Christians and Antiracism
Conversation framing is a powerful tool, and it is high time that we all took note of it. We are watching as more and more Christians pick up the newspeak of our time. I wanted to take a second to put in writing for you what it means to be “antiracist”. You might be a mere commoner, like me, who would naturally assume that to be “anti-racist” means to be “against racism”. Darling, it’s 2020. “Abortion” means “healthcare”, “pandemic” means “a-bit-above-average death toll”, and “woman” means absolutely nothing. Don’t be so primitive.
Anti-racist does NOT mean “against racism”, and if you don’t believe me, here is what some of the core tenets, developed by anti-racist educators at the Race and Pedagogy Conference in Tacoma, Washington, have lain out that it means:
Racism is an institutionalized, multi-layered, multi-level system that distributes unequal power and resources between white people and people of color, as socially identified, and disproportionately benefits whites.
All members of society are socialized to participate in a system of racism, albeit within varied social locations.
All white people benefit from racism, regardless of intentions. No one chose to be socialized into racism so no one is “bad”, but no one is neutral. To not act against racism is to support racism.
Racism must continually be identified, analyzed, and challenged. No one is ever done.
The question is not, “Did racism take place?” But rather, “How did racism manifest in this specific situation?”
The racial status quo is comfortable for most whites; therefore, anything that maintains “white comfort” is suspect.
Racially oppressed have a more intimate insight via experiential knowledge of the system of race than their racial oppressors; however white professors will be seen as having more legitimacy.
Resistance is a predictable reaction against racial education and must be explicitly and strategically addressed.
As you can see, antiracism is a commitment to sin that cannot be undone—it is a very part of our essence. It cannot be dismantled or finished. Most importantly, Christian, it cannot be taken the cross and buried. It cannot be confessed, repented of, and walked away from. No one is ever done. Regardless of your life or intentions, you are guilty. If you choose not to be guilty for your whiteness, you are suspect (i.e., probably guilty). No one should ever wonder if racism is taking place because it’s always taking place, and we just have to figure out where the racism is located and who is to blame.
Christian, this worldview is antithetical to your Lord and Savior. He is very much concerned with truth, matters of the heart, forgiveness, and repentance. In keeping with this new religion of antiracism, you must ignore the truth of a matter, find a scapegoat (usually dependent on the color of skin), pretend to seek repentance but never actually find it, change but never actually change, and accept their standpoint epistemology or be anathema.
We are watching the rise of this new religion. It is your job not to apostatize to it. You can’t do that if you’re bowing down, speaking their language, and hoping to baptize just enough of this new religion in Christian-ese so you can look like you’re on the right side of history. Jesus is better, and the world wants you to stop saying so. That creeping guilt you feel when you want to insist that Jesus died for this sin and you can be fully done with it? That fear you feel when you want to insist that you, in fact, are NOT racist? If you have that feeling, the world has neutralized you.
Do you believe that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life? Do you believe that God has spoken and commissioned you to a task? Do you believe that Christians are to be a rational, reasonable people? If you’re a Christian, you are not free to drop these beliefs and join the crowd. You’re not free to be silent regarding righteousness, repentance, and forgiveness in order to do the “listening” the antiracist movement is saying you must shut up and start doing. If you do, you’ve been neutralized by the schemes of this world, you’ve bought their tactics hook, line, and sinker, and you’re no longer living your life to look like Jesus.
Refuse emotionalism over reason. Refuse it absolutely. Jesus IS better. Jesus IS a faithful and just savior. You can bury your sin at the cross. You must bury your sin at the cross, and then you must forsake all else! All worldly wisdom is folly. Remain faithful, brothers and sisters, to the Word.
Your job now is the same old same old: faithfulness. Listen to wisdom. Listen to the Word. Remember what you have learned in Psalm 1:
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
Do not join the wicked in denying the power of the Cross to save. Do not walk in the counsel of the wicked who would love nothing more than to convince you that you are racist, you’ll always be racist, and you can’t even begin to stop being racist. If you hate racism as you should, you’ll stop playing the “antiracist” game.
