Thoughts on critical race theory (part two)

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

In part one of this series, I quoted political strategist Christopher Rufo:

We have successfully frozen their brand–‘critical race theory’–into the public conversation and are steadily driving up negative perceptions. We will eventually turn it toxic, as we put all of the various cultural insanities under that brand category. The goal is to have the public read something crazy in the newspaper and immediately think ‘critical race theory.’ We have de-codified the term and will re-codify it to annex the entire range of cultural constructions that are unpopular with Americans–Christopher Rufo, from a March 15 Tweet, describing how he is helping politicians and pundits weaponize critical race theory

I ended my first post on critical race theory with this line:

For now, my appeal is this: Love your neighbors. Love them by being careful about what you believe and even more careful about what you say about them or to them. Politicians and pundits must not be the source of language that Christians repeat and spread.

These lines are for Christians, who pledge their allegiance to Christ and his kingdom.

And what is the law of Christ and his kingdom?

Love God by loving your neighbor (Gospel of Matthew 22:34-40).

There is the definition of “neighbor” that everyone assumes they know.

Then there is the definition that Jesus Christ gives to Christians. The Christ enlarges the definition of “neighbor” to include even enemies (Gospel of Matthew 5:43-48).

The kind of love that the Christ commands of his Christians is agape love. That is, the kind of love that goes to work making fellowship.

What is fellowship?

The dictionary says that “fellowship” is “a friendly relationship,” a state of “companionship,” or a “community of [common] interest or feeling.”

Growing up at the Steele Avenue Church of Christ in Ashland, Ohio, I thought “fellowship” meant a big potluck dinner that we ate together after Sunday morning worship.

I think that memory of those meals is the perfect picture of fellowship.

So when the Christ commands Christians to love our neighbors, including enemies, he literally means we should invite them to lunch at our table.

This is the Way.

When Christians allow politicians and pundits to define the terms, make the rules, and set the tone for our lives, we go astray. We get lost.

Our Christ is about people and he wants his Christians to be about people, too. Politicians and pundits try to make us care about abstract things that they make up to stir anger and fear in us.

The Christ is going to work making fellowship with enemies. Politicians and pundits are working hard to raise your anger and fear toward enemies. Therefore, it is impossible to follow the Way of Christ and the ways of politicians and pundits at the same time.

You must choose.

Critical race theory as politicians and pundits use it these days is no mere distraction; it snares Christians in sin.

That is, when we Christians believe what politicians and pundits tell us about things like critical race theory, we turn those beliefs into prejudice against the people our Christ commanded us to love.

If politicians and pundits can get me to hate critical race theory, how easy is it for them to get me to project that hatred of a thing onto the people I assume like that thing?

If politicians and pundits can get me to like critical race theory, how easy is it for them to get me to turn that liking of a thing into hatred of those I assume do not like it?

Politicians and pundits try to get us to hate things so that we will project that hatred onto the people we assume like those things. It helps politicians and pundits stay in power when we don’t bother to find out if our assumptions about others are accurate. “Divide and conquer” is the oldest trick in the book for those who want more power for themselves.

Christian love is not about being against or for the right things; it is about being for people. All people, but especially people we assume to be “the wrong kind.” This is the pattern that Jesus Christ made for us.

The Christian life is not about saying things about things. It is a life of going to work to make fellowship with people–especially enemies and strangers.

This is hard and it is hard to know how to do it.

But this is the Way.

A final note to my friends on both the left and right. I see growing cultures of “resistance,” “revolution,” and standing up against the powers that you think are trying to dominate you.

Be careful about who you choose to be your leaders and teachers.

Jesus Christ mastered this and showed you how to do it, too.

Do you want to be a threat to the powers and principalities that you think are controlling American media and politics? Do you want to be a real revolutionary? Do you want to be truly subversive?

Don’t join a political party; join a church or start one if you can’t find one.

In a church that lives up to its name, you will find plenty of enemies and weirdos with whom you can practice going to work to make fellowship. You can be sure that you will be one of them to someone else.

This is why the Christ made his church. It’s a safe place to practice the kind of love that Christ showed and taught us.

And Christian love is the greatest and most direct threat to the powers and principalities that control American media and politics. Those powers and principalities run on cynicism. They run on you believing the worst about people you don’t even know.

Christian love, however, doesn’t fall for the playbook of politicians and pundits. Christian love is the opposite of cynicism. It wants to believe the best about others. It goes to work making fellowship. It goes out looking for enemies to invite over for lunch.

Christian, stop letting the politicians and pundits use abstract things to get you angry and upset at people you don’t even know.

Obey your Christ. Go to work making fellowship with the people you assume are your enemies.

This is the Way.

Grace and peace.