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By What Standard? God's World… God's Rules
By What Standard? | God’s World…God’s Rules
Edited by Jared Longshore
©2020 Founders Press
Printed in the United States of America
ISBN: 978–1–943539–21–5
267 pages (soft cover)
Contents
1. Hollow and Deceptive Philosophies: Tom Ascol
2. Cultural Marxism: Voddie Baucham
3. The Religious Root of our Sexual Perversion: Jared Longshore
4. White Privilege: Tom Ascol
5. Biblical Justice and Social Justice: Tom Nettles
6. God’s Created Order—Living Justly as Male and Female:
Jared Longshore
7. Ethnic Gnosticism: Voddie Baucham
8. Mature Manhood: Mark Coppenger
9. Racial Reconciliation: Voddie Baucham
10. Gospel Privilege and Global Missions: Chad Vegas
Appendix: Timon Cline
Commendations
“Why do denominations and seminaries tend to become theologically liberal? I believe that there is one major reason: the people of God long to have the approval of the world. So we start flirting with their ideas, and we adopt their vocabulary. We want them to think that our academic papers, sermons, and books have amazingly transcended the narrow-minded confines of our Bible-thumping seminary or denomination….The simple teaching of the Bible begins to look old fashioned and unrefined, so more and more we talk about political issues, occasionally throwing in a dash of scripture just to prove that we are, at least for now, holding to the inerrancy and sufficiency of scripture. When we are confronted with the plain, unfashionable, sin-condemning statements of scripture, we put on our tolerant, educated faces and say, “Well, we know that this teaching is limited to the culture of the first century, and so it is irrelevant to us today.”…You will find none of this in this book. Instead what you will find is solid biblical reasoning from godly men who are not afraid to say, “Jesus is my Lord. The Bible is my standard of what I believe and teach. The despised people of God are my people.”
JIM SCOTT ORRICK
Author, Former Professor of Literature and Culture, Boyce College
_______________________________________________________________________
“Diversity, tolerance, inclusivity, and social justice are the chief values of postmodernity and political correctness. In a culture where these are deemed some of the last remaining virtues and biblical principles are routinely scorned, what should the church’s posture be? Should Christians adjust the gospel, remodel our message, and bring our statements of faith more in line with the world’s thinking? To ask that question is to answer it. But in case the answer isn’t clear, these superbly-written essays spell it out in brilliant detail. I’m grateful for the courage of these men and the clarity of their voices. This is a vitally important volume, sounding all the right notes of passion, warning, instruction, and hope.”
PHIL JOHNSON
Executive Director of Grace To You
Edited by Jared Longshore
©2020 Founders Press
Printed in the United States of America
ISBN: 978–1–943539–21–5
267 pages (soft cover)
Contents
1. Hollow and Deceptive Philosophies: Tom Ascol
2. Cultural Marxism: Voddie Baucham
3. The Religious Root of our Sexual Perversion: Jared Longshore
4. White Privilege: Tom Ascol
5. Biblical Justice and Social Justice: Tom Nettles
6. God’s Created Order—Living Justly as Male and Female:
Jared Longshore
7. Ethnic Gnosticism: Voddie Baucham
8. Mature Manhood: Mark Coppenger
9. Racial Reconciliation: Voddie Baucham
10. Gospel Privilege and Global Missions: Chad Vegas
Appendix: Timon Cline
Commendations
“Why do denominations and seminaries tend to become theologically liberal? I believe that there is one major reason: the people of God long to have the approval of the world. So we start flirting with their ideas, and we adopt their vocabulary. We want them to think that our academic papers, sermons, and books have amazingly transcended the narrow-minded confines of our Bible-thumping seminary or denomination….The simple teaching of the Bible begins to look old fashioned and unrefined, so more and more we talk about political issues, occasionally throwing in a dash of scripture just to prove that we are, at least for now, holding to the inerrancy and sufficiency of scripture. When we are confronted with the plain, unfashionable, sin-condemning statements of scripture, we put on our tolerant, educated faces and say, “Well, we know that this teaching is limited to the culture of the first century, and so it is irrelevant to us today.”…You will find none of this in this book. Instead what you will find is solid biblical reasoning from godly men who are not afraid to say, “Jesus is my Lord. The Bible is my standard of what I believe and teach. The despised people of God are my people.”
