WOKEISM

 

WAKING UP TO WOKEISM

Wikimedia Commons – MacPherson, Calgary, Canada

 

 

By

Jim Gerrish

 

 

CONTENTS

Wokeism The New Religion

Beginnings Of Wokeism

Basic Essentials Of Wokeism

Wokeism’s Threat To People And To Civilization

Wokeism’s Threat To The Church

Wokeism Does Not Work

In Christ We Have A Lifestyle That Does Work

 

BIBLE TRANSLATIONS USED

ASV American Standard Version

NAS New American Standard Version

NET New English Translation

NIV New International Version

NRS New Revised Standard Version

 

Light of Israel Publications
Colorado Springs, CO
wordofgodtoday.com

Copyright 2024

 

WAKING UP TO WOKEISM

“…Awake, O sleeper! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you!” (Eph. 5:14 NET).

 

In every age since Christ’s coming, his people have been faced with great challenges to their faith. Some have continued to sleep on undisturbed, but always a few Christians have roused themselves and have come against the heresy of their day. Most have become unpopular by doing so and some have paid dearly, even with their lives. In our day we are now facing the strange but widespread movement of Wokeism. It remains to be seen how God’s elect will fare in this rapidly developing crisis.

WOKEISM, THE NEW RELIGION

Max Funk, Director of Converge, in his article “The New Religion of the West,” asks: “Why call Wokeism a new religion? The fact is that the rise of secular humanism over the past 70 years created a religion-shaped hole in our culture. Secularism, for all of its cultural dominance, failed to offer a robust philosophy of meaning and purpose, nor did it provide any moral framework for how to act within the world…Alternatively, Wokeism has developed its view of reality with its own set of values and narratives. From the ashes of secular humanism, a new civil religion rises.” 1  Pastor Evan McClanahan of First Lutheran Church in Houston says this religion is “a way of seeing the world that is the default standard for Hollywood, the academy, corporate America, the media, and a healthy minority of regular, everyday Americans.” 2

As a religion, Wokeism is very attractive. After all, shouldn’t decent folks everywhere seek things like equity and inclusion for all people? Shouldn’t decent people acknowledge that there is great diversity in the human family? Surely, we would all want to be on the side of tolerance to people of different skin colors, wouldn’t we? It all sounds so nice and Christian, at least on the surface. However, we will soon see that the terminology used by Wokeism is far removed from Christian understandings. For instance, it will quickly become apparent that Wokeism’s “inclusion” means all people except Jews and Christians.

BEGINNINGS OF WOKEISM 

The word “woke” began to be used by the Black community early in the 20th century. It simply meant that the Blacks should be awake to the injustices forced upon them. The word was later incorporated into a whole body of beliefs with roots in history. In order to understand Wokeism we need to trace a couple of these historical roots, modern philosophy and especially Marxism.

Its Roots in Modern Philosophy

I am not a philosopher and I have not had 15 to 20 years of my life to devote to the subject of philosophy. However, other people have gained a good understanding of it and their knowledge can benefit us.

Bishop Robert Baron in his recent lecture entitled, “The Philosophical Roots of Wokeism,” presented at Acton University, helps us a great deal with our understanding. He points out that the early philosophical forerunners of this movement were the famous names of René Descartes and Immanuel Kant. Descartes began to shift all reality to the mind. Kant in his “Critique of Pure Reason (1781),” stated that “…categories of traditional philosophy—time, space, causality, identity, etc.—are not actually in the world but rather in the mind as a priori structures. Therefore, the mind does not revolve around reality; rather, reality, as it were, revolves around the mind.” 3

We can see how this type of thinking led people to have their “own truth.” It was a subtle way of humankind’s turning back to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil mentioned in the Garden of Eden. That episode featured the fall of our forerunners Adam and Eve (Gen. 3:1-7). As a result, today multiplied millions of people are eating from this tree and are deciding on their own what is true and what is false. They are trying to be like God, knowing good and evil (Gen. 3:5).

How soon our society has cast away eternal biblical truth and replaced it with people’s “own truth.”  Even some pastors and churches have joined in. We remember the words of Paul to the Galatian church: “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are following a different gospel–not that there really is another gospel…” (Gal. 1:6-7 NET). Colossians 2:8 says: “Be careful not to allow anyone to captivate you through an empty, deceitful philosophy that is according to human traditions and the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ” (Col. 2:8 NET).

Roots in Marxism

Truly Karl Marx still rules from the grave. He is now doing this through what is known as Critical Theory. Critical Theory originated in the 1930s with what is called the Frankfurt School. The men originating this theory were Max Horkheimer (1895–1973), Theodor W. Adorno (1903–1969), Herbert Marcuse (1898–1979), and Walter Benjamin (1892–1940). A leading person in the second generation was Jürgen Habermas (b. 1929). As the movement updated Marxism, the school later utilized the works of philosophers Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, and Friedrich Nietzsche, as well as postmodern philosophers Jacques Derrida, and Michel Foucault.4 We will say more about Marxism as we go along.

BASIC ESSENTIALS OF WOKEISM

For us to understand Wokeism we need to familiarize ourselves with several currently used acronyms. These are:

CRT – Critical Race Theory. 

Critical Race Theory (CRT) sprang from the Marxist Critical Theory School. This system of thought was shaped primarily by later legal scholars, such as Richard Delgado and Derrick Bell around 1989. The system asserts that there is hidden racism in all of society.  All Whites are racists, and all Blacks (as well as other minorities) are the victims of racism. One’s racial group determines that person’s core identity. The purpose of CRT is to deconstruct White power and redistribute that power to minorities.5 Theology Professor Owen Strachan says, “According to woke history, America originally was rigged to be a power game that only ‘White’ people could win.” 6

Neal Hardin, a manager and writer for Alliance Defending Freedom, sheds much light on CRT. He describes it as “a toxic ideology that views everything through the lens of race and power.” He says, “Under critical race theory, there is no middle ground. You are either an ‘oppressor’ or ‘oppressed,’ a ‘racist’ or ‘anti-racist.’ Unfortunately, this whole program ends up mandating more racism because it treats people differently based solely on their race.” 7

Hardin goes on to enlighten us. He assures us that this theory has already permeated society as well as our government, our institutions and schools, even K through 12th grades. This was done, despite the fact that the doctrine often violates the constitution and the civil rights of the students. It classifies even young students as “oppressors” or “oppressed” solely because of their skin color. Those who are white are automatically considered as oppressors regardless of their opinions and practices concerning race.

