German Christians and the AfD

https://cne.news/article/4807-may-german-christians-vote-for-the-afd

Huizinga is an activist associated with the Acton Institute, Federalist Society, and other Right-wing think-tanks. As such, his attempt to muddy the waters regarding the Alternative for Germany (AfD) is unsurprising.

The Huizinga essay contains a glaring omission - Pegida. He doesn't bother to mention the far-right organisation that antedates the AfD, that paved the way for the AfD, that is viewed in overwhelmingly positive terms by AfD members is quite open with regard to its racist and xenophobic nationalism. Additionally there have been numerous cases of overlap and even coordination between Pegida and the AfD.

Pegida is thuggish, violent, and has fully embraced a Nazi-like ideology - and there are many Neo-Nazis operating on its fringe. The AfD has been more careful but not nearly careful enough as it's clear there are at the very least pro-Nazi and Nazi-types in their midst.

Huizinga is cherry picking the elements of the AfD platform that focus on social conservatism. In reality the AfD is not really all that conservative. Like the 21st century American GOP, it's best described as Right-wing.

And once again, I will appeal to Germany to make this point. When the Nazis came to power in the 1930's they were not liked by social conservatives. They did not conform with Prussian and aristocratic values. They were brash and obscene upstarts with an offensive unrestrained style. They talked about German-ness but were selective. The bottom line is this - they got things done and thus won over their doubters. Their paramilitary thugs were beating up communists and outlawing groups deemed subversive. Such behaviour was not conservative. It was not proper and orderly. It seemed lawless but many were won over because of the results. The economy was turned around, patriotism flourished, and pride returned. Some would have their misgivings and renounce their earlier support. Others went all the way. Fascism demonstrates how Right-wing movements can appropriate conservative language and concepts and yet use them very differently. We're seeing the same thing today with Trumpism in the United States.

AfD is appealing to anti-immigrant sentiment which is real. They're stoking fear and anger in defiance of precise honest speech and restrained appeals to law. That's the point and that's why they're successfully getting people whipped up.

I was surprised Huizinga even mentioned Björn Höcke of Thuringia. He's not merely controversial. He's an unabashed Nazi and while one need not ally with or endorse the statements of German bishops, their alarm is legitimate. Christians should not be falling into these traps - and yet they did before and there's every reason to think they will again. What's happening in the United States is on the one hand rather stunning. But at the same time, when one looks back, it's easy enough to see how things have been brought to this point and how history repeats itself. The Nazis were fascists but not all fascists were Nazis. Fascism is by definition ultra-nationalism but apart from the Nazis, few embraced the kind of Anti-Semitism expressed by Hitler's circle.

I found this paragraph noteworthy:

Suppose national-conservative populism continues to rise in Europe. In that case, it seems likely that more and more practising Christians will support it. After all, most of the continent’s national conservative parties —the AfD, Orban’s Fidesz, Poland’s Law and Justice, Vox, Meloni’s Brothers of Italy, the Sweden Democrats and others— are much closer to practicing Christians than other established parties on key issues such as the right to life, support of traditional marriage and family, and opposition to gender ideology.

This is one of the major problems with these groups - their means of infiltration, and the softening of hard edges. And unfortunately Christian intellectuals and leaders are doing nothing to counter this. We're told, the parties in question support the right to life, traditional marriage, and opposition to gender ideology and thus they are 'closer to practicing Christians'.

First of all we need to be clear - in many cases they do not. Abortion is a politicised tool used by the Christian Right and yet in many cases the 'culture of life' is a myth. This was already evident before 2020, but the Covid episode ended the debate. Militarism and Nationalism are not pro-life, nor is anti-immigration.

Traditional marriage? Like the AfD's Alice Weidel who is lesbian? Or how about Giorgia Meloni the cohabitating feminist?

Once again, I would argue these are Right-wing nationalists, not conservatives - and not Christian.

Christian leaders should be sounding the alarm - beware of these people. Don't be fooled by them. Don't think they're Christian and somehow on the same page as we are.

The same is true of gender ideology. It flows from homosexuality and feminism and at a more fundamental level the Enlightenment values of individualism. I would add it's also a result of decadence born of mammonism and capitalism's ethics gone to seed.

The solution to the question as to whether or not Christians should vote for the AfD is simple. Don't vote in any of these elections. Don't support these corrupt systems. By voting you accept the assumptions of the system - which includes the legitimization of the victory. Follow Scripture and leave it to Providence. We're not called to vote and fight for rights. We don't accept the supposed duty of military enlistment or conscription - everyone is brainwashed into referring to it as 'service'. We don't 'serve' on juries and participate in and ratify the state's use of the sword - something that is legitimate in terms of Providence - but nowhere blessed and forbidden to Christians in the context of Paul's Romans 12-13 discussion.

We're called to be faithful and bear witness and in Germany that means bearing witness against the SDP, CDU, CSU and certainly the AfD.

Huizinga attempts to play the diplomat and soften the edges and sound reasonable. He clearly is excited at the prospect of German Christians voting for the AfD and simply wants any objectors to back down. It's a disingenuous and misleading way of framing the debate. Huizinga comes across as either ignorant or something a serpent - deliberately trying to whitewash what the AfD actually is and stands for. I don't believe he's ignorant.