JIM SCOTT ORRICK
Author, Former Professor of Literature and Culture, Boyce College
_______________________________________________________________________
“Diversity, tolerance, inclusivity, and social justice are the chief values of postmodernity and political correctness. In a culture where these are deemed some of the last remaining virtues and biblical principles are routinely scorned, what should the church’s posture be? Should Christians adjust the gospel, remodel our message, and bring our statements of faith more in line with the world’s thinking? To ask that question is to answer it. But in case the answer isn’t clear, these superbly-written essays spell it out in brilliant detail. I’m grateful for the courage of these men and the clarity of their voices. This is a vitally important volume, sounding all the right notes of passion, warning, instruction, and hope.”
PHIL JOHNSON
Executive Director of Grace To You
267 pages, Paperback
Published July 1, 2020
106 people are currently reading
614 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
February 4, 2021
By What Standard? is a collection of essays dealing with the social justice movement--particularly as it relates to the church. The essays are all fairly short and direct. Each writer takes on a particular aspect of social justice such as cultural marxism, the religious nature of the social justice movement, white privilege, biblical justice, creation, sexuality, and more.
This is a very good volume that expands upon the documentary film of the same name.
I highly recommend this book, as the issues have become even more urgent for the church to understand and engage.
This is a very good volume that expands upon the documentary film of the same name.
I highly recommend this book, as the issues have become even more urgent for the church to understand and engage.
June 30, 2021
Some authors were better than others. I think it is an important book with great insight.
April 29, 2022
Excellent collection of essays that exposes the theological drift that occurs in churches that desire to follow the footsteps of the world. These vain philosophies promote false views regarding society (cultural Marxism), manhood and womanhood, sexuality, and the big topic of social justice. This book featured Voddie Baucham who contributes 3 chapters of the 10 all relating to the issue of social justice and the underlying race theories. Baucham's contributions in this book became the foundation for this more popular book, Fault Lines.
Overall a great read authored by courageous men who will not pervert the Word of God to accommodate a society whose ears want to be tickled.
Overall a great read authored by courageous men who will not pervert the Word of God to accommodate a society whose ears want to be tickled.
March 23, 2021
Pretty good resource. A few of the essays are very helpful, others are so-so. It’s still recommended and worth the read.
August 16, 2020
This book is important because it speaks with clarity into an anti-biblical ideology that is being promulgated by our most influential world-shaping institutions; most notable (and vocal) being public education, colleges and universities, and Hollywood. This book is additionally important because of the lack of opposition, both written and vocal, from Christian leaders (especially those who are given the title of "shepherd").
If you've been following Founders content and conferences, you will be familiar with the arguments in all chapters up until the Appendix. These chapters are biblical sound and informative and may even be revelatory if you haven't been exposed to their views. However, I want to especially highlight the value of Timon Cline's Appendix titled "Identity Politics and the Bondage of the Will". This chapter alone was worth the price of the book. Cline begins by exploring the question "What makes man uniquely worthy of being called the Imago Dei?" From there, he analyzes the claims of Contemporary Critical Theorists and shows how they devalue what is distinctly human and promote dangerous and ungodly worldviews. This chapter amounts to a third of the book and is full of valuable footnotes and recommendations for further study.
One critique that took this from a 5 star to a 4 star: The editing is very poor. Across the board from typos to page breaks, this book needs to be reviewed and edited more thoroughly before a second printing.
