Critical Race Theory (Part 8): My Grand Conclusion! What I’ve Learned in My Reading of CRT and What I Feel the Proper Christian/Gospel Response Should Be

Earlier this summer, before I decided to take the time to read the three books I have covered in this series on critical race theory, I didn’t feel I really knew enough about it to say anything about it. I had heard a few talking heads on cable news decry it as Marxist and racist in and of itself, but didn’t really know much more than that. After a few people wrote to me and asked me what my view of CRT was and if I’d ever write a few posts on it, though, that is when I decided to read up on it and try to distill what I had learned about it in a short blog series. I feel I have learned quite a lot and I hope I have provided a clear overview about what these books and their authors actually argue. Now that I have gone through Critical Race Theory, White Fragility, and How to be an Antiracist, I wanted to write one more post just to summarize some lingering observations and thoughts I’ve had as I’ve done this project.

First off, I think it has to be clearly emphasized that criticism of CRT isn’t a denial of racism in America or a refusal to try to address clear problems in America that stem from our racist past. Rather, disagreeing with CRT means disagreeing with the claim that the American free market system and constitutional law is inherently racist and that Marxist principles and a Marxist system is what is needed to eradicate racism for good. And yes, that means that, after reading these books, I’ve come to the conclusion that those talking heads on TV who say CRT is rooted in Marxism are speaking the truth. That really is true. I’ve read those assertions by the authors themselves.

Secondly, I’ve found that much of what is put forth in CRT (as seen in these books) is ultimately irrelevant, if not detrimental, to the pressing issues of the actual injustice that has gone on what amounts to heavily segregated poor black communities, like in the inner cities. Simply put, I have no time for people like Robin DiAngelo pressuring “white people” to declare that they are hopelessly racist because they are supposedly the beneficiaries of a “racist system.” And I have no time for people like Ibram X. Kendi who insist that the only way to address racism is by setting up a centralized government department with absolute power to redistribute wealth and “discipline” any policymaker who questions it. There is no other way to say it: I whole-heartedly and vigorously disagree with these views. They are wrong, destructive to people across the board, and do not actually address the needs of suffering minorities in any way.

How Might the Gospel Respond to All This?
On one hand, this question is rather tricky. After all, Christians in the first century, as well as Jews in the Old Testament, essentially lived under monarchal/authoritarian rule, where the royal leader had the ultimate power over everyone’s lives. The masses were not really free to make their own life decisions. That is why in the Old Testament we see the prophetic continually challenging and condemning the rulers for the way in which they abused, exploited, and neglected the poor and needy. In that system, the rulers were responsible for the poor and needy, and they clearly neglected to do so.

And in the New Testament, Jesus did not go around railing against the “Roman system.” In fact, he flatly condemned the growing zealot revolutionary movement within Judaism and said that going the way of revolution would result in the destruction of Jerusalem itself and untold suffering of the people. Yes, he condemned the self-righteousness, hypocrisy, and neglect of the Jewish religious leaders, but then he and his followers went about the business of caring for the poor and needy themselves. Sadly, despite those efforts, by Jesus, by the early Jerusalem Church, and by Paul himself, the Jews of the first century chose the way of violent revolution, which resulted in the utter destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in AD 70.

I say all that to make a couple of points. First, when considering how the Gospel speaks to us today, we need to realize that we do not live in a monarchy or an authoritarian system. We live in a democratic republic where we choose our leaders and have basic rights written into our constitution that guarantee that we have the freedom to pursue our own livelihoods. Yes, in the past, there was systemic racism in America that denied those basic rights to certain groups of people, and indeed oppressed them. But those laws and policies have been done away with, that is just a fact. Yes, certain communities are still suffering under the effects of that past systemic racism—those effects are extra obstacles that those communities have to overcome that I will never have to deal with. Nevertheless, in our democratic republic that values individual liberty and freedom, individuals and their immediate communities have the freedom and responsibility to choose their leaders who are given the responsibility of serving those communities and providing safety and security so that can live their lives in peace.

