Flashback article: The Scourge of Left Racism in American Christianity

I have written in days past about the impact of Critical Race Theory (CRT) in American Christianity, yet there has not been a coherent article looking at it. After so long, I have decided to revisit the issue with, hopefully, clearer sight. In this article, I have decided to relook at the issue of what I am calling 'Left Racism,' to show the infiltration of ideas spawned about in CRT into American Evangelical Christianity. Far from the more 'extreme' versions promoted by Jemar Tisby, 'moderate' forces have co-opted ideas from CRT and have attempted to rebrand their views as being "biblical," a synthesis between the 'extreme' godless CRT on the Left and the racism on the right (as if Leftists in history have never been racist before!).

In this article entitled "The Scourge of Left Racism in American Christianity," I define the term "Left Racism," and lookk at three examples of this insidious form of racism: David French, Mika Edmondson, and Justin Giboney and the AND campaign. All of them teach or act according to Left Racism, which I defined as:

Left Racism: Any view that discriminates against any race or ethnicity in viewing and/or treating them negatively due to perceived structural or systemic factors, under the guise of social justice.

The article can be read here.

Now, I do know there is a current resurgence in right-wing racism, aka fascism. But so far that has been limited to the Internet, and its growth would not be possible without Left Racism breeding racial resentment in the first place. I do not think it needs to be said that Naz-sm is absolutely unbiblical, and the rehabilitation of Hi-ler reprehensible. It should not need saying that one can criticize Winston Churchill, without praising the F-hrer.

Mika Edmonson: Facts are irrelevant to the narrative

In the wake of today’s verdict in Wisconsin, let’s pray for the families of the victims,for the safety of peaceful protestors, for laws that protect the right to peaceably assemble, the grace to remain peaceful, for an end to racial vigilantism & for gun reform that protects life

— Mika Edmondson (@mika_edmondson) November 19, 2021

Mika Edmonson, a black pastor who was formerly pastoring in the OPC, is the husband to race hustler Christina Edmonson. In this tweet that alludes to the Rittenhouse incident, he prays for "an end to racial vigilantism," parroting one accusation of the left. Nevermind that the three people shot by Kyle Rittenhouse were all white. A white man shooting other white men in self-defence is considered "racial vigilantism."

A major problem with those calling for "racial justice," the supposed moderates who claim to reject CRT (Critical Race Theory) in the Evangelical and Reformed camp, is its aversion to facts. I have shown that in my brief response to Justin Gibony's video over at TGC. The fact of the matter is that these supposed moderates lie about the facts. Just like the American mainstream media, they seem to be pathological liars. Mika Edmonson lies about the Rittenhouse incident, and unfortunately nothing will happen to him. He is supposed to be a minsiter of the Gospel, so that makes his sin all the more egregious. Sad to say, but unrepentant lying and misrepresentation is not the disqualifying sin it once was for the ministry in the United States of America.

Christina Edmonson is a racist

Critical Race Theory (CRT) is a racist theory. Those who embrace CRT are at least theoretically racist. Those who promote CRT as a living are race hustlers. One such race hustler is Christina Edmonson, wife of a pastor who was at one time in the OPC. Here are two analyses of Edmonson's racism:

Some stuff on CRT in Singapore

Critical Race Theory (CRT) is a racist, divisive ideology that is metastasizing throughout the world. It is appearing in Singapore, creating needless division and dissension. Recently, the rapper Subbhas Nair has been charged with "attempting to promote ill will over religion, race", and he does so by dealing with social issues through the lens of CRT. While one can discuss CRT academically, the toxic fruit of CRT is clear in its promotion of racism and racial division through its "antiracist" praxis.

Regarding CRT in Singapore, here are two articles (from a Singapore perspective) analyzing CRT by Reckless.Sg:

What's the Big Deal with Critical Race Theory (Part 1)
What's the Big Deal with Critical Race Theory (Part 2)

It is hoped that CRT will be rejected as the racist garbage that it is, but the growing (il)liberalism in Singapore is cause for worry.

