Be bold, enter the fray
Ibram X. Kendi said, "The very heartbeat of racism is denial." Robin DiAngelo plays the same card. That's the way Critical Race Theory works. It's a matter of sweat sessions, of training, and compliance. It's a world where every disparity can be attributed to racism and racism only. Such a worldview does not welcome conversation, but simply asserts that there can be no argument. CRT is part of the world of Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity, none of which words means what you might hope. Equality, has to do with opportunity, while equity lives in the world of equal outcomes, hence the term cultural Marxism. That is to say, equality is the language of the Reverend Martin Luther King whose vision was predicated on biblical belief that we are all created in the image of God, and that therefore every person has dignity.
The world of diversity, inclusion and equity is the world of intersectionality and identity politics. Racist is a label put on those who question the movement, and it’s a label meant, in Saul Alinsky fashion, to target one person so as to put fear in the group. What are the biggest challenges facing all of us, regardless of identity? I would say fatherlessness and abortion. If one were looking for systemic racism, Margaret Sanger's organization would be a great place to start. Children who grow up in homes apart from dads are at a terrible disadvantage. With no father at home, poverty, imprisonment rates, and mental health problems soar. But we can understand why when we think about how important fathers have been in our own lives. And, of course, the aborted child, no matter who he is, has no future at all. We should be more than curious that the founding document of BLM included denouncements against patriarchy and the nuclear family.
And now we need to speak about diversity and inclusivity, which is the language of our secular age. Go on to any college campus or corporate boardroom, and you will learn that diversity has nothing to do with free speech or opinion. Likewise, inclusivity has no place for the Christian baker, photographer florist, or really any Christian who simply want to speak the truth about male and female.
If we would wish to be bold and enter the fray, why not speak against how the secular world is seeking to destroy the family, with its aim on fatherhood? Gay marriage is a bold pronouncement that a child does not need a father or a mother and will do just fine with two moms and two dads. Now, of course, we know there is no foundation for two parents, for it's any number you'd like. If we wish to be bold and helpful to all people, whatever their race or background, should we not once more promote natural marriage? If you are looking for injustice, think of the child who does not know who his father is. Think of adults doing things that they want to do, but at the expense of children who depend on them.
The world of diversity, inclusion, and equity is a world that celebrates not only the rainbow pride, but also the transgender phenomenon that is sweeping our nation, causing irreparable harm to our child, girls most especially. This involves puberty blockers and hormone treatment leading to mutilating surgery. Walk in any high school hall, and you will see how commonplace this is. But if you say so, the likes of Kendi will call you transphobic. Others, wishing to appeal to the cultural elite, will simply remain silent. Many surely think that it may not be time to push the faithful church into world of gay marriage, though so many have already been indoctrinated, but think that we can at least begin with the charge of racism, which can be done without evidence or real meaning.
We have a lot to do, and I know that many have read the works of Jerome Tisby, whose history is akin to that of the 1619 movement, in which racist glasses are put on, and miraculously, only racism is seen. Likewise, I know many church groups have read White Fragility, which is akin to a Chinese Communist sweat session, in which accusations are proof. I would suggest many other more level headed books that recognize that CRT and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are the work of secularism against the truth. A good start would be Vodie Baucham’s Fault Lines or Noelle Mering’s Awake, Not Woke.
The world of Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity is a religion unto itself. It is a worldview without forgiveness, and which race, gender, and sexual identity is the way to attain status. It’s a worldview that has no love for the Wisdom taught in the book of Proverbs as to what makes a good life. Again, this is a matter of the dog that does not bark. You can tell a movement by what it says, and by what it does not. Racism no doubt is alive in every human heart, for that is the truth of fallen man. And along with that come envy, pride, jealousy, greed, and every evil desire, every wish to do what I want to do without caring about others. To see that person one need look only in the mirror. Chief of sinners, all of us. But DIE has taken us away from the vision of MLK into a world where goodness is turned on its head, where atonement is impossible, where those other than Christ are turned into the scapegoat.
There’s much that we can do to speak to the issues of the day, but it is not enough to be as innocent as doves.
The Rev. Dr. Peter Scaer is chairman and professor of Exegetical Theology and director of the M.A. program at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind.
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