Given that, there is the fundamental question, “What precisely is the role of government?” Traditionally, the democratic republic system in America has had the constitutional responsibility to provide safety and security for its citizens, to recognize those “certain inalienable rights” of its citizens, and to not impinge on their freedom to live their lives in the way they see fit. Now, in the 20^th century, the role of government expanded to take responsibility for some basic social safety-nets to help people who had come upon hard times and who needed extra safety and security until they could get back on their feet—I think most people agree this was a good thing. In addition, as I said earlier, those actual racist laws and policies that denied basic constitutional rights to people of color were done away with—again, a good thing. Still, those improvements still are rooted in that traditional understanding of the role of government in America: Safety and security, recognizing certain rights, and not impinging on people’s freedom.

Incidentally, when it comes to sheer economic realism, that government system, along with free market capitalism, has brought about the greatest increase in wealth across the board in human history. Up until about 1800, most of the entire world lived in poverty, completely at the mercy of absolute monarchs. Ever since then, in countries that embrace free markets and a form of constitutional governments, have see the greatest move out of poverty in human history. Therefore, for all its flaws, we should admit that system has worked pretty darn well.

But then CRT says that system is hopelessly racist and must be changed to what can only be described as a more Marxist system. But let’s be honest, to criticize the system that has brought more people out of poverty in human history and that has the ability to address wrongs and corruption within the system in a democratic fashion—to criticize that system as hopelessly racist and to suggest that a more Marxist system that would entail an all-powerful centralized government (it would have to be) that could equally distribute wealth and resources among racial groups and thus produce “equity” would work better, when the 20^th century has proved beyond the shadow of a doubt that Marxist systems have brought about the worst atrocities in human history—that view is just utterly insane.

…and from a Christian point of view based on the Gospel, it is ultimately demonic as well. This leads to my second point. The Gospel is about the salvation and transformation of individual Christians into the Body of Christ, regardless of the “system” in which they live. Therefore, we need to see that although the Gospel will have a clear impact on people’s lives in the here and now, the goal of salvation cannot be reduced to simply economic terms.

The Gospel emphasizes the inherent dignity and worth of human beings because they are made in the image of God. That message should have real life impact on societies today. Specifically, Christians should act as the conscience of society and convince that society to care for the poor, oppressed, and needy—and more importantly, lead by example. Now, when it comes to the history of racism in America, churches have a spotty history. Still, it is undeniable that the abolitionist movement was fundamentally a Christian movement, and the Civil Rights movement, led by the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. was a Christian movement.

Still, we live in a fallen world, and in every country, no matter what economic or government “system” is set up, there will always be corruption and some form of racism. That is just a constant reality. When it comes to the issue of racism and racial inequality, though, it is the Christian duty to continually bear witness to the Lordship of Christ and Good News of the Gospel, to live out that Good News in daily life, especially in terms of race relations, and to be that moral conscience of society and continually draw attention to those specific instances where there still is racial healing to be done. In particular, I’m thinking the issue of the inner cities, where these injustices are most pronounced. That means demanding that government leaders deal decisively with the rampant crime that is terrorizing innocent people. That means demanding the government commit to providing decent schools for inner city children. And it means demanding that the government provide actual safety and security so that people can have the freedom to open businesses that provide opportunity for others in the community.

Now, all that also entails people taking personal responsibility for doing their part—the government can’t magically fix everything, but it does have the obligation to provide certain things like safety and security, so that opportunity and freedom can flourish. And Christians who hold to the Gospel should continually bear witness to the inherent dignity of all human beings, and therefore continually hold the government responsible for doing their duty and upholding the dignity and worth of all people, especially the poor, oppressed, and needy.

