One of my favorite parts in the Bible is Acts 17:16-34. In this passage, Paul is in Athens and exploring the city. He is distressed to see all the idols, and begins to preach about Jesus around the city to both Jews and Gentiles. Soon Paul is invited to share the Gospel with the Greek philosophers in the Aeropagus, the center of Greek intellectual thought as well as the center of their pagan religion. In his sermon, he lauds the Athenians for their religiosity—despite their worship of idols— and quotes pagan philosophers instead of the Bible. Paul uses pagan theology and philosophy to preach the Gospel, and while some scoff at him, many others are interested, and some even convert and become followers of Jesus! I love this passage because it shows that Paul is not threatened by a non-Christian ideology, and in fact he uses it to preach the Gospel. What would it look like to preach like Paul today?
Saint Paul delivering the Areopagus Sermon in Athens, by Raphael, 1515
In present-day America, there are no Stoic or Epicurean philosophers, but there are many other non-Christian philosophies, theologies, and worldviews. One secular worldview that many conservative Christians seem especially frightened of is “Critical Race Theory,” a concept that has been so twisted and misused that it is almost impossible to clearly define. (I learned the basics of “CRT” eighteen years ago when I was a high school debater, and find it darkly humorous how such an esoteric academic theory has only now gone mainstream on Fox News and on Baby Boomers’ Facebook feeds.) Some Republicans are even trying to ban all references to this philosophy from media, colleges, and government!
Like any ideology, there are parts of CRT where I would disagree in part or in whole. Yet to me it is so obvious that there are also elements of CRT that clearly point to Jesus, and if one is willing to be wise and clever, one could use CRT in order to preach the Gospel just like Paul did with Greek paganism. So that’s exactly what I’m going to attempt to do below.
CRT Main Point #1: Racism influences all Americans. It is not a matter of personal choice, but instead is present in everyone to some degree.
Whether it’s in ways big or small, supporters of CRT argue that racism is present in each individual in America, even if it’s unconscious. Most advocates of CRT would argue that it’s not just white people, but even ethnic minorities who can internalize white supremacy, leading to self-hatred, colorism, or other forms of in-group biases. As one small example, as a teacher in Baltimore City I observed a few African-American students make fun of a darker-skinned African immigrant. Or I remember a study that showed that children of all races preferred to play with white baby dolls instead of black baby dolls. CRT advocates would say that racism is “America’s original sin,” and is present in pretty much everyone*.
If I were Paul, how would I use this point of CRT to preach the Gospel? I would generally agree with this tenet and argue that yes, every individual is broken in a host of ways, whether conscious or unconscious, and for most Americans that includes that sin of racism. “For all have sinned, and fallen short of the glory of God.” Because of Adam and Eve’s original sin in the Garden of Eden, all humans are born with a propensity to sin. Jesus tells us that even having a single lustful thought makes us guilty of adultery, so by the same logic having a single racist thought makes us guilty of racism. I myself would identify as a “recovering racist”: just like a recovering alcoholic still struggles with brokenness regarding alcohol, I also still struggle with racist thoughts, inclinations, and desires. I have to pray for God’s grace and forgiveness for that sin—among other sins—quite frequently. But instead of just beating myself up, or being terrified of being cancelled, or gritting my teeth and trying to be perfect on my own effort, the Gospel gives me an answer in Jesus: “Oh what a wretched man am I! Who will save me from this life of sin? Thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” The Holy Spirit can empower me and others to live forgiven lives of repentance, with a mind that is being transformed day by day. I won’t ever be perfect, but I can try to seek to live more and more like Jesus every day.
(*Is it possible that there’s someone out there who doesn’t struggle with the sin of racism whatsoever? Sure, perhaps he or she exists, just like there are probably people out there who have never once struggled with one or more of the seven deadly sins. But everyone struggles with at least one sin or another, and by and large I think most Americans, if they’re being honest, has had at least one teensy tiny racist thought at one time or another. Additionally, even if it’s not intentional, we are all participants in a system that often has racist outcomes, perpetrated by the government we pay taxes to and the corporations we buy stuff from.)
CRT Main Point #2: We should not be colorblind, but instead should pay attention to inequities between the races.
Advocates of CRT point out that ignoring the problems that happen at the racial group level mean that we are not going to be able to adequately solve them. We cannot use a “race-blind” approach to every solution and expect that everyone is equally able to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Instead, we should look at their group circumstances and see if there are group needs that should be addressed in a special manner. For example, we may discover that Black neighborhoods have fewer trees than white neighborhoods due to a history of redlining and underinvestment by city planners, and so going forward we can try to plant more trees there to improve air quality and reduce rates of asthma.
If I were Paul, how would I use this point of CRT to preach the Gospel? I would affirm that Scripture does indeed pay attention to group dynamics. Paul’s own ministry illustrates how the Gentiles needed special welcome and special outreach at the group level in order to bring them into the Kingdom. He points out that he is sent as an evangelist to focus on the Greeks, while Peter was sent to the Jews. And in Acts 6, we also see a beautiful passage where the early Church leaders discovered that the Hellenistic Jews were being overlooked in the daily food distribution, implying that the apostles paid attention to what was happening at the racial/cultural group level. Similarly, Jesus makes special appeals and missionary trips to diverse racial groups such as the Samaritans and the Gentiles living in the Decapolis. If both Jesus and the apostles paid attention to these group differences, then so should we. We ought not to assume that there is a single “colorblind” version of the Gospel. Instead, we should seek to make sure that every people group can meet Jesus in their heart language, just like what happened at Pentecost, or like Paul does with the Athenians by quoting the pagan poets of their ethnic group. The Bible clearly illustrates we ought not be colorblind, but instead pay attention to racial group differences in order to better serve and reach these groups.
