In our last blog, we covered a really brief overview of these cultural buzzwords: “privilege,” “oppression,” “marginalized,” and “equity.” We compared the formal definitions of these words with both 1) what we assume people mean when they use them and 2) the oversimplified description of what our culture actually means. That was just a place to start, because as you probably already know, these terms refer to ideas that are anything but simple. Even though these words are being co-opted to manipulate the masses (we call it “linguistic theft”), the underlying theme of justice is something Christians are called to stand up for. We just have to take care to distinguish true justice from counterfeit justice. Let’s do that with a ROAR!
Recognize the Message: What is culture trying to teach our kids?Fight for equity at all costs!Equity is the goal, but past injustices must first be corrected. This might require some temporary exclusion and reduction of rights and privileges for those who currently hold the most power; we first need to even out the power imbalance.
Disparities equal oppression. Full stop. In this day and age, no one should lack anything they need. At this point, the world has enough resources to go around. The only reason that any disparities are a reality for any given group of people is because there is some type of oppression at play.
If you’re not marginalized, then you’re privileged.The more traits you embody that align with the dominant traits of our society (white skin, cisgender, English-speaking, etc.) the more inherently privileged you are. The fewer traits, the more marginalized you are. Things aren’t going to change until those who hold the most power in society (the privileged) humble themselves and recognize how they have contributed to this unjust system.
Offer Discernment: Affirm the Good and Reject the BadTRUTH #1: Inequity is real. Zoom out from your country of origin. We obviously don’t live in an equitable world. Just in my own experience, I’ve been to a party at a mansion that looked like a five-star resort, and I’ve visited houses with only three walls, built on stilts over water on a Peruvian island. There are children in India who are born into state-sanctioned brothels. There are tribes with millions of people who are on the brink of starvation, such as in Africa and South America. Some kids are born into the Western version of poverty, and others into working middle-class families or upper-class families.
TRUTH #2: Prejudice is real.And it is evil and needs to be called out. But will we ever totally get rid of it? Not as long as sin is still a thing.
TRUTH #3: Privilege is real.If by “privilege” we mean “advantage,” a native in her home country is often going to be privileged in some ways above a foreigner because she knows the area and has family and friends nearby. This will give the native advantages that the foreigner may not have. But this “privilege” is directly relative to the foreigner’s situation. There is nothing inherently privileged about living in your hometown. It becomes problematic when “privileged” is dogmatically assigned to an entire demographic with no real objective standard to begin with. What if a straight white male lives in poverty in a dilapidated house among the Appalachian Mountains? Can we really call that person inherently privileged just because he is a heterosexual male in a dominantly white country living in his hometown?
TRUTH #4: Oppression is real.Oppression based on ethnicity or religion is definitely a part of American history. We cannot overlook the truths of our past and even recognize the ripple effects of historic oppression. We must take care not to become so reactive to “buzzwords” that we turn a blind eye to true oppression.
So, while we readily acknowledge that there is some truth in what social justice activists are trying to say, we have to still stand against the lies that are sneaking in.
LIE #1: God wants Christians to work towards an earthly utopia.A social justice utopia is not God’s goal. Culture’s utopian vision of equity is a worldly mission with worldly methods. But the truth is that it is not up to believers to create a perfectly equitable world. We are to play our part in the expansion of Jesus’ Kingdom on earth primarily by making disciples. Part of being a disciple of Christ is fighting for justice, advocating for the oppressed, and caring for those on the margins of society who are vulnerable. But these words need to be defined by God, since they are His ideas in the first place.
LIE #2: Sometimes you need to sin in order to fight sin.No! This is an incredibly arrogant and dangerous lie. Is a Mike Smith more likely than a Miguel Garcia to get a callback at an accounting firm? Sadly, sometimes yes. Is that fair? No. Can we police every instance of this? Also, no. And if the social justice movement were just about helping people see their own biases, then we’d be all for it. But, it’s not. Under the banner of “social justice,” fair and equitable treatment is to prefer Miguel over Michael by fiat. This is called “affirmative action” and perfectly exemplifies antiracist author Ibram Kendi’s claim that “the only remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination.”1 But that’s not what Scripture teaches. God literally predicted this movement all the way back in Leviticus 19:15 when He warned not to show partiality to the rich or to the poor. We are not to pay the price of unrighteousness for the prize of “equity.”
