A Dozen Reasons Christians Should Reject Critical Theory —by Rich Gordon

Sometimes lately I feel as if I am living through a Rip Van Winkle episode—have I just awakened from some great slumber to find the world around me suddenly mauled by the intellectual graffiti we know as Critical Theory? It seems like only yesterday schools, universities, legislatures, newsrooms, TV, movies, articles, corporations, and bureaucracies were populated chiefly by rational people capable, to varying degrees, of thinking for themselves. Yet now that world has been replaced by metastatic groupthink rooted in the toxically self-absorbed musings of intellectual B-listers from the 1960s.

The Bible teaches that the people of the Way are at war with the world, the flesh and the devil (Eph 2:2,3), so it should not be surprising that the world and its faithless culture should so enthusiastically seek new philosophies by which it might climb into its trendily decorated dumpster and set itself ablaze. What is surprising, concerning, and dare I say, truly frightening, is that Critical Theory (hereafter: Theory) should be finding fertile soil for its malignant vines in churches, Christian schools and universities, and even seminaries.

Like so many of the enemy’s schemes, Theory is complicated and confusing and may appear, to the undiscerning, as useful, or even benign. The culture touts its heart as seeking progress, and who would oppose that? To excuse oneself from the groupthink is to be labeled racist, hateful, homophobic, evil, a NAZI, and, insult of insults, intolerant. Well, golly, the Twitter Mob calling me names surely must be a sign that I have somehow mis-thought my way out of the will of God, right? So many Christians believe they can somehow thread the needle by “adapting, rather than adopting” Theory in order to become more hip, helpful and relevant in ministry. As I have written here, the Bible is completely sufficient for diagnosing what ails you, your family, your culture, and the rest of the world. The scriptures are also completely sufficient for showing us how we must vigorously defend Christian orthodoxy by rejecting Critical Theory. Therefore, I offer a dozen reasons why Christians should reject Critical Theory and all that it asserts:

1.Theory holds a Marxian anthropology that man is solely the product of socio-political forces, and that his nature is fungible. As such, man’s only purpose and value come from the role played and/or value added to the collective socio-political enterprise. Genesis 1:27 plainly states that man, both male and female, are created in the image and likeness of God. This, in contrast to Marxian thought, imbues man with intrinsic value, purpose, and potential.

2.Theory holds that all of life exists solely in conflict between the oppressed and the oppressor. The oppressed are ever and always the hapless and powerless victims of oppression. All inequities and negative consequences in life must, then, necessarily become the result of oppression. Thus, Theory rejects the individual man and his power to exercise free will and be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 

3.By rejecting the individual and his will to act independently, Theory rejects personal accountability and, ultimately, sin. If man is nothing more than a pawn to be formed by sociopolitical forces and then, as he lives, is either (or both) oppressed or oppressor because of some nebulous “system,” then he can never be held responsible. Romans 6:23 stands at odds with Theory: the wages of sin is death. Yes, one may, in fact, be suffering from oppression (just ask a Chinese Christian), but one remains accountable to the Lord in all things at all times.

4.Theory not only rejects the biblical concept of sin, but it also embraces the indulgence of the flesh as one of life’s most noble pursuits, and a key to expressing one’s identity. the highest,
most noble pursuit in life. To take just one example, to Theorists (even though they outright reject the concept of sin or the existence of God), merely holding the private belief that homosexual behavior is sinful is to participate in a system of oppression. The Apostle Paul explicitly teaches, in Romans 1, that such behavior results from a mind darkened by sin. As such, then, such behavior must be challenged as intrinsically sinful. God’s word is truth; culture’s word is false.

5.Theory rejects objective reality. To refuse to acknowledge that Caitlyn Jenner is a woman is to participate in transphobic oppression. The Christian is bound to an eternal allegiance to the truth, both as revealed in special revelation (i.e., Genesis 1:27--male and female He created them) and in general revelation (i.e. if one were to clone Caitlyn Jenner, the clone would grow up an identical twin of Bruce Jenner). More explanation of Theory’s extensive rejection of “objective reality” can be found here.

6.Theory proclaims that all inequity flows from “systemic oppression.” Critical Race Theory has systemic racism. Feminist Theory has systemic misogyny. Trans Theory has systemic transphobia. Queer Theory has systemic homophobia. Disability Theory (no, I am not making this one up) has systemic ableism, and on and on it goes. Theory holds that oppressive systems cannot be corrected or made just, but that they must be overturned. Thus, Theory becomes a sort of zero-tolerance socio-political wrecking ball whose goals are perpetually shifting. In Matthew chapter seven Jesus tells a parable about the folly and destruction wrought by building one’s house upon a foundation of shifting sand. The only way mankind can live out Micah 6:8— He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God—and achieve a just society, is to root ourselves in the eternal truth of God.