CRT adherents consider all societies, cultures and civilizations, including that of the US as social constructs, created to serve and enhance the power of the privileged few. It rejects the principles of constitutional law as well as the whole order from which the Constitution arose. It has no respect for free speech or religious freedom. It rejects all Western values such as the nuclear family, and Judeo-Christian morality. All these things are considered oppressive. American ideals such as hard work and equal treatment under the law are likewise rejected.

It is amazing how far these critical adherents will go to rewrite history and conform it to their views. They engage in revisionist history and a form of “storytelling” in order to get their views established. An example of this is the 1619 Project. This creation tries to replace our current history with a made-up story of Black Americans who are then pictured at the very center of the national narrative. This new history discounts our true narrative simply because of the skin color of the “oppressive” and some slave-holding Whites who originally founded the nation.

Tragically, today CRT has branched out into many areas of our society.  Some of these branches are critical gender theory, critical queer theory, critical intersectional feminism theory and much more.8 Strachan adds, that the movement is already present in its many forms, and it is executing a takeover of our public order. 9

CRT Marxism is already showing up in the US with violent revolutions against institutions and government. Robert Barron speaks of “the terrible summer of 2020,” with its almost manic attempts to tear down all of the major institutions of our society, from the judicial system to the federal government. There was also the idiotic effort to “defund the police.” Supposedly, all these things exist simply to protect a form of oppression, and it is important that we get rid of them.10 We can understand now why so many historical statues have been removed or defaced. Recently even the statue of George Washington was defaced. This was done at the very school bearing his name.

Fortunately, since 2020 common sense has prevailed, and some cities have made desperate efforts to hire new police officers and shore up their lagging departments. Fox News reports: “A newly published survey shows an increase in police hiring across the U.S. for the first time in years. In 2023, more sworn officers were hired than in any of the previous four years, with fewer resignations or retirements reported. Many departments had to reallocate resources due to officer shortages, affecting response times.” 11

At this writing, several of our great colleges and universities are exploding with student violence. Predictably, that violence is directed against Jews and Israel. The anti-Semitic rioters at Columbia University probably did not know that at the top of the school’s original seal was found the four-letter name for God written in Hebrew. The Puritan fathers who founded many of our great universities were devout Christians and lovers of Zion. We have forgotten a lot.12 Interestingly, as a result of the present-day woke riots in the Ivy League schools, several organizations are now refusing to hire grads from these schools.

Dr. Lindsey M. Burke, who directs the Center for Education Policy says: “The oppressor-oppressed worldview that paints democratic Israel as the ‘oppressor’ and Palestinian terrorists as the ‘oppressed’ is pure Marxism…What we are seeing right now is no longer economic Marxism, but cultural Marxism.” 13 He continues: “Americans are finally catching on that the oppressor-oppressed narrative being taught in our schools and universities is not a conspiracy theory disseminated by conservatives. It’s real. Jewish students having to barricade themselves in a college to escape a mob in Manhattan, of all places, has opened people’s eyes to the threat woke ideology represents to civilization.” 14

There are already a number of gaping holes in CRT theory. It is impossible to say that all White people are racists any more than we can say that all Black people are oppressed. In the US we have several Black mayors of large cities and even one Black who was president of the country. We also have a woman of color as Vice President of the US.

American conservative political commentator, Victor Davis Hanson, notes: “If race is now the sole immutable barometer of who is a victim, who a victimizer, then LeBron James, Jay-Z, Kayne West, Chris Rock, Michelle Obama, and Oprah Winfrey are always to be among the eternally oppressed. The enormous influence, power, status, and wealth they wield never negates their victimhood, despite a nation three generations into affirmative action.” 15

Strachan gives us a bit of information that is not what one might expect after listening to media coverage.  White men rank behind Asian men, Asian women, Pacific Islander men, and American Indian men when it comes to “controlled lifetime wage per hour.” 16 He also notes that police officers are eighteen times more likely to be shot than a “Black” man.17 So, we might wonder who is truly the oppressor here?

After all, researcher and writer Len Ham says: “No one really has red, or yellow, or black skin. We all have the same basic color, just different shades of it. We all share the same pigments – our bodies just have different combinations of them.” 18

DEI – Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Dr. Rex Rogers, a multimedia president, writes: “DEI is a kingpin of a dangerous and ungodly agenda. It has crept into every inch of our culture, thrusting gender identity and sexual orientation front and center everywhere, even in the workplace. No American institutions remain untouched.” 19 William Wolfe with the Standing For Freedom organization feels that DEI has the aim of setting itself up as a deity. Then it can demand to be the highest moral framework of reference for understanding both justice and humanity.20

The dictionary defines DEI as: “a conceptual framework that promotes the fair treatment and full participation of all people, especially in the workplace, including populations who have historically been underrepresented or subject to discrimination because of their background, identity, disability, etc.” 21 Again, DEI sounds like something good, fair and Christian. However, let us dig a little deeper into the subject and try to understand what DEI really means.

DEI emerged from the US Affirmative Action movement and the Civil Rights Act of the 1960s. Through the years, laws have been broadened and made more inclusive by various court cases. Today, companies and institutions have been forced to adopt some kind of DEI statement. It is now estimated that over 80 percent of US organizations have some type of DEI programming in place.

Although DEI, like CRT, looks benign on the surface, it is an extremely dangerous movement with many tentacles already embedded deep into our society. Let us try our best to sort it all out.

