This is a list of resources that you may find helpful. It is a curation based on my own choices, like any curation. Let this be a sieve for you to drain and collect what is useful.
captive by philosophy
There are some philosophies entering into the church which Christians need to be aware of. The philosophies are in a cluster composed of Critical Theory and Intersectionality.
intersectionality
Rosaria Butterfield, the former lesbian university professor, now Christian believer, has written about intersectionality for Table Talk at Ligonier ministries. She says:
How did we get to a place where it makes sense for a person to reject truth not because it’s false but because it hurts? How did we get to a place where we label people—image bearers of a holy God—as knowable primarily by their political and social group, as if that is their truest and most indelible virtue? Under what worldview could my words cause suicide but the genital mutilation that allows a biological man to masquerade as a woman cause celebration and affirmation?
READ THE REST: Intersectionality and the Church
critical theory
While I was at the Immanuel Network conference hosted by my friend Ryan Fullerton and his church, I was given a booklet by Neil Shenvi and Pat Sawyer titled, Engaging Critical Theory and the Social Justice Movement (you can download a copy for the price of an email here).
Shenvi says that Critical Theory is a worldview that is antithetical to Christianity. He writes:
The story of critical theory begins not with creation, but with oppression. The omission of a creation element is very important because it changes our answer to the question: “who are we?” There is no transcendent Creator who has a purpose and a design for our lives and our identities. We don’t primarily exist in relation to God, but in relation to other people and to other groups. Our identity is not defined primarily in terms of who we are as God’s creatures. Instead, we define ourselves in terms of race, class, sexuality, and gender identity. Oppression, not sin, is our fundamental problem. What is the solution? Activism. Changing structures. Raising awareness. We work to overthrow and dismantle hegemonic power. That is our primary moral duty. What is our purpose in life? To work for the liberation of all oppressed groups so that we can achieve a state of equity.
READ MORE from Shenvi’s blog series
The current spirit of the age involves these variations of a cultural Marxism which has morphed into Critical Theory. It relates to issues of ethnicity (Critical Race Theory), gender and (LGBTQ+ advocacy), politics and more.
I have written about cultural Marxism, and the helpful analysis of Albert Mohler and Robert Smith, here.
Paul’s warning to the Colossians is very applicable here:
See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.
Colossians 2:8
idealized cultures
Some more articles in this vein are Leonardo De Chirico on Pope Francis and his new statement Querida Amazonia. :
Querida Amazonia tends to have a very positive view of indigenous cultures – at times somewhat naïve – and in so doing it lacks biblical realism. According to the Bible, cultures are not to be idealized nor demonized: they are mixed bags of idolatry and common grace in need of redemption. Pope Francis tends to idealize native cultures, seeing them as already infused by the grace of God.
READ THE REST
This seems to derive from a similar philosophy to the intersectional/cultural marxist ones mentioned above.
What Does the Bible Say About…
Lust, Homosexuality, Transgenderism? Owen Strachan and my fellow pastor Gavin Peacock have written a trilogy of books that address simply what the bible says about three areas of hot contention. In these areas, some of the philosophies mentioned above are deeply embedded. Highly recommended.
