Reason #3, Social Justice Perverts Biblical Justice
(audio below)
In this broken world men collaborate to decide what is moral and just for society. In order to reverse the “hierarchy of oppression,” the Seattle City Council proposed legislation to dismiss what they are calling “crimes of poverty.” The theory is that society has condemned the lower class to a life of poverty and stigma, which leads to addiction, madness, and indigence (Rufo). According to Seattle authorities, those deemed to be impoverished and charged with criminal offences for thefts, assault, property offenses, fraud, trespasses, and narcotics violations will be dismissed. In the name of social justice, “crimes of poverty” will give those whom society deems to be poor a path to criminality. This is a perversion of godly standards.
“You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert justice. You shall not show partiality to a poor man in his dispute” (Exodus 23:2-3).
Critical Race Theory Explained
There are other ways in which men collaborate to pervert true justice. Our culture is unwisely promoting theoretical worldviews in order to answer life’s most fundamental questions and to promote racial reconciliation. While many are well intended, instead of bringing about unity, these theories divide and destroy good will between people. Critical Race Theory (CRT) is an ideology which has been taught in academia and is now being pushed through society. Some change agents are even attempting to teach this worldview within the church; however, CRT is not compatible with the doctrine of Christ. Thankfully, some are in opposition.
Critical Race Theory Exposed
Rebuking a person for his individual and undeniable racist act is godly: racism is a sin. Peter was withstood for playing the hypocrite by the apostle Paul and behaving in a partial manner, not according to Christ (Gal. 2:11-21). But promoting partiality in order to counter supposed systemic racism is an evil. The CRT movement is a form of social justice which theorizes that all people are socialized into a white supremacist society through generations of white, patriarchal, power structures. It claims, white supremacy permeates culture and “racism is ordinary, the usual way society does business” (Delgado & Stefancic). According to CRT, all white people have inherited racism from their fore fathers. This concept is comparable to the doctrine of total hereditary depravity among Calvinists. As a consequence of the white person’s inherited racism, a popular CRT theorist, Robin DiAngelo explains the results, “[all] White people are addicted with the punishment of blacks… We don’t see through objective eyes, we see through racial lenses… Bias is implicit and unconscious… You can’t have interracial relationships without seeing racism… It is not if racism occurred, but how did the racism manifest in this situation… Whites derive glee from the depictions of blacks as apes and gorillas… White people are addicted and satisfied with the punishment of black people,” (86). What slanderous wisdom flowing forth from the lips of this projecting woman! DiAngelo, “Admits to being troubled with thoughts of racism and will be till she dies!” (Ibid.). She claims all whites think in these ways. The CRT activist’s job is to pull out the ever present racism in every situation, usually in the form of subjective microaggressions. Moreover, CRT includes other oppressed intersecting identities: women, LGBTQ+, and trans-gender groups; this is a package deal of identity politics. One cannot accept CRT without accepting intersectionality, a core tenet (Ibid.). Within this worldview, all of these groups are marginalized victims of white supremacy, and every white person is a white supremacist. After a person becomes woke to this theory’s “reality,” what is he to do?
In the name of social justice, white people must collectively repent by becoming “woke” to their oppressive white privilege and unconscious white supremacy. Once the repentant person is born anew into his newfound ideology, he must become an anti-racist for life. In other words, he must become a black supremacist and fight for their form of racial social justice. Furthermore, any person who does not humbly accept his total hereditary depravity but reacts in anger, disgust, or disagreement is viewed as too “fragile” to repent of his internalized supremacy. In the activists’ view, these disgusting reactions are a way for the person to comfort himself in his immoral racism. Moreover, any dissenter who offers an alternative worldview for how to handle racism is not welcomed. Discussing facts related to police brutality, criminality, imprisonment, the destruction of the nuclear family, the absence of fathers in the home, the absence of God in the home and school, alcohol and drug abuse, or any other explanation are perceived as racist microaggressions. There is no point in discussing facts because, “Humans are not objective, nor is objectivity desirable,” (DiAngelo). This is postmodernism baked into CRT. CRT activism is a social justice Truth with a capital “T.” Unfortunately, some Christians have adopted this divisive ideology as a way to address their grievances and guilt.