DEI is everywhere. Forbes Magazine notes that it is in our school systems from top to bottom. It is deeply embedded in our government and in the military. It is in our business world. American companies alone are already spending an incredible 8 billion dollars per year for DEI instruction and programs.22

Let us first consider diversity and inclusion, since the two are closely related. Wolfe says that DEI is a form of cultural or corporate Marxism that is applied to personnel practices like hiring, training, promotions, and such things. It affects companies across America (and the whole world).  He says, “DEI sacrifices merit on the altar of intersectionality. Intersectionality is defined as ‘the complex, cumulative way in which the effects of multiple forms of discrimination (such as racism, sexism, and classism) combine, overlap, or intersect especially in the experiences of marginalized individuals or groups.’ That is the theory.  This is what drives DEI. Thus, in practice, intersectionality-powered DEI racks and stacks people according to the inevitable overlap of ‘oppressed’ status (for example, a Black lesbian woman is far more oppressed than a White straight man, of course, but also more than a Black straight woman) to corporate HR practices. Now, hirings and promotions will be determined less on the basis of merit, and more on which intersectionality ‘boxes’ are checked.” 23

This approach to hiring affects all of us since we often do not get the most skilled and qualified assistance when we need help. Rather, we might well be assisted by the person whom the company feels is most oppressed. That would make us wonder a lot about the qualifications of the pilot when we get on the next airplane. Establishments and companies are being forced to choose less qualified people.

Also, we are coming to a time when organizations are expected to draft DEI statements. The sticky part is that diversity and inclusion must embrace all kinds of diverse folks. The statements must include LGBTQ with its ever-expanding additional letters. So, homosexuals must be a part of it, and also transgenders. It is becoming imperative that we address folks by their chosen pronouns. If we fail at this, we might even face legal action. We immediately see how this can become a big problem for Christians who do not approve of these lifestyles. We can now begin to feel sorry for Christian doctors, nurses, teachers, government workers and many others who may have to sign on to such woke programs or else resign from their positions.

Researcher Jonathan Butcher mentions some findings of the Goldwater Institute. A full 80 percent of the faculty job postings at public universities in the state of Arizona require applicants to include DEI statements with their application. Their statements must describe how their work would contribute to the university’s commitment to the woke orthodoxy. The report also showed that nearly three-quarters of the applications for positions at UC Berkeley were thrown out because the applicants failed to adequately show their commitment to DEI. 24

On the brighter side, quite a number of states are now making laws to limit or even to exclude the emphasis of DEI in their schools. The state of Texas seems to be leading in this endeavor. As a result, some organizations are beginning to adopt new and elusive names for DEI.

Now let us consider equity. Harry F. Sanders III, of the Answers in Genesis Organization, mentions that equity is used in the Bible multiple times. However, the word equity today is something quite different. He describes how equity in today’s language means that the playing field must be completely leveled. All people, particularly those described in racial, sexual or lack of ability terms will gain success. These folks must be given a head start so that they can achieve the same as the advantaged folks, or the White, straight, male or even Christians.

Sanders makes clear that one must discriminate to achieve equity. Also, there is always the problem as to who will decide who gets what, and where the money and assistance will come from. Of course, that is where the government comes in. When the government starts deciding who gets what, we essentially have full-blown Marxism.25

Wolf agrees saying that equity is simply a modern way of formulating the Marxist vision of a perfectly equal society. In such a society one class of people must not have more than another class.26

Hardin says that if one racial group outperforms another in academic achievement, that is, by definition, racism. He says that if racial disparity exists that is “racism,” regardless of whether it results in prejudicial attitudes. This redefinition shifts the emphasis from equal treatment to equal outcomes.27 It is back to the idea that everyone must get a prize.

The Bible is quite clear that we must not show partiality or favoritism to people (Exo. 23:3; Lev. 19:15; Job 13:10; 1 Tim. 5:21: Jam. 2:1, 9). It is clear that if an able-bodied person will not work that person shall not eat (2 Thess. 3:10). God is a merciful God, and he did make allowances for the poor to glean in the fields in Bible times (Lev. 23:22). Still the Bible does not decree that all people must be equal.

ESG – Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance.

ESG is a sort of financial enforcement tool designed to bring compliance to woke ideas and practices. Dr. Paul Chappell says: “There is an underlying agenda to use ESG policies to strong-arm ordinary citizens into woke causes. For instance, during Covid lockdowns, those who protested against government policies in Canada had their bank accounts frozen. Already, some Christian institutions are finding a need to switch banks because their accounts have been canceled for unexplained reasons. I believe that in the future, companies and churches that don’t cooperate with ESG values will have their accounts canceled in greater numbers. It’s possible that the ESG agreements will become a ‘mark or brand’ that businesses will be forced to take if they will get contracts and rates amenable to their success.” 28

We observed a lot of ESG activity in the Covid crisis. In September 2021, United Airlines fired almost 600 of its employees for refusing to take the Covid shot.29 These employees were desperately needed, and we later saw a lot of airline confusion that was no doubt caused partly by employee shortages.

It might be important here to mention that Marxism despises free-market capitalism.     Chappell says that the hatred for capitalism and the free market has been a part of what has given rise to ESG.  How sad, since the free market has fundamentally changed the world, lifting poor and oppressed people across the world out of serfdom and into freedom.30

BLM – Black Lives Matter

Black Lives Matter (BLM) is an international activist movement that campaigns against violence and systemic racism toward Black people. The movement was born after police killings of several unarmed Black people. Its beginnings were in 2013 and it expanded rapidly with the killings of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner and others. The movement grew to 30 US chapters by 2016.31

BLM gained international prominence during global protests in 2020. This was brought about by the highly televised murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. After this, Black Lives Matter was swept up into the Wokeism movement.

