“In CRT, being “black” means one’s identification with oppression (much of this is from the work of James Cone who founded Black Liberation Theology and went so far as to say Jesus was black because he identified with the oppressed). In this sense, one can be “black” even if they do not have dark skin or African or Islander ancestry, so long as they identify themselves with an oppressed people group.”
(Pulpit & Pen) As Christian institutions like Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Reformed Theological Seminary, and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary are promoting Critical Race Theory, many believers are confused as to what the doctrine is or why it’s dangerous….
As the Southern Baptist Convention approved Resolution 9 in June, which promotes Critical Race Theory as an analytical tool, we need to know why it’s dangerous.
This information should provide a quick guide to four main things Christians need to know about Critical Race Theory (CRT).
CRT IS FUNDAMENTALLY OPPOSED TO THE AMERICAN CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
Invented by Derrick Bell and other attorneys as a spin-off of Critical Legal Theory in American law schools in the 1980s, these theorists were disenchanted with the results of the Civil Rights Movement. Bell, Richard Delgado, and other CRT thinkers viewed classical liberal ideas such as meritocracy (people being rewarded based on their individual merits), equal opportunity, and colorblind justice (like that promoted by Dr. King) to all be factors that cause systemic, invisible, intangible racism.
What many people don’t understand is that CRT rejects most of the things that the 1960s Civil Rights Movement fought for, like treating people equally in institutions and under the law. Instead, CRT teaches that if power is to be properly redistributed from the “haves” to “have-nots” (which in their eyes include minority identity groups), the law may actually need to biased in favor of minority identity groups.
It is likely that the 1960s Civil Rights leaders like Dr. King, Bayard Rustin, Hosea Williams, and Gloria Richardson all would have opposed CRT vehemently, as it denies that people should be judged “by the content of their character and not the color of their skin.” CRT, conversely, teaches that skin color (or identity group) is the lens through which all things – especially justice – should be viewed.
Research