The church and ‘critical race theory’
Published 2:41 pm Thursday, May 25, 2023
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In our society we have been inundated with what is being called “critical race theory” (CRT). It is the attempt of some in our modern society to approach social change in a different way. This theory has its beginnings in Marxism. CRT considers issues such as racism, justice, and inequality with the intent of restructuring society. While CRT is gaining traction in many places in the world, it had been mainly applied to the United States. CRT is accompanied by the “WOKE” agenda in which similar ideas of racial injustice and inequality are affirmed.
CRT assumes that the American government, law, culture, and even society itself are fundamentally (as a whole) racist. The theory states that even people without racist views enable racism if they support the American government and her institutions. It is believed that the actions of those they see as oppressed people outweigh the intents of others. CRT supposes that there are some groups of people so disadvantaged that they will never overcome the disadvantage until a complete change of the racist government and society changes. Furthermore, CRT asserts that the oppressors of our society never do anything out of selflessness. They affirm that any change is only contemplated and enacted when the oppressors themselves benefit from such changes. For these reasons and many more, CRT states that the application of our laws and fundamental rights should be different based on the race or class group of the individual(s) involved.
It is the belief of CRT activists that everything about American society is racist, they believe that this results in the impossibility of minority individuals or groups ever being equal in the United States. They believe this can only be effectively changed when the American society is completely reformed from the ground up. There is no doubt that this ideology is controversial. It is controversial because CRT is seen as the only means to the solution of what many refer to as white supremacy or white nationalism. If the theory were ever enacted and followed through on, it would not solve the issues the CRT state are evident in America. In fact, such practice would conclude in seeing the supposed oppressors as the oppressed and the oppressed would then become the oppressors.
Politically, CRT has its roots in Marxism, communism, nationalism, and progressivism. It is closely connected with the direction of our current legal and social justice systems in America. It is interesting that the Bible never commands, nor does it forbid Christians from being involved in political parties. Instead, the Bible demands that Christians are obligated to respect all people and to reject any philosophy or part of a philosophy that disagrees with biblical ideals. If one were to take a close look at the (CRT and WOKE) agendas, they would find that they are embedded in worldviews that are entirely incompatible with the Bible.
Woke or CRT can never be applied to the principals of Christianity without doing damage to the Church and society itself. Christians understand that there is to be no racism in their lives and that they must live in accordance with that edict. Still there are some who press the idea that if religious groups do not adopt the CRT and repent, they themselves are living in sin. There have been those that refer to biblical faith as the “white man’s religion.” This ideology affirms that religion is part of the problem and supports racism and racial inequality and therefore its members are not true Christians. The church of the first century (Church of Christ) and the laws of Christ were set up in such a way that if closely adhered to, such issues would effectively be nonexistent.
Nevertheless, there have been some Christian groups that have embraced CRT and Woke and their ideology as part of their agenda. This allows the possibility that the non-scriptural preferences of some will invade the Church and overshadow the commands of the Bible. Such agendas have no place in the Church. There is no doubt that there are some so called Christians that perpetuate racism. This, however, is not all inclusive of the memberships of the individual congregations. Not all people are racists. Still there are some who would do well to self-examine their lives to be sure that they are following the commands of Christ regarding their treatment of others.
In short CRT violates the biblical worldview by suggesting that people are essentially defined by their race or class, rather than by the acts and attitudes of their individual lives. Paul said, “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Galatians 3:26-29 KJV).
The Word of God declares all men to be equal, but CRT goes beyond that by emphasizing certain groups to the exclusion of others. They do so based upon race, gender, economic status, and other categories to the exclusion of a person’s own choices in life. Such theories often emphasize the physical while they exclude the Gospel of Christ. To be honest we must be ever vigilant to identify and weed out any prejudices within the Church. When such prejudice occurs, the Elders of each congregation must be swift in their reaction and address each prejudice according to sound doctrine, not according to the unbiblical and dangerous ideology of (CRT).