The BLM website states “We affirm the lives of Black queer and trans folks, disabled folks, undocumented folks, folks with records, women, and all Black lives along the gender spectrum. Our network centers on those who have been marginalized within Black liberation movements.” 32

Strachan notes that the website once said: “We disrupt the Western-prescribed nuclear family structure requirement by supporting each other as extended families and ‘villages’ that collectively care for one another, especially ‘our’ children, to the degree that mothers, parents, and children are comfortable.” 33  Strachan concludes: “In supporting homosexuality, transgenderism, and the demise of the natural family, BLM aligns itself in the starkest terms against God’s creation order.” 34

LGBTQ+++ 

This acronym continues to grow. It is now LGBTQIA and it presently stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex and asexual.  Chappell says, “The front line of the anti-God agenda in the West today is being waged on the battleground of LGBT issues.” 35 It seems that this acronym is being imposed upon us to replace the many thousand-year-old societal and biblical practice of marriage between husband and wife (male and female).

Sex may be the most beautiful, powerful and satisfying drive in all human nature. When correctly understood and used, it is one of the greatest blessings in life. Conversely, the sexual drive misunderstood and misused can be a powerfully destructive force. We hear more and more instances of child sexual abuse, rape, rape/murder and other horrible acts. No doubt many of these minds were warped by the pornography, lewdness and sexual abuse that is already so evident in our society.

Sex when used properly in the marriage relationship can be a mainstay in our society and world.  Clearly, sex is about procreation. To this responsibility, God has added great pleasure as his blessed divine gift for husband and wife.

The Lord created human beings male and female (Genesis 1:27). Thus, there are only two sexes and not the 21 as was recently announced by National Geographic (Jan. 2017) or the 50 as announced by Facebook.36 God made man and woman to be joined together in marriage and to become unified in that relationship. I like what Focus on the Family writes about this: “When God said that it ‘is not good that the man be alone’ (Genesis 2:18) he wasn’t lamenting that Adam didn’t have a buddy or was just lonely. He was saying that the male could not really know himself as male without a human ‘other’ who equally shared his humanity but was meaningfully distinct right down to every bit of her DNA.” 37

His original intention was that the two would become one in flesh, particularly through the sex act. With this plan the Lord intended to continuously populate the earth (Gen. 1:28). He desired that children have a mother and father as well as a secure and loving home.

What does the Bible say about homosexuality, which is the rage today? In the Old Testament, we note Leviticus 20:13, which states clearly: “Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable. Do not have sexual relations with an animal and defile yourself with it. A woman must not present herself to an animal to have sexual relations with it; that is a perversion” (Lev. 18:22-23 NIV). This last verse deals with bestiality which is coming on the horizon today. It is of note that the death sentence was prescribed for homosexual offenses in the Bible (Lev. 20:13).

Even our New Testament forbids homosexual and other related behavior. Paul asks in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10: “Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God” (NIV). In 1 Timothy 1:10, Paul lists homosexuality as contrary to good doctrine. It is in Romans 1:24-28, where Paul soundly condemns homosexuality. This passage is crystal clear, and we need to look it up and read it carefully.

WOKEISM’S THREAT TO PEOPLE AND TO CIVILIZATION 

Talk show host, Hank Hanegraaff, states boldly, “America is in the midst of a woke worldview war.” 38  Funk adds: “Western culture has already reached its tipping point. Critical Theory has become the mainstream social philosophy, and Wokeism has become the new civil religion.” 39 In this war, nations, institutions, and individuals are deeply affected. Seminary professor Albert Mohler in his book The Gathering Storm, writes: “The church of Jesus Christ faces an unprecedented challenge: the collision between it and a new sexual ethic, a collision between revelation and revolution. The evolution is a sexual one, and it is indeed a revolution, demanding a complete reordering of society and civilization.” 40

Wokeism considers that racism has permeated all society, all institutions and the legal system as well. Quite simply, society has to be rebuilt along woke lines. Sacred things like nationalism, history, individualism, the legal system, hard work, punctuality and delayed gratification are understood as perpetuating White supremacy.41 Of course the Judeo-Christian heritage would also have to be trashed.

Wokeism’s penchant for transgenderism has the potential to destroy millions of lives. It seems that young lives are most at risk. Bethany Mandel and Karol Markowicz, in their book Stolen Youth, give us much alarming information regarding children. They say: “The woke do not believe your children should be your own. To them, the collective matters more than the individual. When parents try to fight against nonsense encroaching on their children’s education, they are stopped.” 42 Here we cannot help but detect the Marxist flavor. In fact, both Communism and Nazism made great efforts to steal away the children and indoctrinate them.

Mandel and Markowicz say: “The game of child sacrifice that the Left is playing with children and their well-being is most obvious and most terrifying on the issue of gender identity…We are witnessing a mad science experiment taking place in real time, and the lab rats are our children.” 43    

Emilie Kao former visiting fellow of the DeVos Center says that the Wokeism high priests have weaponized laws that will punish teachers, doctors and others who will not support human sex change, something that is biologically and metaphysically impossible.44  Hanegraaff  comments: “The dirty little secret, veiled in woke speak, is that pseudo-deities are impotent to change biological sex on a cellular level; that ‘the human brain is a sex-typed organ;’ and that there are inalterable biological differences in how male and female brains are wired.” 45

Mandel and Markowicz also note how even children’s librarians have fallen prey to the woke nonsense. They wonder what the woke folks may want in the future. It seems to be the erasure of the past, of all classic literature, and the replacement with books about radical gender ideology, from toddlers to adults.46. This madness could surely include the eventual banning of all Judeo-Christian materials.

The woke doctrine is not just for children – it is for everyone. Hanson says: “Wokeism’s natural logic is to destroy the lives of people of both genders, of all races, and – if need be – those of every age, all to leverage an otherwise unworkable ideological agenda. It is nihilist and destroys everything it touches.” 47

Already countless thousands of young people and adults have had their brush with this new religion. Many parents have been threatened and humiliated for the simple act of trying to protect their school children.

