We are experiencing an era when Christians, well-known people of faith and clergy, and large denominations have been seemingly smitten by CRT doctrines. In just a few years, CRT has spread like wildfire into almost every aspect and segment of society. It seems most corporations, government entities, educational institutions & schoolhouses, and many churches and religious denominations have wholly or at least partially accepted CRT and its openly divisive arguments about race grievances and inequities. We should ponder why institutions and organizations find CRT seductive and compelling.

Perhaps it’s because CRT appeals to most everyone’s base human instincts such as greed, avarice, power, manipulation and guilt, and the ability to cast perpetual shame. When we can wield these ideas as cudgels against others, we tend to feel a false sense of power. Such “power” is fleeting and false, but to people who feel otherwise powerless, it feels real.

Moreover, since CRT is amorphic and can be defined to fit into almost anyone’s “racial toolkit,” it can provide a sense of power to almost anyone, especially those who have felt “put-upon,” aggrieved and powerless. Think about it: CRT provides the aggrieved the ability to wield power and hold others in a perpetual state of guilt and contempt, while enjoying the adulation of simultaneously being upheld as noble and virtuous! That’s a potent mixture that seduces people – but is it worth losing an eternal reward?

Advocates of CRT say it has an academic/intellectual basis. But we need to view it with basic facts of human nature. While there are many destructive elements in CRT, consider two of CRT’s easily understood fundamental tenets: (1) Grievance; and (2) Unforgiveness.

CRT arguments always assert: (1) American Blacks were severely harmed/wronged by White people (the grievance); and (2) White people cannot and will not be forgiven for it — the wrongs will never be remedied (the unforgiveness).

When characterizing race issues and how Whites should not be forgiven, CRT proponent and Author Ibram X. Kendi stated in his book, How to be an Anti-Racist: “The only remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination. The only remedy to present discrimination is future discrimination.”  Kendi is among the best known and celebrated proponents of CRT. He writes and speaks extensively in support of CRT and Black Liberation Theology, so he adroitly crosses the secular and religious spectrum, agitating race issues and asserting how to combat them. No doubt some of these talking points seem seductively clever and may make some people feel good at some level. Regrettably, for people of Faith, an embrace of grievance and unforgiveness means an eternal death sentence for the soul. This consequence is unequivocal and definitive. We are commanded to love one another (1 John 4:11) and forgive one another (Eph. 4:31-32). And God wants us to know that harboring unforgiveness may feel good at times, but is a very high price to pay when it comes to losing your soul (Matt. 18:21-35).

Unforgiveness endangers our eternal souls. Several Bible passages confirm how we are to mitigate grievance and unforgiveness:

• Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive (Col. 3:13).

• Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven (Luke 6:37).

• And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your transgressions (Mark 11:25-26). 

These verses are revealing and condemning at the same time. What are we to do other than…Repent! The scriptures teach we desperately need God’s CRT: Critical Repentance Time!

It is Critical Repentance Time. In the case of unforgiveness, God sees this sin as so significant that irrespective of any “good” acts of deeds, unforgiveness by itself literally disqualifies from God’s forgiveness. What does it mean if God will not forgive you? The answer is almost too much to seriously contemplate!

The question then becomes: Is harboring grievance and unforgiveness and remaining bitter against “Whites” worth losing our souls? Is embracing hate and unforgiveness and teaching our children to do the same worth the sacrifice of their souls? Is the cultural “relevance” and seduction of vain adoration from “wokeness” so powerful that we are willing to sacrifice eternity for it?

When we read and understand scripture, it becomes obvious CRT is undergirded with fundamentals that are antithetical to the Gospel. “The Church” is now at a critical pivot point. It’s time to decide whether to continue to embrace the seductive “woke” ideologies and theories – or instead — acknowledge God’s Critical Repentance Time. God’s CRT is now!