Hypocrisy of SBC Resolution 9

If there’s one Christian concept that Leftists can’t quote enough these days, it’s the concept that humanity is “made in the image of God”. While true, it’s a very harsh truth and not at all the Unified Global Wuvving Family that Satan plots for us.

“Unified Global Wuvving Family” means Critical Race Theory & Intersection. A quick primer/review from Wikipedia,

According to the UCLA School of Public Affairs: CRT recognizes that racism is engrained in the fabric and system of the American society. The individual racist need not exist to note that institutional racism is pervasive in the dominant culture. This is the analytical lens that CRT uses in examining existing power structures. CRT identifies that these power structures are based on white privilege and white supremacy, which perpetuates the marginalization of people of color.

Legal scholar Roy L. Brooks has defined CRT as “a collection of critical stances against the existing legal order from a race-based point of view”, and says “it focuses on the various ways in which the received tradition in law adversely affects people of color not as individuals but as a group. Thus, CRT attempts to analyze law and legal traditions through the history, contemporary experiences, and racial sensibilities of racial minorities in this country. The question always lurking in the background of CRT is this: What would the legal landscape look like today if people of color were the decision-makers?”

Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic have documented the following major themes as characteristic of work in critical race theory:

A critique of liberalism: CRT scholars favor a more aggressive approach to social transformation as opposed to liberalism’s more cautious approach, favor a race-conscious approach to transformation rather than liberalism’s embrace of color blindness, and favor an approach that relies more on political organizing, in contrast to liberalism’s reliance on rights-based remedies.

The intersections theory is the examination of race, sex, class, national origin, and sexual orientation, and how their combination plays out in various settings, e.g., how the needs of a Latina female are different from those of a black male and whose needs are the ones promoted.

White privilege refers to the myriad social advantages, benefits, and courtesies that come with being a member of the dominant race, such as a clerk not following you around in a store or not having people cross the street at night to avoid you.

Microaggression refers to the sudden, stunning, or dispiriting transactions that mar the days of oppressed individuals. These include small acts of racism consciously or unconsciously perpetrated and act like water dripping on a rock wearing away at it slowly. Microaggressions are based on the assumptions about racial matters that are absorbed from cultural heritage.

Because there is “neither Jew nor Greek in Christ Jesus”, The Southern Baptist leadership has chosen to adopt the central thesis of identity politics!

[Resolution 9] ON CRITICAL RACE THEORY AND INTERSECTIONALITY

http://sbcannualmeeting.net/sbc19/resolutions

WHEREAS, Concerns have been raised by some evangelicals over the use of frameworks such as critical race theory and intersectionality; and

They were already implementing this Social Justice narrative and when called on it, passed this Resolution.

WHEREAS, Critical race theory is a set of analytical tools that explain how race has and continues to function in society, and intersectionality is the study of how different personal characteristics overlap and inform one’s experience; and

That is not an accurate description of CRTI.

WHEREAS, Critical race theory and intersectionality have been appropriated by individuals with worldviews that are contrary to the Christian faith, resulting in ideologies and methods that contradict Scripture; and

CRTI is, BY DEFINITION AND DESIGN, the mutually exclusive opposite of any notion of racial unity… in the Church or out.

WHEREAS, Evangelical scholars who affirm the authority and sufficiency of Scripture have employed selective insights from critical race theory and intersectionality to understand multifaceted social dynamics; and

“Don’t worry, we’re adopting the politics of racial grievances only to become more colorblind.” Yeah, that’s what the atheists told us when they first passed all the “anti-discrimination” legislation. It hasn’t worked; in fact, the situation got worse.

WHEREAS, The Baptist Faith and Message states, “[A]ll Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried” (Article I); and

Totally irrelevant to CRTI, but it’s the kind of thing entryists say to look like Good Guys.

WHEREAS, General revelation accounts for truthful insights found in human ideas that do not explicitly emerge from Scripture and reflects what some may term “common grace”; and

“Common Grace” doctrine comes from the Christian Reformed Church, which ordains female clergy and has no affiliation with the SBC. This is comparable to the US Supreme Court invoking foreign legal concepts to “interpret” the Constitution.

