Critical Race Theory just smacked our little church here in Billings, Montana full in the face this fall. You might have listened to Ep. 32 and caught Molly and I discussing this at length. This was due in part to things happening here. It's all out in the open now and there were several members and friends of mine in church that were unaware of some of the issues. Which was fine, but now they need to be. It's THAT important.
Of course, like them you might be thinking, "Critical what..?" You could be forgiven of that response. That is its ivory tower name- the stuff of academia and high level social studies. However, you might have caught wind of some racially charged riots, or a book called 'White Fragility,' or the terms "Systemic Racism," "anti-racist," or "whiteness." These all originated from Critical Race Theory or CRT (a subcategory of a broader ideological worldview and philosophical structure known as Critical Social Justice).
So what is it? More importantly, why is it antithetical to the gospel? Shouldn't we all be concerned about racism? Yes, of course we should! Christianity commands us to look past differences and see the image of God in human beings and fight for unity in and through Christ, to care for the poor and show compassion to the oppressed. CRT however, is an entirely different, and much more concerning beast.
I'm going to break this down in comparison with Christianity in probably an overly-simplistic way but for every deep piece on the issue (cf. James Lindsey), I'll try to be the pendulum that swings the other way. So here goes, the overly simplistic comparison:
Man is...?
Christianity: ...created in God's image.
CRT: ...part of either a dominant or oppressed culture (culture being determined by skin color).
Man's greatest problem is...?
Christianity: ...sin in every person’s heart.
CRT: ...the power structures that dominate every aspect of our lives
Man's solution to this problem is...? Christianity: Jesus Christ's atonement.
CRT: ...anti-racism (taking up proactive and constant activism against racism).
Does man come out of this state?
Christianity: YES! Through Christ's atonement followed by the process of sanctification.
CRT: Nope. Continue earning your "righteousness" through anti-racism the rest of your life.
Like I said, overly simplistic. But as you can see in its gross simplicity, it is an entire anti-gospel worldview. There is no room for Jesus in CRT. I am increasingly convinced that adoption of any part of the CRT worldview becomes "Gospel +_______," adding to a Biblical gospel as an answer to racism. That's called syncretism and the Bible is pretty clear that what results is no longer the Gospel at all. That said, we have to engage with it. It's a big part of our world now.
I'm now going to refer you to Owen Strachan and his downright amazing series on Christianity and Wokeness. It's perhaps the most concise, Biblical exposition of all the elements of CRT. Pour yourself a tea, coffee, beer, or wine and watch it right now. Don't get sucked up in this madness.