Like most Christians, indeed most ordinary people, I have
been shocked and saddened by the rise of LGBTism in the UK within official
circles. This movement has persuaded politicians, who appear educated and
intelligent, to send male rapists to female prisons, give puberty blockers to
teenagers, and urge female nurses to get undressed in front of men. It has
destroyed traditional marriage, forced children to have two men or two women as
parents, hijacked the impartiality of the BBC, and split the Church of England.
And more.
What went wrong?
My answer was rather vague; it was society turning from God.
But the government in China has been atheist for years, but they have never
torn up traditional marriage and the reality of sex. But there was a time when
our prime minister thought that people who were born male were in fact women,
and so he said it wasn’t only women who have a cervix. Starmer has changed his
position, but his previous statement shows that some sort of intellectual contagion
had entered the public psyche.
Martin Charlesworth’s excellent book has explained for me
what this contagion is, though he would never use such a strong word. It is
Critical Theory (CT). I confess had no idea what CT was all about, and
certainly no idea that it was fuelling LGBTism and other identity campaigns.
It is primarily for this reason I believe Charlesworth’s
book should be highly recommended reading for all Christians in the West – actually
for everyone who wants normality – and compulsory reading for church leaders. For
it brings into focus the fact that behind what seems to be moral causes about
race, gender, and sexuality is this quasi-Marxist creed of Critical Theory
which is essentially hostile to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and indeed the
flourishing of ordinary life.
Charlesworth’s book explains not just what Critical Theory
is, a simplistic paradigm that divides people up into two power groups, but
also how it has adopted three identity causes, race, gender, and sexuality.
These have each been given almost a sacred status because of ‘moral panics’
such as the murder of George Floyd, the sexual aggression of Harvey Weinstein,
and the transitioning of the US sporting hero Bruce Jenner to become a woman.
Before reading the book, I thought that the Black Lives
Matter movement was just that, a morally just campaign to ensure coloured
people were treated fairly. As Charlesworth explains, much more is going on.
Because of Critical Race Theory it is not just about getting equal rights, it
is about making sure that the oppressed group – the blacks – are able to
completely push back against the whites. Charlesworth also shows how the same
paradigm is at work with the pro-Palestinian marches. The Jews are the allies
to the white oppressors, so they much be pushed back (to the sea). Likewise I
thought that the Me-Too movement was a moral protest about the grim abuse of
women by powerful men. It was, and is. Rightly so. But again, because of
Critical Theory, much more is going on. It’s the same with gender ideology. It
is not just about gay or trans rights, it is about an oppressed identity
pushing back against the oppressive identity. I remember reading about a school
chaplain who had been sacked for preaching a sermon supporting traditional
marriage. Bernard Randall then had to go on an ‘education’ course about
diversity, where the instructor forced all the poor attendees to chant, ‘Smash
heteronormality’ This zeal just seemed obnoxious to me; Charlesworth has helped
me understand how this sort of chant fits perfectly into what Critical Theory
is all about.
Charlesworth outlines other dangers tied up in Critical
Theory. One is that there is no tolerance for free speech in these movements.
The oppressor must be pushed aside, their voice not even heard. Another danger
is that even reasoned argument must be silenced because in the creed of
Critical Theory only the voice that has validity is the voice of those who have
experienced oppression. The foundation of all these dangers is that Critical
Theory is essentially a simplistic deceit, detached from reality. As
Charlesworth points out, all societies have to have some sort of hierarchy, so when
autonomous zones were set up at the height of the Black Lives Matter demonstrations,
these soon had ‘their own leadership structures and security officers.’
There is a lot more to like about this book. Throughout the
tone is respectful. Charlesworth does not use the derogatory word ‘woke’ except
in the title. He uses the phrase ‘Cultural Progressivism’. There is no machine
gun polemic here, intent on humiliating an enemy. Instead there is a lot of
listening. And there are a lot of personal stories that tell us about this listening.
We learn about how Charlesworth’s own sister gave up her traditional marriage,
and joined a feminist commune in the 1970s; how he invited himself to the home
of a homosexual who demanded that a church seminar listen to the gays. They are
still friends. He also invited himself for a coffee with a bishop who said the
Greek in the New Testament did not condemn stable homosexual relations.
Charlesworth and the Bishop sat down to look at the Greek, and the bishop
agreed that he had in fact not been faithful to the text. Charlesworth is not
only well read on this subject; he has spent time with the people who are
engaged in these campaigns.
Charlesworth is a passionate believer in the local church.
This is where, he says, the rubber hits the road. He himself has been the
leader of a thriving local church for many years. He knows all about the complications
of congregational life. So he has an entire section for church leaders on how
to deal with Critical Theory. It is very helpful.
There is an urgent plea for the church speak up much more.
As most of us know, while LGBTism has been trying to establish itself as an
alternative religion in the UK, most pulpits have been silent, so allowing
confusion to flourish. If you are a church leader reading this review, may I
urge you to buy a copy and start planning a fight back against this false
Critical Theory gospel. The real Gospel is much richer and kinder and in touch
with reality.
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