WHEREAS, Critical race theory and intersectionality alone are insufficient to diagnose and redress the root causes of the social ills that they identify, which result from sin, yet these analytical tools can aid in evaluating a variety of human experiences; and

If it doesn’t work then don’t use it. The entire point of following a religion is to use its tools, not to introduce outside tools into it.

WHEREAS, Scripture contains categories and principles by which to deal with racism, poverty, sexism, injustice, and abuse that are not rooted in secular ideologies; and

Look! They even admit that Scripture ALREADY has teachings on this subject… while implicitly finding such Scriptural tools to be insufficient.

And no wonder they think that. Scripture is sexist, full stop. Scripture does not even attempt to cure poverty; Christ’s own words were “you will always have the poor, but you will not always have Me.” Even Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles, had so much favoritism for his own Jews that they had to literally beat him away. God never faulted him for that.

WHEREAS, Humanity is primarily identified in Scripture as image bearers of God, even as biblical authors address various audiences according to characteristics such as male and female, Jew and Gentile, slave and free; and

Wrong. Humanity is primarily identified as instinctive rebels against God.

Not all humans are “image bearers” of Christ. For example, homosexuals are not images of God because God made us male and female.

WHEREAS, The New Covenant further unites image bearers by creating a new humanity that will one day inhabit the new creation, and that the people of this new humanity, though descended from every nation, tribe, tongue, and people, are all one through the gospel of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:16; Revelation 21:1–4, 9–14); and

The boldfaced is a heresy. There will not be a new humanity. There will be the redeemed subset of old humanity. Our new bodies will make physical distinctions obsolete, yes, but even these chuckleheads, by adopting CRTI, admit that people today naturally act in groups and demographics.

Heck, God Himself did it in the Old Testament. There’s a difference between liking one group over another, and upholding impartial justice. But Social Justice demands that ALL beliefs be made to conform. God will accept an “I don’t like you but I’ll never cheat you” attitude. Social Justice will not.

WHEREAS, Christian citizenship is not based on our differences but instead on our common salvation in Christ—the source of our truest and ultimate identity; and

WHEREAS, The Southern Baptist Convention is committed to racial reconciliation built upon biblical presuppositions and is committed to seeking biblical justice through biblical means; now, therefore, be it

Which is it? Are you trying for a colorblind society or are you trying to entertain lesbian grievances against the Book Of Romans? Are you seeking “biblical justice through biblical means” or adopting “secular analytic tools”?

RESOLVED, That the messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in Birmingham, Alabama, June 11–12, 2019, affirm Scripture as the first, last, and sufficient authority with regard to how the Church seeks to redress social ills, and we reject any conduct, creeds, and religious opinions which contradict Scripture; and be it further

Let me quote it again:

“…affirm Scripture as the first, last, and sufficient authority with regard to how the Church seeks to redress social ills…”

RESOLVED, That critical race theory and intersectionality should only be employed as analytical tools subordinate to Scripture—not as transcendent ideological frameworks; and be it further

But but but you just said Scripture was sufficient!

RESOLVED, That the gospel of Jesus Christ alone grants the power to change people and society because “he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6); and be it further

RESOLVED, That Southern Baptists will carefully analyze how the information gleaned from these tools are employed to address social dynamics; and be it further

“Jesus Christ alone has the power to change people. CRT/I will instruct us on the changes that need to be made.”

RESOLVED, That Southern Baptist churches and institutions repudiate the misuse of insights gained from critical race theory, intersectionality, and any unbiblical ideologies that can emerge from their use when absolutized as a worldview; and be it further

They’re knowingly adopting atheist philosophy while promising to not actually promote atheism. They think we’re that stupid.

RESOLVED, That we deny any philosophy or theology that fundamentally defines individuals using categories identified as sinful in Scripture rather than the transcendent reality shared by every image bearer and divinely affirmed distinctions; and be it further

Then just say “God hates homosexuality.” It’s true! But you hide it underneath a paragraph of verbiage… why?