The Bible reveals that these concepts are evil, racist, and slanderous. Treating anyone rudely, or in a partial manner is a universal sin for ANYONE including people of color (1 Cor. 13:5). Racism is a sin which is why CRT is a sinful worldview. The theory slanders people, regardless of ethnicity, who refuse to become a “woke.” It labels them as racists without individual evidence of such. This is not justice!
“I charge you before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels that you observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing with partiality,” (1 Tim. 5:21).
Furthermore, God’s children are expected to assume the best intentions in others (1 Cor. 13:7), be slow to judgement (Matt. 7:1-5), and labor for unity in Christ (Eph. 4:3). CRT promotes the opposite: suspicion, slanderous name calling, unrighteous judgement by assuming ill motives in others, and creating division through an obsession with intersecting identity groups.
Lastly, imputing sin to people because of the sins of their forefathers, as CRT proposes, goes against God’s definition of justice (see Deuteronomy 24:16, Ezekiel 18:20, James 1:17).
“The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son,” (Ezekiel 18:20).
CRT academics and activists have become indoctrinated to the point where they believe people today must be held accountable for the actions of those who died long ago. Yet, their unbiblical actions today are not widely held to account. This must stop! CRT change agents today are the ones promoting sin and division. White people living today are not responsible for the sins of anyone living before them. As such they do not deserve the sinful slander, evil suspicion, and unrighteous judgment levied against them.
God’s Answer
God’s children should not marvel that these activists promote these ungodly doctrines, but the Christian must be careful to guard his heart from these puffs of wind to the neglect of the godly manner in which we are to address partiality. Racial reconciliation has been completed in Christ. In Christ, “the wolf dwells with the lamb” in harmony (Isaiah 11:6). They have “turned in their spears and swords for pruning hooks and plowshares; they no longer war with one another” (Isaiah 2:4). All ethnicities in Christ no longer fight but are at peace. More than this, they are one within the identity of Christ.
Like other social justice activism, CRT is obsessed with political, social, and economic power in relation to race in an effort to dismantle systems and redistribute material wealth to people deemed to be oppressed by their race, gender, and sexual orientation (Delgado et al.). Christians who adopt CRT should heed Paul’s warning:
If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself,” (1 Tim. 6:3-5).
Jesus satisfied the justice of God through His merciful atonement. He preached the gospel to the poor and set at liberty captive spirits in order to bring all people into one body. A person’s ethnicity, gender, social, and economic status are demoted in importance when compared to the Christian’s primary identity in Christ. Paul counted his ethnic and social status as dung and all as a loss for his identity in Christ (Phil. 3:7-8). If any of these social justice identities challenge our Christian union by becoming preeminent, it has become an idol. Our allegiance is to be with those who we identify with as Christians. If we align ourselves with a racial or ethnic group in opposition to the holy identity of being Christian, we need to examine ourselves as to whether we be in the faith. Be alert to the poison of CRT at work in the kingdom and of those who promote the cultural canon produced by Robin DiAngelo, Ibram X. Kendi, Kimberly Crenshaw, and other CR theorists. Our common standing before Jesus and the church is as brothers and sisters, not as oppressed Christians and oppressor Christians as these theorists assert.
This series is written by Michael (Mike) Hernandez and is endorsed by Five Minute Bible Study. If you have any questions about the subject, you are welcome to contact Mike at michaelhernande@yahoo.com.
References
Delgado, Richard and Stefancic, Jean. Critical Race Theory (Third Edition): An Introduction. New York, University Press, 2017
DiAngelo, Robin. White Fragility, Why it’s so Hard for White People to Talk about Racism. Boston, Beacon Press, 2018
Rufo, Christopher F. “The New Untouchables.” City Journal, https://www.city-journal.org/seattle-policymakers-untouchables-misdemeanor-crime
