Brian and Cathy Gray Bible study, Commentary

CRT Genealogy and Scripture Rebuttal

What is commonly known as Critical Race Theory is the philosophical backdrop for Leftist Ideologies today. 

The following timeline and descriptions are not exhaustive. They are intended as tools to help those interested narrow the focus of their research.

1789-99 Rousseau – egalitarianism – French Revolution

Jean-Jacques Rousseau was an 18th Century Philosopher who proposed Egalitarianism as a solution to society’s problems. It was framed by the idea that 1. A social utopia was possible. Think “Build Back Better”. 2. This would require a dismantling of all social institutions that got in the way. 3. Once established, a temporary totalitarian government would be required to maintain the new utopia by force.  Egalitarianism helped to fuel the French Revolution.

1830-40 Friedrich Hegel a contemporary of Rousseau is most famous for what is known today as the Hegelian  Dialectic where the thesis conflicts with antithesis to form a synthesis. This is the root of “Dialectal Materialism” that is foundational to Marxist philosophy. The Hegelian Dialectic is a foundation for “discourse” in CRT and the principle of the “problem-reaction-solution” model employed by all totalitarian regimes to gain and maintain control. Hegel is important to the extent that he inspired Marx.

1848 Karl Marx published his renowned Communist Manifesto.  While classical Marxism is economically based whereby a violent overthrow of the capitalist class by the working class was viewed as inevitable.  However, Marx did not account for the fact that while the rich indeed got richer, the poor got richer too.  The takeaway from Marxism that still applies today is conflict theory.  Critical Theories are just rebranded Marxism in that the economic, “oppressor versus oppressed” as a conflict generator is replaced by race and gender.  Hence the term “Cultural Marxism”.

1911 Chinese Revolution

Russian Communist Revolution 1917

American Communist Party forms 1919

1929 – 1935 Antonio Gramsci who was imprisoned by the fascist dictator Benito Mussolini was the first to define socialism as a religion and stated “socialism is precisely the religion that must kill Christianity.” He is best known for his Prison Notebooks that inspired future critical theorists and formed the basis for the theory of hegemony whereby instead of a violent and bloody revolution Marxist goals could be achieved through institutional manipulation and coercion via institutions like media, religion, and education. His socialist religion was rooted in “trust in man and his best strengths as the sole spiritual reality.” 

1923 Frankfurt School of Economics is formed and Critical Theory is born in 1937. Theodore Adorno, Max Horkheimer, and Herbert Marcuse were Marxists whose goal was to rethink and rebrand Marxism that had thus far failed to produce the projected utopian society.

Adorno believed that the authoritarian personality is the result of Capitalism, Christianity, Conservatism, The Patriarchal family, and Sexual repression.

Horkheimer took Critical Theory from being an analytical tool to one of implementing social change.

Marcuse was perhaps the most classically Marxist of the three and proposed that certain ideas, speech, behaviors, etc. must be disallowed. It could be argued that Marcuse is father of the current “Cancel Culture”.

1945-52 Chinese Communist Revolution

1960 Students for a Democratic Society, later became The Weather Underground.  Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dorn participated in multiple bombings in the 1960s and ’70s. Both got off on a technicality. The concern over communism grew during these years. While conservatives went into government, law enforcement and the military to counter the threat, Marxists like Bill Ayers went into education to advance their agendas.  Bill Ayers specialized in curriculum.

1963 undercover FBI agent Cleon Skousen presents a 45 point plan of the American Communist Party which included a discrediting of the nuclear family, the Bible, and the replacement of “revealed region” with a social form.

1966 Professors Richard Cloward and Frances Fox Piven developed what is known today as the Cloward – Piven strategy whereby the current socio-economic system in the USA would be dismantled by overwhelming social services and other entitlements with applicants until the entire system collapses and is replaced with one based on socialism. Those influenced by Cloward and Piven include Bill Ayers, Barrack Obama, and Hillary Clinton.

1967 Jacques Derrida develops what is commonly known today as “deconstructionism”. While it originally focused on textual criticism that is not without value in terms of Bible exegesis, it became foundational to cultural Marxist deconstruction we know as “cancel culture” today. It also underpins the process whereby so many Christians are deconstructing and falling away from the faith. 

1969  Michael Foucault is best known for ideas like “power/knowledge” the idea that power is gained and maintained by producing and controlling what is accepted as knowledge. His book The History of Sexuality laid a foundation for the current gender-driven upending of society.

In the late 1960s – 70s Harvard law professor Derrick Bell develops critical legal theory.  Bell is often considered an originator of Critical Race Theory (CRT). Besides the idea that racism is normal and endemic to society he also proposed “convergence theory” that in essence says white people are only capable of operating in accordance with their own self-interest. Hence any support of civil rights on the part of whites is because it converges with their interests.

1971 Herbert Marcuse postulates that radical feminism is the best platform for launching the cultural Marxist’s nonviolent revolution.

1971 Saul Alinsky a Barrack Obama mentor publishes Rules for Radicals. It becomes a manual for community organizers. It is prefaced with praising Lucifer, the original radical who gained his own kingdom.

1979 the atheist Post Modernism of Jean-François Lyotard is born. It is not taken very seriously outside of academic circles. It ultimately turns the idea of objective truth and especially objective moral law on its head.  The result is that two generations were educated based on a system of relativistic thought that now teaches things like 2+2=5. 