David French and the fiction of systemic racism

David French, once a conservative, has drifted towards a more liberal position due to TDS (Trump Derangement Syndrone). In an article on The Dispatch, French sought to argue that "systemic racism" is reality and not wokeness. French of course charge the critics of systemic racism with being "biblically and historically wrong." On the part of history, what French says is nothing more than the liberal idea of "racism without actual racists." There is nothing new under the sun that French brings to the table, and what he says is no different from critical race theory. No doubt racial disparities do exist, but to claim that it is always due to racism is ridiculous. Again, racism without actual racists. It is thus French who is historically wrong, since to prove the charge of racism as defined historically, there must be actual racists involved.

More egregious is French's eisegesis of Scripture, distorting what it says in order to prop up the lie of systemic racism. French appeals to the episode of the Gideonites whom King Saul had persecuted, thus resulting in famine in the land. In 2 Samuel 21, the restitution for Saul's murder of the Gibeonites was to hand seven sons of King Saul over to be killed by the Gibeonites. On the surface, French's reading seems plausible. The Gibeonites were systematically annihilated, and even after one generation, God demanded restitution for the crime. Surely that proves that one can have systemic sin, does it not, where the "innocent" sons of Saul have to pay for their father's sin?

The problem with this reading of Scripture is that it ignores what the real crime of King Saul was. Why was the account of the Gibeonites included in the Scriptures in 2 Samuel 21 but not the other peoples Saul had probably killed? The reason why is seen in the relation the Gibeonites had with Israel, as narrated to us in Joshua 9. Gibeon had tricked Israel into forming a covenant between the two peoples. The covenant was made with God as a witness, thus Israel was unable to put them to the sword. The covenant made between Israel and Gibeon had a binding effect all the way down through the centuries. Saul's massacre of the Gibeonites was a violation of the covenant made with God as the witness. Therefore, Saul and his descendents have to pay for their violation of that covenant.

When one actually reads Scripture properly in context, it can be seen that the issue with the Gibeonites was not systemic sin, but rather covenant violation. The covenant curse inflicted by God through the famine has nothing to do with "systemic sin," or "sin without sinners" (since Saul was already dead), but rather the enforcing of treaty violations by God. The right analogy of the Gibeonites is not to "systemic racism," but rather present treaty violations between countries. The right lesson is that God will punish the breaking of covenants, not that God teaches systemic sin of any kind. This applies to all the other examples of confessing "ancestral sin," which was not confessing that one is culpable for the father's sins, but rather that one assumes the covenant responsibilities and guilt of the Mosaic Covenant.

In his hatred of Trump, David French has jetissoned his credability and join in the distortion of Scripture by the woke crowd. Contrary to what David French says, Structural Racism is unbiblical and unhistorical. French's tarring of this as "right-wing" is slander. His distortion of Scripture is sad, and may God lead him to repentance for distorting His Word.

[ADD: French doubled down on his defense of systemic racism here. He does this by (1) ignoring Scripture, and (2) retreating to the more defensive position that institutions do sin and institutions that sin must make restitutions. Note however that French is engaging in bait-and-switch, or the motte-and-bailey fallacy. NOBODY denies that institutions do sin and institutions that sin must make restitutions. "Systemic racism" is not the same as saying there are racist systems and institutions. "Systemic racism" states that racism is so prevalent that all institutions are involved in racism (even if they do not seem racist) unless they are actively "anti-racist." French thinks his audience are morons that have zero critical thinking skills, and sadly, he might be right.]

British Equalities Minister on the term "white privilege"

When it comes to secular matters, God has given humanity wisdom, expresed in common sense for those who still have their rational faculties working intact. Critical Race Theory, with its Gnostic idea of "critically" seeing things that nobody has ever seen before, is contrary to common sense. Thus, in the British Telegraph newspaper, we see an article about why the term "white privilege" is careless and divisive. It is obvious to anyone with common sense that the worst way to deal with racism is to make people focus on race and what each race is either entitled to or guilty of. From the article by Kemi Badenoch:

The phrase “white privilege” is unnecessarily antagonistic. Much as some theorists think it is essential for tackling racism, there is an active and fairly toxic political debate around it.