If you've been following Founders content and conferences, you will be familiar with the arguments in all chapters up until the Appendix. These chapters are biblical sound and informative and may even be revelatory if you haven't been exposed to their views. However, I want to especially highlight the value of Timon Cline's Appendix titled "Identity Politics and the Bondage of the Will". This chapter alone was worth the price of the book. Cline begins by exploring the question "What makes man uniquely worthy of being called the Imago Dei?" From there, he analyzes the claims of Contemporary Critical Theorists and shows how they devalue what is distinctly human and promote dangerous and ungodly worldviews. This chapter amounts to a third of the book and is full of valuable footnotes and recommendations for further study.
One critique that took this from a 5 star to a 4 star: The editing is very poor. Across the board from typos to page breaks, this book needs to be reviewed and edited more thoroughly before a second printing.
February 5, 2021
Adopting the question "By what standard?" has been extremely impactful the last few weeks. It motivates me to view all aspects of life according to the Bible and God's standard both now, and in the future. This book has great insight on various hot button cultural topics and each writer uses a biblical lens. It is definitely a book that I'll go back to for referencing and gaining knowledge where I may have missed it the first time. It can't go unsaid that there are a few typos...and I hope they are corrected for future prints. This book will undoubtedly get critiqued by opposing views (as all books do) however, it would be unfortunate to have typos be a source of additional distaste. As professing believers, it's important to strive for excellence in all things; including well produced products. That aside, I really enjoyed this read and I am thankful for the Founders Ministries!
September 12, 2020
Absolutely fantastic treatise on Critical Race Theory from a Christian perspective. Should be required reading in all churches today.
August 18, 2025
Written by multiple authors, some better than others, very Baptist-centric but that's OK because it is still a good resource for understanding the times (1 Chron. 12:32; Matt. 16:3). Though it covers a whole lot more, perhaps the book may summarized in general by the following couple of quotes that jumped out at me:
"[In] Cultural Marxism ... The working class has been replaced by minorities. Majority groups are defined as "privileged" and "oppressive." Minority groups are defined as "underprivileged' and "oppressed." p. 12.
"...Cultural Marxism ... reduces everything to race, class, and sex. Cultural Marxism divides people up slightly differently than Classical Marxism. Classical Marxism divides people up into the bourgeoisie and proletariat, the haves and the have nots - between those who control the means of production and those who do not. In Cultural Marxism, you divide the world between those who establish and benefit from the cultural hegemony and everyone else. Those who do not benefit from the cultural hegemony are oppressed by it. For one reason or other, they are not part of the dominant group. Ethnic Gnosticism is rooted in this Cultural Marxist paradim." p. 106.
"[In] Cultural Marxism ... The working class has been replaced by minorities. Majority groups are defined as "privileged" and "oppressive." Minority groups are defined as "underprivileged' and "oppressed." p. 12.
"...Cultural Marxism ... reduces everything to race, class, and sex. Cultural Marxism divides people up slightly differently than Classical Marxism. Classical Marxism divides people up into the bourgeoisie and proletariat, the haves and the have nots - between those who control the means of production and those who do not. In Cultural Marxism, you divide the world between those who establish and benefit from the cultural hegemony and everyone else. Those who do not benefit from the cultural hegemony are oppressed by it. For one reason or other, they are not part of the dominant group. Ethnic Gnosticism is rooted in this Cultural Marxist paradim." p. 106.
October 24, 2020
A helpful critique of some of the prevailing ideas promoted by culture at large and creeping into the church when it comes to identity, gender, race and sexuality. As it's been said in many other reviews, if you have tuned into Founders Ministries at all, much of the main content of the book is based on conference talks but is nonetheless helpful to digest more fully in written form.
The appendix is a treasure trove of depth in looking from a philosophical and theological perspective at the inhumanity of critical theory in it's removal of the volition/will from people as it indicts whole people groups of the corporate guilt of racism rather than the scriptural view of man's personal responsibility before God for deeds done in the body. It cogently argues of the danger of such an ideology and the devastation that it has caused on the west at large; ideas have consequences.
