Choices for Troubled Times – 4. Where Do We Turn for Justice?

Humans have been in a search for the perfect world throughout history.  One contemporary secular assumption seems to be that if we all looked the same, believed the same, had the same abilities, the same advantages, the same aspirations, and the same influence, then we would all get along well in a perfect world.  But each of us is different.  Even “identical twins” are not really identical. 

Faced with differences in our ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic class, religious beliefs, etc. our natural human tendency is to compare, covet, envy, compete, clash, and conquer if necessary.  Yet our innate human desire is to be approved, accepted, and justified in our actions.  We also are inclined to pursue justice on behalf of others.  When we detect a great deficit or gap between what is and what ought to be, our burden of justice grows immensely and we are prone to act, either as a leader or as a follower.  What we choose to do depends on our worldview.

Each of us possess a worldview, our mental framework for interpreting the world around us.  Our worldview helps us answer the key questions of life:  Who are we?  What is wrong with the world?  What is the remedy?  What is my duty and purpose?  In this article, we will examine two prominent worldviews—one is the Judeo-Christian ethic and the other is known as “Critical Theory.”  The two worldviews offer very different answers to the key questions of life.  Each one would propel us in a very different direction from the other with respect to our identity, moral duty, and purpose in life.  [See Choices for Troubled Times - 1. A Perfect Union]

An American Conversation
Before examining the two worldviews, let’s look in on a social media conversation between two individuals with different views.  Watch how personal and social inequalities emerge in a conversation between Leslie and Casey (fictitious names) who have just “met” on social media.  Their conversation begins when Leslie responds to a comment posted by Casey:

CASEY’s social media post: “I’m so thankful for the First Step Act.  It shortens prison sentences for nonviolent drug offenders.  It has given people like Alice Johnson and my uncle new hope and purpose in life.  Thank you, President Trump!”
LESLIE:  Are you kidding?  Trump thinks people who do drugs are losers—especially black drug offenders.
CASEY:  Actually, after politicians in Washington talked about doing it, Trump led a bipartisan effort to get the bill passed.  And BTW, Alice Johnson is a black woman who is now helping other prisoners qualify for parole.
LESLIE:  Easy for you to praise Trump.  You are probably just as white as he is.
CASEY:  Wrong.  I’m as black as Alice Johnson.
LESLIE:  Oh, baby!  Biden says if you back Trump “you ain’t Black.”  Or, maybe you’re a rich Black like Kanye West?
CASEY:  Sorry!  I’m just barely making ends meet.
LESLIE:  Well, you should be a single parent like me with a hungry boy to feed.  I can hardly keep food on the table.
CASEY:  Wrong again!  I’m a single parent, too.  Believe me baby, I know what it’s like!
LESLIE:  Sorry to hear that.  Anyway, you should be glad you’re a black man, and probably straight, too, I’d guess. 
CASEY:  I appreciate your sympathy.  But actually, I’m a black woman, and I’m caring for a 1-year-old baby.  The baby’s father left me.
LESLIE:  O, I’m sorry for you.  Seems like we’re two black women in the same boat; except I can’t figure out why you like Trump.
CASEY:  Well, I’ve been lied to, and lied about, all my life. 
LESLIE:  Yeah, Trump’s a liar, that’s for sure. 
CASEY:  That’s not what I meant.  Since Trump came down that escalator in 2016, he has lost many friends.  Seems like he’s been lied about and lied to just like me. Also, like me, he doesn’t have a rosy past, but he seems to be honest now.  And, he wants to help revive inner cities, not burn them down.
LESLIE:  Yeah, but Trump’s just like any old, white, man with lots of money.  He don’t really care. Just his sick way of gaining power over poor Black people like us.
CASEY:  I don’t think so.  He loses money every day being president, and he gives his salary for good causes.
LESLIE:  Aw!  Trump’s so rich, he doesn’t miss a million her and a million there.  Still can’t think why you would support him.
CASEY:  I’m learning to give others some slack.  Just like Alice Johnson, when I was in prison, I heard about Jesus, and I believed in His message of love and forgiveness for my sins. 
LESLIE:  I should have known!  You’re one of them Christians!  Can’t believe you’re caught up in a White man’s religion.  Hell, don’t you know Christianity is of the devil!  For centuries, churches have been dens of White supremacy.  It’s taught every Sunday, and then practiced every day of the week.
CASEY:  You are wrong; at least partly.  Sure, there are some “Christians” who are that in name only.  But those who have truly met Jesus and realized He died a terrible death for them on the Cross, and then repented of their sin, they are learning to see this world in a new light.  They understand that Jesus came into this world to show us that God loves us, no matter the color of our skin, how rich or poor we are, what we have experienced, or our gender identity.  And, as for me, Jesus has given me a new identity and purpose in life.
LESLIE:  Woman, you’re hopeless.  Hopelessly deceived.  I can’t see it myself.  We’re so much alike but when it comes down to it, we still see the world from two different views.

