via TJC
“So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27 ESV
What you are about to read may cause some passions to rise, and some disagreement. Believe me, this subject caused quite a dialog among the TJC via editing process.
Please read all the way to the end.
Much has been in the news lately regarding “Critical Race Theory (CRT).”
Some suggest the origins of CRT are rooted in historical revisionism. While others argue that CRT is filling the gaps in the history as it is traditionally taught. Historical revisionism tries to erase what really happened and not talk about it anymore. It silences discussion and debate, is a disservice to students, and is totally against God’s Word.
The Bible is straight forward about the flaws and failures and frailties and fears of people resulting from what people have done against one another over history. In short, the Bible, God’s Word, speaks the Truth. And, the Bible is straight forward about the forgiveness that can be ours if we confess our sins and surrender to the will of the very God Who created us in His image. God is telling us as His children about how much He loves us despite our shortcomings. If we do not allow discussion about what really happened, then we are trying to create a world view that is in direct opposition to God’s Word and His love for us, and hindering the sharing the truth of His love with others.
Here is an excerpt of a quote from a teacher in a Tennessee school that supports combating against historical revisionism:
“History teachers cannot adequately teach about the Trail of Tears, the Civil War, and the Civil Rights Movement. English teachers will have to avoid teaching almost any text by an African American author because many of them mention racism to various extents. Even classics written by white authors like ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ and ‘Huckleberry Finn’ will now be off limits.”
“Both history and English content standards require students to think critically. Teachers are evaluated based on our ability to inspire critical thinking. How are we supposed to teach the standards and have our students think critically when we can only present and discuss one side of an issue?”
Mike Stein, English and English as a second language teacher at Coffee County High School, Manchester, TN
We in TJC are committed to advancing the Kingdom of God.
Daily Battle Order:
If we do not truly learn from history, we will be destined to repeat it.
A truthful but hopeful and directional viewpoint on history is given by Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Maya Angelou: “History despite its wrenching pain cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.”
Learning from history requires discussion about what really happened so that lessons from history can be applied for the betterment of ourselves and our society, which includes each and every one of us. Historical Revisionism and Critical Race Theory are against God’s Word, promoting continued division and discouraging meaningful discussion.
God’s Word is clear about the freedom of the Truth and the promotion of togetherness for encouragement and that includes meaningful discussion of topics like this that we are wrestling together with.
From God’s Word in John 8:32, and as inscribed on my University of Tennessee college class ring: “Veritatem cognoscetis et veritas te liberabit” (Latin) - “You will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free”.
In this Wrestling series, we in TJC truly wrestled with today’s topic. Our focus is on advancing the Kingdom of God, and that involves thoughtful and real dialogue about tough topics. We came to a point that we were saying the same thing, just from different perspectives, which is O.K., as long as we agree on the source of Truth, which is God's Word, and we do.
God's Word doesn't pull punches about the good, the bad, and the ugly of history, and neither are we. The DBO encourages dialogue, like what we have had here in TJC and in previous DBOs within the Wrestling Series regarding tough topics. As Kingdom Men, we must be willing to engage but not vilify, discuss but not cut down, listen but not squelch, love but not gloss over. We are a band of brothers, formed together by the Lord for His purpose, to share His love and His truth in a hurting world.
Good feedback Kyle
If I could be very honest with my comment here, I feel more confused about CRT having read this DBO than when I first started. I'm not sure I totally understand what CRT is. Even the Wikipedia page for it feels like word vomit. Can anyone concisely explain what it means? I've heard people describe CRT as, "basically viewing everything and everyone through the lens of racism." I understand how that could mislead people by doing so, but is it necessarily a bad thing to do that? Could there be some benefits in analyzing society through that lens? Did Jesus do this at all? Am I still missing a core fundamental of why CRT is evil? I genuinely do not…