Critical Race Theory and Christ’s Righteousness Thriving

“This room looks so much bigger when it’s not divided.”

My daughter and I had returned to our old home to pick up another load of belongings. She’d wandered into the now-empty room her brothers shared- the room that had once been literally divided in half with a partitioning curtain.

I was in another room, but her words reverberated in my soul as though God were stepping loudly there .

My brain had already been brewing over the CRT (Critical Race Theory) debate after following a friend’s Facebook post and the subsequent heated comments that followed. Yet again, I found myself wondering how we believers of God can be so fractured and divided; and how much smaller and less effective we are when we are split up this way.

We would look so much bigger, love so much greater, if we weren’t divided. Wouldn’t we?

I will not pretend that the issue of racial reconciliation in America is a simple problem with a clear solution. In my spirit I believe there is wisdom to be found on more than one “side” of the debate. But here are some discussion points I’d like to encourage.

1: SOMETIMES THE LABELS WE USE IMPEDE OUR ABILITY TO SEE MUTUAL AGREEMENT.

I read this article today, and it gave me one sense of why we often feel ourselves arguing in circular fashion around CRT:

“To an extent, the term “critical race theory” is now cited as the basis of all diversity and inclusion efforts regardless of how much it’s actually informed those programs.”

What Is Critical Race Theory, and Why Is It Under Attack?
By Stephen Sawchuk 

I believe that the majority of Christians, whether you lean towards liberal or conservative views, believe that racism is and has historically been a problem, and that God’s heart is for equality. We can cite Colossians 3:11/Galatians 3:28 as a reminder that as Christ makes us new, we become part of One body, where inequality should not exist on the basis of our race, gender, or social status.

Sometimes our definitions of labels are quite different, (from CRT to Social Justice to Racial Reconciliation) which leads us to believe we are more divided than we are. We must step back from the label long enough to understand the root issues and outcomes we disagree with.

2: YES, RACISM IS A SIN & SALVATION ISSUE

The history of the church moves in a pendulum motion, like most of the ebb and flow of culture.

In the past few decades there’s been a remarkable shift in the church towards a more wholistic view of caring for the poor, marginalized and oppressed. Much of this is a positive embracing of Biblical teachings such as James 2:14-17 which connect our faith to tangible, loving action.

However, as the pendulum has swung towards a very necessary social justice, I admit that my own heart has been sometimes caught up in an unhealthy extreme there. It can be easy to pursue social justice as the primary conduit for Kingdom change, while minimizing the issue of sin and salvation.

But social justice apart from God is a bandaid on a gaping wound.

The story of Zacchaeus (19:1-10) is a great example of a man living off the profits of exploitation of others. He meets Jesus and has a clear moment of embracing Christ and repenting of His wrong (salvation). The result is that he declares,

“Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” (Luke 19:8)

His salvation precipitates a heart change that leads him to radical restitution. This correlates to Jesus’s reminder that we are branches and He is the vine- apart from Him we can do nothing. (John 15:5) Lasting change in line with God’s heart must begin with hearts submitted to Him, in whom the Spirit is working.

3: JUSTICE IS THE FRUIT OF SALVATION

If we come to a place of agreement about racial inequality being a sin and salvation issue, we can STILL affirm the idea that justice is a natural and necessary overflow of the Spirit’s work in our lives.

Amos 5:7 issues a scathing indictment to some in Israel:

“There are those who turn justice into bitterness
and cast righteousness to the ground.”

What does this mean, and how can we avoid it?

The Bible commentary from my NIV Study Bible has this note about “righteousness” which I believe to be one of the most thorough statements about justice:

“Justice can be appreciated as the ‘fruit of righteousness’ made concrete in every dimension of a community’s life- in dealings between individuals, equitable laws, a properly functioning judicial process, as well as fair and charitable legal decisions. Ultimately, justice and righteousness are grounded in teh character of God (Ps 97:2; Isa 30:18; Zeph 3:5)” (Carson, D. A. (2018). Amos 5:7 Commentary. In NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible: (pp. 1563–1564). Zondervan.)