Many of us have found ourselves sympathetic to the claims of the social justice movement; it strikes at the very heart of Christianity to care for the oppressed, the downtrodden and the vulnerable, yet the social justice movement of our day peddles a false worldview that not only perverts the word of God by distorting key categories of orthodox Christianity, but also harms those it seeks to help by perpetuating a culture of victimhood, false identity and misguided teleology of a utopian, equitable society. This book pokes gaping holes in arguments of the social justice canon, the current "must reads" of the bestseller list of enlightened woke theology.
The appendix is a treasure trove of depth in looking from a philosophical and theological perspective at the inhumanity of critical theory in it's removal of the volition/will from people as it indicts whole people groups of the corporate guilt of racism rather than the scriptural view of man's personal responsibility before God for deeds done in the body. It cogently argues of the danger of such an ideology and the devastation that it has caused on the west at large; ideas have consequences.
Many of us have found ourselves sympathetic to the claims of the social justice movement; it strikes at the very heart of Christianity to care for the oppressed, the downtrodden and the vulnerable, yet the social justice movement of our day peddles a false worldview that not only perverts the word of God by distorting key categories of orthodox Christianity, but also harms those it seeks to help by perpetuating a culture of victimhood, false identity and misguided teleology of a utopian, equitable society. This book pokes gaping holes in arguments of the social justice canon, the current "must reads" of the bestseller list of enlightened woke theology.
October 25, 2021
3.5 stars. I am technically still trying to skim over the appendix as I write this review, but wanted to share my thoughts while they are still fresh. I bought this book largely because I have so much respect for Vodie. I also sometimes listen to the Sword and Trowel podcast so I have familiarity with Tom Ascol and Jared Longshore as well.
Vodie's three chapters were the highlights. Some of the other, non-Vodie chapters are also good, but they were not all created equal. I also struggled with the way these chapters are not tied together in any way other than under the loose premise of living by God's standards I felt this book really needed more editing, not grammatically so much as just thematically and narratively. The appendix that I am currently trying to get through is basically a massive info dump tacked at the end that covers some church history and a brief overview of critical theory.
Having read Faultlines by Vodie Bachuam and Cynical Theories by James Lindsey and Helen Pluckrose this year, I feel these two books are much better for communicating most of the same ideas (though the latter is not from a Christian standpoint). This book is also connected with a cinedoc created by Founders Ministries that I have not seen, so I'm not sure if it was read as a companion to that if the way the book was structured would make more sense.
Overall, the majority of the book is worthwhile, but you can get all the same information in a better package by reading the aforementioned books.
Vodie's three chapters were the highlights. Some of the other, non-Vodie chapters are also good, but they were not all created equal. I also struggled with the way these chapters are not tied together in any way other than under the loose premise of living by God's standards I felt this book really needed more editing, not grammatically so much as just thematically and narratively. The appendix that I am currently trying to get through is basically a massive info dump tacked at the end that covers some church history and a brief overview of critical theory.
Having read Faultlines by Vodie Bachuam and Cynical Theories by James Lindsey and Helen Pluckrose this year, I feel these two books are much better for communicating most of the same ideas (though the latter is not from a Christian standpoint). This book is also connected with a cinedoc created by Founders Ministries that I have not seen, so I'm not sure if it was read as a companion to that if the way the book was structured would make more sense.
Overall, the majority of the book is worthwhile, but you can get all the same information in a better package by reading the aforementioned books.
December 1, 2024
By What Standard?, edited by Jaren Longshore provides a set of essays written by a variety of authors addressing the compromise of the church, the embracing of hollow and deceptive philosophies, and the Biblical view of diversity, critical theory, social justice, gender confusion, etc. Voddie Baucham offers three chapters, one on Cultural Marxism, another related to Ethnic Gnosticism, and the confusing message from the culture regarding racial reconciliation. Baucham's chapters are worth the price of the book. Other topics addressed are: The religious root of sexual perversion; White privilege; God's created order related to the two genders; what qualifies as mature manhood; and the gospel privilege the believer has.
