PART 2 The State of Education: Critical Theory in the Classroom

The State of Education: Critical Theory in the Classroom (Part 2)

[This article has been published by kind permission of the author Kevin Mott and first appeared in the Bible League Quarterly and Kevin’s website in 2021. This post follows on from Part 1 that was published on the CViE website in November 2022 and can be found at The State of Education: Critical Theory in the Classroom. Part 1.

In Part 2, the author builds on the backcloth described in Part 1 and focuses on the spiritual warfare that is going on for the minds of children within education. The post is a useful reminder of the need for continued prayer, the need to be grounded in the Word of God and teach our children biblical truths – otherwise who will care for their spiritual moral well-being?

The post also contains a very useful glossary of terms that explains the language of cultural Marxism and woke.

Details are also provided to her to obtain a hardcopy of the complete article from the Bible League Quarterly website.]

AN ENLIGHTENED FOE

There exists in the realm of discourse a term known as the ‘Overton Window’. This seeks to explain that the range of policies politically acceptable to the mainstream population at any given time, can be viewed through a window of acceptance. Anything to the far left of that window would be considered unacceptable, far-left ideas, such as communism, whilst those to the far right, unacceptable far-right ideas, such as neo-Nazism. What we have seen then over the last thirty years or so is this window gradually shifting further to the left, so that ideas that were once considered “radical left-wing” are now accepted as being normal within the framework of society. The issue with this is that traditional Christian beliefs, such as those on marriage, have now been pulled out of the window, and are therefore considered to be oppressive and open to censorship.

In 2021 the BBC was heavily criticised for showing a film entitled “Identity: Understanding Sexual and Gender Identities” in which children as young as nine were informed that there are now over one hundred different genders and that becoming transgender is a way to achieve happiness, despite strong evidence to the contrary. Although this video was subsequently removed from the corporation’s website, it is now out there in the public domain and much like the lawyer on an American TV show who is “overruled” by the presiding judge, you can be asked to ignore what you have heard, but you cannot forget it. If we tolerate all forms of behaviour in our society, then we cease to have a moral centre but rather promote a moral sewer – one that is destructive and far removed from sound, Biblical teaching.

We have an enemy who is a master of deception, and in less than one hundred years has reformed our education system to ensure that Christ’s message of salvation is removed from the classroom entirely. In 2 Timothy (4:3-4) we are told that the time will come when people “will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” Indeed, Cultural Marxism is now the dominant mindset through which many young people see the world, and that is largely due to their exposure to media in all forms, as well as our secular education system. Followers of this new ideology demand complete acceptance and affirmation of their lifestyle choices, and failure to capitulate results in ostracisation and labels of racist, homophobe or worse. Children are pressured and forced into making statements they haven’t fully considered and don’t really believe, whilst Christian teaching on living a holy life and finding our true identity in Christ is no longer promoted and no longer accepted. At best, Jesus has been reduced to little more than a good moral teacher, alongside Buddha and Muhammad.

The ability to self-identify in this new enlightened reality is also very important, with many young people claiming to suffer from anxiety, depression and PTSD, simply because that gives them a victim status within the broader culture and therefore identity can be found there. We no longer have a single standard of truth; as feelings are prioritised over facts, our individual truths become experiential and therefore subjective. Those who speak out against this turning tide must be silenced or “cancelled” and denounced by all. It is often a perilous existence for those living under the scrutiny of the public eye. In a recent case, a secondary school in East Sussex removed the names of Winston Churchill and JK Rowling from their schoolhouses, because they were both deemed to be intolerant. In the case of Rowling, for simply showing support to a researcher who dared to question the legitimacy of trans identities online.

There have been recent successes for Christians, particularly concerning LGBTQ influence on sex education in England. However, the debate still rages around a newly introduced ‘Hate Crime and Pubic Order Act’ in Scotland, which introduced the law of “stirring up hatred” and has the potential to severely limit Christian witness in that country, whilst in Wales, the ‘Curriculum and Assessment Act’ saw Humanism and Atheism being taught alongside Christianity in Religious Studies. In both cases we see the law and education mirroring society, where there is no longer an absolute standard of truth. The problem is that the balance of weights and measures is ever-shifting, and the victories Christians enjoy seemingly just delay the inevitable. Like the film ‘Zulu’ we may win some battles, but on the horizon, the enemy simply regroups and makes another charge. Unlike the Battle at Rorke’s Drift though, there is no honour for the bravery of the defenders of truth, and as Christians, we will eventually have to stand our ground and fight, equipped with the “whole armour of God” and a willingness to fall on our swords if called to do so.

A NEW GOSPEL

Writing about a perceived evangelical downgrade in 1887, Charles Spurgeon commented that the church was turning away from the truth and “going down hill at breakneck speed.” A situation that he was quick to discern and warn others about, even in the face of fierce opposition. On a separate occasion, Spurgeon concluded that; “Avowed atheists are not a tenth as dangerous as those preachers who scatter doubt and stab at faith … Germany was made unbelieving by her preachers, and England is following in her tracks,” and one would have to acknowledge that the downgrade Spurgeon alerted us too and battled throughout his ministry has continued unabated, despite his admonition.