7.Theory, having run Marxism through a post-modern filter—most importantly Foucault and Derrida—rejects the notion of absolute truth. “Ultimately, the Enlightenment that postmodernists rejected is defined by a belief in objective knowledge, universal truth, science (or evidence more broadly) as a method for obtaining objective knowledge, the power of reason, the ability to communicate straightforwardly via language, and universal human nature, and individualism.” (Lindsay & Pluckrose, p.30) To reject absolute truth is to reject Christ: I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)

8.By rejecting universal truth, postmodern Theory rejects the universality of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For Postcolonial Theory, Christian missionary endeavors are seen not as positive, but as oppressively attempting to colonize a marginalized group. Critical Race Theory sees Christianity as oppressive, Eurocentric whiteness. Revelation 7:9 clearly is intended to demonstrate to result of the Church living out the Great Commission of Matthew 28.
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9.As Theory rejects science (and the scientific method) it rejects the wisdom and glory of God in creation. When you get right down to it, every bit of discovery in science or innovation in engineering is nothing more than bringing to light what the Lord has already designed into the created order and spoken into existence. The rejection of the scientific method is made glaringly evident by Robin DiAngelo (author of White Fragility) in her PhD dissertation, in which she simply makes assertion after assertion without laying any evidentiary basis. (As an aside, it is worth noting that the totality of DiAngelo’s “research” is a pair of four-hour guided discussions. To label a dissertation that literally took longer to type than it did to research lazy is to be quite generous. For a jury to reward such slovenly work—it’s worth clicking the link just to see the egregious misspelling in the opening sentence—is shameful.)

10.For Theory, as postmodern, to reject reason is to reject the divinely established method for establishing all knowledge. The Old Testament contains 613 laws, many of which are stated apodictically, that is: if this, then that. Since it is not remotely possible that a mere 613 laws could prescribe the entire breadth of human activity, it follows then that (oh, look, I am oppressing you by using reason…) man must have both the capacity to and the process for applying the laws to situations beyond their explicit content. That is the application of reason, which is, coincidentally, fundamental to Christian witness (i.e. Acts 17:2 and 18:19).

11.Theory is not corrective but rather punitive. As Ibram X. Kendi writes in How to Be an Antiracist, “The only remedy for past discrimination is present discrimination. The only remedy for present discrimination is future discrimination.” Thus, in the world of Theory, there is no redemption, no forgiveness, no possibility for reconciliatory repair of broken relationships. Rather there is only the goal of turning the tables in order to oppress the oppressor. The scriptures clearly teach the opposite: do not repay evil for evil (Romans 12:17) and Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse (Romans 12:14).

12.Critical Theory, no matter what form it takes, is nothing more than a lost and sinful world asserting its self-righteousness against the word, will and wisdom of God. Kendi asserts that if one does not subscribe to his program of antiracism that one is a racist; there is no such thing as “not racist.” Please tell us, sir, by what authority to you make such a claim? DiAngelo tells us that if we refuse to embrace her program for racialized self-loathing that we are making a racist power play. Please, ma’am, may we see your apostolic anointing credentials? Do you not know, have you not heard: All of us have become like one who is unclean, all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away? (Isaiah 64:6)

Once upon a time a kindly old farmer stepped out of his house as the first snows of winter began to fall. Looking down he spied a snake shivering with cold. Moved by compassion, the farmer gathered up the snake and took it into his home. All winter long the farmer cared tenderly for the snake, feeding and keeping it in a warm spot by the fire. And it came to pass that the warmth of spring returned, and the farmer opened the door to let the snake return to the wild. As it passed by the farmer the snake struck out and sunk its venomous fangs deeply into the farmer’s flesh. Mortally wounded by the bite, the farmer was incredulous, and cried out to the snake, “I took you in when you were in danger of dying. All winter long I have fed you and cared for you. How could you repay my kindness by striking me?”
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The snake, pausing only a moment, replied, “I am a venous creature. It is my nature to kill with my poison. How do you not know this?” As the farmer lay dying, the snake slithered off into the forest.
Brothers and sisters, shepherds, and teachers of Israel, beware the serpent of Critical Theory. Do not be deceived that you, wiser among men, might domesticate this deadly viper. It has no place in the house of God.