As a whole this is an excellent book addressing an absolutely critical topic. One that many would do well to read. The one weakness was found in the Appendix as the Appendix seemed to be only distantly related to the topic at hand and actually seemed to detract from the effectiveness of the book.
I do recommend this read.
As a whole this is an excellent book addressing an absolutely critical topic. One that many would do well to read. The one weakness was found in the Appendix as the Appendix seemed to be only distantly related to the topic at hand and actually seemed to detract from the effectiveness of the book.
I do recommend this read.
March 23, 2022
This is a philosophical and theological collection of articles written by Southern Baptists dealing with current Critical Theory and other disturbing trends in America.
I found the most value in Voddie Baucham's two article. I feel like I'm starting to grasp Cultural Marxism finally. I see it's effects all over the place, but didn't understand the roots. I think I better understand them now.
The Appendix article was the longest, deepest, and hardest article for me to read. If I'd not spent hours and hours discussing philosophy with my husband it would have been completely over my head. I would like to read this last article again as it philosophical and theological tore down the idol of Crutical Theory, showed its dangers and end, and made suggestions on how Christians can best combat it: by returning to a rich, deep Reformed, orthodox theology and philosophy.
A good read, challenging, and helpful.
I found the most value in Voddie Baucham's two article. I feel like I'm starting to grasp Cultural Marxism finally. I see it's effects all over the place, but didn't understand the roots. I think I better understand them now.
The Appendix article was the longest, deepest, and hardest article for me to read. If I'd not spent hours and hours discussing philosophy with my husband it would have been completely over my head. I would like to read this last article again as it philosophical and theological tore down the idol of Crutical Theory, showed its dangers and end, and made suggestions on how Christians can best combat it: by returning to a rich, deep Reformed, orthodox theology and philosophy.
A good read, challenging, and helpful.
September 18, 2020
By what Standard? More than just my go to answer for apologetics questions. It is the continuation of the Founders Cine-doc, if you haven’t seen it do that first. There were parts of the interviews in the film that I wished they had gone deeper. This is especially true of the parts that Voddie spoke on. This book gives that extra. I especially enjoyed his chapters. I will say that the appendix caught me off guard. I usually skip the appendix but do not do that in this case. It may be off putting that each chapter is 10-20 pages and the appendix is over 75. But it is a good summary of the argument. The whole point of the book is that we need to prevent the recent left leanings and return to scripture, our standard. The appendix via Luther’s bondage of the will shows the dangers of Critical Race Theory. This is a great volume and will be appealed to often.
August 3, 2020
This book clarifies the alternative worldviews. It is perhaps best illustrated from Longshore's introductory paragraph:
"Either God created the world, or He didn't. Elijah asked what is still a pertinent question, "How long will you go limping between two different opinions" (1 Kings 18:21)? If Yahweh is God, follow Him. If man is God, follow him. In any case, "Choose this day whom you will serve." (v).
I cannot recommend this book highly enough. The following issues (an more) are addressed: Critical Race Theory, 'woke'ness, intersectionality, Cultural Marxism, justice, 'social' justic, gnosticism, questions of 'privilege', and more.
Read this book. Know where you stand, and why, and what your worldview leads to.
"Either God created the world, or He didn't. Elijah asked what is still a pertinent question, "How long will you go limping between two different opinions" (1 Kings 18:21)? If Yahweh is God, follow Him. If man is God, follow him. In any case, "Choose this day whom you will serve." (v).
I cannot recommend this book highly enough. The following issues (an more) are addressed: Critical Race Theory, 'woke'ness, intersectionality, Cultural Marxism, justice, 'social' justic, gnosticism, questions of 'privilege', and more.
Read this book. Know where you stand, and why, and what your worldview leads to.
February 4, 2025
This book was published in 2020. It focused on Critical Theory as it was being promoted at that time. Since CT has lost much of its steam now, the book doesn't have the impact that it would have had five years ago. Voddie Baucham's contributions have stood the test of time the best. This title is fairly academic, especially the appendix. So it's not for everyone. If you want to learn more about what strongly conservative Baptists were writing about CT at its peak, then this book will provide those insights.
