Pursuing Discernment - Part 3 - How Do People Change? Atheist Marxism vs. Gospel

Karl Marx referred to religion – of all sorts – as “the opiate of the masses.”   Faith of any sort in something beyond the physical world was like a drug that clouded the reality and injustice of our physical world for the oppressed group.  And of course, for Marx and his followers, the physical world is all that there is. (See Note below) Marxism is profoundly atheistic as every Marxist experiment in the 20^th century demonstrates.

I recently had the opportunity to view a presentation by Dr. Robin DiAngelo, author of the best-selling book White Fragility.  Though I’ve not invested the time to read her book, this 20-minute video was a powerful expression of the Marxist underpinnings of the “critical race theory” that is foundational to “BLM-the-organization.”

In classic Marxist fashion, Dr. DiAngelo sweeps religion and faith into the dustbin of irrelevance.  No need to consider it whatsoever.  Beginning at 8:15 in the video, she says:

Universalism says “why can’t we all be the same?”  This is a very popular ideology in religious or faith communities.  I’m not arguing that on a deep, spiritual level we’re not all universally the same.  But we don’t live, if you will, in the spiritual realm.  We live in the physical realm.  And here in the physical realm, we have to ask ourselves, “How does it function to say, “We all bleed under the skin.”  Well, it functions to take race off the table; to take power off of the table.

Less than 30 seconds to be done with “the opiate of the masses” and move on to the “real” setting of the physical world and the “real” issue of power. (See Note below)

As a Gospel-centered believer with a biblical worldview, I recognize that people and reality are more than simply flesh-and-blood.  There is more to reality than meets the eye.  The sin in my broken life that I build into the broken systems of my world are indeed real, but they are not all that is real.  That sin - both personal and structural -  need to be acknowledged and repented of with my life and culture, and then transformed by an "outside-of-me-power" that works in me.  And that is a work of God’s grace, by the power of His indwelling Holy Spirit. 

An example: John Newton was changed from slave ship captain to abolitionist and evangelical pastor.  How did that happen?  The power of God.  He wrote about it in his hymn “Amazing Grace.”  That is how authentic, Gospel-centered spirituality changes a culture.

That authentic Gospel-centered spirituality is what we desperately need in this moment.  God make us a church that equips John Newtons for our time. 

CLICK HERE to see the video.

I’d love to interact with you more on some of these observations, as well as listen to your response.  if you would like to pursue further conversation, then contact me through the church, and let's talk.  I would be anxious to listen and consider, as well as dig deeper with you into my own reading.  Grace Abounding!

Note:

I didn't want to get too deep in the weeds in the body of my post, but specific aspect of Marx's worldview that we are dealing with here is called "dialectical materialism."
From Wikipedia: Dialectical materialism is a philosophy of science and nature developed in Europe and based on the writings of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Marxist dialectics emphasizes the importance of real-world conditions, in terms of class, labor, and socioeconomic interactions.  .  .  .  The formulation of the Soviet version of dialectical and historical materialism in the 1930s by Joseph Stalin and his associates (such as in Stalin's book Dialectical and Historical Materialism), became the official Soviet interpretation of Marxism.  -  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dialectical_materialism

Resources

From TheGospelCoalition.org:  Not White Fragility—Mutual Responsibility   CLICK HERE I find this article to be of particular help: written by an African-American social scientist and professor that I have followed for years.  He writes from a decidedly Gospel-centered perspective as well.  

 I would also recommend this fascinating background from three sources that are hardly "conservative" or "evangelical."

From The Atlantic: The Dehumanizing Condescension of White Fragility - CLICK HERE

From New York Magazine: Is the Anti-Racism Training Industry Just Peddling White Supremacy?  CLICK HERE

From the New York Times: White Fragility Is Everywhere But Does Antiracism Training Work? - CLICK HERE

From TheGospelCoalition.org:  Not White Fragility—Mutual Responsibility   CLICK HERE I find this article to be of particular help: written by an African-American social scientist and professor that I have followed for years.  He writes from a decidedly Gospel-centered perspective as well.