Justice is the fruit of righteousness. We see this in the way Zacchaeus’s conversion leads to restitution, which dictionary.com defines as, “reparation made by giving an equivalent or compensation for loss, damage, or injury caused; indemnification.” OR “The restoration of property or rights previously taken away, conveyed, or surrendered.”

Though a clear path of reparations may not be evident, and while CRT may not adequately address the full scope or root of poverty and inequality in the US, the idea of restitution or reparation is actually Biblical. Especially where exploitation has happened over generations and was never redeemed by the larger body of believers in the past, I believe we as Christians must honestly ask God what our role in restitution looks like.

4: GOD CARES DEEPLY ABOUT OPPRESSION

I admit the issue of dividing groups into over-simplified categories of “oppressed” and “oppressor” is worth a longer discussion. I understand the fear of exacerbating divides by accentuating differences and of creating an unhealthy identity lens for people of color and white people alike.

However, I also believe it is unhealthy to avoid addressing oppression, because God cares very deeply about those who are oppressed. These passages from Isaiah (as well as Psalm 146:7/ Psalm 82:3, etc) speak clearly about God’s heart for the oppressed:

Isaiah 1:17 Learn to do right; seek justice.
Defend the oppressed.[a]
Take up the cause of the fatherless;
plead the case of the widow.

Isaiah 58:6: Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?

In fact, when Jesus begins his public ministry, He stands before the people and declares the He is the fulfilment of this passage from Isaiah:

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19)

As followers of Jesus, and reflectors and ambassadors of Him, we must be bearers of the full Gospel or “good news” of Jesus, not only through sharing God’s message of salvation with others, but also through pursuing physical and spiritual freedom for others. This means that we must also be vigilant about where we as individuals or in our society as a whole are perpetuating oppression.

This doesn’t mean we are locked into an identity of “oppressed” or “oppressor”- but rather that we are all called to be liberators.

5: WE ARE ALL LOOKING THROUGH AN UNCONSCIOUS LENS

When it comes to protecting and advocating for our kids, we often get more heated in our debates. Teaching my kids at home during Covid has made me aware of just how many mainstream ideals are being passed down to my kids that do not sit well with me or correspond to God’s Kingdom. We are right to be diligent about challenging this, while also developing in our children a critical discernment through listening to the Spirit.

For many there is a fear of the school teaching CRT if it will create an unhealthy power dynamic lens through which their children will begin to view the world (among other concerns).

Yet I am constantly reminded that our understanding of history always exists within a cultural or narrative bias, whether history is omitted or is manipulated to force one agenda or perspective over another.

Frankly, for so many years, it is the omission of Black History, and the indoctrination of slaves even, that is most blatant. My friend recently told me that Christian missionaries to black slaves actually rewrote the Bible that they shared with slaves, intentionally omitting parts about freedom which might lead to slave revolts.

For myself, I remember learning about abolition and the Civil Rights Movement as a past-tense issue. I am deeply invested in making sure that my kids do not get the sugar-coated or minimized version of racial sin and tension in American history. I do not want them to be uninformed of how our sinful past and sinful present still create systems in which not all are truly free and equal.

My challenge to us all is to examine the roots of our assumptions. What are the biggest triggers for you in this debate and why? Ask God to show you (as I continue to ask Him to show me) the blindspots- the unconscious lens that you are viewing the world through that may also be perpetuating unhealthy or unbiblical perspectives.

I am still learning to act justly and love mercy and walk humbly with God. And I know you are too. I am grateful to know that we are all short of God’s glory, but He freely justifies us and calls us His own in spite of ourselves. I am part of the problem and want to be part of the solution- and this post is part of my process.

And I know that as we “do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk…then [our] light will rise in the darkness and [our] night will become like the noonday.” (Isaiah 58:9-10) And that is a beautiful vision of what our unity can bring.