We have been taking this long and sometimes winding journey of thinking through how Christians should process Critical Race Theory (CRT).
If you prefer an audio version of this article, you can listen to it here:
To begin with, we laid a foundation — if only from 10,000 feet above it — for a biblical theology of justice. Then we interacted with the problems CRT seeks to address and held it up against biblical justice to evaluate whether they are problems Christians should care about, acknowledging along the way that there are indeed flaws in the theory. We’ve looked at what some Christians who are critical of CRT are saying about it and whether or not they have a point.
But now we’ve come to the point in the series where we are going to shift from analyzing the theory to figuring out what we as Christians are going to do about racism and if we have anything better to offer the world.
This article is the fifteenth of a series of articles addressing the question, “How should Christians process Critical Race Theory?”
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How Christians Should Process Critical Race TheoryREAD NOW!
Many Christians have touted that CRT is the biggest threat to the church in the US. Most recently, Grove City College has denounced Christian historian Jemar Tisby for speaking on racism during a chapel session at the school in the fall of 2020. They tried to claim he has embraced CRT.
We have gotten to the place where we are terrified of being accused of “wokeness,” as if that is inherently some kind of evil sin. Some Christian leaders have gone so far as to finagle others into believing that empathy is sin.
CRT is not the biggest threat to the church in the US. Something far worse is.
To best understand this, we need to first realize that there was an intentional push from certain activists to make CRT into the catchall for anything negative that is today. Read more about it: How a Conservative Activist Invented the Conflict Over Critical Race Theory.
Then we need to back up and see how white conservatives have been laying the groundwork for hatred of CRT for many years already: Where Did White Evangelicalism’s Hatred of Critical Race Theory Really Begin?
Once we have that background, we can read about the biggest thread to Christianity in the US.
And if that isn’t clear enough, here’s an article with short, informative definitions of the most pernicious element infecting Christianity in the U.S.
Ask Me Anything: “What Is Racism?”
In this article, I respond to this question and other related questions readers have asked over the last few months as it concerns the racial conflicts of our day.
Is there an agenda behind CRT?
Perhaps.
Whether that agenda is more than simply trying to understand why discrimination still exists in a world that is supposedly equal and free, I don’t know. But we need to also realize there is an agenda behind movements that get people angry.
As Christians, we should not be caught up in angry culture wars of society. Instead, we need bring the Gospel of peace that upholds the dignity of all peoples. Let’s rise above CRT or anti-CRT and offer Jesus and all He is in bringing together a diverse community of people into one new humanity where His Spirit dwells (Eph. 2:11-22).
Have you noticed how racism adapts depending on its environment? What are some things you are doing to guard against prejudice developing in your own heart? You can share in the comments below. Please be respectful to each other as you do. Grace and peace.
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