Ditto for the term "Chinese privilege," or any "X privilege" anyone can think of. You may read the article here.

Book Review: Cynical Theories, by Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay

What is "critical theory(ies)"? The most recent book by Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay, entitled Cynical Theories, is an attempt by the two academics to describe critical theories and their evolution from a secular liberal ("old left") perspective. I have read it and here is my review of the book. An excerpt:

Cynical Theories, a play on “critical theory,” is a book that addresses the issue of critical theories, from a critical, liberal perspective. The authors Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay identify as liberals, and support what they believe to be LGBT equality (p. 19), but are against critical theories and thus the addition of “Q” to the gender alphabet group acronym. In their view, critical theories have hijacked the liberal project and are destructive of both it and society. Of concern to them is the fact that critical theories are provoking the rise of an equally identitarian right (p. 259), and the attack of the two extremes on society will eviscerate liberal society as it currently stands.

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Of their solution to Critical Theories with a return to secular liberalism, let me offer these two sentences from the review:

Secular liberalism therefore fails to be the proper solution to Critical Theory as it cannot justify itself against other systems. It cannot justify any of its preferences, and as such, is unable to stop the emergence and progression of Critical Theories, which all happened under the watch of the liberal intelligentsia.

Cinedoc: By What Standard?

The Cinedoc produced by Founder Ministries is finally released, and it can be watched here. Although it deals mainly with issues in the Southern Baptist Convention in the United States, the issues will spill over into other churches and denominations in this globalized world.

CRT in Singapore.....

I have said many times, on- and offline, that what began in America will make its way to Singapore, sooner or later. And over and over, I have seen Christians in Singapore sleeping. "This is in America, so why do we bother?" Well, we must bother because it is only a matter of time before that nonsense comes to Singapore, and all around the world.

As evidence that Critical Race Theory (CRT) with its poisonous fruit has began to poison social discourse in Singapore, look at this article by a Singapore liberal promoting the fake notion of "Chinese privilege." Borrowing from the cultural Marxist notion of "privilege" and "intersectionality," she, parroting the racist ideas of Sangeetha Thanapal, begins to see racism everywhere in every corner. By virtue of their minority status, all Chinese are accused of being "racists" to some extent, and are to "shut up and listen."

You will note that CRT is not a falsifiable theory. It cannot be. It is a theory that appeals to some actual racial discrimination, and then makes a giant leap of logic to tar everyone from whatever target racial group ("whites," "Chinese") as partaking of systematic racism. The very denial that such systematic racism exists is taken by CRT proponents to be proof of systematic racism! CRT is non-falsifiable, and functions as an ideology that appeals to the sin in the heart of everyone: to blame someone else so that they do not have to take responsibility for their actions. It is non-falsifiable, because no empirical evidence or lack thereof, no rebuttal from anyone, can prove it wrong. Once it is accepted, it is worse than an established religion, as even religion can be in some way be tested as to its plausibility.

As CRT continues to seep into Singapore, it will corrode social discourse, and corrode the relative racial harmony present in Singapore. And functioning as it does as a pseudo-religion, it will, under the guise of "justice," lure Christians away from the truth of the Gospel, if allowed to infiltrate the Church. After all, there can be no unity in the church if one group attacks the other group as "racist" by virtue of the fact that the other group is a "majority" ethnic group!

As someone whose focus is more on the church than on society, my hope is that the Singapore churches can actually warn against CRT. Learn from America! Do not let the type of uncivil division caused by CRT (in America) wreck the church. May God have mercy on us all.

The really "woke" person

If the references in your pastor's sermons, the books used in small groups, the resources passed between the laity, the music sung in worship, & even the reflection quotes in your worship bulletins are predominantly by White men, your church is promoting a truncated Christianity.

