Bruce Ashford has written an incredibly helpful 4-part series on the alt-right movement and how evangelicals should respond to it. Not only is this worth your time for reading and your own understanding, but many church members will likely have questions about Resolution 10 and what the SBC meant when it passed a resolution condemning the alt-right movement. This is don’t-miss material.
The Anti-Gospel of the Alt-Right
Overview: An Evangelical Conservative’s Guide to the Alt-Right
Part 1: An Introduction to Alt-Right Ideology
Part 2: A Profile of 5 Alt-Right Leaders
Part 3: A Response to FAQs about the Alt-Right
Part 4: An Evaluation of the Alt-Right
I mainly post this here to make you aware of this excellent resource. I plan on making it available to our church members when we give a #SBC17 overview to our church.
Excellent series. Very helpful. Thank you for posting.
I’m still trying to sort out what is the alt right but I’m not sure the articles by Bruce Ashford linked here are entirely accurate. For example, one claims that Milo Yiannopoulos is part of the alt right but an article on Breitbart (which Milo used to work for) titled “Politico Falsely Labels MILO ‘Alt-Right Journalist” says “MILO has repeatedly stated that he is in no way alt-right, while many members of the movement have also agreed that MILO is not a member or representative of the group, including Richard Spencer.” Bruce Ashford also fails to mention that Milo is… Read more »
The article does not say Milo is a part of the alt-right, but that he is an alt-right sympathizer, which is absolutely true. There’s nothing to any of the criticism you’ve left in this comment.
Did you read anything other than the intro article?
Brent, You are kidding right? First, the link above in the main post to part 2 calls Milo a leader. Second, the article itself calls Milo an insider. Paul’s statement above, ” If a very open “gay Jew [with] a black boyfriend” as Milo has self identified is part of the alt right, then it’s the most inclusive and tolerant white racist movement I’ve ever heard of” is a point well taken. Perhaps there is more to this divide than just racism as Milo would argue. Or, perhaps this grouping “alt-right” is so fluid it is like trying to nail… Read more »
No, I’m not kidding. In part 2, Milo is listed, but in the beginning of the article Bruce clearly labels him as outside the movement. Direct quote from part 2: “sympathetic outsiders such as Milo Yiannopoulos”.
I understand this tactic: try and nit pick details to try and discredit the source, but it won’t work here. Bruce has been careful and clear in the way he’s written these posts.
Brent, I had missed the line in article two that called him a “sympathetic outsider”. The title of part two “A Profile of 5 Alt-Right Leaders” and Milo’s being listed as one of the five led me to believe that he was being identified as part of the movement. After all, if someone in a large print title is called a leader of a movement it’s a fair inference to think he’s being identified as part of the movement. I am unaware of any leaders of movements that are not part of the movement they lead. Perhaps the author should… Read more »
I usually find that short, to-the-point comments are more effective in a comments section. My directness wasn’t intended as harshness. I didn’t find any objections raised to be reasonable, but rather to be a result of not reading (carefully?) the material.
Brent, I stand corrected that Milo is said to be an “outsider” but it was not due to lack of reading. I, like Paul, am trying to figure this whole alt-right mess out and like Paul, when you stick a name under the heading “Leaders”, it influences how you take the information that follows. Paul’s original point still stands that if a gay Jewish man with a black boyfriend is a part of the alt-right and is accepted by the alt-right, there is much about the alt-right that is being overlooked and misunderstood. But you understand my “tactic”. You give… Read more »
Yiannopoulos is a walking contradiction. No one knows for sure who he is. He is indescribable. His actions do not match his words. He was the reason Leslie Jones, the Black actress most recently known for her role in the redone Ghostbuster, was being harassed on twitter by members of the Alt-Right. Then claimed he was not responsible. He was barred from speaking at certain college campuses because of racist and fascist views. He liked the publicity, he liked the controversy. You cannot say he was not a part of alt-right during that time period. Men can be married and… Read more »
Good information. Thank you for writing and researching this.
I read Bruce’s articles and found them helpful. People whom I know who understand the alt right found some errors, as commenter Luke did. I have read all of the comments on this thread so far, and I agree that for some reason they seem unnecessarily harsh. I did not see Luke’s comment as a tactic. A tactic? I have admitted not knowing much about the alt right, and have been rebuked. Now a commenter here is labeled as using a “tactic” because he points out that the lines defining the alt right appear to be blurry. I appreciated the… Read more »
Louis, turn down the drama settings please. Both comments discredited Bruce’s series because they incorrectly perceived carelessness or inaccuracy in describing one individual. That’s worthy of strong pushback.
If you want to talk about the specific errors you mentioned, feel free.
“Inasmuch as we just resolved to publicly rebuke the alt right, the right to define the alt right and assign people to it are really powerful things. The equivalent of calling someone a racist, a crypto racist, or soft on racism. I hope our fellowship does not go down this direction. It would not be much of a step, I fear. And doing so would place us in the camp of haters that we rightfully rebuke.” Those are really great points Louis. Discussing matters that touch race and racism are so hard to discuss because the emotional aspects of it… Read more »
Louis, I’ve been following these issues for over a year, in national politics and in evangelicalism. You are right to still be a little confused. One thing missing from pretty good articles by Carter and Ashford is a more recent history of how the term was used and who claimed it for their ideology in the year before Trump was elected. Before I detail that a little bit, I’ll offer two reasons but not the only ones that I think explain some of the harshness in these discussions. First, the country has never had an informed discussion and debate on… Read more »