The Gospel Coalition is starting a series of Ted Talks, cleverly called “TGC Talks” with Justin Giboney as the first speaker in this series. Justin Giboney is part of the And Campaign, a rapidly growing woke evangelical political activism organization. The And Campaign supports social justice which includes but is not limited to their version of the Equality Act, paying women not to murder their children, and welfare programs as charity. Justin Giboney is the founder of this heterodox movement that champions false teachers such as Anthony Bradley, Charlie Dates, and Esau McCaulley.
One of the major red flags in this speech is Giboney’s constant misuse of Scripture. One of his major arguments is that people crave lies that affirm their own ethnic and cultural beliefs. In essence, Giboney is peddling a Gnosticism that he understands what “both sides” do not. He argues that the Jews listening to Peter’s sermon didn’t want to hear the truth, despite the Holy Spirt saving them at Pentecost to support this claim.
Another foundational problem in the innocuous use of terms like social justice, as well as comparing Marxism and Critical Race Theory to Scripture. Terms like social justice have always carried with it a politically charged meaning. Social is not simply and adjective to describe justice. It’s a Marxist term. Evangelical Dark Web defines social justice as follows:
Social Justice – the remedying of perceived oppressor versus victim dynamics according to Critical Theory
Social Justice is political “remedies” to perceived injustices. It’ is not compatible with actual justice, which is the application of God’s righteous standard. Therefore, Christians should not flippantly use political language that opposes Scripture.
In calling out “both sides” for straw man arguments, Giboney never dives into specifics like which calls for racial justice are not rooted in Critical Race Theory, who are the white nationalists, or makes any substantive critiques of Critical Race Theorists. He actually critiques Crtical Theorists for a veiw they do not hold. A Critical Theorists does not believe that whiteness is the root of all evil, as Giboney suggests. They also believe masculinity, heteronormativity, capitalism, and other normative are the root of all evil as well. Critical Race Theory is but one manifestation of Cultural Marxism.
Overall, in trying to cut through the lies on both sides, Justin Giboney provides invalid critiques of Critical Race Theory and focuses mostly on attacking orthodox Christians.
