Christianity and Wokeness

Posted by Christian Klaue, With 0 Comments, Category: Annotated Books,

Christianity and Wokeness 

What is the resource about?

-This book evaluates the social justice movement as represented by critical race theory (CRT) and intersectionality in light of the Gospel. The overall assessment leads to the conclusion that social justice is incompatible with the Gospel; the two are diametrically opposed.

Why is it important?

-Social justice, CRT, and intersectionality are three current significant buzzwords. At a (very) surface level, social justice seeks to advance the same goals as the gospel. However, as soon as we start to look at the actual tenets of social justice and critical race theory, we can see the extent to which they lead away from the gospel. In Strachan’s words, there are many theological issues with CRT, including the following short list: wokeness tweeks the doctrine of humanity, losing sight of the imago Dei as our constituent identity (p. 58), wokeness unhelpfully groups people according to ‘whiteness,’ a deeply problematic concept (p.61), wokeness actually foments the very sin in presumes to critique: ‘racism’ (p. 65), wokeness treats people as ‘oppressors’ and ‘oppressed’ due to skin colour and power dynamics (p. 68), wokeness traps us in a cycle of anger and victimhood (p. 70), wokeness gives approval to evil - both in the public square and in rejecting God’s design for the sexes (p. 73), and wokeness overturns the Gospel’s ‘no condemnation in Christ’ promise (p. 79).

What should I do?

-Pray, read your Bible, and critically analyze/discuss the ideas presented by those who would defend social justice apart from the Word of God. There is a ‘social’ justice found in Scripture, but it is centered on the person of Jesus Christ. Without Him, there would be no justice of any sort.