The Trojan horse of critical race theory and intersectionality

This conversation is well worth an hour and a half of your time. The topic is critical race theory and intersectionality and how those ideas destroy any community that grants them entrance. It is essential listening for understanding the times, a comprehensive overview of these concepts and their impact, delivered in an engaging way.

In the video, the first of a planned series of five, Michael O'Fallon of Sovereign Nations interviews Dr. James Lindsay and Dr. Peter Boghossian of New Discourses. The news story that serves as the launch pad for the discussion is the adoption, at this summer's Southern Baptist Convention, of a resolution identifying critical race theory and intersectionality as "analytical tools [that] can aid in evaluating a variety of human experiences," albeit "only [to] be employed as analytical tools subordinate to Scripture--not as transcendent ideological frameworks." Lindsay and Boghossian compare that decision to ancient Troy allowing a great wooden horse into the city.

Here's the video, but at the link you can also connect to audio-only versions of the discussion:

You may have heard of Lindsay and Boghossian. Along with Helen Pluckrose, they exposed the fraudulent academic foundations of what they call "grievance studies" by successfully getting bogus papers published in peer-reviewed academic journals.

In this conversation, they speak of watching the unholy trinity of Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity (DIE for short) destroy collegiality in universities and destroy the New Atheism movement, of which they were a part. In a humorous twist, Lindsay says that if he were still the evangelistic atheist he once was, he'd laugh that Christian organizations welcoming these concepts into their midst and destroying themselves in the process. Instead, he understands that Christians and atheists who adhere to the idea of objective truth and rational debate have to band together to fight this threat to civilization.

You will learn what "equity" is, and how it differs from "equality." You will hear about "standpoint epistemology" -- a fancy name for the idea that there are different "knowledges" available only to particular intersections of oppressed classes. Members of oppressor classes (e.g. white cishet males) can't access this knowledge. Logic, reason, and evidence are all tools of oppression. If you argue your innocence of racism, etc., it's evidence that you are guilty as charged -- a classic kafkatrap. They describe this as a religious system with guilt and original sin, but no hope of redemption.

From the article accompanying the video:

This rise of the primary tools of deconstructionism is not uncommon among other Christian denominations, secular universities, STEM fields, knitting clubs, Boy Scouts, medical fields, and corporate organizations. Social Justice's paradigm-shifting presence is nearly everywhere. Its trajectory is also predictable. It comes in as a type of analytical tool, offered with the intention of helping to better "the oppressed" in issues of race, sex, gender, sexuality, and other identities that haven't always had a fair shake in life, and then it does exactly what it has always claimed to do: it makes the personal political. In fact, it makes everything political, and the only politics it is interested in are identity politics.

In this in-depth discussion, Lindsay, Boghossian and O'Fallon begin by reviewing the Southern Baptist Convention's Resolution 9 and then compare and contrast the strategic use of Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality in nearly every facet of our society. Point by point, they explain how these "analytic tools" get put into application in practice and how they undermine communities. Their stated goal is not political or to take sides. It is to help anyone who is facing the decision to adopt tools like Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality to better understand what is really being offered and how it is likely to play out if accepted.

The article includes a thorough collection of references and links to specific instances discussed during the conversation.

RELATED:

About a year ago, John MacArthur delivered a series of sermons on the topic of social justice and the gospel, preaching from Ezekiel 18. MacArthur shows how the scriptures refute the idea of collective guilt for which we must atone and calls us to repent for our own sins and also (particularly preachers) to call others to repentance. MacArthur is a skillful expository preacher, explaining the text on its own terms, but applying it to present-day issues, and doing so without being bombastic or boring. The links below take you to transcripts, video, and audio for each sermon.

Social Justice and the Gospel, Part 1
Social Justice and the Gospel, Part 2
Social Justice and the Gospel, Part 3
Social Justice and the Gospel, Part 4

Here's an excellent 40 minute lecture defining social justice and explaining why we ought to be ashamed to use the term, by Dr. Voddie Baucham, Dean of Theological Education at African Christian University. It was the keynote speech of the Social Justice and the Gospel conference held in January 2019.

In an article from May 2019, Jordan Peterson explains why equity is a dangerous doctrine.