Resource Round Up: Racial Tensions, Social Justice, Critical Race Theory & Intersectionality
I haven’t posted an article roundup for over two months. In part, this was intentional; after the surge of news article reading and cultural analysis we were all forced to do in late May and early June, I was tired — tired of the chaos, tired of the sins, tired of the half-truths, tired of the showboating, tired of the spin. So, in an effort to clear my head, and to sever my impulse to be merely reactionary, I refrained from reading or listening to anything current about racism, the police, or black lives matter.
But, now less tired, and back with another roundup! Since these issues have persisted, here are some more Christian resources on Social Justice, Black Lives Matter, Critical Race Theory & Intersectionality (CRT/I). I’m thankful for these resources and these fellow Christians; they’ve been so helpful for me, and I hope they’re helpful for you!
May God help us to grow in a distinctly Christian worldview! As I wrote in a previous post:
We have a better resource than learned sociologists, informed friends, or the news cycle; we have the very words of God. Have we heard what He says? …what have we learned from the Scriptures about ethnicity, murder, abuse of authority, oppression, justice, government, violence, submission, outrage, and anger? …We need more than a two-verse theology of Micah 6:8 and Amos 5:24. We need a comprehensive, biblical, godly, just, compassionate, faithful, God-over-all worldview to interpret all things.
Thinking Theologically About Racial Tensions (Series) | Kevin DeYoung | The Gospel Coalition | September 2, 2020
This is a compilation of five of DeYoung’s previous articles, posted in July and August. If you only have time to read one thing from this roundup, I recommend this.
How Everything Became About Race, Gender, and Identity | Tim Challies | August 26, 2020
Challies gives a rare review of a secular book, called Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made Everything about Race, Gender, and Identity — and Why This Harms Everybody by Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay. I probably won’t read the book, but I appreciate Challies’ review and summary of it.
Overview of Critical Race Theory & Intersectionality | Eric Davis | February 20, 2020
This is an overview of CRT/I, the underlying philosophical framework of the Black Lives Matter and Social Justice movements. If the news cycle and argumentation seem insane and almost mystical, this will help you understand the presuppositions.
America’s Newest Religion | Eric Davis | June 5, 2020
This is a shorter article than the previous. I think Davis is right when he says that CRT/I is a new religion. Christians should treat it as such and seek to defend the faith against its arguments.
4 Distinctives of a Christian View of Race | Jesse Johnson | August 6, 2020
As the conversation has continued, many Christians have been asking about what the Bible says about race and racism. Johnson’s four brief points are good: (1) Race is a biological myth, (2) Racism exists because sin exists, (3) There is forgiveness for racism in the gospel, (4) These distinctives reveal the church as an example of true reconciliation.
Black Lives Do Matter, But the BLM Organization Opposes Christian Values: So What Should We Do? | Randy Alcorn | Eternal Perspective Ministries | July 20, 2020
This is Alcorn’s measured, well-reasoned response to the Black Lives Matter movement.
Photo by Florian Olivo on Unsplash