There's a big push from within Christianity to integrate and embrace Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Intersectionality. Folks from both sides have presented arguments for and against it's inclusion within the Church. The recent article Understanding Critical Race Theory: Part 1 published on Missio Alliance seeks to affirm CRT and to also make bold claims that scripture supports it.

Before we address the article, we want to make two specific statements:

1. Racism is both evil and a Sin.
2. Racism is not exclusive to whites.

The aforementioned article, Understanding Critical Race Theory: Part 1, is a two part series sponsored by Missio Alliance. The first part is written by Robert Chao Romero with part 2 written by Jeff Liou (as of the publishing of our response, part 2 of their article has been published, you can read it here: Understanding Critical Race Theory: Part 2). We will follow up with a response to part 2 soon.

Robert starts off his article recollecting an event in which he was leading a group of Latino(a) students on a tour around UCLA. During this tour there was an apparent incident on an elevator in which a fellow colleague, who is an "older white lady", proceeded to chastise the group because she assumed they pressed several elevator buttons they didn't need to (kids, teens, etc love to do that). He states she "made some angry and disrespectful comments" and then in turn he states, "I expressed my displeasure to my colleague, and she got off on her floor without saying a word."

I'm sure his displeasure was expressed in a similar fashion to what his colleague dispensed, but I can't help but wonder why he apparently chose to not follow up with the colleague to discuss the event further. Instead he chose to assume her intent.

Robert continues on by stating:

As God would have it, around that same time I was teaching my first graduate class on Chicana/o legal history and critical race theory (CRT). CRT gave me the language to describe what I experienced that day, for not the first or last time: a microaggression. Microaggressions are small acts of racism which those of us who are BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) experience on a regular basis in the United States. Often they take the form of rude or arrogant racially-tinged comments or actions. Every individual microaggression is painful in itself, but when they add up, they can take an especially heavy emotional toll.

His assumption is that her comments were "Microaggressions" which according to CRT are "small acts of racism". So what is a microaggression exactly (or at least defined by CRT supporters):

In layman's terms, when a white person speaks and/or engages with a person of color they are unconsciously and automatically engaging in racist behavior. IE, all white people are racist and typically just don't know it.

Robert falsely accuses his colleague of racism, not based on actual racist comments or events, but based on how CRT defines encounters by whites and people of color.... if a white person says or does something that offends you, it must be racist. The framework of CRT creates some seriously false and egregious stereotypes about white people.

One of the major issues with CRT (aside from it's Marxist ideology) isn't it's declaration that racism is bad. It's the declaration that all whites are bad because all whites are inherently racist and oppressive.

This is a racist declaration that's invading our society and churches.

Does CRT Align with Scripture?

Short answer, No. The point of this article isn't to explain all the reasons why CRT is anti-Biblical and anti-Christian, it's to respond to Robert's claims.

Nowhere in scripture does it state that all whites are racist or oppressors. Nor does it say that whites alone are racist. Scripture does indeed say all have sinned and all have fallen short (Romans 3:23-24). Instead, CRT forces the believer to engage in violating the 9th Commandment by bearing false witness against your neighbor (Exodus 20:16) with the assertion that all whites are inherently racist and as such everything they do is based on this racism and oppression.

Furthermore CRT forces the believer to violate the two greatest commandments:

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

Matthew 22:36-40

The first because it declares that without humanistic critical thinking, that God and Scripture are insufficient to handle the sin of racism. As such you are refusing to love God with all your heart by questioning his ability and sovereignty, and the sufficiency of Scripture to handle such (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

The second because the believer fails to love your neighbor as yourself as you are falsely accusing them, failing to show grace, and failing to treat them as your equal. Instead you are accusing and judging not based on true evidence but on a worldview philosophy that seeks to devour the body of Christ.

Robert concludes his article by stating:

In fact, the Brown and Black church have been repositories of such diverse glory and honor for more than four centuries. We should start living into this wonderful reality now!

Actually this is false and seeks to undermine the importance of the early church, and the Apostles..... many of whom were not white. It also seeks to divide the church based on race and implies that the "white church" doesn't possess such diverse glory and honor. The truth is that there is ONE CHURCH, ONE BODY OF CHRIST!

The phrase “the Body of Christ” is a common New Testament metaphor for the Church (all those who are truly saved). The Church is called “one body in Christ” in Romans 12:5, “one body” in 1 Corinthians 10:17, “the body of Christ” in 1 Corinthians 12:27 and Ephesians 4:12, and “the body” in Hebrews 13:3. The Church is clearly equated with “the body” of Christ in Ephesians 5:23 and Colossians 1:24.

https://www.gotquestions.org/body-of-Christ.html

We can't speak on Robert's salvation, but clearly he's being deceived by false teachers and leading others astray. He's also clearly presenting a false Jesus plus gospel, and has become the very thing he claims he's standing against... a racist.

CRT doesn't actually address racism, it perpetuates it and creates an us vs them mindset that promotes a false understanding of others, that leads believers down a false path straight to hell, divides the church, and glorifies Satan instead of God.

If you want to learn the truth about the destructive and evil nature of CRT, check out Voddie Baucham's upcoming book Fault Lines from several retailers.