Pursuing Discernment - Part 2 - The Line Between Good and Evil: Within My Heart, Not Between Our Groups

As a prisoner in the Stalinst Gulag of Soviet Russia, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn knew something about the consequences of Marxist ideology.  In his masterpiece The Gulag Archipelago, he points out the fallacy of the "class conflict" worldview:

If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?

During the life of any heart this line keeps changing place; sometimes it is squeezed one way by exuberant evil and sometimes it shifts to allow enough space for good to flourish. One and the same human being is, at various ages, under various circumstances, a totally different human being. At times he is close to being a devil, at times to sainthood. But his name doesn't change, and to that name we ascribe the whole lot, good and evil.

Socrates taught us: "Know thyself."

Confronted by the pit into which we are about to toss those who have done us harm, we halt, stricken dumb: it is after all only because of the way things worked out that they were the executioners and we weren't.

From good to evil is one quaver, says the proverb. 

From Part I The Prison Industry, Ch. 4 "The Bluecaps" (p168, The Gulag Archipelago, Collins 1974) 

The "problem" my friends is in me, and in everyone of us.  Our various group identities are infected by the brokenness within each of us.  Real change must start inside each person, and that change is the work of the Gospel of God's Grace, not simply the transfer of political power from one group to another.

This is why the matter of character is so important in a gospel-centered worldview - and so missing in the Marxist perspective where a person's group identity is what matters instead.  If you belong to the "oppressed group" then any "character flaw" is of little concern.  "Being on the right side of history" when seen through "class conflict" eyes means being on the approved side of the conflict as the oppressed overcome the oppressors.  Personal character is of no consequence. 

I’d love to interact with you more on some of these observations, as well as listen to your response.  if you would like to pursue further conversation, then contact me through the church, and let's talk.  I would be anxious to listen and consider, as well as dig deeper with you into my own reading.  Grace Abounding!

Pursuing Discernment - Part 1 - "Class Conflict:" Marxism vs. Gospel-Centered

I've stated that I fully support "Black Lives Matter" as a sentence, but have real reservations about the organization that has taken that name.  (CLICK HERE for that post.)  My chief reservation with the organization is it's "Marxist worldview."  So what do I mean by that?  Let me start by digging into the most important distinctive of Marxism.

“Class Conflict” is the engine that drives history in the worldview of Karl Marx.  It was a perspective that was developed from the “Dialectical Method” of G.F. Hegel in the 19th century.

For Marx, the conflict was between economic classes – specifically the wealthy, capitalist Bourgeoisie who own the means of production and the working class of farmers and laborers called the Proletariat.  Remember this distinction: it was the class identification that counted, not the people who made up the classes.  The Bourgeoisie were oppressors as a class, with no consideration of different behaviors or character qualities of any one person in the class.  Likewise, with the oppressed Proletariat.  Group identity mattered more than individual character, choices and personhood.

Marxism as political philosophy was first played out in history with Bolshevik Revolution in Russia beginning in 1917.  That was not a pretty event, whether at the direction of Lenin, Stalin or others.  The Marxist "class conflict" perspective later drove revolutions throughout Eastern Europe, China, Cambodia and other places, all with similar results.

After World War I, there was an evolution of Marxist thought.  The groups thought to be in conflict might not be only economic in nature.  Instead, they could be racial, or ethnic, or sexual.  The principle that remained though was conflict between groups and group identity overruled any personal characteristics.  CLICK HERE for a book review that traces this development. 

So we arrive at “BLM-the organization” where the world is viewed through the Marxist lens of groups and conflict.

The conversation is about “blackness” and “whiteness,” not about “black people” and “white people.”  At first, I was baffled by conversation about “black bodies.”  But the group conflict perspective is hardly concerned with persons in any group.  It’s the group that matters.  “Persons” are just bodies in the group.

I was surprised to read on the BLM organization's website about their commitment to "disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement," until I remembered the history of the 20th century.  Every Marxist revolution has undermined the family because family identity distracts from the class identity.  What mattered for Marx was that a person was part of the "worker class" rather than a "Smith."  All other identities - ethnic (hence the focus on "international"), religious (hence the atheism), cultural, all! - must be erased or moved to a position of insignificance for the sake of the movement and the conflict.