Conversation framing is a powerful tool, and it is high time that we all took note of it. We are watching as more and more Christians pick up the newspeak of our time. I wanted to take a second to put in writing for you what it means to be “antiracist”. You might be a mere commoner, like me, who would naturally assume that to be “anti-racist” means to be “against racism”. Darling, it’s 2020. “Abortion” means “healthcare”, “pandemic” means “a-bit-above-average death toll”, and “woman” means absolutely nothing. Don’t be so primitive.
Anti-racist does NOT mean “against racism”, and if you don’t believe me, here is what some of the core tenets, developed by anti-racist educators at the Race and Pedagogy Conference in Tacoma, Washington, have lain out that it means:
Racism is an institutionalized, multi-layered, multi-level system that distributes unequal power and resources between white people and people of color, as socially identified, and disproportionately benefits whites.
All members of society are socialized to participate in a system of racism, albeit within varied social locations.
All white people benefit from racism, regardless of intentions. No one chose to be socialized into racism so no one is “bad”, but no one is neutral. To not act against racism is to support racism.
Racism must continually be identified, analyzed, and challenged. No one is ever done.
The question is not, “Did racism take place?” But rather, “How did racism manifest in this specific situation?”
The racial status quo is comfortable for most whites; therefore, anything that maintains “white comfort” is suspect.
Racially oppressed have a more intimate insight via experiential knowledge of the system of race than their racial oppressors; however white professors will be seen as having more legitimacy.
Resistance is a predictable reaction against racial education and must be explicitly and strategically addressed.
As you can see, antiracism is a commitment to sin that cannot be undone—it is a very part of our essence. It cannot be dismantled or finished. Most importantly, Christian, it cannot be taken the cross and buried. It cannot be confessed, repented of, and walked away from. No one is ever done. Regardless of your life or intentions, you are guilty. If you choose not to be guilty for your whiteness, you are suspect (i.e., probably guilty). No one should ever wonder if racism is taking place because it’s always taking place, and we just have to figure out where the racism is located and who is to blame.
Christian, this worldview is antithetical to your Lord and Savior. He is very much concerned with truth, matters of the heart, forgiveness, and repentance. In keeping with this new religion of antiracism, you must ignore the truth of a matter, find a scapegoat (usually dependent on the color of skin), pretend to seek repentance but never actually find it, change but never actually change, and accept their standpoint epistemology or be anathema.
We are watching the rise of this new religion. It is your job not to apostatize to it. You can’t do that if you’re bowing down, speaking their language, and hoping to baptize just enough of this new religion in Christian-ese so you can look like you’re on the right side of history. Jesus is better, and the world wants you to stop saying so. That creeping guilt you feel when you want to insist that Jesus died for this sin and you can be fully done with it? That fear you feel when you want to insist that you, in fact, are NOT racist? If you have that feeling, the world has neutralized you.
Do you believe that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life? Do you believe that God has spoken and commissioned you to a task? Do you believe that Christians are to be a rational, reasonable people? If you’re a Christian, you are not free to drop these beliefs and join the crowd. You’re not free to be silent regarding righteousness, repentance, and forgiveness in order to do the “listening” the antiracist movement is saying you must shut up and start doing. If you do, you’ve been neutralized by the schemes of this world, you’ve bought their tactics hook, line, and sinker, and you’re no longer living your life to look like Jesus.
Refuse emotionalism over reason. Refuse it absolutely. Jesus IS better. Jesus IS a faithful and just savior. You can bury your sin at the cross. You must bury your sin at the cross, and then you must forsake all else! All worldly wisdom is folly. Remain faithful, brothers and sisters, to the Word.
Your job now is the same old same old: faithfulness. Listen to wisdom. Listen to the Word. Remember what you have learned in Psalm 1:
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
Do not join the wicked in denying the power of the Cross to save. Do not walk in the counsel of the wicked who would love nothing more than to convince you that you are racist, you’ll always be racist, and you can’t even begin to stop being racist. If you hate racism as you should, you’ll stop playing the “antiracist” game.
Amen and AMEN! Thank you for putting this in such a reasonable context!
The term “Antiracism” gets people to think more about our actions. It isn’t enough to simply say “I’m not a racist” and do nothing else. Are you taking action? Be that calling out racism where you see it, supporting people, praying, donating money, emailing politicians, signing petitions. Are you saying we shouldn’t do this because our sins are already forgiven?