RESOLVED, That while we denounce the misuse of critical race theory and intersectionality, we do not deny that ethnic, gender, and cultural distinctions exist and are a gift from God that will give Him absolute glory when all humanity gathers around His throne in worship because of the redemption accomplished by our resurrected Lord; and be it finally

This is misuse of CRTI: “It’s okay to be white!”

RESOLVED, That Southern Baptist churches seek to exhibit this eschatological promise in our churches in the present by focusing on unity in Christ amid image bearers and rightly celebrate our differences as determined by God in the new creation.

Hypocrisy confirmed! “In order to focus on unity in Christ, we’re adopting the politics of racial grievances and microaggressions… unless it contradicts Scripture, of course, because even though Scripture is all we need for moral development, we must also add wordly ways to it.”

This was such a massive horse pill of bullshit that BP News was called in to reinforce the Narrative:

Q&A with the 2019 Resolutions Committee about Resolution 9

http://www.bpnews.net/54275/qa-with-the-2019-resolutions-committee-about-resolution-9

By the 2019 Resolution Committee and Baptist Press, 5 February 2020

EDITOR’S NOTE: Because of the ongoing discussion involving Resolution 9, “On Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality,” from the 2019 SBC Annual Meeting, members of the 2019 Resolutions Committee sought to shed light on both their purpose in addressing the topic and the process by which the resolution was developed, with the goal of clarifying any misconceptions. What follows is a brief comment from the committee about their overall experience and a Q&A with Baptist Press, as well as an FAQ from the 2019 Resolutions Committee.

About a year ago, we were asked to serve on the Resolutions Committee for the 2019 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting..

We accepted this responsibility for one reason: to help the Convention speak with biblical clarity on theological, social, and practical topics in order to advance our cooperative witness and mission. The convention adopted 13 resolutions on a wide range of topics including gains in the pro-life movement, sexual abuse in the church, local church autonomy…

TL;DR Local church autonomy is bad because only a centralized Human Resources department can prevent sexual abuse. It worked for the Catholics!

..sexuality and personal identity…

“Don’t identify as homo while at Church. Some people will feel bad.”

…religious persecution, and a cutting-edge genetic technology called “germline editing.” It was truly an honor to serve the messengers in 2019.

Boldface will be the editor’s words. The rest is the unnamed spokesman for the Committee.

Much discussion has surrounded Resolution 9, “On Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality” (CRT/I).

Since June, we’ve discussed concerns that people have raised through private conversations, including fruitful interaction with the pastor who submitted the original resolution. We want to address some questions that we have answered privately, but do so in a more public way, with the hope of bringing clarity to our deliberation.

Q: Resolution 9, “On Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality,” continues to be an ongoing discussion which has caused concerns among some Baptists. Why did the committee choose to address the subject?

A: We did not begin our work with any desire or plan to speak to this issue but we appreciated the concerns expressed by the pastor who submitted the original resolution

What’s his name? *checks*

Segue

Stephen Feinstein.

Every. Damn. Time.

WHOA, hold up! He posted the original submission on his website

https://sovereignway.blogspot.com/2019/06/sbc19-resolution-9-on-critical-race.html?m=1

and IT’S THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF WHAT THE RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE RELEASED!!!

…I am the one who authored the resolution. My name is Stephen Feinstein, a graduate of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, a pastor of Sovereign Way Christian Church in Hesperia, CA, and a Chaplain (MAJ) in the United States Army Reserves. Like many, I am alarmed at the proliferation of toxic, divisive, and satanic rhetoric designed to divide humanity and facilitate constant opposition in our society. Even worse, it has seeped into Bible colleges and some seminaries. I have had parents come to me for advice when their child came home from a conservative Bible college complaining about white privilege. I was present at the Shepherds Conference when my favorite evangelical leaders appeared to be divided on how to handle this issue.