1986 the Standpoint Epistemology of Sandra Harding is often correlated with Critical Theories but is more a product of postmodernism and feminist philosophy.  This has been called Ethnic Gnosticism by Voddie Baucham because it asserts secret knowledge on the part of the oppressed. Truth is based on individual lived experience. For example, a black woman knows things that can not ever be known by a white man. One result we see today is the idea that a white male must listen but not speak when it comes to subjects involving a black person or a female or any other oppressed person or group.    

1989 Kimberly Crenshaw – Intersectionality essentially monetizes the victim stance by identifying oppressed and oppressor groups.  Power is determined according the number of oppressed groups to which one can claim membership. A black female has power.  A black lesbian has more. It is possible to belong to both an oppressed and oppressor groups e.g. a white Christian female or a gay male. However, a white cisgender Christian male can only be an oppressor. One’s only hope within the context of this world view is that new oppressed groups are being added daily to include “overweight” and “introvert”…

2001 Richard Delgado is often credited with condensing and formalizing CRT in his book Critical Race Theory – an Introduction.  Among other things he planted the seeds of the current proposed anti-hate speech laws and outlined the basic framework upon which current CRT is based. They are as follows.

1. Racism is embedded in society and is normal.  CRT begins with the assumption of racism and then searches for it until it is found. Real-time application: “anti-racism work” whereby white people are taught to seek out ways in which they are racist.  They are taught there is no way not to be racist and this will be a lifelong endeavor. That said, only white people can be racist because they have all the power.

2. Convergence theory: Whites are incapable of doing anything except in their interest. For example, Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett is accused of attempting to conceal her racial bias by adopting black children. She couldn’t have done this out of genuine love. But rather to appease her own guilt for her inherent white privilege.

3. Racism is systemic. All systems eg. Education, Law, religion, etc. are racist. Hence the very foundations of society, language, history, and culture must be deconstructed (dismantled) and rebuilt from the ground up.  (See Egalitarianism)  Racism is an identity, not an action. Real-time application: a black man assaulting an Asian woman results from “Whiteness” imposed upon him by systemic racism.

4. All knowledge is socially constructed.  Language forms the building blocks. What you say matters more than what you do. Today looting and burning by oppressed groups are “peaceful protests”. The January 6th, 2021 protest in Washington D.C. was terrorism by white supremacists. George Floyd is a hero because he died in the custody of white police. Ashley Babbit was a terrorist because she tried to climb unarmed through a window and was shot dead by a black police officer.

2008 Barrack Obama is elected POTUS. The teachings of his primary mentors e.g. Marxist pornographer Frank Marshal Davis,  Bill Ayers, Saul Alinsky, and Liberation Theologian Jeremiah Wright provided the philosophical foundation for his radical transformation of America.

2011 the Occupy Wall Street movement emerges seemingly out of nowhere. Ironically funded by “one perecenter” billionaires like George Soros.  The emerging classical Marxist narrative seeks to marginalize the 1% in and threatens to “burn it all down”.

2013 BLM is established by Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi in response to Travon Martin being shot by George Zimmerman. 

2014 Michael Brown killed in St. Louis MO

2016 Donald Trump elected POTUS.

2017 ANTIFA emerges as a formidable presence in the USA. while the group traces its roots back to 1936 opposition to the Nazis its reemergence might be traced to the Occupy Movement. ANTIFA could be termed an anarchic-communist group with a horizontal leadership structure similar to Central American Drug cartels.  However, the extent of their operations, organizational and communication sophistication are evidence of external financing and some form of centralized leadership.  These are the jackbooted brown shirt-type thugs that along with BLM are what Vladimir Lenin called “useful idiots”.  As has been the case in every Marxist revolution, these will be the first to be lined up and shot if and when the desired Marxist regime is achieved.

2018 “White Fragility” published by Robin DiAngelo essentially creates a Kafka Trap for white people who deny being racist in that their denial is taken as proof of guilt. White people are incapable of acting in a way that does not serve their own interests.

Bible Verses

Again, Critical Theories are a world view and even a religion. They have multiple epistemologies (how we determine truth), multiple ethical frameworks (how we determine right from wrong), and multiple metaphysical views (how we determine what is real). As Christians, our worldview is determined and articulated by scripture that is God breathed 2 Tim 3:16-17, Acts 17:11.

Here are some thematically arranged scriptures that will help you give a solid 1 Pet 3:15 apologia for the Christian worldview that is under assault by Marxist sociological theories.

2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.

Gen 1:26 all of are His image-bearers

Gen 3 we were all born into sin as a result of the fall.

Isaiah 64:6-7  “But we are ALL like an unclean thing, And all our righteousness are like filthy rags;

Rom 3:10-18 Paul quotes Isaiah “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 

Luke 13 Unless we repent of OUR OWN sins our fate will be the same as the Galatians.

2 Cor 4:4 god of this world has blinded unbelievers.  Know where you stand.  Know that world opposing world views are not argued away without a proverbial road to Damascus type experience.

Gen 11 The only division between peoples took place at the tower of Babel.

Acts 2:5-12 That division was dissolved by Holy Spirit.

Eph 2 Defines the valid dividing line between people.  Those in Christ Jesus verse 6 and those who remain children of wrath verse 3.  Denial of this core biblical truth is a subtle key to the growth of false CRT / social justice-based gospel narratives.

Righteousness is only possible through the blood of Jesus. That’s His righteousness, not ours.

Rom 3:25-26 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at present so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

1 John 2:2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

1 John 4:10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

2 Cor 5:16-19 “Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

Gal 3:28-29 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.,

Rom 2:11-16 For there is no respect of persons with God. For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many, as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.

Acts 10:34-35 Then Peter opened his mouth and said: “In truth, I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.

Col 2:8  “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.”

