The Gospel Coalition's Drift Toward Identity Politics - Sovereign Nations

The Gospel Coalition's Drift Toward Identity Politics - Sovereign Nations

"[Colin Hansen] writes, 'If millennials and Gen Y don't learn from [Young, Restless, and Reformed] leaders how the gospel equips them to fight the injustice they see as they scroll through their Twitter timelines, will they choose to look elsewhere for leadership, purpose, and belonging?'

"The big worry is that the older generations will fail to understand our cultural moment and, as a result, fail to address the younger generations' most pressing concerns. Without equipping them with ways to fight injustice, they will look elsewhere. They will leave the Church.

"In the much-discussed Q&A at the 2019 Shepherd's Conference, Ligon Duncan affirms a similar view. He says, 'I don't want to drive our grandchildren into the arms of the LGBT issue....who are already wavering on a whole host of cultural issues.' This abandonment of Christianity would happen, he argues, if the church fails to get serious about what energizes the younger generations, namely, matters of social justice, particularly racial injustice.

"So we have an important council member and the lead editor of The Gospel Coalition affirming that the purpose of the shift to social justice in the last few years is to keep Millennials (Gen Y) and Generation Z in the faith....

"In a recent article in The Gospel Coalition, Rebecca McLaughlin, who seems to be enjoying an ascendancy in TGC circles, calls for Christians to 'go on the offensive.' But the nature of this offence is quite startling. She claims that we must take 'our lead from those with the credibility to speak' and she's clear on what constitutes 'credibility.'...

"Only certain voices are 'credible' and can 'be heard.' Absent from the A-team in the public square is the straight white man--the identity that represents homophobia, racism, and misogyny. McLaughlin is not seeking to elevate marginalized voices so that all can equally speak truth in Christ to the world. Rather she is calling for a sort of reverse marginalization. McLaughlin's strategy involves nothing less than the marginalization of the straight white man. And if this interpretation of her words seems extreme, she confirms it in an interview with Colin Hansen for The Gospel Coalition: "'But in an age where who you are determines what you have the right to say, we also need to stop fielding straight white men.'"