Today, the message of Jesus Christ has been perverted in our once conservative denominations, as church leaders embrace this new political ideology. The gospel, now seen in the light of social justice, has become one of acceptance and inclusivity of all lifestyles, and there is no appetite for a life of righteousness and death to sin. We are implored to modernise our thinking and embrace the 11th Commandment; “thou shall not judge”, as feminism, LGBT rights and Critical Race Theory are preached openly from our pulpits. Both the Churches of England and Scotland have been captured fully, with the Archbishop of Canterbury rallying to the support of the Black Lives Matter movement, and proclaiming that it was time to “own up to” and “repent” of our perceived “white privilege”. Additionally, and in regards to the national celebration for Captain Sir Thomas Moore in 2020, the Reverend Jarel Robinson-Brown, who appeared at a conference entitled “How to rage: Theology, activism and the Church” wrote on his social media feed that “the cult of Captain Tom is a cult of White British Nationalism” and refused to clap for him. It should come as no shock then that the Church of England rushed to the support of Robinson-Brown, claiming that those who criticised the remarks of this black, former Methodist minister did so out of a place of “systemic racism.”

This new woke religion is one built on man’s flawed morality, and conceived by Godless pagans; not God’s righteousness, but self-righteousness found within our sinful selves. Social Media has become the church building, where conformity is preached and we present ourselves as spotless before our cultural gods. Although the petals and sweet aroma of our Judeo-Christian society are still on display, without the roots it cannot last for much longer; a situation that Melvin Tinker refers to as the “cut flower generation.” We need only to browse a selection of comments on ‘The Christian Institute’s’ public Facebook page to see how far the Marxist mindset has infiltrated the teaching in our churches, and have surely reached the bizarre point whereby a street preacher will be called to swear an oath on the Bible in court, whilst being tried for reading the words contained in that very same book publicly. That is of course until the courts remove all traces of the Bible from them, something that was attempted unsuccessfully in this country in 2013.

The postmodernist march of tolerance and diversity is not one comprised of disparate fringe movements that can simply be ignored, but rather key elements of a much broader system – a system that seeks to destroy Christianity. A Trojan horse that is already present in the church, with its own Social Justice Gospel, doctrines, saints and martyrs, and one that should be taught about in every reformed church and seminary up and down the land, so that the next generation of preachers and teachers are fully equipped to protect their flocks, by identifying the wolves within. At this time, the enemy is coming like a tsunami and too many Christians are standing unprotected on the shore, squinting into the distance, wondering when the water will come.

Of course, this onslaught on Christian values and beliefs is not simply a Western phenomenon, as the Voice Of America (VOA) highlighted in an article published in December 2020, in which it noted that:

As part of a longstanding effort to limit the influence of Christianity in China, central government authorities last year indicated that they would publish an “official translation” of the Bible for Chinese worshippers. The CCP called for “a comprehensive evaluation of the existing religious classics aiming at contents which do not conform to the progress of the times” in a 2019 meeting held by the Committee for Ethnic and Religious Affairs, which oversees religious matters in China. The meeting concluded that the new “official edition” of the Bible must not contain any content that contradicts socialism, and paragraphs deemed wrong by censors will be amended or retranslated.

As Christians, we are to be counter-cultural, and that is no more obvious today than it has ever been. Society’s fixation with racism, gender inequality, LGBTQ rights, climate catastrophe or whether or not a person might or might not exercise bodily autonomy concerning vaccinations, are simply not gospel-related issues, regardless of what some prominent evangelicals would have us believe. Rather, we are to “give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word” through Godly preaching, teaching, personal study and sound exegesis and let that be the fuel to drive our desires, motivations and life choices – keeping the simplicity and focus of the gospel pure, for without it we worship idols and are surely cast adrift without hope.

So do not be distracted, for we will all serve a master; either the one that saves us or the one that seeks our destruction and from which the Bible tells us we are to flee.

For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. (Matthew 24:24)

A FINAL THOUGHT

In his book, ‘Into The Lion’s Den’, Steve Maltz tells us about Alice Bailey, an occultist and hugely influential teacher within certain circles during the early 20th century. Today, she is considered to be the grandmother of the New Age movement. In 1948 Alice Bailey devised a 10-point plan designed to wrench society away from its Christian roots, a plan dictated to her by a demonic force, which she claimed to be called the “Master of Wisdom.” Alice Bailey desired to see a unified society governed by a globalist, one-world religion. Those ten points on her list were:

Take God and prayer out of the education system
Reduce parental authority over children
Destroy the traditional Judeo-Christian family structure
Make abortion legal and make it easy
Make divorce legal and easy, free people from the concept of being married for life
Make homosexuality an alternative lifestyle
Debase art, make it run mad
Use media to promote and change mindsets
Create an interfaith movement – all paths lead to heaven
Get the government to make all these points laws, get the church to endorse changes

At this stage, we would have to concede that she has been incredibly successful at completing every one of those points on her list.

