Today, it is needful for many ordinary people to gain a basic knowledge of Critical Theory (CT). For it has thoroughly infiltrated education, government, the workplace and the church. Even that is an understatement as it has not only infiltrated but also taken over many institutions to the point where retaining some jobs is impossible without bowing the knee to this ideology.
There remain many who retain common sense and a backbone and have not bowed the knee and will not bow to CT and desire to prevent it from taking over their part of society. Many faithful in the Southern Baptist Convention and the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) are among these as they watch in alarm CT increase its influence in their churches.
But it is hard to oppose what one barely understands. And CT is so illogical and downright insane at times, as well as so academic, it is not easy for even the well educated to comprehend. To put it another way, knowing “Math is racist” is absurd is easy; knowing how an educated person could say such a thing with a straight face is not so easy. So there is the need for books that explain Critical Theory, cousin ideologies, and their toxicities clearly and readably.
Voddie Baucham’s Fault Lines: The Social Justice Movement and Evangelicalism’s Looming Catastrophe, to be released on Easter Tuesday, is such a book. Further I have found it an enjoyable read if a difficult one. His book can be difficult not because of lack of readability – Baucham has long excelled as a clear communicator, and this book is no exception. Reading it can be difficult as Baucham is very honest about problems related to race both in history and today.
Baucham focuses on Critical Race Theory (CRT), a subset of Critical Theory and of what he calls Critical Social Justice. He does so largely by having CRT people speak in their own words. He excerpts frequently and extensively from CRT sources and footnotes almost everything. Fault Lines is written for the average person, but at the same time is very helpful to those wishing to do further study.
Baucham also uses real life storytelling and does so well. Most compelling is Baucham’s own life story. His writing is not just theoretical. His life story of growing up Black in America serves as a rebuttal to CRT and had me laughing on one page and close to tears on another.
Of particular interest to Southern Baptists is his detailed analysis of Resolution 9, how it was amended and how it was passed. This is the best source I’ve come across on this matter and makes the book all the more a must read for those interested in this summer’s important meeting of the Convention, the first since Resolution 9 was passed and one that will surely revisit that controversial resolution.
At the same time there is hardly a church or institution of importance that is not affected by Critical Theory. We would all be wise to become more familiar with CT, CRT, and related ideologies and why they are so problematic. Fault Lines excels in being a very readable, even winsome, overview from a robust Christian perspective. It serves as an excellent starting point at the very least.