February 5, 2021
By What Standard identifies some current-day socio-political challenges, however I don’t feel like it offers any valid solutions. It seems to identify everything that is wrong with various issues but does not counter with viable solutions, therefore it becomes a book of complaints.
I believe solid use of scripture would have gone a long way to instruct the believer how to respond to these various issues rather than just defining terms and making observations.
I believe solid use of scripture would have gone a long way to instruct the believer how to respond to these various issues rather than just defining terms and making observations.
May 5, 2025
The premise of this book is great. To tackle our current events through the scope of God's Word and His ways. Yet, I feel this book missed out on that a bit. While the authors did a great job of explaining trends, points of view and even terminology, they did not always point back to His standard in the same ways. Also, this book has multiple authors which is nice to get different takes on things, but also can make it not feel all ties together as well. A decent read overall.
November 21, 2020
Wow this book is very relevant for today. Very applicable for our time. I want to personally thank all the men who participated in this book. They do a wonderful job destroying arguments and every lofty opinions raised against the knowledge of God. If your considering buying this book. But two and give one to your pastor.
December 9, 2020
A very useful guide to the biggest cultural battlegrounds on which the church must fight: social justice, gender, sexuality, and ethnicity.
In each of these topics, the contributors use scripture to defend a biblical position and reinforce the supremacy of the gospel message over every evil born in the hearts of people.
In each of these topics, the contributors use scripture to defend a biblical position and reinforce the supremacy of the gospel message over every evil born in the hearts of people.
October 7, 2022
Book review 5 stars a very good book on many of the toughest problems facing the Christian today. Ideas such as race, white privilege, social justice, CRT, Marxism and much more are answered in detail. My only flaw of the book would be it is written from a reformed viewpoint. While I disagree with this viewpoint the rest of the book is outstanding if you can set this aside.
December 13, 2022
I would describe this book as a collection of thoughts on CRT, intersectionalty, social justice and God. I appreciated the 30,000 ft view approach...I felt like each chapter could stand alone and was obviously rigorously research and thought about. I'd recommend to anyone leaning towards being "woke" and claiming it's what Christ would want.
November 1, 2020
Amazing, educational, scholarly. My head exploded reading this book. I could follow along and understand most of it with my little pea brain, but I would struggle trying to articulate it to someone else. That is why I am not a teacher.
January 31, 2021
EXCELLENT book! Only gave it a 4 because of the editing errors, BUT a second edition is in the works that will be more carefully edited and I have pre-ordered it to share. READ this book and join in the fight for Truth.
September 18, 2021
Very informative but heavy reading
This book is very informative about the challenges that Christians face regarding CT. It is very heavy reading though and may take some time to go through and understand.
This book is very informative about the challenges that Christians face regarding CT. It is very heavy reading though and may take some time to go through and understand.
February 24, 2022
I was given this for Christmas. Lots of good theology but this book falls into the trap of others in not giving any solution so it feels ranty. That said, it’s the most charitable of this type of book I’ve read. Tom Ascol’s chapters were the most helpful.
May 24, 2022
This provided great insight to how Christians' perspectives on controversial topics, such as gender identity and racism, have been tainted by world ideologies. We all need to remember the question, "By what standard are we holding our beliefs and ideas up to?" Is it God's standard or the world's?
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May 27, 2023great book that highlights the need for evangelical churches to teach their people God's law as it alone is the true standard of goodness, justice and righteous behaviour - we have wandered so far from His ancient wisdom and are now paying the price as a culture.
August 14, 2020
Excellent companion to the CineDoc (documentary) https://youtu.be/pFHfa0s1XLM
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August 18, 2020The editing, grammar, punctuation, and printer errors are so numerous, it nearly discredits the contents of the book.
September 9, 2021
Every Christian needs to read this book, to be prepared not to blindly accept CRT ideas and influences.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews