Christian News By Christians, For Christians.

Neil Shenvi Owen Strachan Debunked

Debunking Owen Strachan And Neil Shenvi’s “Woke Right” Argument

In an epic cringeworthy crossover, Neil Shenvi went on Owen Strachan’s podcast to articulate why the so-called “woke right” is a thing. In an unsurprising fashion, names are not named and definitions of words like “wokeness” are entirely broadened in order to create what amounts to a false equivalency between Critical Race Theory (specifically) and Christian Nationalism or the right.

The podcast begins with a retcon of the past. Owen Strachan feigns as though he had no idea what wokeness was until people like James Lindsay and Neil Shenvi came along, which is ironic as Strachan was exceedingly woke in the early parts of the last decade. Neil Shenvi is hailed as a hero who opposed wokeness despite actively going to a woke church. His 2019 pamphlet would become a 2023 published book with the endorsement of woke preachers like JD Greear, Ligon Duncan, and more.

Neil Shenvi explains his definition of wokeness which is where his entire argument can be easily unraveled. He explains that wokeness has 4 elements:

  1. Society is divided between oppressor vs oppressed
  2. Via Hegemonic norms
  3. People are blind, and must be awakened which he calls critical consciousness
  4. Achieve Social Justice

This flawed framework is used by Neil Shenvi to condemn the dissident right as the “woke right.”

  1. Society is divided between straight White males and their oppressors
  2. Via hegemonic norms like the Longhouse, post-war consensus, Judeo-Christianity
  3. The normies are blind, so they must be redpilled
  4. Retake the west

The comparison falls apart on its own as retake the west is not analogous to Social Justice, as a revival is not a revolution.

Moreover, Shenvi’s fourfold definition of wokeness is so low-IQ and clumsy that the gospel could thusly be accused of wokeness:

  1. Society is divided between saved and unsaved
  2. Via sin
  3. People are blind and have suppressed the truth in unrighteousness and must be regenerated to this reality.
  4. Spread the gospel to the four corners of the earth

Neil Shenvi and Owen Strachan fail to realize that Social Justice is a false gospel. And this is why there are natural parallels between wokeness and the gospel. It’s a counterfeit religion. Critical Race Theory has an Original Sin: whiteness. It has salvation: becoming woke. It has evangelism: Social Justice (which is also part of a works-based salvation.) There’s penance: struggle sessions. And there are even multiple federal holidays.

When Shenvi addresses wokeness at-large he has no actual limiting factor to the system of a definition he has laid out. Both Neil Shenvi and Owen Strachan provide zero examples of who is on the “woke right” or actually ideas and practices of this group he claims exists.

A hypothetical example provided is that people on the “woke right” would judge non-White church members as oppressors thus dividing the body. But this is a laughable example, as speaking for Christian Nationalism, we do not call Black people oppressors, even though this country has numerous policies in place to attack Heritage America. Illegal aliens are viewed as invaders, not oppressors. Although the casualties America has taken from its tolerance of such lawlessness could rightly be called oppression.

Strachan and Shenvi also bring up the Jews, which is where we see the most wokeness on the right. Consider how much our society is being lectured on anti-semitism, even in the church. This is a Social Justice movement, but the dynamic duo instead sees the backlash against Jewish (or any other false religious) influence on American media and politics as wokeness.

The anti-Christian Nationalists continue to not send their best. No amount of PhDs will solve this issue. At the heart of the “woke right” talking point are people who want to cling to liberalism, which is what gave birth to Social Justice and wokeness.

Powered by RedCircle

Receive the Evangelical Dark Web Newsletter

Bypass Big Tech censorship, and get Christian news in your inbox directly.

Support the Evangelical Dark Web

By becoming a member of Evangelical Dark Web, you get access to more content, help drive the direction of our research, and support the operations of the ministry.
Facebook
Twitter
Telegram
Reddit
LinkedIn

2 Responses

  1. these two are the most milquetoast thinkers on the planet.

  2. Both these guys [Owen Strachan, Neil Shenvi] make your skin crawl just to listen to, I guess that’s what a college kid would call “cringe” embodied in to a couple of self-aggrandizing people. What a drag, it’s just hard to listen to them.

Leave a Reply

Join 8,116 other subscribers

Receive the Evangelical Dark Web Newsletter

Bypass Big Tech censorship, and get Christian news in your inbox directly.

Trending Posts