— Timothy Isaiah Cho (@tisaiahcho) January 31, 2019

Also, sadly, on the path to apostasy

Conference: Social Justice and the Gospel

The pre-G3 conference, "Social Justice & The Gospel: The God-breathed Hierarchy and the Postmodern Crisis within the Church," was on January16, 2019. The sessions have now been uploaded here. They are as follows:

1. Introduction to the Social Justice and the Gospel Conference, by Michael O'Fallon
2. Defining Social Justice, by Dr. Voddie Baucham
3. Virtue Signaling: The New Evangelistic Strategy, by Phil Johnson
4. An Exegetical and Historical Examination of the Woke Church Movement, by Dr. James R. White
5. Brave New Religion: Intersectionality, by Dr. Josh Buice
6. White Privilege: The New Original Sin, by Dr. Thomas Ascol

The conference then ends with a panel with the framers of the Statement on Social Justice and the Gospel.

Is Critical Race Theory anti-Christian?

Yes, it is, according to this article.

The issue of identity for a Christian

Identity refers to what a person holds to be definitional of him/ her as a person. In ancient and modern times, one's identity is tied to one's tribe or ethnicity or nation or religion. The notion of "identity politics" stems from this primal instinct, and competing tribes fought each other in wars across the globe. With the advent of the 18th/ 19th century Enlightenment, the idea of universalism and universal humanity was heavily promoted. There is one human race, and thus we should set aside the old tribal distinctions and animosities. This emphasis on universal humanity was tempered by nationalism prior to World War I, and gained ascendency after that with the founding of the League of Nations and then the United Nations.

Nevertheless, old and new tribal distinctions remained. And in the 21st century in this time and age, identity politics have risen to the forefront. The message of universal humanity has failed in the eyes of many. Under the assault of critical race theory and intersectionality, a resurgence of tribalism surfaces. Unlike Enlightenment-era nationalism, the new tribalism splits people groups within a nation, and even between people of the same ethnic group. The new tribalism hearkens back to a darker time prior to the Enlightenment, a time of great hatred and warfare between different peoples. Without a common identity to unite them, the warring tribes will descend further into enmity and strife that would make the current slander of Brett Kavanaugh look moral in comparison.

In its more benign state, identity politics can be seen in the reaction by many Asian-Americans to the "representation" of "Asians" in Crazy Rich Asians. It is an interesting phenomenon, but I would prefer it to be another country since that is not representative of Singapore or Singaporeans. More importantly however is the fact that "representation" was never important to me. I was never in the in-crowd in school, and never once fitted in well throughout my childhood. What is "representation" to someone who does not fit in?

Christians in this world have dual identities: a spiritual identity as a child of God, and a civil identity. According to Scripture, the spiritual identity is to be preeminent in a Christian, who has been saved out of this world. The civil identity remains to be sure, but it is to be secondary to the identity that God gives. We are after all diaspora, exiles in this world, awaiting the promise of God and the City of God (1 Peter 1:1-2, Heb. 11:9-10, 16). For a Christian, we are to feel different from the world, a world which does not reflect godly values. If we are alienated even among our people, of what use is "representation"? Should we have a moment of catharsis when we see people "like us"? No. Our identities have been changed, and our identity is to be found with God and His people. Should we then perhaps feel excited when we see Christians represented? Not at all, because the world will never represent Christians correctly, and because we are not concerned about ourselves but about Christ who will never be represented correctly.

Therefore, Christians of all peoples ought to be immune from tribalism and identity politics. That we are not is an indictment of the worldliness infecting the churches. We follow the world in seeing color, and then discriminating either against (traditional racism) or for (critical race racism) a person purely because of the color of his skin. We split into tribes and stand by our tribes "right and wrong" with no regard for the truth, just like the world. We slander other pastors because we have made our politics primary over Christian charity and unity. We refuse to seek the truth, and call those who seek the truth trouble-makers. We lapsed into the thinking of this world, and make a sordid mess of our supposed witness for Jesus. If we are so like the world, why should anyone think that God is real? Why should anyone take what we say seriously?