Isaiah 5:20 Woe to those who call evil good…

Gal 1:8-10  But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

Verse 9  As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preaches any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. 10  For do I now persuade men or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.

Rev 12:10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. 

The word for “accuse” in this verse is katēgoréō from which the word “categorization” is derived. The devil is constantly attempting to divide and categorize us. Those adhering to Critical Theories are doing the same. They represent the spirit of anti-Christ.

Biblical justice is based on our individual actions not the actions of those assigned to the same category.

Deuteronomy 19:15 on the basis of two or three witnesses.

Lev 19:15 no preference for the poor (or anyone else) injustice.

2 Tim 3:12 those living Godly will suffer persecution. There is no God-given plan to eliminate it before He returns.  Hence justice will be determined by Him.

Isaiah 53:2-3 “He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him.” This is the only verse that declares anything about Jesus’s appearance.  The declaration is made 700 years before Jesus was born.  Those who proclaim that Jesus was a racial minority have no basis for this argument.  He was somewhere on the scale between albino and black.

2 Cor 4:14-15 The true gospel says that one of God’s purposes in blessing us is that our thanksgiving (should) abound to the glory of God. Gratitude to God for His blessings is a form of worship. But the social Justice gospel demands we atone for God’s blessings.

Finally we have the issue of racism addressed in the story of the Samaritan woman at the well. You can read about that here.

MARANATHA

Brian and Cathy Gray Bible study

Lawlessness Increased

I wrote the blog Truth or Trump in 2019. The premise was that Christians frequently invalidate their witness via their engagement with mammon.  I illustrated how we all are subject to ideological, economic, and political manipulation via propaganda. Some are more prone to manipulation than others.

Can you guess what is depicted here?

I have begun reconciling with one of my children who deconstructed and walked away from the faith in favor of leftist ideology. I say reconcile because I am guilty of viewing him through the lens of accusation and offense that characterizes so many “left versus right” debates. I called him a Marxist. He implied that I was a Fascist. At the end of the day all of our debates were rooted in the right to control “stuff” Karl Marx and bankers call it capitol.

For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

1 Timothy 6:10

Nothing has really changed since the last election. The Donald is hyperbolically talking about 500 and 1000 percent tariffs on China, which produces most of our stuff, but apparently is charging too much for stuff we want. There are tariffs on NATO countries because they don’t pay their fair share for the weapons that protect our stuff from people we might need to kill because they want to take our stuff. Left and Right square off over who has the right to do what. Arguments are often framed as compassion for minorities and the underprivileged versus the rule of law and or the righteousness of God. At the end of the day, it always comes down to the allocation of stuff. Some are angry because immigrants without stuff risk their lives for the opportunity to get stuff. We should give them stuff because they don’t have stuff. Americans are mad because people without stuff are taking stuff from those who claim they have more rights to stuff because they were born in the land of plenty of stuff. The unspoken implication is that God demonstrates His preference for people via stuff.

At one point amidst our ideological jousting, my son posted a meme of Donald Trump immediately after he was shot.  It expressed regret that the shooter had missed. I became offended and I blocked him for a few days. I had succumbed to the very media manipulation I claimed to oppose.

Woe to me! Luke 17:1-4

It occurs to me that one of the greatest threats within the body of Christ in the last days is,

“And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.” 

Matthew 24:12

Lawlessness is looting and violence. The very first murder resulted from a dispute over whose stuff was better. Genesis 4 I’ve always emphasized “lawlessness” in my understanding of Mathew 24. Then I recognized that my love for my own son was growing cold because I regarded his worldview as lawless. Those who departed were never with us, 1 John 2:19 I reasoned. That lawlessness will increase is a pure matter of fact. It will not be rectified until The Day of the Lord. Jesus was warning against becoming loveless due to our unmet expectations of others.

Long story short, things came to a head and we started dealing with the root of our anger and frustration that we had been projecting onto media narratives.

Today I am listening and seeking to understand more than being understood.

The reason I mention it here is that I’ve been meditating on the fellowship the body of Christ seeks to cultivate. Biblical Fellowship is koinōnía –  the share which one has in anything, intercourse, intimacy. I’m asking the Lord to reveal the root cause of what is preventing true koinōnía and the unity of the faith. Ephesians 4:11-14

I’ve been reading a book my son recommended that has helped to shape his post-deconstruction worldview. It is a book that I previously wouldn’t have touched with a ten-foot pole because its author is an admitted leftist. Reconciliation and understanding in my relationship with my son were my purpose. But the Lord is using it to answer my original question.

On Amazon

As it turns out, the book is well-sourced and solidly rooted in research. To paraphrase Henry Kissinger, history, as most of us know it, is the history of the winner, which is the state. The difference in Zinn’s work is that history is framed from the perspective of the losers, or what some Christians errantly call “the least of these” today.  Zinn said his point is not to grieve for the victims and denounce the executioners… Victims, themselves desperate and tainted with the culture that oppresses them, turn on other victims. While not mentioned by Zinn, the history of the church, especially the English Reformation, is a perfect example. The words of Isaiah and Paul began to echo in my mind as I read. “No one is righteous, not one…” And Micah,

He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

Micah 6:8

Zinn quotes,

“The cry of the poor is not always just, but if you don’t listen to it, you will never know what justice is.”

Page 10

The first chapter covers the indigenous Haitians whom Christopher Columbus abused and murdered in the name of Jesus for gold, based on the God given authority granted to him in Romans 13. Adolf Hitler also cited Romans 13.

