Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Christian Nationalism?

Whenever a well known atheist departs from his or her disciplined stance against the existence of God to an openness to Him cultural waves are made. Larger waves are made if said person claims to have converted to Christianity. In fact, the waves are so large that very few prominent atheists have ever made the leap as public and definitive as Aayan Hirsi Ali recently did. A little over a month ago the famed former Muslim turned atheist turned to Christianity and the waves have been crashing the shores of discourse ever since. A simple google search of her name pulls up article after article detailing her conversion to Christianity. A bevvy of secular voices ranging from New York Magazine to the New York Times ran exposés on her apparent conversion. Well known atheists felt the need to chime in as well. Michael Shermer penned an entire essay on his Substack in response to Hirsi Ali’s declaration:

“Nothing Ayaan has written in her essay changes my evaluation of her as a heroic figure. I simply think she is mistaken. We all are about a great many things.”

But is she mistaken? As I said in a recent episode of FTMonthly, perhaps they should give her more credence, if the metaphorical truth of Christianity is effective perhaps it is also true. More on that in a bit. Still, some in Christian circles approached her supposed newfound faith with skepticism. Could someone who had been so anti-religious really have been changed this much? Many accuse Ali of taking a purely utilitarian approach to cultural Christianity citing that she only mentions the name of Jesus (as Christ) one time in her essay and, even with that, mentioned nothing of the foundational Christian doctrines of Jesus’ death and resurrection. But the power of the gospel that changed Paul is the same power that certainly could change Ayaan Hirsi Ali could it not? Reading Ali’s affirmation of Christianity as a bulwark against the privations of Islamism, woke ideology and the immoral secular superpowers of China and Russia could lead one to believe she is primarily trying to keep Western values alive. She writes:

“In this nihilistic vacuum, the challenge before us becomes civilisational. We can’t withstand China, Russia and Iran if we can’t explain to our populations why it matters that we do. We can’t fight woke ideology if we can’t defend the civilisation that it is determined to destroy. And we can’t counter Islamism with purely secular tools. To win the hearts and minds of Muslims here in the West, we have to offer them something more than videos on TikTok.”

It seems that Ali has recognized what many recognized at the founding of the USA and what Tim Stratton and myself speak about when we consider the case for a certain type of Christian Nationalism. (see: The Right Christian Nationalism). When we speak of Christian Nationalism we do not mean it in the technical sense that our friend Michael Jones  addresses regularly.

My contention is that it is not the technical movement that the mainstream pundits seem to despise but the same kind of Christian Nationalism that the founding fathers would have been accused of espousing. For instance, Mike Johnson, the current speaker of the House of Representatives in the US Congress, is considered by wide swathes of mainstream pundits a Christian Nationalist. But, given his record, and his beliefs, he would not fit within the Stephen Wolfe version of Christian Nationalism nor would he be considered a Christian Nationalist by the definition offered by Michael Jones. Yet, James Carville, a known democratic pundit, says that Mike Johnson’s version of Christian Nationalism is “worse than Al-Qaeda”. Mike Johnson’s flavor of Christian Nationalism would more closely resemble the post-Civil Rights version of conservatism than any sort of theocratic nationalism that seeks to undo the constitutional moorings of our nation. Inasmuch as Hirsi Ali champions the Christian values of the west as a bulwark against the undoing of western society, she too, could be considered a Christian Nationalist by this main stream definition. Ali recognizes that atheistic secularism that champions some sort of religious pluralism is not only ineffective in ordering society but deleterious to it.

“Yet I would not be truthful if I attributed my embrace of Christianity solely to the realisation that atheism is too weak and divisive a doctrine to fortify us against our menacing foes. I have also turned to Christianity because I ultimately found life without any spiritual solace unendurable”

It is in this sense that those on the left side of the spectrum might be tempted to call Hirsi Ali a Christian Nationalist even if the same people they accuse of being Christian Nationalists might call into question the genuineness of her conversion. Ali rightly recognizes that Christianity is what built the west. The values of Christianity built the framework for ridding the world of slavery, for defeating communism and Nazism, and building of the institutions of democracy, justice, and representation. Whether Hirsi Ali’s conversion is one of sincere belief or of political expedience remains to be seen, but, even if it is only the latter it serves as a message to those that would champion secularism and pluralism as ideologies of freedom and hegemony in the West. Hirsi Ali’s cultural conversion strikes a fatal blow against those that would seek to call any conservative religious input into the governments of western society “Christian Nationalism.” But is that

all

Hirsi Ali is doing? If one is to take Hirsi Ali at her word then one must concede that is not

all

that is happening in her story. If that was all it was then someone like Bret Weinstein might be inclined to agree, much like Tom Holland, but, in my opinion, this shift is not simply utilitarian. Unfortunately for the atheist, Hirsi Ali points to the nihilistic framework inherit in the atheistic position:

"Atheism failed to answer a simple question: what is the meaning and purpose of life? Russell and other activist atheists believed that with the rejection of God we would enter an age of reason and intelligent humanism. But the “God hole” — the void left by the retreat of the church — has merely been filled by a jumble of irrational quasi-religious dogma. The result is a world where modern cults prey on the dislocated masses, offering them spurious reasons for being and action — mostly by engaging in virtue-signalling theatre on behalf of a victimised minority or our supposedly doomed planet. The line often attributed to G.K. Chesterton has turned into a prophecy: “When men choose not to believe in God, they do not thereafter believe in nothing, they then become capable of believing in anything.” In this nihilistic vacuum, the challenge before us becomes civilisational."

