Karl Faase, host of the new Encounter testimony video series tells The Other Cheek about attending the ARC (Alliance for Responsible Citizenship) conference in London that attracted many Christians among an audience of leaders concerned with the future of Western nations. He highlights the strengths and weaknesses of the ARC approach.
What is ARC and why were you there?
ARC is a response to the pervasive leftist agenda which has been dominant across western democratic nations. This ideology leans towards radical gender ideology, climate catastrophising, big government, censorship of free speech, open borders, large scale immigration and the under mining of nation states.
My experience of ARC is not as a radical right-wing organisation full of bigots, racists and climate deniers. It is a gathering of seriously well-informed thinkers, writers, politicians, business leaders and academics concerned with the state of modern western nations..
The timing and influence of the ARC the agenda was actually demonstrated on the other side of the world while ARC was happening. In Sydney, The Australian newspaper interviewed Larry Fink, the head of Blackrock, the world’s biggest asset manager and one of the most powerful investors on Wall Street, with $US11.6 trillion ($A18 trillion) under management. Fink made this observation of the current cultural moment..
“The pendulum was very far left, and the pendulum is moving right.” Fink then spoke of how Blackrock is stepping back from several leftist agendas and focusing on creating wealth of their client base. This [pendulum movement] is the aim of ARC.
As a Christian leader, I have been concerned with the leftist agenda and appreciate the writing and commentary of those standing against this agenda and seeking to alert people to this drift. People such as Jordan Peterson, Douglas Murray, Ayan Hirsi Ali, Niall Ferguson, Os Guinness and Australians such as John Anderson, Chris Uhlmann and Greg Sheridan. All these people were speaking at ARC. That was a significant draw for me.
2) What were the highlights?
There were numerous highlights, difficult to summarise. One highlight was Jordan Peterson’s opening talk on day one. The content was excellent and a clear summary of the issues facing the west.
The other remarkable feature of this 15-minute talk, was that it was delivered with no notes. I and many others speak with no notes but this talk was full of long dense sentences with complex ideas, basically without breaking for thought or stumbling over words. Even if you dislike Peterson’s opinions, it was a fantastic piece of oration.
Meeting and interacting with key leaders from across Australia and internationally was inspiring and refreshing.
The other key highlight is to be at a secular conference where Christian faith is recognised as a positive good, in fact an essential mark of a truly great and fair society.
3) What did you make of Jordan Peterson? (Peterson has been a key figure in the ARC movement.)
Peterson is an enigma; he is very hard to pin down theologically. While I haven’t read his latest book, it is surprising that someone of no faith would write a book called “We who wrestle with God”. Peterson is deeply moved by the current state of western culture, and he is passionate about changing that. There are those, like Greg Sheridan, writing in The Australian, who suggest that Peterson is a Christian. I am not convinced.
Peterson is deeply moved by the current state of western culture, and he is passionate about changing that.
I think one of the key marks of Peterson’s character is honesty. It is why he rose to international fame, it is the subject of a chapter of his Twelve Rules for Life book and it remains a key motivation for him. He maintains his honesty in the face of opposition and criticism which is a constant for Peterson.
I believe his motives are good, he wants to see a shift in western democracies which will put an end to many of the crazy ideological positions constantly pushed in western culture. Without his courage, intellectual depth and laser like focus on change, events like ARC would not have occurred
4) Defending western civilisation was a theme – what did you make of the mix of political and Christian commentary?
The theme, from my perspective, is that to defend and rebuild western civilisation we need to go back to what made western civilisation such a powerful force for good and prosperity and that is the Judeo-Christian world view. This is complex as many want the values without the Saviour. In a panel discussion, apologist and Christian thinker Os Guinness said “The Christian faith will do nothing for civilisation if it’s viewed as useful. It will only be …. effective if it is understood to be true and you have enough people as citizens who have a loyalty to ultimate reality.” British Christian leader and speaker Amy Orr-Ewing also made the same point.
ARC is trying to walk a difficult line as it is a secular movement but it recognises the indispensable need for the values of Christianity if we are to rebuild civilisation. They are in danger of trying to capture the values of Christian faith without believing Christian doctrines. Time will tell if this will be a successful endeavour.