the legitimacy of evidence to refute it . It is unfalsifiable and hence antiintellectual . This alone is reason to deny it a prominent place in the academy . Building on this stance , CRT attacks the very foundation of the classical liberal legal order — which includes legal reasoning , equality theory , and supposed neutral principles of constitutional law .
Furthermore , CRT is opposed to the dominant social order and proposes dismantling the oppressive structures of Western society to “ liberate ” and bring revolutionary change .
CRT is often advanced through DEI ( diversity , equity , and inclusion ) initiatives , where those seemingly benign words take on new meaning . Stripped from any biblical foundation , diversity becomes an absolute , the dominant concern of every agenda or discipline . Equity becomes not equal dignity and equal opportunity but equal outcomes promoting the redistribution of wealth . And inclusion is reframed by agendas that are at odds with biblical truth .
Sadly , the all-too-common outcome of CRT is that it reduces personal responsibility and fosters a victimhood culture , i . e ., instilling into youth a victim mentality . It also creates a culture of non-resilience on university campuses , replete with safe spaces , microaggressions , and trigger warnings . In a strange twist of outcomes , since it absolutizes race , it actually fosters more racism and not less .
For these reasons , CRT fails as a master narrative . It sets forth a worldview that radically differs from a Christian worldview . We agree with African American pastor Dr . Tony Evans , in his book Kingdom Race Theology : God ’ s Answer to Our Racial Crisis , 2 that “ race and racism cannot be the grid for determining theology .” Rather , a biblical theology has to be the grid for evaluating CRT , and a Christian worldview significantly differs from the CRT narrative .
CREATION
We are created in the image and likeness of God . Therefore , all humans created by God in His image have intrinsic and equal dignity and worth . This transcends race or national origin . Taking issue with critical theory and CRT , we deny that all human interaction can be reduced to and understood merely in terms of power relations , class warfare , or race .
FALL
THE CHRISTIAN STORY IS BEST SET FORTH IN A FOURFOLD FRAMEWORK :
All people are enslaved to sin , sit under the Creator ’ s just judgment , and need to be reconciled to God and one another . CRT advocates distort this and make racism the first sin , the only sin , and the defining sin . However , in the Bible , racism is not the first sin or the only sin . The first and defining sin is rebellion against God . From that one sin flows all other sins .
We readily affirm that racial injustice is real and is sinful and repugnant to God . The desire to oppress is wrong . Racism is a global sin and not unique to America or the Western world . The world has a long history of tribalism , slavery , ethnic cleansing , and genocide . Members of any race can be racist , not just white people . Such racism can be individual or structural ( i . e ., embedded in systems ). Its historical reality also leaves a legacy with lingering effects .
With CRT , there is little hope of liberation for the oppressed , no hope of redemption for the racist , and scant hope of healing the racial divide .
REDEMPTION
Once again , the Bible ’ s storyline differs from that of CRT . We are not left to hopelessness . Although human remedies will only take us so far , we need divine help , and that is precisely what was offered when God sent Jesus into the world at His first coming . 1 Peter 3:18 tells us , “ Christ suffered once for sins , the righteous for the unrighteous , that he might bring us to God .” It is through His atoning death on the cross for our sins that we can find forgiveness , redemption , and reconciliation . By faith in Christ , we can be reconciled vertically with God and horizontally with others .
36 THE RENEWANATION REVIEW