Ali seems to take the position of Tom Holland, Bret Weinstein and Erik Torenberg to the next logical step. Could it be that Christianity is not simply metaphorically true, but ultimately true? Hirsi Ali seems set to seek the answer to that question and we should pray that she continues to seek the truth she so desperately desires to find.

As an aside, given the recent hoopla around the Ben Shapiro and Alex O'Conner debate on religion being good for society (see FTM's takes

here

and

here)

, it seems Hirsi Ali would take Ben's side against Alex in that debate. I would pay to watch that conversation.

Of course, caution

is

prudent in celebrating such a monumental victory within the body of Christ. We must not mistake cultural talking points for genuine life change and repentance. For too long the Church was content with simply being a dominant cultural force rather than a missional body of Christ seeking to disciple the nations. In the past many have thought they were Christians (and perhaps still do) but could not so much as articulate a coherent understanding of the gospel. But Hirsi Ali’s recognition of the vast abyss left in the wake of purely enlightenment style pluralism should serve as a wake up call to the Church as well. Pluralism simply does not work, at least, not in the way current secularists think it can (and some Christians). The pluralistic society set up by the declaration of independence and the constitution of the United States of America assumed Christian superiority because, as Hirsi Ali notes and as history indicates, it is Christianity that built the west and trying to hold it together through a subjective secularist framework is ultimately untenable. It will fracture and disintegrate. As Hirsi Ali indicates, atheism is too weak and fractious to tie together any meaningfully cogent societal framework and it is so nihilistic that it leads people away from purpose and hope into despair and selfishness. These are the opposite of the ideals that built the west. The west was built on hope and altruism tied together by a common theological framework. But we mustn’t be so cynical as to think the sole purpose for embracing Christianity is social utilitarianism. There is a greater truth at hand, one that Hirsi Ali stumbles into as she finishes her essay:

"But I have recognised, in my own long journey through a wilderness of fear and self-doubt, that there is a better way to manage the challenges of existence than either Islam or unbelief had to offer."

These are the words of someone looking for personal revelation and hope, not simply an ideological framework on which to build society. I believe Rod Dreher offers a better view of Ayaan’s extremely public and personal struggle in her faith journey:

"For many of us, conversion is a process, a pilgrim’s road that leads us to a moment of decision. In my case, it took eight years from an awe-filled mystical experience as a teenager in the Chartres cathedral until I could admit, without hesitation, that Jesus was Lord."

It seems to me that the correct response to Hirsi Ali’s courageous declaration of faith is not cynicism or even skepticism but gratitude, prayer and hope. A woman who was abused by the Muslim Brotherhood so much that upon recognizing the abuse she turned away from God entirely would seem to be one of the last people one would expect to turn

back

to God and toward Christ. Encouragement and prayer should be the response, not judgment and skepticism. Hirsi Ali may not be ready to affirm all of the necessary doctrines of Christianity yet, but her journey is one that should be encouraged and encouraging. She is going to church every Sunday, she is, as Jordan Peterson would say, acting as if Christianity were true and God exists. I know plenty of self-described Christians that believe God exists but act as if he doesn’t.  Which is better? Which is more real? In the end I believe we can recognize two things as we assess this conversation:

1. That Hirsi Ali’s observation concerning cultural Christianity as a bulwark against the threats against the West are true and accurate.

2. That the answer to this observation is not to be dismissive of her journey but to recognize that personal discipleship can and should lead to greater impact than ourselves.

We ought to pray for Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s continued journey into faith and that God will continue to draw her unto himself

and

that her prognoses of the west’s ultimate demise apart from Christianity is heeded by those who would decry the evils of Christian Nationalism. They do not understand that the term has experienced the type of semantic drift that includes all conservative Christians that seek to stand for truth and have our country reflect the truthful propositions of Christianity. Both can be desires can be true at once, and, in my opinion, they both are. But utlimately I believe Ayaan, even if she is not all the way there yet, is well on her way to meeting Christ and placing her faith in Him.

Notes

https://unherd.com/2023/11/why-i-am-now-a-christian/https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/11/ayaan-hirsi-alis-political-conversion.htmlhttps://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/15/opinion/religion-christianity-belief.htmlhttps://michaelshermer.substack.com/p/why-i-am-not-a-christianhttps://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/ayaan-hirsi-ali-conversion/https://unherd.com/2023/11/why-i-am-now-a-christian/https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2023/12/02/house-speaker-mike-johnson-james-carville-sot-overtime-vpx.cnnhttps://unherd.com/2023/11/why-i-am-now-a-christian/https://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/education-material/the-religious-roots-of-the-abolition-movement/https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/study/module/wilberforcehttps://theopolisinstitute.com/tom-holland-and-the-liberating-power-of-christianity/https://eriktorenberg.substack.com/p/why-religion-is-metaphorically-truehttps://unherd.com/2023/11/why-i-am-now-a-christian/https://europeanconservative.com/articles/dreher/ayaan-hirsi-ali-a-christian-of-convenience/