“Didn’t the first Christians share everything they had?” asked my son. “As a matter of fact, they did,” I said. It’s probably no coincidence that we are hitting on this very topic in our Bible study this week.

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Acts 2:42-47

Awe is Phobeo – terror, the Greek word from which the English word phobia is derived. More on fear in a bit

Political ideologies and historical narratives aside, money and possessions are always the root cause of love growing cold. It frequently manifests first in a loss of trust. This loss may be engendered by miscommunication, conflicting viewpoints regarding how something should be done, or spent, or genuine greed or malice. The accuser of the brethren then presents us with categories into which we divide ourselves. The accuser in Revelation 12:10 is katēgoréō in Greek from which we get the English word category. We are leftists, fascists, Marxist millennials, boomers, right-wing extremists, white supremacists, lawyers, plaintifs, and accused…

“You were trusted but you didn’t meet my expectations. Now you are untrusted!”

Distrust then manifests as fear. Fear of being duped, which in turn is fear of losing control, leads us to question our discernment. When our discernment is in question we can’t even trust ourselves. So we bear down and become more guarded against categories of people we imagine will take our freedom, our stuff, and our illusions of control. Others do the same. It is within the context of the preservation of stuff and control of it that our limbic system and amygdala interpret stuff as self and self-preservation becomes paramount.

“Oh no! They aren’t doing that to me! They’re not getting my stuff!” We say.

Lawfare and warfare are the end result

Hence, we keep coming back to the first step toward freedom as believers.

Deny self.  Mathew 16:24

It’s easy to point the finger at the world and say, “What do you expect? It’s the world.” But Christians and Christian ministries are often no different. Sometimes they are worse. They might begin in sincere obedience to the Lord. Then their love grows cold as projects, buildings, supplies, positions, agendas, and capital to purchase and run it all overwhelm the original vision. People step on the proverbial toes of others and kick others to the curb in the name of countering any opposition to their agenda, which they have mistaken for God’s will. Like proverbial empty beer cans thrown in the trash when drained, we watch burned-out workers and volunteers disappear like silhouettes into a sunset, never breathing their names again. Victims of emotional and spiritual abuse are gaslit and dismissed in Jesus’ name, which has become synonymous with a given ministry, church corporation, or mission. Glorified self and personal pride are projected onto God as genuine moves of God are supplanted by fundraising as we market the God of our “stuff” ridden agendas in Jesus’ name.

The church ceases to be a spiritual society when it is on the lookout for the develoment of its own organization.

-Oswald Chambers-
-My Utmost for His Highest-

I served a ministry run by a guy I’ll call FP for over a decade. He began by pulling homeless and trafficked Honduran children off the gang-ridden streets of Comayagua. It was a beautiful thing. But building a home for kids without stuff in a foreign country without stuff was harder than FP expected. As time went on the children became marketing tools for their own provision. I was the video-producing marketer. “If I build it they will come”, he’d say. There were about twenty kids at first. FP prophesied there would be three thousand people living in his refuge. The actual number maxed out at eighty.

Construction on one building would begin until they ran out of money. So FP began “robbing Peter to pay Paul”. He’d advertise plans for another building. That money would, in turn, be used to complete the first project. The chain continued, and a miniature Ponzi scheme was born in Jesus’ name. The bigger the Ponzi scheme got the more weight FP had upon his shoulders. He began traveling 360 days per year as an itinerant Preacher/ prophet.  A salesman by trade, FP had mastered the appeal to the love of self in others. “I see you going on a mission trip to Honduras!” he’d prophecy to the wealthy middle-aged women with low self-esteem. They would invariably weep because God had seen them and called them to missions. Oh, the significance!!

Then they’d write a check.

“The end justifies the means.” Said FP

“I’m saving children’s lives!”

Some people saw through the chicanery and began to confront him. “You don’t like how I’m doing it? Well, I don’t like how you’re not doing it! He bit back. That’s when image management became the priority. “Don’t touch God’s anointed!” FP’s wife, TP, warned. Of course, FP had his public relations henchmen, one of whom was me, to guard his reputation. “I’m his armor bearer!” I’d proudly proclaim. After all, I was helping to build a system to save orphans for God!! There is a website with myriad people calling FP out for abuse and false prophecy. I am all over it, anonymously defending the man who, at the time, I truly believed was the real deal. In truth, I was blind to the fact that I was falling for the same appeal to self.

“Your videos probably raised a million dollars!” He’d say.

Oh, the significance of me!!

“I didn’t know you thought like that,” Cathy says. “Neither did I.” Pride is blinding. We rarely see it clearly in ourselves except in retrospect after we have repented.

I’m not sure if FP’s depravity increased over time or if God simply opened my eyes. But we had to part ways because the spiritual abuse and deception became too much to ignore. There were points along the way where I thought the growing conflict between us would turn physical. FP had a violent temper and he saw no reason to repent. For a while, I thought it was my job to convince him to repent. Yet the Lord was after my repentance. I knew my time with FP was done. But the Lord would not release me while I remained in active offense. I remember standing in the chapel above the Refuge in Honduras we’d helped to build when I was prompted by the Lord to pick up two stones. I heard in my mind “You can throw them at FP and be just like him. Or you can release him to me and I will release you.” Weeping, I dropped the stones and forgave. A month later we moved to the mountains. That was six years ago.

