Alithianism

Alithianism is a major nontrinitarian branch of Christianity, which follows the theological teachings and traditions of Thaddeus Kane (1551–1623), a Reformation-era preacher from England.

Kane broke from the Anglican clergy in 1594 after proposing the possibility that the First Council of Nicaea was non-Biblical and an affront to true Christian beliefs, as well as his concern over the lack of evidence within the Bible supporting the concepts of predestination, hellfire, and the Trinity; the three most powerful doctrines in the churches throughout Europe during his lifetime. Targeted by his fellow priests for his beliefs, as well as his undermining of the moral authority of the Church of England for its excesses under Queen Elizabeth I, as well as its persecution of Catholics in the nation, Kane fled from England to British America. There, Kane wrote his beliefs which were brought together as the ideology, and began preaching it to the colonists of the Americas. Alithianism would gain a major following among the slave population of North America, who would become the eventual ancestors of the Kanians.

Alithianism advocates the belief that God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit are all separate entities, with God being superior to Christ, and the Holy Spirit not being a sentient entity, but the tool through which God accomplishes his will. Further, Alithianism does not support the hellfire doctrine, and teaches the belief that all human beings will be resurrected on the earth rather than going to Heaven following death. Because of the extensive differences between Alithianism and most other mainstream trinitarian branches of Christianity, many critics have declared that the ideology is heretical, and therefore not Christian. However, Alithianism has managed to gain a major following around the world, most notably in Kania where the Kanian Alithian Church is the largest Christian church adhering to the doctrines of Alithianism. There are more than 20 million adherents to Alithianism worldwide, with more than a third of them located in Kania.

Etymology

The name Alithian comes from the Greek word alítheia (αλήθεια), meaning "truth". After studying the Bible extensively, Kane found many inconsistencies which contradicted the teachings of both the Catholic Church and the major Protestant ideologies which arose during the time of Martin Luther. The concepts of hell, the Trinity, predestination, tithing, and other major traditions of Christianity at the time, completely flew in the face of the teachings of the Bible. This lead to Kane to use the Greek term for "truth" for his ministries, as he saw himself as spreading the true teachings of the Bible to the masses which had been hidden from them by the churches of his time.

At the time, opponents of Kane termed the followers of his teachings as Kanians, a derogatory term for the adherents, which Kane despised. He preferred the Alithian as it took the attention away from himself, and focused it onto the teachings themselves. This drew more people interested in learning about the truths of the Bible from Kane's point of view, and lessened the criticism of his opponents in the English clergy. Eventually, the term Kanian came to represent the followers of Kane, which the teachings themselves were officially known as Alithianism in 1650, more than a quarter of a century after Kane's death in the Americas.