From everything I’ve ever read, I’ve never felt that it was telling me I’ll always be racist. If you hear that ‘white people benefit from racism’, it’s not the way it’s intended. Simply put, there is not denying that hundreds of years of oppression will have an impact on a racial group. We should consider this in our walk through the world.
This isn’t very eloquently written or explained and I may have missed your point, but as a Christian who has cried and prayed over things I’ve seen recently and felt called to action, I reject the notion that “Antiracist” is a bad word we should reject as un-Christian.
Agree wholeheartedly. I found this article an irresponsible dismissal of very real racial tensions in our country.
Here are some great resources Christians should listen to during this time: Defining Social Justice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFNOP2IqwoY&list=WL&index=3 Critical Theory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAABuCC96tI Debunking “systematic racism”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z572XopBVFc&t=1s
As a black woman in America (which is not my identity, my identity is in Christ), the world would like for you to believe that I am oppressed. I am NOT oppressed. These ways of thinking view people as groups rather than individuals. Please do some research on what is really going on here, the media is brainwashing people. Do not get me wrong racism is a terrible sin, but it is not systematic here in America.
Thank you so much for your comment! I am reading this article in February ’22 and it holds water. No Christian in the world was okay with what happened to George Floyd. As a mother, my heart was destroyed over his death. I also hated all the violence against hundreds of innocent people made to pay for his death. Can we please return to loving our neighbors as our self and seeing each other as individuals! Not two groups: Oppressed or Oppressor. I am neither. A diet of anger will destroy you REGARDLESS of whose table you are seated.
I’m glad to see others found this article to be biblical off. I agree with what many of these others have said and I will add that whike we are forgiven, do we not confess daily our sins because the flesh is weak and we sin daily? Is it impossible for us to commit the sin of racism after salvation, of course not?
I’d love to read a follow up about what it looks like to “hate racism as you should”. How do we fight the racism in our lives and communities in a gospel driven way?
“How do we urge people to flee their sin & embrace Jesus before it’s too late?” is really the question that should drive us. Why people blow with the wind of media and season is fascinating. Don’t die on the hill of specific sins, adopting the talking points and speech of the politically-correct group, as Summer notes. Keep the topic on the Master. You fight racism the same way you fight all other sin; be real with people, call things what they are, point them to the Chief Shepherd. They may die tonight. Correcting them on racism and the history of men enslaving each other isn’t going to keep them from an eternity in hill. Their correct identification of who Jesus is and putting Him on as the parachute to save them WILL.
Sorry, “hell” in the next-to-last sentence, not “hill”. Dying on a hill, going to hell. There, now we’re sorted.
I listened to your podcast this morning and it helped to clarify what has been ruminating in my heart and mind. I only want God and His Word to shape my thinking as far as this latest national crisis has emerged. We each as individuals are wonderfully and fearfully hand crafted in our Maker’s hands and are all bear His image. To bow down and apologize for how He chose to make me would amount to me spitting in His face.
Thank you for taking a stand for our Lord and His righteousness. May God continue to bless your ministry. We need to hear biblical perspectives articulated in the midst of all the clamoring cultural voices trying to reshape our thinking. Our minds need constant washing and renewing with the truth of His Word.
A breath of fresh air in a cloud of poisonous gas. Thank you.
First it was the lie that you don’t need Jesus because you don’t have sin. Now it’s the lie that you cannot be saved.
Thanks for this.
It’s so hard when even otherwise biblical churches who hold to the biblical worldview about everything else, are now using these same buzzwords and going down this same road. I’m afraid mine is. And I don’t know what to do about it.
Me too, Mo! I think we will have to leave our church as our new pastor is now showing his true colors.
Maybe show your pastor this article? As a start… I believe a lot of them just have fear of man, that’s why they parrot this stuff.
“Woe unto you when all men speak well of you.” “If the world hate you, you know that they hated me before it hated you.” Christ’s disciples are not to seek the love and approval of the world.
Where would you say Christians’ place in all of this? While I’ve seen the response you’ve posted above (from the conference), that has not been the across the board mandate I have seen people taking when talking about anti-racism. But I am seeing an increasing number of Christians refusing to weigh in on racism at all, refusing to acknowledge the systemic problem our country struggles with, and scourning believers who lament the heartache of the Black community. That doesn’t seem right either. I ask this not to antagonize, but to truly understand what, if anything, you think Christians should be doing here.
