The Kinist Catechism

Please note: Adherents refer to themselves as Race Realists. I refer to them here as Kinists simply because that is the name by which they are more widely known.

Introduction

The Kinist Catechism is a tool to help readers understand the teachings of Kinism. The catechism is a linguistic work, not a theological one. It is also not a catechism written or approved by Kinists. They would not state their beliefs this way. I attempt to show the way their language and reasoning seem to work so that their teachings can be understood.

BYOT

Bring your own theology, there is none here. This is a hypothetical work designed to express information in an easier to understand format. It is based on linguistics, not theology.

The Lens

This work attempts to show the lens Kinists use to make their interpretation of Scripture seem coherent to insiders. It is from their perspective not ours, particularly from the perspective of newer members. This is before any overt racism, talk of slavery, or hatred of women. At first, from their perspective, those things are not the obvious conclusions, therefore they are not included here. Hatred, racism, and their consequences may be the eventual conclusions. Here, however, I am interested in the linguistic process that makes those conclusions appear reasonable to them.

Lord willing, this work helps explain why Kinists interpret verses the way they do, why they believe others are misrepresenting them even when they are stating their beliefs from their sources, and why they often think they are not racists. It should illustrate why you can have a conversation with them, believe you agree, and then later realize they meant something radically different.

The answers below show what these ideas mean in practice. Not every Kinist would use these exact words or recognize every step.

Prototype Definitions

A prototype definition is a simplified understanding of a concept based on its most familiar or typical example rather than its complete formal definition (1). It is a cognitive shortcut. What the word looks like or does becomes the definition of the word mentally.

Suppose the topic is birds. You may picture a robin. A robin flies, sings, and builds a nest in a tree. Someone else may picture a penguin. A penguin swims, waddles, and cannot fly.

You are both using the word bird, but you are reasoning from very different examples.

That becomes sophistry when someone begins with the broad category but then argues from the traits of their preferred prototype.

Birds have feathers.
Penguins are birds.
Penguins cannot fly.
Therefore, birds do not fly.

Nothing said about penguins was false. The problem is that the characteristics of one kind of bird have been inserted into the meaning of bird itself.

The same thing happens with abstract words. Two people may both say healthy, but one pictures a person whose body is functioning well, while the other pictures a thin, athletic person. They appear to agree on the word, but they are not using the same prototype.

Sophistry takes advantage of that gap. You agree to the broad understanding, while the hidden prototype supplies the conclusion.

The Shifted Meaning of Order

The key shifted word to understand what they are saying is order. The meaning of order is different from the average speaker and is used to organize everything else. This may also be one of the main ways Kinist ideas are introduced to others. If others share this distorted prototype definition of the word order they may be more susceptible to seeing scripture in the same way as Kinists.

We see the word order as meaning an arrangement, an organization, or a sequence. Things can be organized according to their characteristics, such as books in alphabetical order.

When we think of God’s order, we think of divine arrangement, organization, or sequence. Since the arrangement is divine, there might be a purpose.

For the Kinist, the divine purpose of order is to create a hierarchy of humans and relationships. Whereas the rest of us certainly see some purpose for God’s arrangement, we do not conclude that the arrangement itself represents a hierarchy of human value, permanent social rank, or unequal entitlement to authority, protection, opportunity, and benefit.

Evidence of Order

Evidence of order or a difference/distinction indicates an order and hierarchy for Kinists. A hierarchy, to them, implies that one is better than the other, inequality. The top of the hierarchy receives more authority and benefits, while the bottom receives less and should submit to the authority at the top.

Order by itself does not result in an unequal hierarchy of superiors and inferiors. But our cognitive shortcut definition often does.

Items that are organized are usually organized by their visible characteristics, such as being color-coded, grouped by shape, ordered from smallest to largest, or sorted by function. In this sense, evidence of order would be things arranged by visible characteristics.

Evidence of items having been organized does not mean that one item has greater authority, status, or worth. However, Kinists ultimately treat organization as evidence of higher and lower status. That suggests their prototype definition of “order” includes inferior or superior understandings.

Organization Plus Inferior and Superior

In addition to understanding order as being organized according to characteristics, we all have experience being inside structured hierarchies. Parents and children, manager and employee, teacher and student, elder and church member. These social hierarchies do not exist because one person is better than another or entitled to greater dignity, worth, rights, or protection. They exist because people occupy different roles with different responsibilities and levels of authority.

An elder, for example, has the same human dignity and worth as the members of the church. His office gives him particular duties and authority within the church, but it does not make him a superior kind of person or entitle him to better treatment.

When people do not understand the difference between roles and human worth, or when they experience mistreatment within a hierarchy, they may begin to perceive the hierarchy itself as granting special treatment to those at the top.

A harsh, overbearing parent teaches a child that unfair treatment is part of the parent’s authority. A neglectful manager teaches employees that those in higher positions are entitled to greater benefits while avoiding their responsibilities. An abusive elder teaches church members that spiritual authority allows a person to demand honor without showing the same dignity and care to those under his leadership.

Negative experiences can distort a person’s understanding of order. Instead of seeing hierarchy as an arrangement of different roles and responsibilities, they may understand it as a system in which those above are entitled to greater authority, status, and benefits. Those below are expected to submit, receive less consideration, and accept unequal treatment.

Kinist Prototype of Order

The internal prototype definition of order includes arranged by characteristics as well as superiority and inferiority. Order would therefore have the prototype meaning of objects that are organized into higher and lower positions with unequal authority, status, protection, treatment, and benefits according to their characteristics.

Prototype order = organized by characteristics with unequal authority, quality, status, treatment, protections, and benefits.

Prototype divine order = God’s organizing of people by their characteristics into categories of inferior and superior people with unequal authority, status, treatment, protections, and benefits.

Shortened prototype order = organized by characteristics into superior and inferior positions.

The Switching of Order

The Kinists switch out “order,” meaning things arranged according to a pattern, purpose, role, or sequence, for “order,” meaning things organized by their characteristics into superior and inferior positions.

When you say, “God established order in the family,” you mean “God arranged family relationships according to particular roles and purposes”

However, Kinists hear “God arranged family members by their characteristics into superior and inferior positions.“

You think you agree because you’re using the same words. They hear what you say but have different meanings for those words. The conversation seems to be understood by both of you, so you’re surprised later to find out they understood something different from your intended meaning.

Other Kinist Protoype Definitions

When we have an understanding of how Kinists understand order, we can begin to understand how they see other abstract concepts.

Order = Organization into superior and inferior positions.
Divine Order = God’s organization into superior and inferior positions.
Equal = The same; no meaningful difference.
Unequal = Different.
Different / Distinction = A meaningful difference or separation.
Equality = The elimination of meaningful distinction. People are the same, interchangeable, and have no meaningful differences.
Inequality = The existence of meaningful differences between people or groups.
Egalitarianism = A system of thought in which people are the same, interchangeable, and have no meaningful differences.
Complementarianism = Meaningful distinctions require unequal roles and unequal authority.
Superior = Better or higher.
Inferior = Worse or lower.
Hierarchy = Superior and inferior positions.
Authority = Evidence of higher status.
Submission = Evidence of lower status.