CRT Main Point #3: Racism doesn’t just happen at an individual level, but at a group level.
Advocates of CRT point out that racism isn’t just a matter of our individual thoughts or actions, but is something that happens at a group level, especially through laws, policies, and culture. We can’t understand our present if we don’t understand the effects of systemic laws like Jim Crow, red-lining, urban renewal, the 1994 Crime Bill, gentrification, etc. Once we understand these issues, we may need to seek solutions that specifically assist marginalized groups.
If I were Paul, how would I use this point of CRT to preach the Gospel? I would have two approaches. First, I would emphasize all the ways that Scripture also calls for systemic overhauls in order to see justice happen. Sin is not just something that is done by individuals, but also something that happens in society too, and the Bible has specific commands to encourage social justice. The year of Jubilee calls for the systemic cancellation of all debts in society and the liberation of all slaves. The prophets call for the destruction of unjust scales (economic exploitation) and the end of the societal oppression of widows, orphans, and children. The prophets also proclaim judgement against entire nations (like the Babylonians, Assyrians, and Egyptians) that have been oppressing other ethnic groups. In the New Testament, Jesus’ first sermon in his hometown says that he is coming to bring freedom for the captives and liberation for the prisoners—especially outsiders–and he routinely calls out privileged groups of people like the Pharisees who make a show of personal holiness without practicing social justice and mercy to marginalized groups of people such as widows and orphans.
But secondly, I would remind my hearers that following Jesus is not either-or, it is both–and. We need to both obey him at the individual level and to seek to do so at the group level. If we make it only about individual effort (like some conservatives advocate for), or only about big-picture changes (like some liberals advocate for), we miss out on the full promise of what God has for us. We need to follow Jesus in every way. To take one example, Zaccheaus follows Jesus individually and hosts him for dinner, but he also pays financial reparations to the entire group of people that he has wronged! Obedience is about whole-life discipleship.
There are other parts I could probably adapt from CRT in order to preach the Gospel, but these are my top three. The main overall point I want to make is that there is no secular philosophy that is so wrong and so broken that it does not have a grain of truth that can be used to preach the Gospel. If Paul can take the words of literal idol-worshipers and, without quoting Scripture a SINGLE time, can convert multiple hard-core pagans to Christianity, then I think every intelligent Christian should be able to take elements of CRT to point people to Jesus!
PS: “CRT?!? Really Andrew???” Responding to some common objections
Objection #1: America was founded as a Christian nation, and that is especially true of the Founding Fathers! We should never criticize them for anything they ever did, because they were perfect in every way and the Constitution was ordained by God.
Abraham was also a “Founding Father” of a nation. But that doesn’t mean he was perfect in everything he did, and the Bible shows him sinning in big ways. We should look up to heroes like Abraham for the good things they did, while also criticizing them for the bad things they did. To pretend that the Founding Fathers of the United States or the Constitution were completely perfect is a form of moral relativism at best, and idolatry at worst. The preamble to the Constitution says that the Founders were trying to forge a “more perfect union”, which implies that even if one thinks it was founded somewhat perfectly, more perfection is always possible.
Objection #2: Teaching how bad white supremacy is will make white children have low self-esteem!
First off, lots of children already have low self-esteem for lots of other reasons. I think cell phones are a much bigger problem than CRT; should we therefore also ban cell phones? [Hmm…maybe]. But secondly, this is like saying that preaching that all people all sinners will make people have low self-esteem. Deep down, everyone already knows they have sinned in one way or another. To deny that truth is silly, and moreover, for Christians there is a solution—Jesus! Jesus frees us from guilt and shame to live new holy lives where we seek to reject all sinful actions, including racism. Thirdly, if children are uncomfortable learning about all the bad things that have happened in history, then we wouldn’t be allowed to teach about the Holocaust, the Reformation, or the reason the Pilgrims fled to America. I think instead we should teach all of history, the good, the bad, and the ugly, so that our children can deal with present day issues when they grow up and can avoid making similar mistakes that our forefathers made.
Objection #3: The Bible says there is “neither Jew nor Greek,” so we should not be focusing on the differences between races.
Those same passages in the Bible also say there is “neither male nor female”, but does that mean that sex and gender differences do not exist? Of course not. What these passages are saying is that for the purposes of inclusion in God’s Kingdom, these walls have now disappeared in Christ Jesus, who brings unity in the midst of former divisions. But it does not mean there are no differences between men and women, or between Jews and Greeks. In fact, we need to pay attention to these different parts of the Body of Christ and give special treatment and honor to certain parts of the body if needed (Romans 12). While there may arise a problem if we focus too much on differences between races, or between the sexes, there is also a problem if we pretend those differences don’t exist at all.