Hi Emily! After reading your post, I can see where you heart is and I feel like it is coming from a good well intentioned placed. However, systematic racism is a false narrative that is being spread. I am a black woman in America and I am NOT oppressed. Correlation does not mean causation and I think that is something that is being missed in many of these conversations. This is a very good video that breaks it down and I would encourage you to check it out! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z572XopBVFc&t=1s Racism most definitely is real, don’t get me wrong. It is a sin, and it requires someone’s heart to change. But the narrative of systematic racism is simply false. My race has never set me back or held be back from being able to achieve anything. Also, each person is an individual. It is impossible to generalize a whole group of people down to having the same life experiences. I hope this helps! God Bless!!
I have only one face and two palms–not nearly as much as I need for the appropriate amount of facepalming at that Race and Pedagogy Conference definition of racism.
Thankfully God gave you a clear mind, Summer, to respond–that final paragraph was a hammer!
I have never felt guilty for racism. I briefly felt guilty for not feeling guilty, but I shook it off. All heathen are subject to the sins of humans and the sins of their group. All Christ-followers are to give up those sins and let the Spirit lead. He leads us to love regardless of differences. And he leads us to call out deception when the deceivers lay snares for us. Thanks for calling this out.
Thank you for so clearly and articulately explaining all this!
Thank you for speaking the truth! The evil one wants chaos and revolution continually. And the world is chasing after his lies hook, line, and sinker. But Christ came to bring restoration with God and with our fellow man, and to bring ORDER!
This is so refreshing to read.
My husband and I have tried to speak to fellow believers about this very thing and it’s been heartbreaking. We
Thank you. You have restored my hope when every Christian around me is being sucked in by this.
Amen and amen! Too many Christians are accepting “antiracism”, some I feel don’t even fully understand what is really going on here. The hate you receive when you don’t bow down to social justice, or virtue signaling. or BLM is completely insane. I am thankful to God for you and Joy and all the people at Apologia who are standing up for Jesus, and who are not afraid to speak truth and the gospel! Keep preaching it sister, you are in my prayers. Glory be to God!
Well written. Thank you! It is so hard to see too many seeking to look like the world in this. The Deceiver has definitely being working and there is much confusion and hurt right now. God be glorified and His kingdom come!
Thank you! I am in tears. My pastor at our Biblically conservative church is drinking the koolaid of woke Christianity. I’m afraid this issue is causing major division in Christ’s church all over our nation. May God have mercy on us all.
Excellent!
Great article! I’m a public school teacher who is a believer trying to reach even a partial pension as I watch other curriculums sink into the mirky waters of wokeness and PC. Hoping that my particular area of elementary general music will not be hijacked by a ever updating
and developing “all-on-one-page” curriculum that has already taken away a significant amount of freedom even in the arts.
This is a great video for people to check out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z572XopBVFc&t=1s ! Racism is most definitely a real thing because it is a sin. The only solution to sin is Jesus. Period. Systematic racism, however, is a FALSE narrative. Allow me to repeat that again, it is a FALSE narrative. I am a black woman in American and the myth of systematic racism is being pushed by this idea of social justice which looks at people as groups instead of individuals. So by social justice’s standards, I would be considered DOUBLE oppressed because not only am I a woman, but I am a black woman. However, as a black woman (which really is not my identity, my identity is in Christ), I am NOT oppressed. My race has never held me back from being able to achieve something. It is no longer 1960. People are individuals. You CANNOT generalize a human being’s life down to what “group” they are in. There is an underlying agenda here and the church needs to be very careful not to fall into it. This is a really great sermon on explaining what social justice is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFNOP2IqwoY and this is an excellent video on explaining critical theory https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAABuCC96tI (which is something we are also seeing played out a lot these days). God Bless! I hope this is helpful!
Hi Mak – thanks for the links to the videos and your personal testimony. Our identity truly IS in Christ alone – as you so beautifully stated. It really is a good, concise video explanation of how CRT is not biblical. Thanks again for sharing it and blessings to you and yours!
This is such a great article. Thank you! I keep coming back to it even 6 months later.