And when I say “oppressed,” I mean actually oppressed. Those trapped in the broken inner cities are oppressed. Lebron James is not oppressed. Ibram X. Kendi, by his own account in his book, was never really oppressed. In a free society, it is not the government’s job to make sure one’s feelings are not hurt. There will always be racist people who say racist things—it is not the government’s job to police idiots who spew racist garbage. It is the government’s job to respect the dignity and worth of all human beings, to provide safety and security for all its citizens and communities, and to ensure the opportunity and freedom for people to build their own livelihoods. It is not the government’s job to provide for all the economic needs for its citizens. If that is what you want, then you are asking for a monarchy or an all-powerful authoritarian system. And that, in time, will inevitably devolve into totalitarianism and true oppression.

To sum up, the reason we even have CRT, and the reason why we have growing calls for Socialism and Marxism, is because, quite frankly, there still is racial healing to be done and there still are issues of racial injustice to be addressed—and too often those instances have been ignored. America has indeed come a long way in healing racial injustices, but America has still nevertheless failed in certain areas—that is undeniable. And those failures, if they remain ignored, provide an opportunity for Marxists to dress up their Marxist philosophy in different clothes in order to try to set up their Marxist utopia. I don’t think people like Kendi want to see people die, obviously. I think they have a genuine concern for injustice, and they want to address it. The problem is that they honestly think all that is needed is the implementation of a “better system”—the Marxist system. But that is simply detached from historical reality. It reflects the naïve wishful thinking of an ideology that has failed miserably, time and time again.

In that respect, Christians not only have to bear witness to the Lordship and Good News of Christ, not only have to bear witness to the inherent dignity and worth of human beings being made in the image of God, and not only have to continually be the moral conscience in any society and call upon the government to treat all human beings with dignity and worth (which is the true foundation for enacting true justice and righteousness)—not only all of that, but Christians have to be true realists as well. And the reality is that our current system of free markets and constitutional law is the best system out there to bring about justice, safety, security, and opportunity that acknowledges the inherent dignity and worth of human beings who are made in God’s image.

No, it’s not a perfect system. No system is ever perfect. But it is categorically better in every way that the Marxist system that is undeniably connected to the goals of Critical Race Theory. CRT certainly highlights the clear racists policies of America’s past, and it sometimes points out clear instances of racial injustice still around today. But, as a Christian, I have to say that the solutions it puts forth to address the still-lingering instances of racial injustice are not good at all. They will result in only worse oppression for everyone.

A Final Side Note About “Teaching CRT in Schools”
I don’t want this post to go on much longer, but I wanted to say one more thing about the issue of “teaching CRT in schools.” Let’s be clear, schools are not teaching actual CRT in schools. CRT is an academic legal course at the college and graduate school level. What some schools (not all) are doing is deciding to teach history from a CRT perspective, and that perspective really is rather Marxist. And yes, that is a problem. No, we should not whitewash our racist history. It most definitely should be taught. Now, I was reading about Abraham Lincoln, slavery, the Civil War, Fredrick Douglass, the Underground Railroad, the failure of Reconstruction, the KKK, Jim Crow laws, Jackie Robinson, and Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement as far back as elementary school. I knew full well that Washington and Jefferson were slave-owners. I can’t imagine that isn’t being taught anymore.

Of course, all that needs to be taught, but it can’t be taught with any skewed racial bias or agenda. By that, I mean we shouldn’t be teaching children either extreme of either: (A) All that is in the past, and there are no longer any racial problems at all anymore, or (B) Everything in America is racist to its core, and is all the doing of patriarchal, racist white men. I would hope most Americans are smart enough to see the moral idiocy and bankruptcy of both those positions. We should reject any attempt at over-generalized broad-brushing of our history, no matter where it comes from.

Bonus Material: Here is a 6-minute video in which John McWhorter speaks about DiAngelo’s and Kendi’s books:

Incidentally, let me invite anyone to read my 4-Part series by Esau McCaully’s book, “Reading While Black.” A wonderful and challenging Christian take on racial injustice in America.

Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four