The rise of Critical Theory - Part 4

In this episode, Mark and Jim begin by giving a personal biography of their lives and testimonies. In this, Jim explores how several key people who were faithful with their gifts helped bring him to trust in Jesus as his savior.

Jim discusses how the term theological middleman began to define his ministry calling, with a clear, strong conviction from the Lord. A large part of Denison Ministries’ niche is equipping believers to love God with all of their minds. 

We often encounter a resistance to intellectual thinking in Christianity. A common Christian sentiment in the ’60s and ’70s was: Don’t let college ruin you. Thankfully, in recent years, evangelicals have shown that we are not antagonistic to reason. John Lennox and Russell Moore are two prime examples. 

Then, Mark and Jim discuss the merits and flaws in Karl Marx’s philosophy. Many of Marx’s criticisms were accurate. Seeing the world through the lens of “class” is helpful, but only to a point, and it cannot provide a solid worldview. Later, certain philosophers in the Frankfurt School developed Critical Theory out of Marxism. This plays out in our era through Critical Race Theory, for example.

The philosophy behind Critical Theory is that if you are a part of a group that has benefited from oppression, you are also culpable to the oppression. The spread of this kind of thinking is evident, even in Texas public schools. Many, like Ibram Kendi, have now said that if we maintain the status quo, we are complicit in racism. Instead, we must be antiracist.

Mark and Jim then delve into why Critical Theory doesn’t take sin nature into account. If the oppressed become powerful, they will be just as likely to oppress others, which is exactly what happened in the Soviet Union.

All of that said, Jim then argues that systemic racism continues to exist in modern-day America and gives several, well-attested facts that point to that truth. As believers, our first questions should be of self-examination: “How am I prejudiced? How can I amend where I have hurt others?” This means personally engaging with people who aren’t like us and listening to their pains.

Resources and further reading

• Jim Denison, The Coming Tsunami
• Russell Moore, website
• Jon Lennox, website
• William Barclay, Commentary on the New Testament “Theological middleman.”
• Ibram X. Kendi, How to be an Antiracist
• Richard Delgado, Jean Stefanic, Critical Race Theory: An Introduction
• Karl Marx, The Communist Manifesto

About Dr. Jim Denison

Jim Denison, PhD, is a cultural theologian and the founder and CEO of Denison Ministries. He speaks biblically into significant cultural issues at Denison Forum. He is the chief author of The Daily Article and has written more than 30 books, including The Coming Tsunami, the Biblical Insight to Tough Questions series, and The Fifth Great Awakening.

About Dr. Mark Turman

Dr. Mark Turman is the Executive Director of Denison Forum and Vice President of Denison Ministries. Among his many duties, Turman is most notably the host of The Denison Forum Podcast. He is also the chief strategist for DF Pastors, which equips pastors and church leaders to understand and transform today’s culture.

About Denison Forum

Denison Forum exists to thoughtfully engage the issues of the day from a biblical perspective through The Daily Article email newsletter and podcast, The Denison Forum Podcast, as well as many books and additional resources.