Author’s Intent
Voddie Baucham Jr. is attempting to address the issue of Critical Race Theory from a Christian perspective. However, he has an even more interesting perspective on this topic. First, because he has studied sociology and these topics from that perspective. Second, his childhood in many ways reflects the very people that CRT purports to help.
He is a Black man who grew up in a crime ridden neighborhood. His mother was a teenager and his father left him pretty much as soon as he was born. He didn’t believe in Christ until he was already an adult. According to the philosophy he is warning against, he has suffered nearly every disadvantage it was designed to remove.
Yet, in 2022, he thought it was a particularly hazardous threat to both unity within the church and Biblical faithfulness. In it, he admits that he’s not sure the division can be avoided and in that case he hopes to at least ensure faithful Christians end up on the side of the split that has Christ.
What to Expect
The book does quote quite a few sources while trying to explain CRT “in its own words”. However, none of it is particularly complex. While he does address what social science students might read on the topic, the material itself isn’t particularly academic. Even these parts don’t read like a textbook.
The rest is an equally smooth read and Voddie makes it as approachable as possible even for someone who might disagree with him on these topics. If anything, I would argue he is often a bit too charitable.
Topics Discussed
The opening of the book largely covers his life experiences. He wants people to understand where he’s coming from and how he has experience seeing this topic from both sides. Not only did he study some of these concepts in an academic setting, but his personal life gives him a view of the issues at hand more clear than most would have.
He then moves into what he believes are theological claims (or at least assumptions) that serve as the foundation of Critical Race Theory (and Critical Theory in general). He seeks to show how the ideology operates in many ways as a religion (compete with magisterial authority). This leads to him analyzing how it contradicts the Christian faith and is incompatible.
The final main topic is the damage this contradiction is doing and will likely do within the church. This is, in my opinion, the most important section as he begins to reveal not only by what avenues this false doctrine has infiltrated all the way to the top of the Evangelical power structure but even the methods by which this has been done. He covers some of the early manipulative practices that were used to bring this into the Southern Baptist Convention.
Since the writing of this book, his warning that it will lead to still more compromise has shown to be very accurate. Many of the same names appear when you start tracing the #MeToo false accusations and related suspicious spending that have been plaguing the SBC starting around the same time.
Objections
My only objection is, as I mentioned briefly earlier, that he is too charitable. When it comes to contentious topics it can be very difficult to explain how a person balances the commands to be charitable and loving with those to practice discernment, test the spirits, and be wise as serpents. Some may believe they are being faithful by assuming the best no matter what, while others believe there is sufficient evidence that it would practically require denial to continue to believe the best.
I’m willing to grant that he may just have wisdom I am missing (he certainly knows those involved better than myself), but when he speaks about the seemingly hostile takeover of leadership positions within Christian institutions and still wants to assume that those perpetuating it are practicing Christians who have been caught in a wind of doctrine and not evangelists to this other, opposing religion who put on the necessary “essential” doctrine as a matter of camouflage it stretches my patience at times.
Often he seems to dance back and forth between acknowledging that some tenants of CRT oppose the very heart of the Gospel (for instance, the idea that the original sin is not shared by all sons of Adam and that it demands penance but can never truly be forgiven) and wanting it to be possible that a person can hold to CRT and also still be brothers in Gospel work.
However, if one is going to hold to ideas such as that to justify their activist actions than wouldn’t any professions to still hold to the doctrine of original sin and salvation be mere lip service?
This wouldn’t matter so much if it was some visitor (even a regular) to some congregation somewhere who is trying to hold these contradicting worldviews in tension for their disordered love of social justice politics, but these are leaders who exercise ecclesiastical authority over many who are more faithful. Some have regularly used that authority to throw around false witness with regards to everything from racism to sexual assault in service to CRT. They lay up burdens that are not the Lord’s heavily upon those who have been entrusted to them.
Praise
As much as some may hate it and others deny it entirely, having a faithful Christian who would be of the “oppressed” class in Critical Theory terms critically address the ideas is a huge advantage toward reaching those who may be otherwise tempted to fall into the snare. Voddie addresses (multiple times) how many CRT proponents will simply dismiss his work here as “internalized Whiteness” as a concern he held while writing it.
It is likely this book will not reach those fully committed to the error but I do believe this work will do wonders to those who are more clear headed but fear the “what ifs”. What if it only doesn’t sound right to me because of the cultural influence of “Whiteness”? What if those with other “lived experience” really do just have a perspective I cannot understand?
This book will likely help at least some of those who may realize the extremes of CRT are error but are caught in the naval gazing trap that Voddie spoke of in one of his sermons in the past. In this sermon, he spoke of how the promotion of sin in entertainment serves the same purpose in multiple ways. For those looking for an excuse to serve sin, it provides them with the cover of social acceptance. However, many will still know its wrong. For those people it still serves to numb them to the sin. It may still be wrong but it’s the kind of wrong that’s everywhere and you just put up with it.
This book raises enough alarms that people are far less likely to just accept that CRT is the “way things are” even if they realize they are wrong. This has been an important change for many in the last few years. More and more are realizing how victimhood has been weaponized as cover for evil, and have found the spine to practice right judgement even when it will come with accusations of “victim blaming” or any of the various “phobias”.
As a result, we’re seeing a boldness within the American church that I haven’t seen in my lifetime. While even some of those who were pushing CRT in organizations like the Southern Baptist Convention at the time of this book being written have since seemed to course correct when the public winds changed, the threat of this sort of thing is still crouching at the door and is still present and active within many congregations. Especially if you see the influence in your own circles, I would recommend that you not only read this book but also pass it on to others.