Bernard Randall, Former Chaplain of Christ’s College, Cambridge, U.K. had a serious encounter with Wokeism. He gave a sermon to the secondary school children, criticizing woke ideas and suggesting they accept traditional beliefs about sex and marriage. For this, he was fired from his position for gross misconduct. He was also reported to the police as a terrorism threat and to child welfare as a potential abuser.48

Hanson is concerned regarding the efforts to transition biological males and present them as biological women will destroy the life work of many women pioneer athletes. He feels that the whole idea of women’s sports may soon vanish.49 Chappell comments: “In the worldview of ideological social justice, authority is conferred, not by wisdom, age, position, or experience – but by victim status. Claims of oppression and victimization based on a subjective ‘lived experience’ must be believed without question. The more intersectional victim-boxes one can check, the greater the moral authority. The greater the authority, the greater the power.” 50 Strachan sees that the whole woke system has neither grace nor love. Rather it generates only grievance, resentment, and condemnation.51

WOKEISM’S THREAT TO THE CHURCH 

It always seems that when a new heresy arrives, something interesting happens. Within five or six years thereafter, some in the church will begin to copy it, call it by a new Christian designation, and believe it wholeheartedly. Sanders writes: “In a Lifeway survey of 1,000 Protestant pastors, 88% agreed a church should strive toward racial diversity.” 52

Of course, Christians have a tender spot and want to include people if possible. But Strachan notes that showing favoritism, even to a group that is suffering, is thoroughly denounced in scripture (Exo. 23:3; Lev. 19:15; Jam. 2:1, 9). He feels it contradicts God’s character as seen in Romans 2:11.53

William Lane Craig, American philosopher and theologian, in an excellent article writes: “This shift is occurring not only in liberal churches. Evangelicals Concerned is a group of people who are to all appearances born-again, Bible-believing Christians, but also practicing homosexuals. They claim that the Bible doesn’t forbid homosexual activity or that its commands aren’t valid for today but were just a reflection of the culture in which the Bible was written. These persons can be orthodox about Jesus and every other area of Christian teaching; but they think that it’s biblically permissible to be a practicing homosexual.” 54 We might be shocked that even the Pope of the worldwide Catholic Church is now promoting the official blessing of homosexual couples.

Many are the churches that are already flying the homosexual rainbow banner. Supposedly this is an invitation for homosexuals to attend, but what a travesty! The rainbow was originally given to humanity as a covenant sign that God would never again destroy the world by water (Gen. 9:14-15). Of course, homosexuals must always be welcome to attend Christian churches. However, the idea is that they need to repent of their sinful ways and become Christians.

Chappell writes about a Baptist church in Orlando, Florida, that not only allows members to live in open sexual sin but permits these members to baptize new converts.55 We still have not heard the end of how far the church will go to accommodate sinners rather than seek their conversion.

The Bible does not teach respect of persons. It teaches that all people can become one only through Christ. Clearly, people need to be saved to become one in Christ.

Chappell illustrates: “Most Christians would understand that not all inclusion is good. The Bible makes it clear that certain people (i.e., heretics) are to be excluded from the church (Titus 3:10). Further, unrepentant sin can also exclude a Christian from the body for a period of time. Jesus gives us a pattern for addressing these issues in Matthew 18…” 56

So, for a Christian, not all forms of inclusion are acceptable. “Even apart from the church, it is obvious that not everyone can be included in everything. It should also be obvious that a sex offender should not be included in a women-only event or
an arsonist in a hayride.” 57

We only have to look at the Old Testament to see that all inclusion is not good. For instance, the Canaanites had a very wicked and depraved culture. They were involved in temple prostitution, child sacrifice and many other horrible practices. God commanded that they not be included with Israel but that they and their culture be replaced with the Israelite culture. Current ideas of diversity would demand that they be accepted and be made part of Israel.58 As Christians, we know that such inclusion would have brought about the quick end of Israel. Sadly, as time went on, Israel turned and began to practice pagan Baal worship. That did bring about Israel’s national end and the resulting captivity of her people.

Sanders concludes that DEI is antithetical to the Bible. He feels that it denies personal accountability, encourages partiality, and it even attempts to make Marxism palatable to the church.59 Pastor Ed Young has a new definition of woke. “Being ‘woke’ or W-O-K-E is essentially Willfully Overlooking Known Evil.” 60

It is surely time for God’s dear people to stand up and resist this evil. Jude makes such a call to the early church, “…I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people” (Jude 1:3 NIV).

WOKEISM DOES NOT WORK

Butcher notes the growing evidence that the professional development programs and other DEI trainings are abject failures.61 Wokeism just doesn’t work!  We might make a small correction here and say that it does work for some of those who are promoting it. Ibram X. Kendi has become like the rising star of Wokeism through his writings. He now makes $20,000 or more for his presentation before each school district. Robin DiAngelo is the author of the book White Fragility, and she makes from $14,000 to $30,000 for her speaking engagements.62 It works for them but not for anyone else.

We all probably remember the ensuing disaster when Bud Light went woke with their advertising campaign that featured a trans woman. Fox Business reports that earnings from this brand fell approximately 30 percent.63 Customers reacted to Target’s Pride Month display of homosexual ware in 2023 and caused their quarterly sales to fall for the first time in six years.64 Chappell mentions the recent and well-publicized collapse of the Silicon Valley Bank in California. After the collapse, customers learned how ESG was partially to blame for the demise. Because of woke hiring practices, only one member of the board of directors had any previous experience in investment banking. While the bank was failing, its head of risk assessment was involved in leading an LGBTQ program.65

Recently United Airlines had 8 very serious events with their planes in a mere two-week period. Could it have had anything to do with DEI? Scott Kirby the CEO had expressed pride in United’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion campaign. However, others involved were concerned that the training of pilots might be compromised. It is interesting that the CEO was recently featured in photos where he appeared as a drag queen.66

Hanson reports on: “Los Angeles County district attorney George Gascón’s unhinged efforts to excuse criminals from legal consequences… Governor Gavin Newsom apology for using the insensitive word ‘gangs’ to describe those who plunder, loot, and trash railcars.” 67 We can surely understand why California residents and businesses continue to flee the state in ever growing numbers. The state has gone woke!