Christians therefore ought to return once again to the Gospel and the Cross of Christ. Jesus was the ultimate and true victim, and the only righteous victim who most definitely did not deserve anything that happened to him, YET he did not seek "social justice" or "representation" but suffered silently on the Cross. We follow this crucified Savior, and so how can we demand "representation" and "social justice"? Are we more virtuous than Christ? Away with such ungodly thinking! This world is not our home. Yes, we do seek justice, actual justice not faux "justice." But that is not where our identity lies. We are followers of a crucified Savior, not a social justice warrior! On this world, we are pilgrims, never to feel a true sense of belonging in a world in rebellion against God.

We are to go back to Scripture once again to see where our identity is. Then we are to show the world that our identity is in Christ and thus we transcend their tribal distinctions. That is the only place where true reconciliation is: in Christ. Then, and only then, will we recover our true identity and rid ourselves of the leaven of identity politics.

Social Justice, Critical Theory and General Revelation

In some quarters of American Christianity, there has been a defense of the usage of Critical Race Theory and other forms of left-liberal theories as being under the umbrella of "General Revelation." The defense is that, since the Bible does not teach these theories, therefore we can understand that these theories help us to understand the workings of the world as they are part of God's General Revelation, in the same way that the Scriptures does not teach Newton's laws of motions yet we accept them as true, as part of God's General Revelation. Such a defense is used to blunt the argument that these Christian Social Justice Warriors are reading into the Bible and distorting the Word of God, since it is self-evident that no one can get Critical Race Theory from a mere reading of the Scriptures.

I have always suspected there is a weakness in certain more recent Reformed works on the doctrine of General Revelation (e.g. Van Til, Horton etc.), in the sense that General Revelation is not defined clearly and seem to be ambiguous enough to tolerate theologians being able to smuggle in unbiblical theories into their interpretation of the world. So it would be helpful for us here to be clearer in stating what General Revelation actually is. According to Scripture, General Revelation has to do with informing people that there is a Creator God who is eternal and divine and glorious (Rom. 1:20; Ps. 19:1), and that they are all guilty of sin against God's holy law (Rom. 2:15). That is all! God's General Revelation doesn't even extend to scientific laws. And if one understands some basic philosophy of science, then one realizes that the natural sciences are an interpretation of the world, not an unmediated knowledge of the actual workings of the world. After all, that is what one gets from the process of induction: an interpretation of the raw data.

If such is what the natural sciences are, then how should one regard the social sciences, which are even more subjective and easily biased? Social sciences, even if they are done as stringently as possible, are even more fallible and more liable to be wrong. If natural science theories are not general revelation but interpretations of general revelations, then social science theories are most definitely not general revelation but highly fallible interpretations of general revelation! This is especially so when theories like critical race theory reason from highly disputed axioms in the first place, which increases its possibility of error to an exceedingly high degree.

So "social justice" and critical race theories are not general revelation, and have such a high possibility of error that it should not be taken to be true. Therefore, it is sin to impose such theories upon the church, and demand everyone in the church subscribe to these theories as truth upon pain of being "outted" as a "racist." Such activism is unbiblical, un-truthful and un-Christlike. It is to be the apostle of error, working contrary to the Lord of truth, calling good evil and evil good (Is. 5:20). It is a sin which needs to be repented of, an evil that grieves our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of Glory.

The Statement on Social Justice

The Statement on Social Justice has came out recently, and it is a great statement on the topic of "Social Justice" and racial issues, especially in its rejection of Critical Race Racism. One of the initial signers, Dr. James White, has posted on the background and exegesis behind the statement here:

And in response to criticism:

I fully support this statement, but I deplore the low ecclesiology that it stems from. It is much more preferable that Reformed denominations would draft and pass a similar statement in church assemblies.

Dr. James White against CRT Racism

Dr. James White interacted with Brad Mason's racism in the second part of his Dividing Line podcast here. Here is a great quote against those who redefine terms like "racism" on behalf of the cause of "social justice."