Our hypothetical conversation between Leslie and Casey illustrates what happens when two individuals try to relate to one another but ultimately cannot do so.  This is especially true when one (Leslie) believes each person’s identity is defined by the social group to which they belong; while the other believes that each person’s identity is defined by their relationship to God.  Casey’s identity in Christ and His love has motivated her to be a true friend and a gracious help to those who suffer from hate and injustice, including Leslie.  

Leslie believes that humans are very diverse.  Consequently, both oppression and rebellion against oppression are commonplace in the world.  Leslie believes we must address these inequalities which are obstacles to a more perfect world.  As we can see, Leslie’s worldview is very different from Casey’s.  Casey has been influenced by the teaching of Critical Theory.

What is “Critical Theory?”
Critical theory has a long history dating back to the 1920’s when a group of philosophers, cultural critics, and social theorists formed the Institute of Social Research in Frankfurt, Germany.  The institute is now known as the Frankfurt School.  Critical theory attempts to address contemporary inequalities based on race, gender, class, age, and ableism. 

Dr. Neil Shenvi, a Christian apologist, has extensively studied, written, and lectured on what he calls Contemporary Critical Theory. [Check out one of his LECTURES.]  Michael Walsh, author of The Devil’s Pleasure Palace: The Cult of Critical Theory and the Subversion of the West (Encounter Books, 2015), states the following in an interview with National Review:

Critical Theory was the notion, promulgated by the cultural Marxists of the Frankfurt School, that simply states there is nothing — no custom, institution, or moral precept — that is beyond criticizing, and destroying. “Who will save us from Western culture?” famously wondered Georg Lukács, one of the Frankfurters’ founding fathers. 
Adds Walsh: It is license to vandalize, and the fact that it was so swiftly embraced by American academe after the war remains a national disgrace.

Dr. Shenvi lists four major premises that form the ideology of contemporary Critical Theory.  They are as follows (quotes are taken from Dr. Shenvi):

1.  Social binary:  Society is divided into oppressed and oppressor groups.  According to this premise, each person is identified by the one or more social groups.  In their book cited by Shenvi, entitled Is Everyone Really Equal?: An Introduction to Key Concepts in Social Justice Education, authors Robin DiAngelo and Özlem Sensoy state:  For every social group, there is an opposite group…the primary groups that we name here are race, class, gender, sexuality, ability status/exceptionality, religion, and nationality. But most of us identify with more than one social group.  Intersectionality attempts to gauge each person’s level of oppression according to how many groups they identify with.  Premise #2. Addresses how oppression is exerted:

2. Oppression through ideology:  Oppression occurs through hegemonic power.  Quoting DiAngelo and Sensoy, Hegemony refers to the control of the ideology of society.  The dominant group maintains power by imposing their ideology on everyone.”  For example, consider old, white males which occupy only about 15% of the American population but who represent a powerful oppressor group because of their entrenched hegemonic power within traditional institutions to serve their interests.

3.  Lived experience gives oppressed groups privileged access to the truth.  After all, according to Critical Theory, “oppressor groups are blinded by their privilege” and need oppressed groups to enlighten them based on their experience.  Those who have experienced oppression have less moral responsibility and are given higher moral authority than oppressors.  However, it is possible for oppressors to gain moral authority by surrendering to those who are oppressed.  This gain through surrender to the oppressed enables the oppressor to acquire “woke.” Note how this logic calls for a subjective shift in authority and a redefinition of morality.

4.  Social Justice demands the liberation of oppressed groups, and liberation demands struggle against the discrimination and hegemony based on the social groups noted earlier.  If necessary, physical violence is justified.

If this is your first exposure to the logic of Critical Theory, you may be a bit confused.  Here’s a suggestion to get more familiar.  Joseph Backholm (@josephbackholm) has narrated a helpful, illustrated YouTube video on the subject of Critical Theory as part of the Family Research Council series, “What Would You Say?”  Click HERE to watch this helpful video.

Critical Theory is Pervasive
While critical theory and social justice have been hatched by scholars, philosophers, and social elites, and taught in our universities for several generation, in recent years, particularly in 2020, the ideology is becoming reality in the streets of America.  Demonstrations that begin peacefully are coopted by left wing progressive and extremist elements whose aim is nothing less than the complete destruction of the power of the oppressors.  But interestingly, adherents to the social justice movement do not make converts by showing their raw intent.  Instead, according to Dr. Shinvi, they present slogans that invite listeners or readers to think about the potential injustice of obvious oppression such as slavery in contrast to the lush privileges of the powerful at the expense of the oppressed.  Shinvi offers the following examples:
• “We should never challenge people’s lived experience.” 
• “We need to liberate our theology from privileged groups.”
• “We should dismantle all structures which perpetuate privilege.”
• “We should promote diversity within the church.”

Can you see that there are elements of truth in each slogan?  However, as Walsh noted in our quote above, critical theorists believe that “no custom, institution, or moral precept…is beyond criticizing, and destroying.”  Many of us would agree that reform is needed in our law enforcement.  But the goal of the left wing and extremist groups is not reform of existing institutions, but destruction of the existing to make way for a new order—a utopia in which all people are equal and no one is oppressed. 