Hanson ridicules the woke defunding of law enforcement and the defaming of police. He states how this practice resulted in record numbers of murders in 12 U.S. cities while a wave of violent crime was even hitting America’s suburbs.68 Strachan points out that by relinquishing the law and demonizing enforcement, we descend into anarchy.69

Mandel and Markowicz comment regarding the closing of US schools because of Covid. They call it “an egregious example of the wokest groupthink.” 70 They say that it demonstrates the real repercussions that happen when dissent is shut down and leftist conformity is enforced. 71 Today there are numerous reports of how the Covid shutdown has harmed American children. A lot of the damage may not be seen for years to come. Interestingly, many schools in Europe remained open through Covid with no ill effects.

The Left would try to convince our children that they were born in the wrong body and they need to change their gender. Much of this effort is hidden from the parents. It seems that many schools have left off reading, writing and arithmetic for gender change and skin color instruction. How sad it is that all this emphasis is grossly detrimental to the child’s future.

McClanahan says: “Transgenderism makes a mockery of biology, logic, and faith…Gender is a part of who we are in our totality and in the details. It is in our genes, our DNA, our bone structure, muscle mass, and of course, ability to procreate. We do not possess the right to determine our gender any more than we can determine our ethnicity, and we do not possess the right to tell God that He is wrong.” 72

Mandel and Markowicz add some scary information regarding gender change. They tell us that the risk to fertility is largely unknown in these dark experiments. However, it is almost certain that if puberty blockers are given at the early stages of puberty and followed by cross-sex hormones, sterility will result. They note that puberty blockers have been demonstrated to significantly impair bone health. It is even possible that future osteoporosis will be the outcome. They tell us that cross-sex hormones are now associated with roughly 3-5 times the risk for heart attacks and strokes.73

There seems to be no limit to the craziness and madness of our society as we munch on the bitter and poisonous fruit from the tree of human knowledge. Occasionally, someone will say something that still makes sense.  Cardiologist Paula Johnson says, “Every cell has a sex – and what that means is that men and women are different down to the cellular and molecular level. It means that we’re different across all our organs, from our brains to our hearts, our lungs, our joints.’  In other words, no matter what your gender philosophy is, when you are ill and the doctors put you on the operating table, they still need to know your original biological sex in order to give you the best possible health care.” 74

It appears that we have bought ourselves untold grief and confusion with our strange ideas. For instance, Lia Thomas was the first openly transgender swimmer to win an NCAA title. This biological male had quite an advantage over all the female swimmers. Women are physically weaker than men (1 Pet. 3:7). Men have a higher percentage of muscle in their bodies than women. Men also have a larger lung capacity than women.75 So, it seems that women are at a terrible disadvantage in any physical contest with a transgender male rival.  This could very easily spell the end of women’s sports as we have said.

Look what utter confusion we have brought upon ourselves as we have eaten from the tree of knowledge. University of Kentucky female athlete Riley Gaines reports that Trans swimmer Lia Thomas “dropped her pants and exposed her male genitalia in a women’s locker room after a meet.” 76 This is not the only area of craziness. This is only the beginning of madness. We cannot even imagine the events that await us, the confusion, shame, despair, embarrassment, and utter chaos that is coming down the pike. Already there are efforts to make pedophilia legal. Bestiality will probably be next.

Wokeism has strongly allied itself with the feminist movement and has come against the nuclear family. The husband is looked upon as the oppressor and the wife as the oppressed. Our media for many years has pictured the male as weak and rather stupid (unless the male happens to be a homosexual).

Chappell comments: “There is a real push through the social justice movement of today to undermine the basic definitions of male and female as well as the institution of marriage. Many who are driving the social justice agenda have openly stated goals for the destruction of the nuclear family and the promotion of an LBGT agenda.” 77

Women have paid a dear price for all this. Unfortunately, the woke ideas have boomeranged upon the Black community and Black women most of all. Writer Star Parker points out that until 1965, 78 percent of Black households were made up of intact families of husband, wife and children, but by 1995, 69 percent of its children were being birthed outside of wedlock.78

All this had serious repercussions, and by 2002 the poverty rate for all children in single-parent families stood at 35.2 percent while the poverty rate for all children in married couple families was only 8.2 Percent.79 “The death rate by homicide in the 1980s of youth between the ages of 15 and 19 increased by 60 percent.  For African American males the homicide rate is almost eight times that of the rate of Whites.” 80

A growing number of studies suggest that fatherless children are more likely to take drugs, drop out of school, turn to crime and become teen parents themselves.81

Reagan & Denney in their book Twice Adopted report: “According to statistics from the US Census Bureau, the Centers for Disease Control, and the Department of Justice, notes that 70 percent of long-term prison inmates – including 72 percent of adolescent murderers and 60 percent of all rapists – grew up in fatherless homes. Fatherless children account for roughly 90 percent of all homeless and runaway children, 85 percent of all youth that are in prison, 75 percent of adolescent patients in chemical abuse centers, 71 percent of high school dropouts, and 63 percent of youth suicides.  Nearly 24 percent of all American kids-almost seventeen million kids-live in fatherless homes.” 82

Wokeism has tried to demean the man and picture the male as the oppressor and the female as the oppressed. It has tried to eliminate the nuclear family. We can see that all this has not worked. The Bible reminds us that the husband must be the spiritual head of the house and that the wife is to be in submission to his headship. (Eph. 5:22-23; 1 Cor. 11:3). The husband is to love the wife with the same sacrificial love that Christ has for his church (Eph. 5:25-28). Children are to be loving and obedient to their parents (Eph. 6:1-3). Obviously, it is hard for a woke world to accept this teaching.

One very clear example of woke ideology on children is just now being revealed with the Boy Scout organization. At this writing, Boy Scouts will now have a new gender-neutral name of Scouting America. Supposedly this will give the organization a more inclusive appeal. The organization was founded in 1910 and has been a great experience for generations of boys. I was a Boy Scout myself and greatly enjoyed the hikes, camping trips, and other activities. In 1920 the Girl Scout movement was established and provided comparable activities for young gals.

