Christians and CRT
- Adrian Espinosa
- Mar 24, 2022
- 9 min read
'What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin live in it?'
Romans 6:1-2 ESV
As many of you know, critical race theory or CRT has become a major talking point in many circles. There has been a lot of debate on whether it is anti-American, anti-Christian, or true at all. Whatever your stance on the issue, it must be addressed by the body of Christ, what is critical race theory, and how does it compare to what the Bible says? Please note that this isn’t post is not aimed at convincing you in or out of critical race theory, but rather seeing it through a kingdom lens. Likewise I will leave my own political opinion out of this, since this is about the Kingdom of God and not the kingdom of men.
Critical race theory began as a study in the 1970’s to see why racial, gender, and sexual inequality was taking so long to progress in the west. The study produced a theory on why civil equality was not being met and it came down to five major theories;
Racism is ordinary and not uncommon to society.
The majority of society will always support progress/reform for the minority only if it benefits them as well.
Race is a social construct.
Public education focuses more on middle class “white” American history and tells the stories of people of color from the “white” perspective and not from the perspective of the minorities themselves.
Those considered “white” have been given “civil rights legislation” that was not officially endorsed but rather unspoken.
Racism, Progress with Benefits, and White Civil Rights Legislation
The scriptures show in the old testament that humanity chose sin, over God and in doing so introduced sin to humanity. Sin became ingrained within humanity and it consists of a variety of characteristics and actions which are contrary to God’s character and design. Likewise, sin causes us to wrong those around us for a variety of reasons. Sin is common in every society, if we can agree that racism, prejudice, and self seeking are sin, then we can agree that racism will continually exist on earth because sin exists. With that being said, individuals who are still led by sin, no matter their race, religious, or political affiliation, will sin against others to benefit themselves. Therefore sin allows selfishness to continue as long as we abide by the sin nature and not the nature of the Spirit. It then stands to reason that groups of people would use legislation to benefit themselves or those of their identity.
However, we also know that sin can be overcome through Jesus Christ. Because of Jesus, we have a choice to choose love, peace, and righteousness, in the midst of our differences, not because of them. If believers are led by the Spirit, there should no longer be an issue of abusing one another through church abuses, church prejudice, or prejudicial legislation on any group of people promoted by believers. The Holy Spirit should lead us into serving one another, inside church walls and outside of them, without the need for gain. If believers are acting contrary to loving their neighbor in any way, then fellow believers have the right to confront them privately and then publicly if the rebuke is not heard.
Race is a Social Construct
God created man and woman in His own image. God shows how the descendants of Adam and Eve sinned and in doing so how their actions would introduce different tribes and peoples. The Bible never explains how people developed cultures, racial lines, or specific tribes outside of Abraham and his descendants. It doesn't answer the question of where race comes from, if one race is superior, or if one is inferior. That is because the scriptures never intended to detail all of history or define racial lines. Rather its purpose is to tell the story of God and man’s relationship throughout the history of selected people. God created humans with a variety of pigmentation and due to adaptation, humans' appearances changed over time according to where they lived and how they lived. Those who looked different classified themselves into different social structures, in which God makes obsolete in His eyes. So the scripture makes no mention of race origins not because it isn’t important, but rather because it isn’t necessary for the story of the Bible. It isn’t because it doesn’t matter but because it isn’t something God emphasized outside of the specific people groups He involved in His story. Not because race does or doesn’t exist, He loves and judges everyone equally.
So according to what the scriptures show, if race is a social construct according to CRT, then God is able to see through it to see the individual in the midst of their race and apart from their race. If He can, why can’t we? Not to say we can’t acknowledge or honor one’s race, if they celebrate the good that has come through their racial history, that isn’t a bad thing. All people groups have done terrible things throughout history, because of sin. However, why would one’s race or lack thereof keep us from loving one another? Does love not go beyond the boundaries man socially constructs? Why would the establishment of race or the absence of it, create hatred between us? It shouldn’t, because we're a family that is united by Jesus and we bring different parts of His heart to the table. Those parts are often reflected in the things our differing cultures celebrate.
Truth or Brainwashing
The Church has been given a bad reputation by many so-called believers who have used it for political, financial, or even perverted gain. They have corrupted the very image of Christ on the earth, by allowing their sin to create a broken image of the bride of Christ. But I am not here to point fingers, but rather to remind us what the Church is actually about. We make up “the Church '', “Body of Christ” , or “Ekklesia” whatever you would like to call it. You and me. Those who are seeking God and have been saved by His amazing grace. The Church is not a building or an organization but a body. A body of different people, cultures and hearts. We’re made like this intentionally by God. We’re made to be different and we’re made to come together through our differences and celebrate them.
