Eight Postcards on Critical Theory

In many Christian circles, you can’t get through many days without someone mentioning “Critical Theory” or “Critical Race Theory”, but when pressed few can describe what they so frequently decry. What is CT? Is it really all that bad? What’s all the hubbub about? When I look for answers to those questions I can share with people, they’re often too long, technical, or academic. I thought some postcard length answers on the issue might be helpful. Here they are

One

Hey! CT? OK, first, there is a working assumption with critical theorists that those who are in power and privileged with access to power are of necessity the oppressors of those who are not in power or who lack access to it. Reality is all about power - who has it and what they do with it, especially as it relates to people without power. Secondly, those with power create unjust social structures to maintain power and exclude those without it. Thirdly, CT holds that in society those with access to resources and power are often not aware that they are oppressors. This, in turn, necessitates that the powerful must be attacked and/or educated so that they understand their oppressive role and remove the structures of privilege that bar the advance of the oppressed. 

Two

In the application of CT, institutions, persons, genders, ethnicities, races, and faiths can be labeled as oppressors and condemned by virtue of the fact that they are a majority or that they have power and resource. As noted, this makes the empowered objects to be targeted for condemnation and overthrow in favor of those they’ve oppressed. Many will note that this is in essence a revolutionary and Hegelian -Marxist formulation, locating the doctrine of the Fall not in the heart of humans but in the presence of power in various persons and structures. The status people have in a society is not something they’ve achieved but something they possess as parts of a wider network of social structures and the same is true for the oppressed. That’s why those structures and classes have to be shattered; they’re not going to give way peacefully. In Critical Theory, redemption is not accomplished without Revolution. 

Three

In CT, the Church is usually viewed as an oppressive power (and it sometimes has been!), and is, therefore, subject to attack; its message is not merely rejected but also ridiculed in order to discredit its claims to truth. If you’re a Christian where Christianity has been or is a majority religious faith, you’ll be viewed as part of the problem by CT advocates. That’ll be weird as can be if you also agree that some of the stuff CT sees as problematic - say oppression due to racism - is also something you think is problematic. 

Four

In the North American context, issues of race and gender - especially in regard to the power of Whites in general and White Cisgendr Males in particular - are often at the forefront of discussions of critical theory. This is simply because white cisgender males have largely held positions of power and led institutions with power in that culture. This is also why they are specially made to feel ashamed and guilty over their gender & race by CT advocates. Whether the sins and crimes of others were actually in the hearts and lives of these people is beside the point; they are identified as oppressors by virtue of their gender and race, even when they despise actual oppression and would work to liberate people. This is an unjust way of advocating for justice and identifying injustice.

That said, what majority populations seldom realize is that they tend to view and experience injustice individually while minority populations tend to view and experience injustice as a community. Minority communities have a deeper sense of solidarity over many matters, meaning that what happens to one is viewed as happening to all. While such solidarity has its Biblical moorings, one unfortunate aspect of this is that an act of injustice experienced in the minority community as occurring to all is at times viewed as having been inflicted by all members of the majority (or empowered) population. Deeper listening among all communities is essential to avoid resentments on the one hand and indifference on the other.

Five

The Christian Faith does not deny the reality of sin in systems and organizational structures. Christian Faith acknowledges the pervasive and radical presence of sin and sin’s outcome in persons, institutions (including the Church), and other power structures. Limits on power, accountability, and the like are set in place because of the corruption of sin. It does not, however, see Revolution as the answer to sin and its consequences. The alienation and oppression of people, the abuse of power, and the hatred which exists between various peoples are answered by the Cross of Christ proclaimed in the Gospel. The reunification of our fragmented humanity happens at the cross, and the empowerment of the weak takes place through the grace of the Spirit and the cultivation of service as the primary virtuous expression of true power (Ephesians 2:1-22). 

Six

The Christian Faith does not reject the reality of oppression as a category of human experience. Far from it. In fact, it claims that oppression is actually far deeper than other societal theories are willing to acknowledge. This means taking seriously the voices of the abused, neglected, and marginalized, and that’s even more crucial in the Church. We believe that the answer to oppression is Christ proclaimed as Conquering Liberator through his death and resurrection. This means we acknowledge that many are not simply sinners but victims of sins committed against them by powerful people, that these sins are real and damaging, and that an account for these wounds must be given. The Faith also claims that the Church is a community of the liberated who are reconciled by the cross into a unity that transcends gender, race, tribe, and nation. Acts 13:1ff demonstrates the reality of the world-changing impact of the message of Jesus. It is not surprising that it is in this very church context that people were ‘first called Christians’ (Acts 11:26). That the Church has not lived up to this ancient testimony over the centuries reduces neither the reality of Christ’s work nor the call to live in this way now.

Seven

This means that while many in the Church reject Critical Theory, it does not mean that the Church can reject the necessity of deep listening to those who have endured real oppression in its various forms, noting the validity of these experiences, and weeping with those who weep, while always pointing people to Christ the Savior who heals the broken-hearted. This will also mean standing with and for the truly oppressed against tyrannical powers who by their actions dishonor them as image-bearers of God. We cannot help but note that often the loudest voices opposed to CT come from parts of our society that were mostly silent on racism, Jim Crow, and other forms of oppression and that these voices were seldom if ever raised against racial injustice. When Christians are silent in the face of oppression they set the table for non-Christian responses to the problem and empower those who offer these alternatives. Doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly is a Biblical imperative, not a Marxist dialectic.

Eight

The answer to enslavement & estrangement cannot be discovered in the methodologies of Marxist theories, or other non-Christian approaches. These theories exist as alternatives to the Gospel message but also because of a reductionist view of the Gospel that confines its reach to the individual and refuses to acknowledge the inter-personal, social, and even cosmic dimensions of redemption. We continue to believe that a holistic message of God’s redeeming work revealed in the Gospel is the true hope of reconciliation and peace. Only in the promise of God to make all things new through Jesus Christ will humanity find its healing.

Wish you were here.