Back to Acts 2

I suspect that the economic selflessness described in Acts 2 is not a picture of a system of economics to be implemented by the church in fulfilment of a Seven Mountains Mandate to change the world. Neither do I believe it is a purposeful rejection of capitalism in favor of Socialism and Communism as liberation / social gospel adherents assert. I don’t believe the newborn church in Acts 2 sold all their possessions to care for the poor because they pitied them. Rather they relinquished ownership of their stuff because they realized that no one on earth owns anything. Economic freedom begins with a clear understanding that God is the owner and provider of everything. The freedom and power to relinquish material possessions and the accompanying illusions of control only come with genuine and utter dependence on Him. That dependence is never a product of mere desperation. Rather, it is a product of absolute trust. That trust results in peace beyond understanding as it whispers,

“I know that I know that my Father will provide all that I need.”

Given that stuff seems to be the root driving force behind all politically powered lawfare and warfare, in and out of the church, it makes sense that God would begin the first church with the renunciation of all attachments to stuff. I suspect the fear of God that came upon the believers at Pentecost was the catalyst that initially fueled their detachment from stuff. The koinōnía that empowered the Acts 2 Church to fulfill its call is not possible amidst our obsession with the stuff of self-gratification. The freedom from self manifested in stuff and the control of it was the soil in which the teachings of the Apostles could come to life. They had the revelation that they were a family. Then

God, (not themselves) added to their number every day.

The reconciliation of all of God’s children – all of Abraham’s descendants, both Issac and Ishmael, is the ministry of reconciliation to which all in Christ are called. 2 Corinthians 5:16-21

As we will see, the early church fell on brutally hard times filled with suffering and persecution. Every Apostle was tortured and or martyred. Hence, I suspect the model presented in Acts 2 is not a method for economic altruism, let alone individual comfort, peace, and prosperity. Rather it was and is vital preparation for the endurance that was and is required for the coming days.

And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

Mathew 24:12-13

By the way, the featured images are not of lawless leftists or Neo Nazis wreaking havoc in the streets, but Philadelphia Eagles fans rioting over a football game that their team won.

Maranatha

Brian and Cathy Gray Commentary

Expose What?

Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, Eph 5:11-13

Expose is elénchō bring to the light, convict, refute, confute, reprehend severely, chide, admonish, reprove, chasten, to punish.

Ephesians 5:3-20 addresses the issue of sin, in the church. …instead let there be thankfulness to God. It also instructs us to Look carefully then how we walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

The biggest question in our Acts 17:11 Bereans Bible Study this past week was “Exactly what do we expose and rebuke?” “What does that look like if we do?” Are we to simply reject those who are in sin as Eph 5:7 seems to imply?

Therefore do not become partners with them…

But Jesus hung out with sinners. Luke 7:34-35 Yes but He did not participate in their sin. That said, Ephesians 5 specifically addresses the issue of sin as it relates to believers within the church. Paul addresses the same subject in 1 Cor 5 when he orders the church “to deliver (The offender) to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.”

Mathew 18:15-20 gives clear instructions for exposing and rebuking sin on an individual basis. Ephesians 5 goes deeper. In my opinion, we are to bring sin that might not be identified as sin to light so it can be clearly seen, understood, and avoided.

…when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Eph 5:13

If you are young and or new to the church you may be unaware of the most recent spiritual attacks that produce unadulterated heresy. This is evidenced by a growing number of formerly biblically sound teachers like Tim Keller, Beth Moore, Mike Todd, and Andy Stanley to name just a few who have embraced aspects of what is commonly called WOKE ideology. WOKE ideology creeps into the hearts and minds of believers under the auspices of compassion and acceptance in a spirit of

“love the sinner, hate the sin”. Luke 7:34-35

Given the history of racism in the USA, especially in the South, the basic tenets of WOKE ideology seem righteous and loving. After all what kind of Christian supports racism or opposes justice for the oppressed? Given the history of publicly sanctioned atrocities e.g. slavery that occurred before the Civil Rights movement, only a monster would oppose a movement underpinned by the idea of making previous wrongs right. Micah 6:8 The question is not if righteousness is required but rather; what is righteous? The heresy begins when we regard the flesh as identity, mistake reparations for grace, confuse justice with equity, and love with acceptance of sin. At the end of the day, WOKE is another gospel for which Paul says those who preach it are accursed.

But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. Gal 1:8-9

He reminds us that we are soldiers in a war and instructs us how to fight.“For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.”. 2 Cor 10:4-6

Perhaps you have seen news footage of parents in front of school boards disputing the teaching of subjects like Critical Race Theory (CRT) and aberrant sexual behavior to children in schools. The normalization of all that was previously defined as mental illness is simply unfathomable to most. Hence much of Paul’s meaning in Ephesians 5 involves shedding light on the enemy’s methodologies in leading people astray. Eph 6:11

What is commonly known as Critical Theory and Post Modern Theory form the philosophical backdrop of the Woke movement. It is a mutation of an opportunistic virus created by Satan when he rebelled against God and was cast out of Heaven. It is rooted in pride, fertilized by entitlement, and watered by conflict. Just as the Bible provides genealogies that culminate with the birth of Jesus, so does the WOKE movement have a satanic genealogy that culminates with the intention of destroying the Church and any civilization supporting it. For those who may be interested I have compiled a timeline listing people and events that directly influenced the replication and propagation of all that resulted in WOKE ideology up to 2021. You can download the PDF here. CRT History.

CRT

Critical Race Theory (CRT) is often framed by words like “diversity”, “unconscious bias” or “sensitivity training” and always in the name of love.

The Woke Church is CRT applied to the gospel.

