Joseph Mattera: 10 Reasons I Am Critical of Critical Race Theory

Critical race theory (CRT) has been placed front and center of the contemporary debate related to what proponents attribute to systemic racism. However, the past several months have uncovered that CRT has virtually nothing to do with the original protests related to the death of George Floyd.

Although I am a proponent of police reform, it has become increasingly clear that the objectives of those espousing CRT advocate a dangerous worldview that is antithetical to the Christian gospel.

CRT utilizes Marxist ideas that incite class warfare by dividing people along the lines of the oppressor and the oppressed. People are judged by the color of their skin as it relates to such things as class distinction, sex and gender identity. For example, they regularly attempt to shame people into guilt based on skin pigmentation by utilizing broad-brush labels such as “white privilege.” This stands in opposition to the civil rights ideals of Martin Luther King Jr., whose goal was that people would not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

Their semi-gnostic views also refer to those enlightened by “intersectionality” as “woke.” These “woke” ones, they purport, are those who understand the hidden institutional power structures that oppress various segments of society because of their sexual identity, fluid genderism, nontraditional family structure, race, radical feminism and views regarding social justice and income equality (a clear Marxist construct).

Despite the above, many Evangelical pastors and Christians have embraced the full tenets of revolutionary organizations that, if unopposed, will not only fully deconstruct the U.S.A. but also the “faith which was once for all handed down to the saints (Jude 1:3, NASB).”

I am attempting to collapse the major beliefs of CRT by illustrating ten contrasts it has with biblical Christianity. I hope it will jar ignorant, complicit believers who are asleep at the wheel into seeing that the vestiges of their faith are being torn down in Western culture.

The following are ten reasons I oppose CRT:

1. CRT pits people against each other based on skin color. New Testament passages like Ephesians 2:14-18 teaches us that Jesus destroyed the enmity between Jew and Gentile (and by implication, all ethnic peoples) and made believers “one new man” who are restored to the image of God (Col. 3:10; Gen. 1:28).

2. CRT categorizes the human race based on skin color and economic status. Scripture teaches that in Christ, there is neither Jew, Gentile, slave, nor free, but we are all one in Christ (Gal. 3:28).

3. CRT attempts to create a utopian society through a Marxist view of external change. Biblical passages such as John 3:3-8 teaches us that a person has to be transformed from the inside out (irrespective of their environment) if they are to experience true peace and salvation.

4. CRT shames Caucasian people because of their “white privilege.” In their view, this means that a racial or sexual minority of some kind is assumed to be a victim of oppression. The oppressed have fought against their privileged oppressors that make their life cozier at the expense of their persecuted neighbors. However, Romans 8:28-39 teaches that all believers, irrespective of their particular ethnicity, are not to view themselves as victims but “as more than conquerors through Christ.”

Furthermore, Acts 17:26, 27 teaches that God has made the whole human race of one blood (from Adam and Eve), and determined the times, season and location of their habitation so they would find God. This goes along with Genesis 10 which illustrates that God determined where nations of peoples would cultivate their own particular culture. This means that whatever situation ethnic people find themselves, it should be for the greater purpose of seeking God and finding Him.

All skin tones and ethnicities will eventually gather around the throne of God and reflect the glory and beauty of God (Rev. 7:9). Here, Caucasian people will neither be favored nor shamed according to their skin but judged according to their works (2 Cor. 5:10).

Also, this view does not consider that not all white people are privileged, and not all Black people are underprivileged based on their economic background and upbringing. I have been in many neighborhoods where some Caucasians were referred to as “white trash.” Also, there are more white people on welfare in this nation than people of color.

In conclusion to this point, if what proponents of CRT mean by “white privilege” is that in certain communities a Caucasian will more likely get “the benefit of the doubt” over and against young Black men (who tend to be pulled over while driving more frequently by the police and are more likely to be suspected of committing a crime), then I will concede this point with qualifications. To be fair, in some instances, police have to target certain ethnic people based on the description of the perpetrator given during a 911 call or based upon the likely ethnic demographic in certain communities.

However, as you dive into the ideology of CRT, you realize they mean much more than whites getting the benefit of the doubt, as my other points illustrate. In my opinion, their goal is to use “whiteness” as a rallying cry and excuse for overturning the nation through a Marxist-type revolution.

5. CRT defines humans purely as material beings. Biblical passages like Genesis 1 and Psalm 8 show the uniqueness of humanity compared to the rest of creation. Thus, our race, sexual orientation or gender identity are not our primary defining characteristics but are mere projections of our supra-natural essence and ontological being.

6. CRT proponents seem to take no responsibility for individual effort or merit. They teach that every result related to power, wealth and wellbeing are never the result of individual actions but only structural, systemic injustices in society. Biblically, 2 Corinthians 9:6-8, Galatians 6:7-8 and the whole book of Proverbs and beyond, illustrate that CRT violates the principles related to the biblical laws of sowing and reaping.

7. CRT attempts to deconstruct the traditional role the nuclear family, faith, individual ethics and sexual behavior have in framing individuals, families and communities. Genesis 1:27-28, Exodus 20:3-17, Deuteronomy 6:6-9, Psalms 78, Psalms 127, Proverbs 22:6, Ephesians:6:1-3 and more illustrate the significant role the nuclear family and sexual ethics have as it relates to the well being of family and society.

8. CRT claims that everyone is blinded by class-consciousness and social location. They teach that only those who embrace intersectionality are truly “woke.” This is opposed to biblical passages such as 2 Corinthians 4:4, Ephesians 2:1-3 and Ephesians 4:17-19, which teach that humankind is blinded by their demonically-influenced and sinful rebellion against God.

9. CRT, like Marxism, teaches that all pathologies can be fixed by revamping social policy and societal constructs. Passages like Genesis 6:5-8, Jeremiah 17:9, Psalm 14, Romans 3:23 and Romans 6:23 all point to the fact that sin is the root cause of all evil, including racism. Hence, even if it were possible to create laws that fully eradicated all systemic disparity and discrimination, racism will still exist in individual human hearts that are not transformed by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5-7). (Of course, Scriptures like the book of Esther, also show the importance of God’s covenant people working to change societal laws to protect an ethnic people).

10. CRT proponents have set up their movement as a sort of “collective savior.” The bible teaches that only the kingdom reign of the Lord Jesus Christ will inaugurate global systemic justice (Ps. 72; Isa. 11:1-4, 9:6-7, 61:1-4). {eoa}