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Contemporary critical theory is highly influential on college campuses and among progressives, and is also moving into the church. Identifying unbiblical ideologies like contemporary critical theory helps us not only to evangelize non-Christians, but to equip Christians to recognize and repudiate false ideas, so that we can remain rooted and grounded in Scripture.

Unlike Christianity, “salvation” in contemporary critical theory is achieved not by grace, but by works. And that is one of the appeals of contemporary critical theory. We can achieve a right moral standing within the social justice community if we try hard enough.

Christianity teaches that we must confess and repent of our sin, so CT teaches that we must confess and repent of our participation in structures of power and privilege. Christianity teaches that sin must be atoned for, so CT teaches that our privilege must be atoned for. Christianity looks forward to a kingdom of perfect justice and righteousness, CT looks forward to a utopian society of perfect justice and equity.

We believe the allure of contemporary critical theory is best explained by its appeal to humanity’s innate religious impulses. Many people have noted the similarities between CT and the doctrines of Christianity. Just as Christianity teaches that all human beings are stained by original sin, so contemporary CT teaches that all people (or almost all people) are stained by their membership in oppressor groups.

It is sometimes incorrectly assumed that contemporary CT’s are relativists, given their indebtedness to postmodernism. However, contemporary CT is unavoidably realist in its moral outlook. CT’s writings are suffused with normative statements: “we ought,” “we must,” “we should.” These imperatives are taken to be universal and absolute, binding on all human beings at all times and in all cultures.

To say “all truth-claims are bids for power which can therefore be rejected” is itself a truth-claim. On its own terms, it is a bid for power which can also be rejected. Similarly, the idea that “hegemonic narratives should be ignored because they are stories that groups tell to justify their own authority” is also an attempted hegemonic narrative being told by a group (CT) to justify their own authority.

Contemporary critical theory and Christianity conflict not merely with respect to a few minor details, but with respect to basic questions of epistemology, identity, morality, and authority. To the extent that we accept and embrace fully the core principles of contemporary critical theory, we will have to abandon Christianity. And vice versa.

It is important to understand that while ethnic, social, or gender location, or a certain life experience, may aid in the understanding of an application of a certain text of Scripture, they are never critical to the accurate interpretation of any text of Scripture, that is, to the understanding of the accurate meaning of any text of Scripture.

Moreover, it unashamedly declares that God has all the power in the universe, is completely sovereign over our lives, and answers to no one. To CT, these totalizing, comprehensive, exclusive claims are utterly unacceptable. From the perspective of contemporary critical theory, God is the Ultimate Oppressor.

The Bible tells one narrative about God, about mankind, and about redemption. It provides us with one standard of morality by which all values and norms in every culture will be judged. It offers us one true story about gender, sexuality, and religion.

CT’s vision of identity will bring the world’s enmity into the church. Because contemporary CT insists that our status as individuals is inseparable from our group membership, the Church can no longer be seen as a single body united under the lordship of Christ. Instead, it will have to fracture along lines of race, class, and gender.

In contrast, because contemporary critical theory is not rooted in a theistic worldview, there is no “vertical” element of our identity. Instead, our identity is derived entirely from our “horizontal” relationships to other people and other demographic groups. Similarly, because we do not share fundamental identity markers with all human beings, our membership in certain groups becomes all-important.

For Christians, our fundamental identity as human beings is derived from our relationship to God. All human beings are created in God’s image and therefore bear inestimable value and dignity. All human beings are fallen in sin and are therefore in need of mercy. And all human beings need the redemption and restoration that is only offered in Jesus Christ.

Regardless of whether critique comes from a member of an oppressor group or a member of an oppressed group, the critical theorist believes he need not justify his claims by appealing to reason, to evidence, to argument, or even to Scripture. He can appeal to “lived experience” and can dismiss any objection as either “privilege” or “internalized oppression.”

If we want to understand truth, reason and logical argument are necessary tools that God has given us... We understand words primarily through reason, not through lived experience or mystical insight...In contrast, CT insists that members of oppressor groups are blinded by their privilege and members of oppressed groups have special access to truth that should not be challenged.

How does CRT answer basic questions about life, morality, and meaning: We are members of social groups locked in a struggle for power. Our primary identity comes from our relationship to other groups. Suffering is caused by systems of oppression. Our purpose in life is to fight against the subjugation of dominant groups, so that we can eventually achieve a state of equity.

Contemporary critical theory is fundamentally incompatible with Chris- tianity in innumerable ways and will seriously undermine the theology of anyone who tries to combine its foundational presuppositions with a Christian worldview.

Being able to appreciate the truths that critical theory helps illuminate, including truths about racism and injustice, is crucial for the apologetic task. If we fail to understand and appreciate the insights of critical theory, we’re less likely to be given a fair hearing when we raise objections to it.

Critical theory has made the most inroads in the American church precisely because it meets the topic of race head-on and promises a solution to the persistent racial violence and division that has characterized our country since its inception.

To the contemporary critical theorist, it is privilege and power which blind oppressor groups to reality. In contrast, Christians identify sin, not privilege, as the cause of our blindness. Sin is present both in members of dominant groups and in members of subordinate groups.

Christians should approach subjects like racism, sexism, and classism with humility, recognizing that our salvation in Christ does not make us sinless or infallible interpreters of Scripture or reality.