Thanks for transcribing that statement from the Dividing Line today. Much appreciated. https://t.co/4cbe8PCR72

— James White (@DrOakley1689) August 22, 2018

"Woke Christianity," and the "intersection" of theology and sociology

In the beginning, before all the "woke" activism began in the ostensibly orthodox Reformed circles, there was some measure of unity within the American Reformed churches. Sure, it cannot be denied that racism was present here and there, an evil lurking in the shadows ready to erupt when the right conditions were to manifest themselves. But the solution was to call people to the unity of the one human race, that all Man whether white or black, "Asian" or Hispanic, were all one in Adam by virtue of creation, and are remade one in Christ by virtue of regeneration. The solution to racism was to promote "color-blindness," the theory that all should be treated alike without discrimination due to skin color. But all that has changed in recent times, and appalling filth under the guise of "social justice" and "racial justice" has infiltrated the church, promoting dissension and division within her ranks. Everywhere the new "woke" gospel went, it has provoked outrage, [actual] racism, animosity and schism. The apostles of this new "Christianity" strenuously insist that they are merely bringing the true Gospel to bear on the sin of racism, never realizing that they have imbibed of the zeitgiest, and have swallowed the redefinitions of the world hook, line, and sinker.

When I had first protested against the mission creep of the Core Christianity team, one of the responses was to claim that I was bringing politics into the picture. The accusation implicitly claims the moral high ground that they were upholding Scripture, while I was bringing in politics. More specifically, I was bringing in right-wing politics! Despite the fact that I wasn't an American, neither was I part of any "Moral Majority," nevertheless the same tarring was used against me in my initial protests. Therein lies one of the major problems with "woke Christianity": It assumes that what it holds to be true are mere unbiased and dispassionate scientific truth. It assumes that the concepts of "privilege," "justice," "equality," and so on and so forth are facts, on the same practical level as the fact that the world is round. Critical Race Theory is taken to be like Newton's Laws of Motion, and one must be a moron or a malicious racist to actually dispute these "facts."

But when one actually gets out of the liberal echo chamber and assume an attitude of objectivity, one can discern that both sides are "political," in the sense that both sides are analyzing the issues using different frames of view. The "woke Christian" is no less political than his opponent. What he claims to be axiomatic are not really axiomatic but heavily disputed interpretations.

If one therefore truly desires to be absolutely apolitical, then by all means stick purely to the Bible. But that means that one cannot apply what the Bible says specifically to one's situation, because in application one must have an understanding of the social environment where the biblical truths are to be applied. But the rot extends back even further to the hermeneutics of the Left as they distort the Bible's teaching about Israel's social polity. Ancient Israel of course was no modern socialist state, but that does not stop liberals from reading their socialist fantasies into the biblical text, with the Jubilee being one such example. I have previously did a short exegesis on the event of the Jubilee, but suffice it is to say here that the Jubilee was neither a capitalist nor a socialist institution. Reading ancient Israel as a capitalist society would be just an egregious an error as reading ancient Israel as a socialist country, but only the latter extreme has been attempted (to my knowledge) in church history.

In light of all this, the "intersection" of theology and sociology requires careful navigation of Scripture and the application of Scripture. Since politics will be involved in any specific application to society, the Church ought to make the application purely general and in Scriptural terms, which is that racism is to be rejected through focusing on teaching the unity of all Man as equal in Adam, and of the new Man in Christ. Once one thinks that bringing in other concepts such as "privilege," "equality," "equity" etc. are helpful to the discussion, one has immediately taken a political stand, not a biblical stand, and in my opinion a wrong one at that. The "Core Christianity" team therefore is supremely political, and therefore they have not been honest about what they stand for, which was supposed to be CORE Christianity. Once they have brought politics into the discussion, then they have no moral high ground for attacking others as being "political."

"Woke Christianity" thus at best is one of the many political applications of the Gospel. At worst, it is a subversion of the biblical Gospel, since it claims to make a certain sociological viewpoint part of the Gospel. Therefore, even if one were to reject right-wing ideas, one should not embrace woke "Christianity" as anything but poison to the health and well-being of the Church.