Again, as the aforementioned download shows, CRT is derived from failed Marxists in the Frankfurt School of Economics during the early 20th century.  I say “failed” because Karl Marx believed in an inevitable violent revolution of the working class against the capitalist class. Rooted in the Hegelian Dialectic this revolution was to produce order out of chaos and finally a utopia. However, Marx did not account for the fact that while the rich indeed got richer under capitalism, the poor got richer too. When the Russian Revolution only produced greater economic disparity and human suffering, the Marxists returned to the proverbial drawing board. Given that Marxism requires conflict between oppressor and oppressed classes, Critical Theorists substituted race and gender for the previously failed model based on economics alone. Minorities and women became the oppressed and white males the oppressors. While it is certainly true that disparities exist in society and are problems to be overcome, they are a vital means to a desired outcome for these rebranded Marxists.

The key is in the word “CRITICAL”

The “Critical” in CRT is not the same as the “Critical” in Critical thinking.  Critical thinking is based on the discipline of logic and the laws of coherence, noncontradiction, and correspondence. Simply put, Critical thinking applied to problem-solving is solution-focused.  Critical Theory is problem-focused. Critical Thinking is constructive. Critical Theory is deconstructive. All Marxist revolutions begin with historical, cultural, linguistic, and institutional deconstruction then revision.

Critical Race Theorists are Cultural Marxists or Neo-Marxists. 

Some dispute this title as “Marxist” is often regarded as a pejorative.

In more spiritual terms, Voice of the Martyrs founder Richard Wurmbrand wrote that Karl Marx a Jew by birth then “backslidden” Lutheran eventually became a Satanist.  Fabian Socialism which is clearly Satanic, is the English version of Marxism that preceded and contributed to the development of Critical Theory in late 19th-century England. “Like critical theory, Fabianism was informed by Marxism and was responsible for the setting up of the London School of Economics and Political Science in 1895 to “study and eradicate social injustices and societal ills”– The origins of critical theory in education–

Fabian Socialism was a catalyst for Critical Theory in that they also recognized the futility of violent revolution and instead sought to transform society via social and ideological reform. Therefore deception is key.

“The Fabian window explicitly reflects the goal of the Fabian Society to portray an outward role contrary to its real character, i.e. to use deception in pursuing its ultimate aim. Specifically, a wolf in sheep’s clothing is the image which appears in the shield above the world being wrought in the Fabian mold.” The world is heated by socioeconomic and politically orchestrated chaos and then beaten into the desired shape by the proverbial Fabian Socialist blacksmiths. If we look closely we will see CRT and Fabianism working in harmony to undermine the Judeo-Christian foundations of Western culture.

Satan always comes as an angel of light 2 Cor 11:14 and always in the name of the greater good. 

Antonio Gramsci

Antonio Gramsci was an inspiration for Critical Theorists. Imprisoned by the fascist dictator Benito Mussolini Gramsci was the first to define socialism as a religion and stated “socialism is precisely the religion that must kill Christianity.” He is best known for his Prison Notebooks that inspired future critical theorists and formed the basis for the theory of hegemony whereby instead of a violent and bloody revolution Marxist goals could be achieved through institutional manipulation and coercion via institutions like media, religion, and education. His socialist religion was rooted in “trust in man and his best strengths as the sole spiritual reality.” 

Not everyone needs to study and comprehend all the nuances of CRT and its proverbial cousins. But just in case you are still thinking these are coincidences rather than parts of an elaborate and very well-thought-out satanic plan…

In 1963 undercover FBI agent Cleon Skousen testified before Congress and outlined a 45-point plan of the American Communist Party. (also a PDF download) Incidentally, the word Communist is from the “Communist Manifesto” by Karl Marx. Here are a few points in the plan worthy of note for this discussion.

24. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them “censorship” and a violation of free speech and free press.

25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV.

26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy, and promiscuity as “normal, natural, healthy.”

27. Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with “social” religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity which does not need a “religious crutch.”

28. Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of “separation of church and state.”

40. Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce.

41. Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents. Attribute prejudices, mental blocks, and retarding of children to the suppressive influence of parents.

As you can see they have been rather successful in promoting an agenda formed at least sixty years ago.

CRT Thinking Errors

Incoherence

Similar to atheists who frame their defense of atheism based on what atheism “is not” Today’s CRTs do the same when confronted with its abject lack of coherence.  For example, if I dispute the framing of my identity as “white” on the grounds that it is racist, CRTs will readily admit that my “whiteness” makes me guilty of racism. However, “whiteness” has nothing to do with skin color. On the other hand, if I say a black person is being racist they will say black people can not be racist. Only white people can be racist.

But I thought it wasn’t about skin color?

That their reasoning is incoherent within an objective worldview is irrelevant.  In their eyes, objective truth does not exist. They regard knowledge derived from critical thinking and logic as a form of colonialism. Basically, the evil, Christian, cisgendered white male-dominated patriarchy colonized all knowledge as a means of oppressing women and minorities. That this absurdity has taken root as truth should be regarded as a clear and present danger.

WOKE is a worldview.

As I’ve said, all world views are based on one or more empirically unprovable presuppositions. Some basic Christian presuppositions are that God created the universe and all people are created in His image. Truth, reality, and morality are objective, absolute, and enumerated in scripture that is inherent.  “Objective” means it is coherent and corresponds to reality as defined by our orthodox Christian worldview and does not contradict scripture. A very simplistic example of objective truth would be that if I jump off a cliff I am going to hit the ground below. Or, Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap… Gal 6:7-9 Absolute means the same thing will happen every time. While Christians regard the Word of God as absolute objective truth. CRTs consider reality and the very idea of truth, especially moral truth to be a social construct. “Social construct” means man-made. The primary building blocks are language.

Hence what one says to a CRT carries more weight than what one does.

