray for them, but you don’t have to listen to them.” He has called Pope Francis a “communist” and criticized Pope Benedict for not having the courage to speak publicly about the antichrist.
Well, I have had the courage. And you, Peter?
Maybe he is embarrassed for having held up Greta Thunberg and Bill Gates as candidates for antichrist. Or for adopting Nazi Carl Schmidt as one of his mentors. (Again, See Truth and Treason.)
Maybe he is too busy to take time off to debate a priest and theologian (though he has spent many hours discoursing on the antichrist at Harvard, Oxford, Innsbruck, San Francisco, etc.)
If any of these reasons explain his silence, then I understand. And I don’t want to berate him for his lack of courage. I wish him well.
But I also pray that he will look in the mirror and examine his conscience and motives and what he is doing with the billions of dollars he is making, arming ICE and spying on other human beings via his company Palantir.
I hope he does not ignore his potential for doing some genuine good in the world with his obvious talents and his hard-earned money. It is never too late to repent and start over. Just as Jesus advised the young man who approached him looking for salvation.
Banner Image: Matthew Fox and the debate partner who wasn’t there. Background photo of Peter Thiel by Gage Skidmore on Wikimedia Commons. Matthew Fox, photo by Michael Conti.
Queries for Contemplation
Why do you think Peter Thiel has not responded to my invitation to a public debate or to a private sit down to discuss the antichrist? Do some of my proposals hit home?
Related Readings by Matthew Fox
Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ
Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul & Society
A Spirituality Named Compassion: Uniting Mystical Awareness with Social Justice
Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the Earth
Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality
Christian Mystics: 365 Readings & Meditations
11 thoughts on “Is Peter Thiel Afraid to Debate Me on the Anti-Christ?”
“Why do you think Peter Thiel has not responded? Is Peter Thiel afraid?”, you rightly ask. I believe that his showmanship is a mask and an anesthetic for a deeply insecure psyche to whom the prospect of being exposed and vulnerable is tantamount to death. It is much safer to partake in the banquet of the Masked Adepts of General Anesthesia (MAGA).
Go get ’em, Matthew!
He may well look down his nose at anyone associated with the Catholic Church.
I already commented on these questions two weeks ago when you first publicly challenged (including your DM) Peter Thiel to a debate. I continue to applaud your efforts to debate him, bet his refusal to accept and even acknowledge your offer confirms what I already shared about his lack of genuineness, ignorance, or cowardice. Your spiritual values of Truth, Peace, Justice, Compassion… continue to inspire Us!
Matthew, why would he debate you when he knows that you are going to undercut everything he believes? I wish he would, but I don’t think it’s going to happen simply because he is an insecure billionaire who can’t afford to be made to look like a fool that he is.
I am inclined to agree: Peter Thiel is afraid, as he has no faith in God to ground him.
Contance Cumbey is renowned for her best-selling book “Hidden Dangers of the Rainbow.” She wrote that Matthew Fox could possibly be the End-Times Antichrist. She claimed he worshiped “Mother Earth” more than the transcendent Creator, because his panentheistic spirituality was Creation Centered and not God Transcendent Centered. Cumbey equated Fox with the scripture: ” They worshipped the creation more than the Creator.”
Google says: Panentheism posits that the universe exists within God, who also extends beyond it. The cosmos is seen as a living, sacred entity—sometimes called “Mother Earth” or Gaia—and is considered a manifestation of God
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World renowned Paramahansa Yogananda, taught that the universe is a living, divine manifestation, a projection of a more subtle, non-material reality. It is “an essentially, a undifferentiated mass of light ” He said the devotee has to become one with It (a lesser Divinity) before he/she can become One with the transcendent Father beyond the creation.
Mr. Thiel thinks he can hide from his karma. But not all the money in the world can protect one from the truth that “as ye sow, so shall you reap.”
Bullies are cowards. They are consumed with self hatred, which they must project onto others. He diminishes you and denigrates you because he fears you and what you represent. Keep at it, even if it seems as though you are a voice crying in the wilderness. Thank you for your courage and witness for Christ.
Thank you so much for this reflection that is so needed today! I pray he will take you up on this debate. Hats off to you reminding us. It is never too late to repent and start over. Perhaps others will hear as well. Thank you, thank you!
You are an absolute worrier and may you live long an prosper! Thank you for your honesty, truth and determination. you are a shining light in out chaotic life.