But who will monitor and enforce the social rules of this utopia, and what form of oppression will they use to enforce their laws?   We need look no further than the current and historical landscape under the rule of socialism and communism to realize that purely human attempts at creating a utopia in which all citizens are valued and respected have fallen short of the goal.

Two Very Different Worldviews
The four premises of Critical Theory noted above share some of their values with Biblical Christianity.  Critical theory and Christianity both raise concerns about the injustice of slavery and other forms of institutionalized oppression.  Neil Shinvi notes that Christians, too, should be wary of hegemonic power.  For example, he explains that we ought to teach our children that beauty is more than outward appearance.  Therefore, Christians ought to resist Hollywood hegemony that pressures children to find their identity only in what the world says is right and beautiful while ignoring the importance of godly character.  But ultimately Critical Theory and Christianity are two very different worldviews that resist any attempts to reconcile them.

The table on the left contains the principle questions that any worldview attempts to answer.  Notice the drastically different answers to each question, chiefly because Critical Theory is a humanistic/materialistic worldview that denies the existence of God.  In this godless worldview, human identity is based on the social group in which we belong.  Our purpose is not to “glorify God and enjoy Him forever” but to participate in a humanistic effort to bring liberation to the oppressed.  No wonder there is so little joy on the faces of liberal progressives, so little hope in their words, and such futility in their violence and destruction.

The biblical narrative also differs markedly from that of Critical Theory as shown in the graphic below.  Critical Theory acknowledges neither God nor His acts of creation.  Instead, with its roots anchored in atheistic, materialistic ideology, Critical Theory assumes the universe is ultimately the result of undirected natural causes as proposed by neo-Darwinian evolution.  Such a narrative that is devoid of God and His purposes gives only humanistic explanations for world problems today, empty answers to these problems, and a hopeless future.   In place of the fall of mankind and our sin nature as recorded in Genesis, Critical Theory points to oppression as the cause of evil in the world.  Instead of Christ’s redemption through the Cross, critical theorists assume the role of redeemers through activism, leading hopefully to liberation one day in place of the promised eternal restoration of Christ-followers in Heaven. 

You may be wondering how critical theorists could marginalize and dethrone the Bible from its historic place of authority as the inspired revelation of God.  Here’s exhibit #1 of how Critical Theory reasoning does just that.  It’s a tweet offered by a Union Seminary student as part of an assignment to comment on the authority of Scripture.  Notice how the student subjugates the authority of Scripture (e.g. John 17: 17; 2 Timothy 3: 10-17) beneath human reasoning which must after all be given the last word on any attempt to “discern which messages are God’s.” This is a troubling response, coming from a seminary student, and a somber call for God’s Word to be more clearly proclaimed with power and relevance from our churches and lived out by Christ-followers (James 1: 22-25).

Critical Theory and a Christian Apologetic
If you are a Christ-follower who is sincere about defending your faith in an increasingly atheistic world, you should be able to understand and explain the Judeo-Christian worldview upon which your faith is based.  I believe our apologetic and personal witness should begin with gentleness toward those to whom we speak, and with reverence toward God (1 Peter 3: 15).  If God were to mark all our sin against us and not forgive us through Christ, “Who could stand?” asked the psalmist (Psalm 130: 3).  Certainly not I.  By faith, we profess that God is Creator of a perfect world (Genesis 1), but our sin separates us from Him (Ephesians 2).  Therefore, our identity is not ultimately in the social group, nor in social liberation from oppression.  Rather, because God sees us all as sinners in the solidarity of one group, we are all in need of redemption through the blood of Christ.  Any other criteria (e.g. race, gender, class) for dividing us into social groups is insignificant compared to the deep stain of sin in all our lives that is blotted out only by trusting in the soul-cleansing blood of Christ.  And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4: 12).

As we learn more about Critical Theory and how to distinguish its claims from Christianity,  hopefully we also realize our individual responsibility to live daily in the grace and righteousness God provides, while being sensitive and responsive to the material and spiritual needs of the oppressed around us.  There are many Leslie’s out there who need the polite response of a Casey to encourage them and point them to Christ who alone can truly relieve their oppression and give them Eternal salvation and a new identity in Him.

Additional Resources
Among the resources I have cited and used, the complete lecture presented by Dr. Neil Shenvi is at “Social Justice, Critical Theory, and Christianity: Are They Compatible?”  He provides additional resources on Critical Theory at Neil Shenvi – Apologetics.  Dr. Shenvi is a chemist, not a theologian, but his understanding of Scripture and impassioned delivery is worthy of our time as we prepare to give an answer for the hope that is in us…(1 Peter 3: 15).

What Do You Think?
Thank you for reading.   I welcome your insights, comments, and questions.  Just use “Comments” or email me at silviusj@gmail.com.

Previous and Related Articles:
How Firm Is Our Foundation?
Choices for Troubled Times - 1. A Perfect Union
Choices for Troubled Times - 2. My Responsibility Matters
Choices for Troubled Times – 3. Redemption and Restoration