Postmodernism is another root of the Woke. Postmodernism maintains that truth if it exists at all is relative. What is true for you might not be true for me. What matters is that we respect one another’s FEELINGS. That means I respect your right to determine your truth.  You respect my right to determine mine.  If gay marriage and abortion fit your moral paradigm I should accept it. If any implied disagreement on my part hurts your feelings it is my moral duty to apologize for my insensitivity and admit I am wrong. In some places, insensitivity is grounds for being charged with a hate crime.

Progressivism

Postmodernism was a catalyst for Critical Theory to enter the church. Critical Theory is also veiled by the word “Progressive”. As is the case with Progressivism which views the US Constitution as a living document, Progressivism applied to Christianity views scripture the same. The understanding of scripture evolves in conjunction with the moral advancement of humankind. Gay marriage, Transgenderism, and abortion are moral advancements. If the Word of God is a living document its interpretation is always subject to revision according to our socially constructed reality.

Add CRT to the mix and traditional orthodox interpretations of scripture become invalidated due to their oppressive, racist, patriarchal roots. Hence today’s progressive WOKE church frequently frames Jesus as a revolutionary, who fought the patriarchy on behalf of the poor and oppressed. He was subsequently murdered by the same patriarchy for His impassioned pursuit of social justice. Hence, patriarchy in any form is always oppressive. This includes but is not limited to all creation governed by our Patriarch in Heaven.

Intersectionality further groups society based on subcategories of oppressed versus oppressor status.  Influence and authority are determined according to the number of intersectional groups to which one claims membership.  In a word, it validates and turbocharges the “victim stance”. For example, black is one group. Women are another. There are Muslim, gay, transgender, bisexual, nonbinary, soon-to-be Pedophiles a.k.a. MAPs (Minor Attracted Persons), and AI to name a just few.  The point here is that a gay black, woman has more clout than a mere black woman. A gay, Muslim, black woman has even more. Oppressor groups have just four categories white, male, cisgender, and Christian.  While it is possible to have membership in both oppressed and oppressor groups e.g. a white woman, or gay male, white, heterosexual Christian males can only be oppressors. Again this is not because of anything they do but because of who they are.  Any disagreement with this paradigm is labeled “White Fragility” which means an oppressor is too fragile and weak to accept culpability as the sole cause of all past and present social ills. Any denial of guilt is regarded as further proof of guilt. 

Critical Thinkers call this a Kafka Trap.

Standpoint Epistemology

Intersectionality defines reality and truth according to “lived experience”. This is called Standpoint Epistemology. Metaphorically speaking, “lived experience” is a form of social credit. These proverbial credit scores are elevated according to the number of intersectional groups to which one claims membership and their corresponding lived experiences as an oppressed person. Voddie Baucham called this “Ethnic Gnosticism” because it asserts secret knowledge held by the oppressed. The oppressed have the right to speak and to be heard. Those with the highest scores become influencers with the power to define truth. Oppressors have the right to shut up, listen and admit their guilt.  Those who admit their guilt and actively oppose their fellow oppressors are called

“Allies”

Corporations can also be allies

Membership and participation in the “community” is their reward. Community membership is maintained by compliance with the group consensus.  Consensus and acceptance are love.  Disagreement is hate.

Hate must be canceled.

Satan always mixes his lies with truth.

Scriptural meat that counters empty CRT deceit

In the case of professing Christians who have been “cheated  through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.” Col 2:8, scripture clearly refutes the foundations of CRT. 

Christianity in practice is about redemption and reconciliation between mankind and God in Christ.

“From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the. ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.” 2 Cor 5:16-19

CRT defines all human interactions according to power. Power and reparations are the goal. 

Forgiveness

Daniel interceded on behalf of Israel and modeled how we should pray to God regarding the collective sin of a nation Still, Christianity is predicated on repentance from personal sin. Forgiveness from God, and for others are core values without which it is impossible to be a Christian.

CRT is obsessed with the past collective sins of ancestors we never knew and for whose actions we are to be held responsible but never forgiven. Christian repentance and forgiveness are not possible in CRT because racism is not something one does.

Racism is something one is. 

Eternal penance through never-ending “anti-racism work” and becoming an “ally” are the only path to partial redemption. Redemption can only be partial because anti-racism work means continually identifying how one is a racist until the day that one dies.

Justice

Christianity maintains that everyone is created equal in the eyes of God and everyone is equal in the face of truth. Ethnicity and social status have no bearing. 

“You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.” Lev 19:15

While Christians should be concerned about injustices like genuine active racial oppression, abortion, abuse, human trafficking, etc. true biblical justice is only promised in eternity. The American legal system was based on the premise that we are innocent until proven guilty and it is better that a guilty man go free than for an innocent man to be convicted.

CRT pursues social justice by aligning oppressed groups against designated oppressors for the sake of retribution and equity. One is guilty based on gender and race and unless proven to be a member of an oppressed group.

Equality versus Equity

CRT dismantles meritocracy and equal opportunity with the goal of achieving equity of outcomes. Everyone is to be rendered the same regardless of intelligence, ability, or effort. That the greater means of one person resulting from parents who worked sixteen hours a day to provide a better future for their children while those of another used drugs and refused to work at all is irrelevant. Unfortunately, just as impassioned Marxist revolutionary pawns learned during the previous century, applied Marxism never ends with equity for the poor but a consolidation of wealth and power among a ruling elite. Please understand, you are always facing a form of Marxism when the word “equity” is used in the context of social issues and social justice.

Wielding the Sword of the Spirit.