So why do some of us regulate ourselves to bodies of legislation, governance, denominations, or titles? It’s not because the bible instructs us to. They are made with the best intentions, but often go astray. We have seen this within the Catholic, Evangelical, and many other denominational leaders since the Protestant Reformation. So just because something we created has become evil do we abandon it altogether?
There are different stages in how a tree dies and if you can catch a tree at the right stage, you can nourish and prune it to come back healthier than before. But there are also times where worms have crept in and eaten the tree from the inside out. So it is a matter of discernment. Now all this to say, our denominations have flaws, but as individuals we should use all of our power to change these flaws. Fight for the voices of those unheard, hurt, or even rejected by our congregations. If we aren’t treating the rotten fruit in our churches, then no one will. We can become blinded by pride to think that the institutions the body of Christ makes couldn't be corrupted. We fail constantly, but that doesn’t mean redemption isn’t possible.
I use this as a reminder about the church to relate it to the final point of critical race theory. CRT is trying to convey an issue that it believes is handicapping many americans. It believes that western societies have become blinded to the bias of what is taught in schools. Particularly that the U.S school system is teaching history from the perspective of middle class white people and not from other groups in history. Now, we are told in the scriptures to honor our governments, but to honor God first. In doing so, we find the truth and live a righteous life. Everyone wants to know the truth, but many are not willing to accept the truth if it contradicts their ideas of truth. We want our news, government, and our loved ones to be honest with us. So we should want this in classrooms as well. We need to ask ourselves, do we want our children to hear the truth or hear only one side of a story? I have heard the following questions and statements concerning this part of CRT:
“That isn’t what I was taught in school!”
“They’re attacking my culture and making my children hate their skin color.”
“They are teaching my child to hate the U.S”
“This is causing more division than unity”
Although controversial, the emotional response to this point of CRT shouldn’t be all that surprising. Has the U.S taught history from the perspective of middle class, white, Christian westerners? The Bible doesn’t touch on this, because the Bible isn’t focused on schools or western history. It’s possible that the education system has taught from one perspective, because as humans we want to seem right when we are the ones in power. It could still be doing that today, because people are still sinful and prideful. Nevertheless, the Bible doesn’t address how we should teach history or set up our education system, but instructs us to seek the truth. Every nation, religion, and gender has blood on their hands, but we shouldn’t celebrate the wrongs our ancestors have done. So if you are so concerned about your children finding out the truth you were never told, research it yourself to see if it's true.
Have schools historically brainwashed children to believe the wrong things? Absolutely, history has shown this repeatedly. For example; The food pyramid wasn’t scientific but was taught in schools, some schools taught that sex outside of marriage led to immediate death, and for a time schools taught that segregation was equal. If an educational system is updating to get to the truth, journey with them. If it’s bad information, talk with your child’s teacher and principal and explain what you found. Don’t assume that just because your child learned something different than you, that it's wrong. African American, Asian Americans, Latin Americans, and Native Americans were told lies to their faces for years in western countries about their own cultures. They spoke up against it, despite the fact society at large wanted them silenced. Now their descendants are learning what actually happened in history, from every side of the story, their side and others.
Christians must overcome fear and understand that life and history are not always pretty. We won't agree with certain issues that have happened, but we should want the truth to be taught and not propaganda that benefits anyone over the other. Now I may not convince you that teachers are doing their best to teach the truth. Being one makes me biased, however I can tell you that every teacher I know isn't trying to brainwash your children with their beliefs. There are some I’m sure that are, but they don’t make up the majority. They are trying to show that we all have our faults, that makes us human. The truth should unite us, not make us divided. We cannot be at each other's throats for wanting our children to learn correctly. I want you to think with the mind Christ gave you and outside of your own perspective. What does He say about the past?
Again, I’m not trying to convince you to believe in critical race theory or to reject it. The purpose of this was to challenge you to think about what the scriptures say in correlation to CRT and have you question its beliefs. I am not going to state my position on it, as it isn’t relative or beneficial to the Church at this moment. How should we respond this this theory, I believe if we look at this theory through a biblical lens, we would agree as follows:
Racism is sin and sin exists in a fallen world, so racism will exist until judgment day.
We may hide our intentions from others, but God judges our heart. So if any group is trying to help with the wrong intention, God will judge righteously on this earth or on judgment day.
The Bible doesn’t say where race comes from but does distinguish people based on their tribes and tongue.
Believers should aim to learn truth in all aspects of life. Likewise every believer should be led by the Spirit to forgive and ask for forgiveness to restore that which was destroyed.
Sin exists in the world, therefore groups of people will be selfish and use their power to maintain as much as possible through legislation or influence. However believers should aim to treat everyone equally and serve one another without the goal of retaining power or influence.
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