by Daniel Strange, The Gospel Coalition
Although the dust has settled since I attended the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC) conference in London in the middle of February, I’m still discombobulated, struggling to know what to make of the experience.
How do you judge something where you heard things that made you gasp “Wow!” (in a good way) and “Wow!” (in a less good way)? As a conservative evangelical theologian and someone interested in cultural apologetics and evangelism, I wonder how many (if any) cheers we should give ARC and the cultural trend it represents.
What Is the ARC?
In the United Kingdom, ARC had some mainstream media coverage, with reactions falling predictably depending on where the commentator lands on the political spectrum. For those unfamiliar with this conference, let’s call ARC the conservative (rather than “alt-right” or “far right”) alternative to DAVOS and the World Economic Forum. If this doesn’t orient you, then some of the organizers and speakers might: Jordan Peterson, Mike Johnson, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Robert Barron, Douglas Murray, Os Guinness, Konstantin Kisin, Niall Ferguson, and Peter Thiel.