On "privilege" and the new gospel of woke activism

Here are two interesting articles on the topic:

No, I Won't Check My Privilege: The Left's Latest Pejorative is racist, sexist, and stifling of honest debate
Atonement as Activism: The Great Awokening

[RT: R Scott Clark on the Heidelblog]

"Evangelical" racial SJWs and their deception

In light of the so-called MLK50 Conference, heavily promoted by the New Calvinists, and which claimed to be all about "racial reconciliation" but seemingly ended up causing a whole lot of confusion and division within the church, Dr. James White had posted a response to one strongly worded article by TGC council member Thabiti Anyabwile. In response, Anyabwile posted an article stating that "there can be no reconciliation where there is no truth-telling first," to which Dr. White responded in his Dividing Line podcast here. Essentially, Dr. White's first response argued that in Scripture, all our creaturely distinctions are eclipsed by the Cross of Christ, and there is where we should go to find Christian unity. Anyabwile's response to that is to state that truth-telling is the prerequisite for reconciliation, while Dr. White's second response is to show how Anyabwile has not really dealt with the biblical text (namely the book of Colossians and especially Colossians 3-4). Anyabwile's final response thus far is to claim that his critics have been committing an "Evangelical Gnosticism," which focuses on the spiritual while neglecting the creational distinctions still present while we live as embodied human beings on earth.

Now, I happen to think that both sides are right in their criticisms, mainly because the two sides are not really talking to each other but at each other. This goes for Dr. R Scott Clark's articles on racism as well (here, here, and here), which, while true, does not really deal with what seem to me to be the main SJW argument. On the one hand, the SJW racialists, Anyabwile included, have not really done their exegesis neither have they thought about what biblical reconciliation before the Cross implies for all within the church. They have not, to my knowledge, actually answered any actual arguments their critics have put forward to them except to advance their own arguments in return. On the other hand, Anyabwile's main argument does not seem to be addressed. We are indeed ensouled bodies, truth-telling is indeed necessary before we can talk about reconciliation, and putting forward an argument from Colossians 3-4 on Christian unity, while not addressing his arguments, is in my opinion not a very helpful thing, from an apologetic viewpoint.

The foundation of Anyabwile's arguments, and that of the SJW left, is their flawed idea of justice and their refusal to accept any narrative that does not line up with what they know, a priori, to be "the truth." Facts are sadly not important for the SJW. Now, I have no idea what is the truth regarding the supposed police shootings of black people, although I have read both sides. But first, the facts are disputable and it seems a strong case could be made that they are not actually evidences of police brutality and discrimination against blacks, as is argued in for example here (written by someone who is leaving The Village Church over Matt Chandler's racialism). But secondly, the SJW left is totally incapable of knowing the difference between equality, equity and fairness. They are NOT the same. In my interactions with certain left-leaning people, before all this racialism became such a big thing, none of them could discern the difference between these three concepts, probably even if their lives depended on it! Equality of outcome (Equity) was seen to be evidence of systemic discrimination! That, is classic Marxism! On a macro scale, such confusion of equality and equity will lead one to claim injustice and systemic racism anywhere so-called "people of color" (which almost always excludes Asians) are not doing as well in society as whites in America.

Thus, Anyabwile is right that, if there is any real racism and injustice, calling for unity while ignoring such sins is to put the cart before the horse. That is why I think that we need to address Anyabwile's Marxism first. Yes, there is no reconciliation without truth-telling. But what, Thabiti, is the truth? You think you know the truth, but you don't. You have been fed lies, and you promote lies, the lies of Critical Race Theory (Racial Marxism). That IS the problem which must be dealt with, for without dealing with the sea of lies the "evangelical" SJWs are soaked in, both deceived and deceiving others, there can be no getting through to them. They have a different paradigm, an anti-biblical paradigm, which they are using to interpret the Scriptures and the world. They know a priori what "justice" is, absent from the Scriptures, for the world with its distorted ideas of justice have polluted their thoughts.

The key dividing issue is not what constitutes "reconciliation" or "Christian unity," but rather, what constitutes "justice." And the sooner we start to realize that justice is not about fairness, the quicker we can start to address what biblical justice actually means.

Summer White Jaeger: Why Feminism Can't Save You

Last year, Summer White Jaeger, the daughter of apologist Dr. James White, gave a talk on the topic of Feminism with mention of Critical Race Theory as it affects the church. It is an interesting talk which can be heard here.

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