Therefore, I determined after the Shepherds Conference that I would propose a resolution denouncing critical race theory and intersectionality. Well, on Wednesday morning, June 12, 2019, the messengers were given copies of the resolutions. Although I was stoked that my resolution was accepted, I also immediately noticed the committee severely altered what I had submitted. It is their right to do so. I have been asked to make public the resolution as I submitted it, and so I will do so here.

I will append the full text as a postscript but check this out:

WHEREAS, critical race theory and intersectionality are founded upon unbiblical presuppositions descended from Marxist theories and categories, and therefore are inherently opposed to the Scriptures as the true center of Christian union…

RESOLVED, That while we denounce critical race theory and intersectionality, we do not deny that ethnic, gender, cultural, and racial distinctions do in fact exist and are a gift from God that will give Him absolute glory when the entire gamut of human diversity worships Him in perfect unity founded upon our unity in Jesus Christ…

Stephen Feinstein is a good guy! That puts the spokesman’s answer in a completely different light:

End segue.

A: We did not begin our work with any desire or plan to speak to this issue, but we appreciated the concerns expressed by the pastor who submitted the original resolution we recognized the influence that CRT/I has had in our society, and we shared concerns within the SBC that these theories could undermine the Gospel and the church’s mission. And so, we proposed a resolution that we hoped would reflect how the Christian church for 2000 years has applied the doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture with ideas that emerge from sources outside the Bible. We were seeking to help our convention address an issue some Southern Baptists were already concerned about.

No! No! No! We apply Scripture TO extra-Biblical ideas! Not WITH extra-Biblical ideas!

Q: One of the concerns raised over the resolution is the origin of these theories. Does the committee acknowledge this concern? Does the committee or the resolution endorse CRT/I?

I had assumed the concern over the resolution was the blatant adoption of militant atheism into SBC dogma. Turns out, the concern is the submitting pastor being returned the exact opposite of what he’d submitted!

A: Yes, we understand the concern, and have benefitted from discussion with individuals who have expressed it. We want to be clear that we acknowledge CRT/I originates from people who are not Christians and hold views that oppose the Gospel. No one is claiming that CRT/I is Christian or that all of its cultural applications are in line with Scripture.

At the same time, as with other secular theories, not every observation is wrong, sinful or unhelpful. But even insights that describe the social dynamics of our society accurately remain insufficient to address the sinful heart of man.

They are introducing moral confusion into standards of Christian morality. “Yes, they’re not Christians and they oppose us, but it’s okay to follow their teachings unless you shouldn’t.” The first step of Converging opposition is undermining the defenses.

For example, we know from our missionaries, who work throughout North America and even to the uttermost parts of the world, that it is crucial to understand the social dynamics where the Gospel’s power to reconcile all things is desperately needed. We affirm without reservation that we must rely exclusively on biblical theology for understanding God’s plan for His world and the power of the Gospel to accomplish His plan.

This is why the resolution rejects embracing CRT/I as a worldview…

Did you catch that? The resolution rejects CRT/I as a worldview but embraces CRT/I generally. Because we have much to learn about microaggressing non-Christian cultures!

…and calls us to place any descriptive insights under the authoritative and sufficient Scriptures. One of the resolved statements reads, “That we deny any philosophy or theology that fundamentally defines individuals using categories identified as sinful in Scripture rather than the transcendent reality shared by every image bearer and divinely affirmed distinctions.”

Q: Some question that the 2019 Resolutions Committee was unclear about embracing the sufficiency of Scripture. What is the committee’s response to that?

A: The resolution appeals directly to the sufficiency of Scripture and does so by using language from the Baptist Faith and Message (BF&M). Article 1 of the BF&M states: “all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.”

We affirm that the Bible is the authoritative standard for belief and practice, and further, it teaches that Christ, Himself, is the subject of Scripture, not a human theory.

Christ is *A* subject of Scripture. My “boyfriend Jesus” detector is making like Chernobyl.