However, over the years the Boy Scout organization began to go woke. It also began to go broke, with a declining membership. In 2013, the organization began allowing gay youths to enter. In 2015 it ended a blanket ban on gay adult leaders. In 2017, it made the historic announcement that girls would be accepted into Boy Scouts as Cub Scouts. The organization has recently emerged from bankruptcy. It has also experienced a flood of sexual abuse claims as it focuses more and more on inclusion.83

Surely it is time for common sense to prevail. It is also time for the sound teachings of the Bible to return to our suffering society. The Bible says, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight” (Isa. 5:20-21 NIV). Proverbs 17:15 states: “One who justifies the wicked and one who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the LORD” (NRS).

The Apostle Paul helps us to get our heads on. He says, “Therefore from now on we recognize no man according to the flesh…” (2 Cor. 5:16 NAS). The color of one’s skin or one’s sex has absolutely nothing to do in determining the accomplishments of an individual. We are all made in the image of God (Gen.1:26-27), and incredible things can happen with any person regardless of color, sex, handicaps, or social standing.

IN CHRIST WE HAVE A LIFESTYLE THAT DOES WORK

It is interesting that in Christianity we already have many of the things that Wokeism is supposedly seeking, and we have a whole lot more. We have an acceptance of all races, of both sexes and of all skin colors. We have real diversity, equity and inclusion of all people through Christ. In Galatians 3:26-28 we read: “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (NIV).

Dr. Rogers says: “Anyone, regardless of ethnic, social or religious background, is welcome in the family of God – every nation, tribe, people and language” (Rev. 7:9)…To be included by God –  that’s the ultimate inclusivity…The Church has been in the true DEI business for a long time – 20 centuries, to be precise.” 84

Strachan says: “The cross alone has the power to create a new humanity, a new people, a new race birthed by God…It is spiritual unity. It comes from Heaven, it defies the devil, and it is more powerful than hate.” 85

Jesus gave us this wonderful advice when he spoke of commandments: “The most important one, ‘answered Jesus,’ is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’  The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these” (Mk. 12:29-31 NIV). In this same section of scripture, it is made clear that our neighbor is not just the person next door, but any other human being in need.

James in his little epistle says: “If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers” (Jas. 2:8-9 NIV). McClanahan says of defunding police, “De-stabilizing civic protection is not loving your neighbor.” 86

If we love others as we love ourselves, we cannot reject them because of their sex or skin color. We cannot exclude or punish them with our cancel culture. We must love them with a great and continuing love. Also, we must love even our enemies (Matt. 5:43-45). As we can see from this, Christianity is lightyears in its advancement over Wokeism. Through Christianity, someday the whole world will live in perfect peace.

Peter says: “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires” (2 Pet. 1:3-4 NIV).

We do not have to live our lives castigating others and spewing hatred for all those who are different from us. We do not have to feel eternally condemned because of our skin color. We can rest our minds with this wonderful promise of Romans 8:1 ASV: “There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.”

 

 

 

ENDNOTES

1  Max Funk, (2020, October 20), Wokeism – The New Religion of the West,
Retrieved 5, 2, 2024, from https://www.convergemedia.org/wokeism-the-new-religion-of-the-west/2

2 Evan McClanahan, (2021, July 27),  Four Ways Wokeism is Incompatible with Christianity, Retrieved 4, 16, 2024, from https://felchouston.wordpress.com/2021/07/27/four-ways-wokeism-is-incompatible-with-christianity/

3  Bishop Robert Barron (2024, January 8), The Philosophical Roots of Wokeism, Retrieved  4, 28, 2024, from https://www.acton.org/religion-liberty/volume-34-number-1/philosophical-roots-wokeism

4  Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, (2023, December 12), Critical Theory (Frankfurt School) Retrieved 4, 25, 2024, from https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/critical-theory/

5  Owen Strachan, Christianity And Wokeness, How the Social Justice Movement is Hijacking the Gospel- and the Way to Stop It (Washington: Salem Books, 2021), p. 211.

6  Ibid., p. 9.

7  Neal Hardin, (2021, October 4), What Is Critical Race Theory? Retrieved 4, 25, 2024, from https://adflegal.org/article/what-critical-race-theory

8  Ibid.

9  Strachan, Christianity And Wokeness, p. 26.

10  Barron, op. cit.

11  Fox News, (2024, April 29), Police hiring sees uptick across US after years of decline, survey shows, https://www.foxnews.com/us/police-hiring-sees-uptick-us-years-decline-survey-shows

12  Jim Gerrish, (2000) Does God Play Favorites? Chapter 11, From https://www.churchisraelforum.com/favorites-11/

13  Lindsey M. Burke, PhD & Mike Gonzalez, The Heritage Foundation (2023, November 16), The Root Cause of the Insanity on College Campuses Is Older Than You May Think, Retrieved 5, 4, 2024, from https://www.heritage.org/progressivism/commentary/the-root-cause-the-insanity-college-campuses-older-you-may-think

14  Ibid.

15  Victor Davis Hanson, Independent Organization (2022, January 24), Wokeism Is a Cruel and Dangerous Cult, Retrieved, 4, 15, 2024, from https://www.independent.org/news/article.asp?id=13968&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwoPOwBhAeEiwAJuXRh2K6ys3JYJMlCYUZULz3ykEexCHKGbGUW7UAGTdDGL2uHHz_Fh2lTBoCiW0QAvD_BwE

16  Strachan, Christianity And Wokeness, p. 15.

17  Ibid., p. 121.

18  Ibid., p. 65.

19  Dr. Rex Rogers (2023, July 10), Christianity Shows Us the True Meaning of ‘Diversity, Equity and Inclusion,’ https://www.sat7usa.org.