An entire counter-argument is contained in the scriptures that follow. I recommend copying the scriptures that resonate most with you. Formulate your own argument and be ready in season and out to rightly divide the word of truth and cast down these vain imaginations that exalt themselves above the word of God.

Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.”  Rev 12:10 “Accuse” is katēgoréō from which the English word categorization is derived. Like Satan, CRTs forever classify people into socially constructed subcategories under the primary headings of oppressor and oppressed. Acts 10:34-35, Rom 2:11-16, and Gal 3:28-29 are clear that God is no respecter of persons, genders, social status, ethnicity, etc. Categorizing anyone apart from the Imago Dei and In Christ v.s. Not yet is demonic; period. God’s only criterion for acceptance is that we love and obey Him. Of course, we weep and pray for all who are blinded by the god of this world many of whom are in our own families 2 Cor 4:4. Still, we know that apart from Christ our most righteous deeds are like filthy rags. Rom 3:10-18, Isa 64. In the end, those not “in Christ Jesus” Eph 2 will perish for their lack of repentance just like the Galileans in Luke 13:1-5. 

“There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.  And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered in this way?  No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem?  No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

Woke is predicated on a lie

When engaging Woke ideology it is vital to understand that committed CRTs are never objectively honest. Not because they are intentionally lying, but because they have a different definition of truth. They will not examine or even acknowledge their own logical fallacies and thinking errors. Instead, they divert the conversation, move the proverbial goalposts, redefine their terms, and engage in “whataboutism” to keep you on the defensive. As for the Christian Woke, they rarely cite scripture. If they do they do so out of context. Isaiah 61:1 is a favorite that they interpret as speaking about themselves in the context of a personal social justice anointing, not the prophetic word that Jesus fulfilled in Luke 4:18. In my experience, there is little point in debating with them. Most importantly, be angry but don’t sin. Don’t give way to anger as their goal is often to trap us and invalidate our witness. Simply, define your terms, state your point, and preach the gospel. Any increase is up to God. 1 Cor 3:6-9

Finally, when contending with the Woke know that Rom 1:18-32 always applies from the first presupposition regarding God and his creation through the entire downward spiral to becoming reprobate. Almost every tenant of the Woke is addressed. Remember, hold your ground and reject Wokness knowing that it is the ideological spirit of the antichrist not the person in front of you that you oppose and seek to expose.

This PDF Download list of Bible verses is intended to help you frame a solid 1 Pet 3:15 apologia regarding God’s view of humanity and expose the contrast between the true Gospel of Jesus Christ and the increasingly popular false gospel of the WOKE church. You may also be interested in reading how Jesus dealt with racism here.

MARANATHA

Brian and Cathy Gray Devotional

A Brief Convictional

Perhaps I would be more confused if I didn’t understand the deconstructive nature of the world view in which we are immersed. I do. I nearly succumbed to its current form when personal responsibility and resilience seemed beyond my grasp and I yearned for a scapegoat. 

This world view goes by many aliases and has its own contemporary vocabulary yet it is anything but new. Its author is offense.  Rebellions are its children.

Individuality is diluted via the assignment of a group designation. These designations usually end in “ist”,” ism”, “i” “an” um”, and “phobic”. “Er,” and “al” while less malignant are common too. Disagreement on any grounds always results in objectification and categorization for the purpose of immediate or future cancellation. Those who disagree are viewed as assailants with whom every discussion is a fight. Conformity to the consensus regarding justice is love. Those deemed unloving are identified and vilified. These are the haters who must be nullified and destroyed.  Pseudo intellectual mockery is the first line of attack then ad hominem assassination and censorship. Truth is subjective and the end always justifies the means. “Crybullying” and “lawfare” are the last resort before mob violence and murder.

This worldview has and does reshape culture such that identity becomes rooted in the fear of man and validation from peers instead of God and honoring the Imago Dei. Individual core beliefs, actions, accomplishments, and contributions to society are irrelevant especially if one’s ancestors ever thought or behaved in a way that opposes the current consensus. Truth requires they be erased from the annals of history.  Loving people never oppose truth. 

Personal validation is synonymous with social capital. Social capital is required to become an influencer.  Influencers have power. Power is established by the number of “intersectional” victim groups to which one can claim membership and or one’s demonstrated participation in the oppression of oppressors.  “Oppressor” is anyone who questions the group consensus. The consensus is established by those with power. 

Allies a.ka. “good people”  are those who demonstrate their conformity through repeated virtue signaling to peers and to those with power. This is the deepest expression of the aforementioned love.  Moral, mental, and emotional atrophy is its fruit.  Cultural decay and collapse soon follows. Historically speaking there have always been stronger, more resilient, and often a more violent cultures that seize the opportunity to rape, pillage, and plunder the remaining moral rot and weakness. Every ethnos, ideology, and culture has eventually succumbed to it.

Hence Isaiah wrote and Paul quoted, 

“None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. “Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

While I am certain that many will identify a particular person or group to which the above applies, every last one of us is complicit in our own demise. Therefore don’t look at your neighbor or the one whom you so despise. 

Look in the mirror and take the plank out of your eye. 

Maybe bear this in mind as the coming days and years unfold and any sense of personal autonomy and power erodes. The grace of God is available to all. Yet it is based on His conditions, not ours.  And while many will cry “no fair!” and “foul!”,  God judges nations. Not to punish or condemn the individuals within.  That day will come soon enough. It will be the day of the Lord. God judges nations to bring nations to their knees. He lets them remain until a collective cry is heard.

“Oh, what a wretched people we are! Who will save us from this body of death?”

People only eat when they are hungry.

Maranatha!