The resolution expresses clearly that the sufficient Scriptures govern all our own ideas as well as the use of ideas from any and all non-biblical sources. This affirmation reflects precisely how the Christian church for 2000 years has interacted with ideas that emerge from sources outside of Scripture.

The ideas he’s talking about are topics that Scripture doesn’t cover, like manufacturing and science. When it comes to questions of morality, however, this doomed, blind world in bondage to the devil has nothing to teach us. NOTHING.

Q: There has been a real concern that this resolution’s adoption is an illustration of creeping liberalism in Southern Baptist life, or even an attempt to nudge the SBC in that direction. How does the committee respond to this?

Thank you!

A: The committee has been accused of bad motives. Some have compared the resolution to building a “Trojan horse” or letting liberalism into our Southern Baptist tent. This was not the goal of any member of the committee, and there is nothing about our work to indicate that it was our intention. We sought to provide clear biblical parameters to engage ongoing conversations about race in society.

This resolution was never intended to divide us or to harm our convention. It was presented to address concerns that were being raised and provide a basis for unity. However, confusion about the resolution’s content and our motives has brought division. We appreciate the genuine critiques that have been expressed. At the same time, we have watched misunderstandings spread and people’s reputations maligned due to misrepresentation. We are grieved by this, and we believe it grieves the heart of our Lord.

Lies, all lies. They really are building a Trojan Horse to let worldly ideologies into the SBC. We can prove that this is their goal because of the contrast between what Feinstein submitted and what they released!

Q: For the sake of fellowship within our Southern Baptist family, where does the committee believe we should go from here?

Al Mohler and Tom Ascol colluded to add more squid ink.

Segue:

Resolution 9 and the Southern Baptist Convention 2019

The original resolution clearly denounced Intersectionality and Critical Race Theory as they are typically understood, thus warning Christians against them. The revised version said that critical theory and intersectionality are mere tools that could be used in ways subordinate to Scripture.

End segue.

A: We realize that Southern Baptists may come to different conclusions as to the wisdom of presenting Resolution 9. We encourage brothers and sisters not to lose sight of the profound and clear common ground we share on the sufficiency of the Gospel. Along with the message of Resolution 7, “On Biblical Justice,” the resolution makes clear that only Jesus is able to redeem men, women, boys and girls from every nation, tribe and tongue to an eternal relationship with God and reconciled relationships with one another.

This is why church splits happen. This is why church splits SHOULD happen, so that we can abandon Converged institutions to die in their own cack while we proceed to worship the Creator unhindered.

We pledged ourselves to a cooperative culture in Birmingham through Resolution 6, “On the Promotion of a ‘Cooperative Culture’ in the Southern Baptist Convention for Mission Advance.”

They could have, at minimum, taken back the Resolution to try again next year. Instead, they claim to want unity while not lifting a finger to accommodate the legitimate concerns of dissidents whose work they appropriated.

We want to, along with our brothers and sisters, pursue cooperation built on trust and goodwill. We ask our leaders to lead us with biblical courage and conviction as we face various challenges to our cooperative mission. We ourselves are resolved to work tirelessly for this biblical vision with every opportunity the Lord Jesus gives us.

Yes, they are indeed working tirelessly for SOMEBODY’S vision. Somebody who authored Critical Race Theory… somebody who, as the Committee itself admits, wasn’t Jesus.

POSTSCRIPT: The Original Text

On Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality

WHEREAS, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy and reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried; and

WHEREAS, critical race theory and intersectionality are founded upon unbiblical presuppositions descended from Marxist theories and categories, and therefore are inherently opposed to the Scriptures as the true center of Christian union; and

WHEREAS, both critical race theory and intersectionality as ideologies have infiltrated some Southern Baptist churches and institutions—institutions funded by the Cooperative Program; and

WHEREAS, critical race theory upholds postmodern relativistic understandings of truth; and

WHEREAS, critical race theory divides humanity into groups of oppressors and oppressed, and is used to encourage biblical, transcendental truth claims to be considered suspect when communicated from groups labeled as oppressors; and