By contrast, a biblical and “Gospel-centered” worldview recognizes persons do belong to and are indeed shaped by the groups of which they are a part.  For example, Ruth was an individual and a woman (a gender identity group) and a Moabite (a non-Israelite, ethnic/cultural identity group).  She made choices though, to place her trust in the LORD of Israel, depart with her Israelite mother-in-law Naomi and move her life to Israel at the death of her husband.  These choices transformed her group identities and she entered into the family line of God’s Messiah!  She had various group identities, but those could be altered by her personal agency and decisions.

Not so with the various Marxist group identities.  There can be a shift in power from one group to the next – when the oppressed Proletariat overcome the oppressor Bourgeoisie in classic terms and divisions for example – but never a shift of group identity.  As a person "born into whiteness,” that identity can never be changed by me or for me.  There can only be a shift in power between my oppressive group and some other oppressed group.

Repentance, Reconciliation and Restitution are terms and practices that belong to biblical, Gospel-centered faith, but have no ground in a Marxist worldview.  These practices are behaviors of individual transformation that have social consequences and expression.  That is why "BLM-the organization" and Gospel-centered faith have contrasting and conflicting strategies and goals as they pursue racial justice.  Biblical justice and Marxist justice are two different, and I believe conflicting, ideals.

I’d love to interact with you more on some of these observations, as well as listen to your response.  if you would like to pursue further conversation, then contact me through the church, and let's talk.  I would be anxious to listen and consider, as well as dig deeper with you into my own reading.  Grace Abounding!

Good Examples: What Christian Pursuit of Racial Reconciliation Can Look Like

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. - Philippians 4:8 (NIV)

I’ve spent time this week - as I promised in a previous blog post - trying to break out in more detail the difference I see between “Black Lives Matter” as a sentence, which I would strongly support, and the organization, which I’m much less positive about.  CLICK HERE for that blog.  It has not been hard to identify the problems – in my mind they are glaring – but it has been discouraging.

As a result, let me take the direction of Philippians 4:8 and point to an inspiring current example of a believing Christian working faithfully on matters of racial reconciliation and justice in our country:  Bryan Stevenson, and the organization he founded, the Equal Justice Initiative.

Take time to watch the movie about his early work in the film titled ”Just Mercy.”  We saw it on Netflix and were inspired.  We’ll be listening to his book by that name when we drive to be with family in a few weeks.  In the meantime, I’ve been reading articles by him, interviews of him and viewed presentations by him.  He has been helpful and inspiring, solidly grounded in his Christian faith.  I would say that he is a good example of dealing with an issue from a biblical and gospel-centered worldview.

In addition, I would highly recommend the book One Blood by John Perkins.  Dr. Perkins has been an influence on my life since my college years.  This may well be his last book, so it sums up, crystallizes and clarifies what he has learned across a lifetime of fruitful ministry.  His early story and conversion are chronicled in Let Justice Roll Down.  It’s a great read.  Again, this is what an authentically biblical and gospel-centered life looks like in pursuit of racial reconciliation.

All of these books are in or on their way to the Harderwyk Church library, so whether you buy or borrow, read or listen, take time to “think about such things” because both of these men are excellent and praiseworthy.

And if you would like to pursue further conversation, then contact me through the church, and let's talk.  I would be anxious to listen and consider, as well as dig deeper with you into my own reading.  

Here are some resources that were helpful to me:

The following linked content is provided for your personal reflection and consideration. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the exact opinions or positions of Celebration or Harderwyk Ministries.

Amazon Book links to:

• CLICK HERE for Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
• CLICK HERE for One Blood by John Perkins
• CLICK HERE for Let Justice Roll Down by John Perkins

Movie Review of Just Mercy – with two bonus film reviews! – on TheGospelCoalition.org

• Oscar Ignored These 2019 Films. Christians Shouldn’t. – CLICK HERE