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It’s the ideology that’s dividing America.

On the surface, critical race theory claims to merely highlight the racism and injustices of the past so that our societies can overcome any residual effects of them in the present.

But dig a little deeper and you’ll discover that CRT sees all white people as racists by default, and ‘white supremacy’ as the bedrock of Western societies. Moreover, it claims that white people today are responsible for the injustices committed by white people in the past, and that people of colour are perpetual victims — whether or not they accept such a label, or experience this in their everyday lives.

If all that isn’t bad enough, critical race theory also views free speech, private property and colourblindness as problematic. Its scholars claim that these and many other traditionally Western values — such as individualism, meritocracy and equal opportunity — all work together to uphold ‘systemic racism’ and keep minorities oppressed.

To top it off, you’re a racist if you disagree.

Don’t believe me? Read these quotes from the horse’s mouth. The following excerpts come directly from the literature of leading critical race theorists. (Courtesy of Christopher Rufo’s Critical Race Theory Briefing Book).

“All white people are racist or complicit by virtue of benefiting from privileges that are not something they can voluntarily renounce.” — Barbara Applebaum, Being White, Being Good

“White identity is inherently racist; white people do not exist outside the system of white supremacy.” — Robin DiAngelo, White Fragility

“The ideologies of meritocracy, equal opportunity, individualism, and human nature we described above play a powerful role in denying the current of privilege and insisting that society is just.” — Ozlem & DiAngelo, Is Everyone Really Equal?

“The only remedy to racist discrimination is antiracist discrimination. The only remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination. The only remedy to present discrimination is future discrimination.” — Ibram Kendi, How to be an Antiracist

“Whiteness is an invisible veil that cloaks its racist deleterious effects through individuals, organizations, and society. The result is that White people are allowed to enjoy the benefits that accrue to them by virtue of their skin color. Thus, Whiteness, White supremacy, and White privilege are three interlocking forces that disguise racism so it may allow White people to oppress and harm persons of color while maintaining their individual and collective advantage and innocence.” — Derald Sue, The Invisible Whiteness of Being

“White people raised in Western society are conditioned into a white supremacist worldview because it is the bedrock of our society and its institutions… Entering the conversation with this understanding is freeing because it allows us to focus on how — rather than if — our racism is manifest.” — Robin DiAngelo, White Fragility

“Unlike traditional civil rights, which embraces incrementalism and step-by-step progress, critical race theory questions the very foundations of the liberal order, including equality theory, legal reasoning, Enlightenment rationalism, and neutral principles of constitutional law.” — Delgado & Stefanic, Critical Race Theory: An Introduction

“We believe that so long as the white race exists, all movements against what is called ‘racism’ will fail. Therefore, our aim is to abolish the white race.” — Noel Ignatiev in Critical Whiteness Studies

“In order to truly be anti-racist, you also have to truly be anti-capitalist… And in order to truly be anti-capitalist, you have to be antiracist, because they’re interrelated.” — Ibram Kendi, “Ibram X. Kendi on Why We Need to Fight Racism the Way We Fight Cancer”

“All whites are racist… because we benefit from systemic white privilege. Generally whites think of racism as voluntary, intentional conduct done by horrible others. Whites spend a lot of time trying to convince ourselves and each other that we are not racist. A big step would be for whites to admit that we are racist and then to consider what to do about it.” — Wildman and Davis, Readings for Diversity and Social Justice

In Colossians 2:8, the apostle Paul offers us an urgent warning: “Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ.” Critical race theory is exactly the kind of ‘empty philosophy and high-sounding nonsense’ that Paul had in mind.

There is a better way.

In the following chapter, Paul reminds us that, “In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilised, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and He lives in all of us.” (Colossians 3:11). And in light of this, we are compelled to clothe ourselves with love, “which binds us all together in perfect harmony”. (verse 14)

Western nations are far from perfect. But for well over a generation, we have embraced the spirit of these Colossians passages — popularly summarised by Martin Luther King, Jr. as viewing one another not on the basis of skin colour, but character.

Critical race theory, if widely embraced, would undo that. The benefit of believers is that we do not just have the wisdom of MLK in our arsenal, but all of Scripture — which begins with all people regardless of gender or race being made in God’s image, and ends with people of every nation worshipping before God’s throne.

Critical race theory stands in direct opposition to the teaching of Scripture, and it breeds division. The Christian’s response to this toxic theory is clear: reject it, and keep following Jesus. He shows us a better way.