Sadly, whenever something becomes popular in our fallen culture, no matter how much it contradicts Scripture, we eventually see it creeping into the church. And that's certainly true of “Christianized” forms of CRT/WOKE beliefs.
To see the kind of hate and racism CRT produces, let me offer two examples of influential Christians preaching CRT in Christians settings.
One is Mike Kelsey, Lead Pastor at the 8,000 member McLean Bible Church in the D.C. area. He did an interview in 2020 shortly after the George Floyd murder and said: “To be totally honest, it's difficult for me sometimes not to just torch all white people, specifically white evangelicals and Christians.” (source).
Kelsey admitted in the interview that this attitude wasn't right, and when news got out about his statement, he made an apology to his church. But his quote proved that CRT produces hate, not love; racism not unity. And Kelsey continues to teach it.
Imagine what would have happened after the fatal stabbing of Iryna Zarutska if a well-known white pastor said he knows it's wrong but sometimes he’d like to torch all black people, specifically black Christians. I'm sure he'd have been immediately fired and discredited by blacks and whites alike as a hateful white supremacist. A simple apology to his church would not have been considered enough.
I listened to the entire Where Do We Go From Here? interview where Kelsey made this hateful statement because I didn't want to take anything out of context. Sadly, the remainder of Kelsey's interview was also troubling. I encourage you to check out the interview yourself to confirm what I'm telling you.
Kelsey tried hard to use Scripture to support his CRT beliefs, taking almost every verse out of context and using verses that compared anyone who disagreed with CRT to unsaved, ungodly people.
He also contradicted himself.
For example, Kelsey said, “Jesus never gives us permission to hold people in contempt.” He called Christians to be peacemakers. He talked about the peace of salvation through Christ, saying, “Because that justice has been satisfied, now by faith, we are able to enjoy peace with God. I think you see it at an interpersonal level, at a societal level, and ultimately at a spiritual level when it comes to our relationship with God.”
But he presented these truths as if CRT was the answer, a belief that holds all whites in contempt as privileged and consciously or unconsciously promoting racism.
Kelsey emphasized Jeremiah 6:14 as a key passage in seeking racial peace, and he claimed to be using it in proper context.
It says, “They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace.”
Let's put this verse in context with the previous verse (Jeremiah 6:13) which says, “From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit.”
The Berean Study Bible explains that Jeremiah 6:13 “indicates the pervasive nature of the corruption in Judah. It highlights that the problem of greed and moral decay is not limited to a specific class or group but affects the entire society.”
This chapter is addressing everyone, not a specific race or ethnicity, but Kelsey applies it to white people who don't bow to CRT prejudicial demands.
Kelsey said that even if your family never owned slaves in the past, if you're white you're responsible for white privilege.
If my ancestors owned slaves (which they didn't), I would be genuinely sorry they had done so, but I would not be responsible for their sins or the results of their sins. Ezekiel 18:19-20 explains:
“Yet you ask, ‘Why does the son not share the guilt of his father?’ Since the son has done what is just and right and has been careful to keep all my decrees, he will surely live. The one who sins is the one who will die. The child will not share the guilt of the parent, nor will the parent share the guilt of the child. The righteousness of the righteous will be credited to them, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against them.”
But CRT goes beyond blaming us for slavery. It blames us for our race, holding whites responsible no matter if their ancestors fought valiantly against slavery or abused black slaves, helped with the underground railroad or tortured runaway slaves.
Although Kelsey clearly wants white people to acknowledge their privilege as a shameful part of their race, it isn't enough for him. He says, “white guilt is a terrible motivator for racial justice. We know that from 2 Corinthians 7. That's a worldly sorrow. That will motivate you to do whatever's necessary for you to not be considered racist, and it will stop there. But it won't get you engaged enough to do the deeper and harder work in your own heart and own family history.”
Let's examine Kelsey's use of 2 Corinthians 7:10 which says, “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.”
“Worldly sorrow” is grief centered on the embarrassment of being caught in a sin and only caring about the consequences. It's the repentance of someone who doesn't care if they violate God's laws, and it leads to death. See more insights on worldly sorrow HERE.
But Kelsey uses it to describe any white who expresses sorrow for slavery and racism but doesn't promote CRT. The context of this Scripture applied to Kelsey's example would mean that you can't be a true believer if you don't promote CRT.
If you listen to the podcast, you will find that it is contradictory throughout. If you pull a few phrases out, it sounds biblically sound or gracious. If you pull out other phrases it sounds racist.
That's because you can't accurately apply WOKE philosophy to Scripture without creating confusion, contradiction, and racism.
Kelsey's use of out-of-context Scriptures with the racist WOKE philosophy mirrors what some white “Christians” did in the 1800's when they used out-of-context Scriptures to justify slavery. Genuine white and black believers rejected such philosophies about slavery and worked toward emancipation. The same is true for genuine black and white believers when it comes to this bigoted WOKE philosophy. We must emancipate ourselves from its lies and the racism it promotes.
Lest you think that Kelsey is an isolated example, let me offer another: Latasha Morrison.
Morrison has been a featured speaker at multiple IF Gatherings for women, a ministry that speaks to hundreds of thousands of women each year through their annual seminar. Sadly, this gathering is only good if you'd like women to be confused by a mixture of good teachers and false teachers, by biblical truths and cultural lies. Read more here: Beware of the "IF Gathering" for Women.
Speaking at 6 or more If Gatherings, Morrison has promoted her “Christian” form of critical race theory. She teaches communal and ancestral guilt and urges voluntary reparations for the past sins of our ancestors (source). These views encourage white shame and racism. (Kelsey also believes in reparations - source).
Please consider these claims about reparations. It's the belief that even if your family never owned slaves, you owe present-day blacks reparations even though they've never experienced slavery. Even though most white Americans in the 1800's didn't own slaves, all of us must pay for the slave owners' sins.
Morrison has a Facebook group called Be the Bridge. I had to join to see the group rules, and they were quite racist. For a few examples:
Whites are given rules for engaging with POC [people of color], such as:
This makes me genuinely sad to compare anything Christ did to wailing and cussing. And Scripture definitely condemns this type of communication: Colossians 4:6; Ephesians 4:29; 1 Peter 3:15; James 3:17, etc. But this is another proof that CRT produces hate, not love or unity.
✔ “Remain cognizant of the dynamics of white fragility, and take note of how it usually shows up in you.” ~ Be the Bridge
White fragility is what CRT calls any defense a white person makes that denies that they have always been more privileged than all black people. And CRT claims that white privilege promotes racism, so whites must admit that whether they are conscious of it or not, their privilege promotes racism.
White fragility is nothing less than a racist slur based on the ridiculous racist stereotype that every white person, whether raised in a slum or in a mansion, has experienced privilege that was denied to every black person, whether raised in a slum or in a mansion.
These statements on Be the Bridge are racist stereotyping pure and simple. It's no different than a white bigot saying “all blacks are liars so be cognizant that those traits will usually show up.”
It appears that the goal of Be the Bridge isn't bridging the gap between different races in respect and harmony. It's asking whites to lay down and be the bridge while racists and fools stomp across them.
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