WHEREAS, intersectionality defines human identity by race, social background, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and a host of other distinctions, and it does so at the expense of other identities; and

WHEREAS, intersectionality reduces human beings to distinguishable identities of unequal value and thus reduces human identity down to differences rather than commonality; and

WHEREAS, intersectionality encourages rage as its driving energy and conclusion; and

WHEREAS, intersectionality magnifies differences while deeming as more favorable the individuals who combine the highest number of oppressed identities; and

WHEREAS, both critical race theory and intersectionality breed division and deny humanity’s essential commonality; and

WHEREAS, the Scripture provides God’s narrative on such matters; and

WHEREAS, the book of Genesis grounds humanity in that which unites us, namely our common identity as the Imago Dei, which itself is the foundation of every biblical, ethical command to love one’s neighbor and to seek justice for all; and

WHEREAS, the Bible acknowledges differences—male and female, slave and free, Jew and Gentile—it does not begin with human differences, but instead begins with what unites humanity, namely the Imago Dei; and

WHEREAS, the sameness of humanity built upon the Imago Dei, justifies the value of all individuals in something that transcends race, gender, and other identity intersections; and

WHEREAS, the New Covenant further unites by creating a new humanity that will one day inhabit the new heavens and the new earth, and that the people of this new humanity, though descended from every nation, tribe, tongue, and people, are all one in Christ; and

WHEREAS, this new humanity is comprised of people from every ethnicity and race, of every socio-economic background and culture, and yet these people enter this new humanity through belief in the Gospel of Jesus Christ; and

WHEREAS, Christian citizenship is not based on our differences but instead on our common salvation in Christ; and

WHEREAS, we find our true identity in Christ; and

WHEREAS, the Scriptures have categories and principles by which to deal with racism, sexism, injustice, abuse—principles found in prior Southern Baptist resolutions such as On The Anti-Gospel of Alt-Right White Supremacy, for example, that are not rooted in Marxist anti-gospel presuppositions; and

WHEREAS, the rhetoric of critical race theory and intersectionality found in some Southern Baptist institutions and leaders is causing unnecessary and unbiblical division among the body of Christ and is tarnishing the reputation of the Southern Baptist Convention as a whole, inviting charges of theological liberalism, egalitarianism, and Marxism; and

WHEREAS, the Southern Baptist Convention is committed to racial reconciliation built upon biblical presuppositions, and is committed to seeking biblical justice through biblical means; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention, meeting in Birmingham, Alabama, June 11-12, 2019, decry every philosophy or theology, including critical race theory and intersectionality, as antithetical to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, since they divide the people of Christ by defining fundamental identity as something other than our identity in Jesus Christ; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we deny any philosophy or theology that defines individuals primarily by non-transcendental social constructs rather than by the transcendental reality of all humans existing as the Imago Dei; and be it further

RESOLVED, That while we denounce critical race theory and intersectionality, we do not deny that ethnic, gender, cultural, and racial distinctions do in fact exist and are a gift from God that will give Him absolute glory when the entire gamut of human diversity worships Him in perfect unity founded upon our unity in Jesus Christ; and be it further

RESOLVED, That Southern Baptist Churches will seek to paint this eschatological picture in a proleptic manner in our churches in the present by focusing on our unity in Christ and our common humanity as the Imago Dei rather than dividing over the secondary matters than make us different; and be it further

RESOLVED, That Southern Baptists Churches and institutions will take a prophetic stand against all forms of biblically-defined injustice, but we will do so in a manner consistent with the biblical worldview rather than unbiblical worldviews; and be it further

RESOLVED, That Southern Baptist institutions need to make progress in rooting out the intentional promulgation of critical race theory and intersectionality in both our churches and institutions; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we earnestly pray, both for those who advocate ideologies meant to divide believers along intersectional lines and those who are thereby deceived, that they may see their error through the light of the Gospel, repent of these anti-Gospel beliefs, and come to know the peace and love of Christ through redeemed fellowship in the Kingdom of God, which is established from every nation, tribe, people, and language.