But fear not.

We serve a great King. A holy God who is all-powerful and in control, working all things out according to His perfect plans. We do not need fancy language or an advanced understanding of Theology to convey the hope that is in us. We believe it because it is true, and because of that fact, we are called to be faithful servants, salt and light, and God will accomplish His sovereign purpose.

We are to be confident in His promises, but also a prepared people; informed, wise, faithful and ready to stand our ground. The world will despise us, yet we must love our neighbour as fully and completely as the Lord loves us, have hope and live our lives in the shadow of Christ’s shed blood sacrifice, dying for us on the cross so that we might be reconciled to God through Him that saves us.

We plant the gospel calling people to repentance and God grows by His grace and mercy.

Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Anarchism – A belief in the abolition of all government and the organisation of society on a voluntary, cooperative basis without recourse to force or compulsion.

Authoritarian (Fascism) – Favouring or enforcing strict obedience to authority at the expense of personal freedom and democracy.

BAME – Stands for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic and is defined as all ethnic groups except white ethnic groups. It does not relate to country origin or affiliation.

Communism (Collectivism) – A political and economic system that seeks to create a classless society, where private property is eliminated. Goods are owned in common and are available to all as needed.

Conversion Therapy – Treatment or psychotherapy which aims to change a person’s sexual orientation or to suppress a person’s gender identity. New Zealand, Canada, Germany, Mexico and other South American countries already have a ban in place. Britain is being encouraged to follow suit. Several members of parliament have called for prayer to be listed in the proposed conversion therapy ban.

Critical Theory (CT) – An approach to social philosophy that focuses on reflective assessment and critique of society and culture in order to reveal and challenge supposed power structures. CT argues that social injustice stems more from social structures and assumptions than from individuals. Prominent strands of CT include Critical Race Theory and Queer Theory.

Critical Race Theory (CRT) – The view that the law and legal institutions are inherently racist and that race itself, instead of being biologically grounded and natural, is a socially constructed concept that is used by white people to further their economic and political interests at the expense of people of colour.

Cultural Appropriation – The adoption of an element or elements of one culture or identity by members of another culture or identity. This can be controversial when members of a dominant culture appropriate from disadvantaged minority cultures.

Cultural Hegemony – The domination of a culturally diverse society by the ruling class, which manipulates the culture of that society (beliefs, explanations, perceptions and values) so that the imposed, ruling-class worldview becomes the accepted cultural norm.

Egalitarianism – A collection of broad philosophies including Socialism, Communism, Social Anarchism, Libertarian Socialism and Progressivism.

Fascism – A political philosophy, movement, or regime that exalts nation and often race above the individual, and that stands for a centralised autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation and forcible suppression of opposition.

Identity Politics – Identity politics is a term that describes a political approach wherein people of a particular religion, race, social background, class or other identifying factor develop political agendas and organise based upon the interlocking systems of oppression that affect their lives and come from their various identities.

Intersectionality – A framework for conceptualising a person, group of people, or social problem as affected by a number of discriminations and disadvantages. It takes into account people’s overlapping identities and experiences in order to understand the complexity of prejudices they face. It centres on social justice from various social locations, including race, socioeconomic status, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, (dis)ability, spirituality, immigration/refugee status, language and education. One of the ideas of intersectionality is for individuals, groups and communities to self-identify.

LGBT – LGBT or GLBT is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. Sometimes expanded to LGBTQ+ to include other sexual or gender identity groups.

Liberation Theology – A synthesis of Christian Theology and political activism, especially in relation to economic justice, poverty and human rights.

Libertarian (Anarchism) – A political philosophy that advocates only minimal state intervention in the free market and the private lives of citizens.

Marxism – Marxism is a social, political, and economic philosophy named after Karl Marx. It examines the effect of capitalism on labour, productivity and economic development and argues for a worker revolution to overturn capitalism in favour of communism.

Neoliberalism (Libertarianism) – A political approach that favours free-market capitalism, deregulation and a reduction in government spending.

Overton Window – The range of policies politically acceptable to the mainstream population at a given time. It is also known as the window of discourse.

Protected Characteristics – These are age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation as defined by The Equality Act.

Queer Theory – A form of Critical Theory that challenges the idea that sexual relationships between biological men and women are normal, and seeks instead to promote gender confusion and sinful sexual practices.

Social Justice – Whilst justice is driven by what is morally acceptable, or what God says is right, Social Justice is driven by what is socially acceptable, and what people say is right. That Jesus’ ethical teachings can remedy the problems caused by capitalism. In that sense, it removes the gospel and seeks to bring about a type of heaven on earth forged by man’s actions, not God’s.

Woke – A term that originated in the United States, referring to a perceived awareness of issues that concern social and racial justice.

Published with permission and originally published at bechristcentred.com – 23/2/21 (which includes a podcast of the article) and the Bible League Quarterly, Issues July/September & October/December 2021