Last week, the SBC adopted a variety of resolutions at their 2019 gathering. Among these was Resolution 9, detailing the Convention’s position on critical race theory (CRT) and intersectionality. Although the Resolution appeared to affirm the sufficiency of Scripture over CRT and intersectionality, an examination of these ideas will show the danger of them and that the Resolution is in fact, a denial of the sufficiency of Scripture, despite its claims to the contrary.

Paul warned the Colossians, “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ” (Col. 2:8). Despite this warning, the SBC Resolutions Committee proposed a resolution affirming the very empty deceit that Paul warned against, not one rooted in Christ and the Gospel.

The Resolution reads, in part:

Critical race theory and intersectionality have been appropriated by individuals with worldviews that are contrary to the Christian faith, resulting in ideologies and methods that contradict Scripture.

Critical race theory and intersectionality alone are insufficient to diagnose and redress the root causes of the social ills that they identify, which result from sin, yet these analytical tools can aid in evaluating a variety of human experiences.

Critical race theory and intersectionality should only be employed as analytical tools subordinate to Scripture—not as transcendent ideological frameworks.

SBC 2019, Resolution 9

In order to understand the problem with this resolution, we must first understand what CRT and intersectionality are.

According to Neil Shenvi, CRT states that part of your identity is rooted in whether you fall into an oppressor or an oppressed group. If you are white, you by default possess white privilege and systematically oppress minority groups through the power that you hold. Any claim to the contrary by one in the oppressor group through appeals to reason and evidence are a manifestation of one’s privilege and a desire to hold on to your power. The solution to this is to listen and accept the claims of the oppressed group, who see the power structures that are oppressing them as they truly are.

As Dr. Josh Buice explained in a talk given early this year, intersectionality was a term coined by radical feminist Kimberlé Crenshaw. As she explained, if you’re a woman, you are by definition oppressed by society, but if you’re a black woman, you have another layer of oppression. Where each layer of oppression intersects (“black” and “woman” intersect upon “black woman”) is where this individual experiences their greatest level of oppression. Each additional layer of oppression compounds upon the individual and can manifest in a variety of ways including one’s status as disabled, poor, LGBT, etc. Through this, we see how we need to right the wrongs of the past and see who needs to be freed from oppression.

Dr. Al Mohler explained further on The Briefing last Friday that CRT and intersectionality were not created as analytical tools, but are instead worldviews. Marxist theory gave rise to the formulation of CRT, which then influenced Crenshaw’s formulation of intersectionality. These ideas were not just appropriated by individuals with non-Christian worldviews; they were created by individuals with non-Christian worldviews.

This is not to say that there is absolutely no common grace truth to be found in these ideas. It is undeniable that blacks in America have historically faced racism from whites in ways that led to the rise of CRT. Women in nearly all societies throughout history have been subject to certain dangers that men are not, an idea that is even found in Scripture, but trying to glean some truth from these ideologies, merely as analytical tools, is very dangerous business as, according to Mohler, “analytical tools very rarely remain merely analytical tools,” especially as these were not created as such.

These worldviews create a narrative about the state of man that is completely contrary to the Christian worldview. As explained in a recent article on The Gospel Coalition, in CRT, man’s root problem is not alienation from God and his need of freedom from sin. Instead, one either needs to achieve societal liberation or one needs to give up their power and privilege in order to liberate those they are systematically oppressing. Additionally, truth is not grounded in the objective standards given in Scripture, but is instead grounded in the perspective and “lived experiences” of supposedly oppressed groups. Disagreement is not based in truth, but is a manifestation of privilege and a desire to hold on to power.

Similarly, Denny Burk of Boyce College explains that intersectionality states that your identity is in your oppression or oppressor class, not in one’s status before a holy God. Instead of uniting people of all ethnicities and walks of life, which is what is accomplished in the Gospel, it instead divides on social lines and creates a culture of victimhood and grievance.

Thus, given their origins and their underlying presuppositions, a consistent Christian worldview should not attempt to utilize these ideologies in order to understand and address injustice in society. As Mohler explained in his concluding analysis, “The main consequence of critical race theory and intersectionality is identity politics, and identity politics can only rightly be described, as antithetical to the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

In Paul’s second letter to Timothy, he wrote, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Believers and unbelievers alike realize that evil and injustice plague our world. The difference is that as Christians, we have the full, complete, and sufficient Word of God. We have no need to bring worldly ideologies to the table. We have the Gospel, which fully addresses the root issue, as Darrell Harrison of Grace to You explained.

In the Gospel, those who have oppressed other image bearers of God can find forgiveness and will have a changed heart towards those whom they formerly hated. In the Gospel, those who have been mistreated can love their enemies, forgiving those who mistreated them. In the Gospel, people who were once at enmity with each other can be reconciled and be one people in Christ, fellowshipping together instead of warring with one another.

In his comments on the Resolution specifically, Buice explained:

Just imagine a world where we had a multitude of local churches who actually believed the Bible was sufficient. No pride, injustice, ethnic discrimination, gender oppression, police brutality, sexual abuse, or any other controversy could withstand the faithful preaching of God’s Word. Imagine how women would flourish with their gifts, ethnicities would find unity at the cross, and the gospel would be proclaimed far and wide.

Josh Buice

In a world filled with sin, the church of Jesus Christ has faced innumerable, sometimes complicated, issues, but there is no issue that we might face where God’s Word will fall short and require us to look to worldly ideologies for assistance. “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness” (2 Pet. 1:3). Instead of turning to the world’s ideas to aid us, the SBC and Christians everywhere should rely solely on the perfect and sufficient Word of God to guide them.