Thursday, June 13, 2019

SBC19 Resolution #9 on Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality

By Stephen Feinstein

At this time yesterday, passions heated up at the Southern Baptist Annual Convention. The resolutions committee presented the messengers with Resolution #9, which ended up in a heated, yet short, debate. Presently, there is a lot of noise on social media over this. Many are speaking on this issue, and necessity lays the same mandate upon me.

Why should my voice be included? Simply put, 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 not comment on it here, but simply post it. I plan on making a short video sharing my thoughts on the resolution as it now stands. I pray you will be gracious and patient with me. I had to set aside my blog four years ago due to a high workload. I have been wanting to jump back into it, and it seems that this issue is the catalyst. See the original resolution below.

Resolution Author: Stephen Feinstein
Sovereign Way Christian Church
Pastor(s): Stephen Feinstein; Brian Orr; Joshua Ritchie
Stephen Feinstein

Sovereign Way Christian Church
15660 Juniper Street
Hesperia, CA 92345
760-948-3200



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.



14 comments:

  1. I would vote for this in a second. Well said.

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  2. Wow, this is quite different (i.e. biblical) than what the SBC sycophants turned it into.

    This is the resolution that should have been voted on (and passed), not the psychobabble that it was twisted into!

    Kudos on staying true to God’s Word and working to unite believers in our identity in Christ!

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    1. The resolution that passed is more than just psychobabble, it is a near perfect example of the inconsistencies of a postmodern SBC constituency. If you haven't already, exit now!

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  3. Brother your original resolution is solid biblically and confirms the Judeo-Christian foundation of our American Declaration of independence. When we say each one is endowed with rights, the current leftist spin makes that a "woke" statement of revolutionary resistance, that is then spun into the "right" to anarchy and violence to fight for those perceived rights. But as Dr. Francis Schaeffer wrote, it is impossible to have rights without responsibilities. Just as in forgiveness, from a Christ centered relational economy, it is not possible to be forgiven without being willing to extend forgiveness. I have recently thought that we are missing a major point of the declaration. When we focus on the rights language, we forget that it is likewise impossible to have rights without having worth & value. There is no unshifting source of worth and value for the individual than that found in the Bible. Thanks brother!

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  4. This is exactly what should have been presented. I am convinced that the influence of the Resolution Committee carries so much weight that just about any resolution would pass if it were not overwhelmingly off-base. And since this issue is not known well by most pastors and messengers, the committee's label of Dr. Ascol's amendment as hostile/unfriendly was almost a death sentence. Thank you for letting us see the original. I will be spreading this truth.

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  5. I agree - - this should have been the resolution that was presented - and it would have passed without any problem. The clear power is in the influence of the Resolutions Committee. The default assumption is that they represent the mainline SBC position on issues; so, when they labeled Dr. Ascol's amendment as unfriendly/hostile that was a death sentence. I appreciate you giving us the original wording. I will be sharing this as much as possible. Let's keep our heads up and re-group for Orlando!

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  6. This looks great! Unfortunately, after 20-30 minutes on Google, I cannot find a copy of the version of Resolution 9 that passed. There are LOTS of blog posts about it but I can't find a link to the final version! Do you have a link? Can someone guide me there?

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  7. Hi Stephen. Thank you for sharing this. I did not attend the Convention and was not aware of this specific resolution. Thank you for printing your original. I've just read the rewritten version that was passed, and it breaks my heart. I was praying for clearer heads to prevail, but it looks like the emotionally led were able to persuade others.

    I find it disappointing and highly disturbing that so many claim the scripture is the highest authority from which they speak, yet they continue to deny something the scripture states from the very beginning, and again in Acts 17, which is, there is no such thing as multiple races on this planet. From the beginning, God made the human race. Yes, he made them male and female, but they were of the same race. They had all the genetic markers to make the human race one of diverse shapes, sizes, colors, and a host of other physical attributes, but regardless of a persons looks, they are still human. Not Martian, Venusian, or Jupiterian. To say that a person on this planet is of a different race is a lie, plain and simple. To say that people can be racist is also a lie. You can be foolishly prejudice of someone due to their physical attributes, but you can't be racist, unless of course you hate the whole human race including yourself.

    Therefore, if you have a conversation regarding the differences in people's physical attributes, ethnicities, or cultures and you use the term race, you have already entered the realm of fantasy, and any conclusions you reach are based on falsehoods. You cannot discuss truth, real truth, while using the language and structure of lies. As they say, you can't get there from here. The SBC has tried to reconcile the prejudice and animosity between people of varying skin colors for years, but they haven't succeeded nor will they ever because they continue to base the construct on something that doesn't exist. If they would only admit the truth they could settle the issue and move on.

    I know nothing of Critical Race Theory or Intersectionality, but I can tell from the titles they are built on lies. The fact that our Convention deems them as "tools" which could be used for anything is very troubling. But it is another symptom of what I've already stated. We'll never win the war fighting with the enemy's weapons. I'm afraid too many of our denomination's leaders have fallen into that trap.

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    1. BRAVO! BRAVO! BRAVO!

      Thank you, Kenneth, for writing all of this so I don't have to. One of my greatest pet peeves is when Christians, who ought to know better, perpetuate they Darwinian myth of multiple races. From Genesis through Revelation, the biblical record is clear and categorical in its revelation that there is only ONE race—the human race. Even the author of this blog and the original SBC resolution erroneously made a distinction between ethnicity and race, even though he'll never find biblical support for such a notion. There may be different people groups or ethnicities, but all that really means is that there is physical diversity among God's image bearers. Genesis 1:26–27 would be sufficient to comprehend this fact, but Paul's powerful speech to the men of Athens *really* drives the point home.

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  8. Thank you so very much for letting us see the Original. As a pastor and also and Associational Moderator I am soon to deal with this issue in both those areas. Praying for The Majesty of God and the Purity of the Gospel to be proclaimed clearly in our Churches and other areas of influence. It is By Grace Alone, through Faith Alone in Christ Alone as revealed in Scripture Alone that we are saved and thus those truths will forever be under assault. Grace and Peace

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  9. I couldn't have said this any better. Thank you to all the Christian/clarification. You've identified what we need to work on ad a race; a human race. Thank you.

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