LIE #3: The root cause of all disparities is oppression. Are we completely forgetting about personal responsibility? If someone makes a poor choice, should we immediately assume that they were unavoidably driven to that bad choice because of some kind of oppression? In the documentary Born into Brothels, photographers Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman provided training for a group of kids, ultimately raising enough money to send a few of them to school. The outcome? While one girl was ecstatic to break the cycle of her family and get out of the ghetto, another student had very little motivation or family support. He squandered the opportunity and eventually went back to the brothel of his own accord (and the request of his mom) living in squalor rather than in the nice dorms provided at the school. Bottom line? There are some mindsets you can’t fix, even when you provide equal opportunities.
LIE #4: Each person is either overall “privileged” or “oppressed.”There is no way to fairly categorize every single benefit or disadvantage each person experiences, even if we wanted to. The variables are too vast. Many of our experiences will benefit us in one way while disadvantaging us in another, and vice versa. Individuals within a demographic will still be born into differing family situations, differing communities, and with differing genetics. To dogmatically declare an entire group “oppressed” is almost like claiming omniscience. There is only One who has that kind of wisdom.
Argue for a Healthier ApproachIn Scripture when God is warning His people to “seek justice” and “correct oppression,” be sure to read the individual verses in context of the full passage. In Isaiah 1, for example, notice how God’s imperative to do justice is contrasted against the sins of Judah: they were “dealing corruptly” (verse 4) and “accepting bribes” (verse 23). In Zechariah, the Lord says, “Administer true justice…” and what does He mean by that? He tells us, “show mercy and compassion to one another.” What, then, does God mean when He uses the word “oppression?” God says, “Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.” (emphasis added). And in Psalm 9:8, God is praised for ruling with equity, or in other words, fairness. Nowhere in scripture does God say “Make sure everyone has the same amount of everything and that everyone feels normal!” No, but we are to have mercy and compassion, and deal with people impartially and without corruption.
In a keynote given at the Women in Apologetics conference a few years back, speakers Krista Bontrager and Monique Duson together made a point that really stuck with me: there is a difference between being oppressed versus being vulnerable to oppression. Biblically, a person is not automatically considered oppressed by virtue of being in a vulnerable situation (poor, orphan, widow). In fact, we are warned not to oppress them, implying that they can be not-oppressed, (Proverbs 22:16, Exodus 23:9, Zechariah 7:10) and we are called to care for and support them (Isaiah 1:17, James 1:27). This is an entirely different (and healthier) lens through which to view oppression because it allows us to truthfully acknowledge when or if those in vulnerable situations are perpetuating oppression themselves. We are free to recognize actual oppression, even if it’s coming from someone whom culture has deemed “marginalized.” And that doesn’t take away our initiative from the Lord to look out for and care for those less fortunate than ourselves.
Reinforce Through Discussion, Discipleship, and Prayer1. Make a list and pray. Take a few minutes to make a list with your kids of how God has blessed them. Talk about how the culture sees these as “privileges” but we can see them as blessings, and thank God for them. Then, pray with your kids that the Lord will reveal ways they can be a blessing to others.
Draw a picture and tell a story. Have your child draw a picture with 3 characters. Give each character the same piggy bank with $100 written on it. Then draw 3 big doors. Ask your kiddo to tell you what each character wants to do with their $100, which door they will choose to go through, and where that door leads. Most likely, your child will give you a different story for each character. Talk about how EVEN if everyone had all the same things, people will make different choices. God has given us free will and the responsibility to choose how to use it.
Compare culture’s idea of oppression with God’s. Discuss the ideology of our culture and contrast it with a biblical worldview. By what standard is culture judging oppression and what standard does God use?
God’s standard: Impartiality – treat all people the same whether they are rich, poor, black, white, etc. When that standard is not met, it is sin and injustice.
Hillary and AlexaHillary and Alexa love writing together, so this piece is a little bit of both of them.
1 Kendi, How to Be an Antiracist (One World, 2019)The post ROARing through the buzzwords privilege, oppression, marginalized, & equity appeared first on Mama Bear Apologetics.