20  William Wolfe, (2023, June 12),  DEI is a False Deity: Why Christianity and Corporate Marxism Can’t Mix, Retrieved 4, 29, 2024 from https://www.standingforfreedom.com/2023/06/dei-is-a-false-deity-why-christianity-and-corporate-marxism-cant-mix/

21  Dictionary Com. https://www.dictionary.com/browse/dei

22  Forbes Magazine, https://www.forbes.com/sites/michelleking/2023/05/16/who-benefits-from-diversity-and-inclusion-efforts/?sh=23fd0e776c7e

23  Wolfe, op. cit.

24  Jonathan Butcher, (2023, January 30), DEI Doesn’t Work, Retrieved 4, 30, 2024 from https://www.heritage.org/education/commentary/dei-doesnt-work-taxpayers-shouldnt-pay-it

25  Harry F. Sanders, III (2023, December 12), A Biblical Evaluation of DEI, We Shouldn’t Try to Reconcile Christianity and Marxism, Retrieved 4, 19, 2024 from https://answersingenesis.org/racism/a-biblical-evaluation-of-dei/

26  Wolfe, op. cit.

27  Hardin, op. cit.

28  Dr. Paul Chappell, (2023, March 29), The Woke Agenda and Its Influence on Churches and Colleges, Retrieved 4, 18 2024 from https://paulchappell.com/2023/03/29/the-woke-agenda-and-its-influence/

29  ABC News, (2023, March 29), The Woke Agenda and Its Influence on Churches and Colleges, Retrieved 4, 18, 2024 from https://abc7news.com/united-airlines-covid-vaccine-mandate-jobs/11058442/

30  Chappell, op. cit.

31  Library of Congress, Black Lives Matter, https://www.loc.gov/item/lcwaN0016241/

32  Black Lives Matter website, https://blacklivesmatter.com/about/

33  Strachan, Christianity And Wokeness, p. 75.

34  Ibid., p. 76.

35  Chappell, op. cit.

36 Nancy R. Pearcey, Love Thy Body, Answering Hard Questions about Life and Sexuality (Grand Rapids, Baker Books, 2018), p. 203.

37  Glen Stanton, Focus on the Family, (2024, April 8), 10 Things Everyone Should Know About A Christian View of Homosexuality, From https://www.focusonthefamily.com/faith/10-things-everyone-should-know-about-a-christian-view-of-homosexuality/

38  Hank Hanegraaff (2023, June 12), The Woke Revolution and the Demise of Western Civilization, Retrieved 4, 28, 2024 from https://www.equip.org/articles/the-woke-revolution-and-the-demise-of-western-civilization/

39  Funk, op. cit.

40  R. Albert Mohler Jr., The Gathering Storm (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2020), p. 87.

41  Funk, op. cit.

42  Bethany Mandel and Karol Markowicz, Stolen Youth, How Radicals Are Erasing Innocence and Indoctrinating A Generation (Nashville: DW Books, 2023), p. 76.

43  Ibid., pp. 167-168.

44  Emilie Kao (2021, July 16), Is Gender Wokeism the New Religion of the West? Retrieved, 4, 16, 2024 from https://www.heritage.org/gender/commentary/gender-wokeism-the-new-religion-the-west

45  Hanegraaff, op. cit.

46  Mandel and Markowicz, Stolen Youth, pp. 108, 115.

47  Hanson, op. cit.

48  Kao, op. cit.

49  Hanson, op. cit.

50  Chappell, op. cit.

51 Strachan, Christianity And Wokeness, p. 1.

52  Sanders, op. cit.

53  Strachan, Christianity And Wokeness, p. 67.

54  William Lane Craig, from https://www.reasonablefaith.org/writings/popular-writings/practical-issues/a-christian-perspective-on-homosexuality

55  Chappell, op. cit.

56  Ibid.

57  Sanders, op. cit.

58  Ibid.

59  Ibid.

60  Ed Young, (2022, September 26), Key Differences Between Christianity and Wokeism, Retrieved 4, 17, 2024 from https://www.edyoung.com/article/key-differences-between-christianity-and-wokeism?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw5v2wBhBrEiwAXDDoJWOSl2ye4Gf05Z3sKxO0EndZdxc60axp1HuDhHKjvKvBZCychDywGBoCQtMQAvD_BwE

61  Butcher, op. cit.

62  Ibid.

63  Fox Business, from https://www.foxbusiness.com › markets › bud-light-sale

64  CNN News, from https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/16/investing/target-stock-earnings/index.html#:~:text=Target’s%20quarterly%20sales%20fell%20for,including%20a%2010.5%25%20drop%20online.

65  Chappell, op. cit.

66  MSN News from https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/woke-airline-policies-need-to-end-scott-kirby-in-drag-pictures-surface-as-united-airlines-ceo-comes-under-fire-online-over-dei-video/ar-AA1n1dZG

67  Hanson, op. cit.

68  Ibid.

69  Strachan, Christianity And Wokeness, p. 91.

70  Mandel and Markowicz, Stolen Youth, p. 47.

71  Ibid., p. 72.

72  McClanahan, op. cit.

73 Mandel and Markowicz, Stolen Youth, pp. 175-176.

74  Quoted in Pearcy, Love Thy Body, p. 196.

75  Celebrate the Difference, http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/love-worth-finding/player/celebrate-the-difference-446170.html

76  From Daily Mail. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11731777/Trans-swimmer-Lia-Thomas-dropped-pants-exposed-male-genitalia-womens-locker-room.html

77  Chappell, op. cit.

78  Star Parker, Uncle Sam’s Plantation (Nashville: WND Books, 2003), p. 66.

79  Ibid., p. 134.

80  Ibid., p. 80.

81  Suzanne Chazin,  Let’s Get Real About Teen Pregnancy, Reader’s Digest, Sept 1996. p. 49-54. 

82  Michael Reagan with Jim Denney, Twice Adopted (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2004), p. 82.

83  Newsmax (2024, May 7) from https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/boy-scouts-new-name-scouting-america/2024/05/07/id/1163836/ 

84  Rogers, op. cit.

85  Strachan, Christianity And Wokeness, pp. 163, 168.

86  McClanahan, op. cit.