Critical Race Theory is a Prophetic Tool

I recently wrote a piece over at Word & Way about Critical Race Theory (CRT). If you don’t know anything about CRT, or just want an overview of why I think it’s a gift from God, I encourage you to go read that article now.

Near the end of that piece, I began a reflection on prophetic tools, but I ran out of space. So I thought we could pick up the torch here at the Harbor blog.

Who are prophets?

I take most of my cues on this topic from theologian Walter Brueggemann, and specifically his book The Prophetic Imagination. In it, he contends that prophets primarily do two things: criticize the status quo and energize people to take action. Brueggemann understands the Old Testament narrative as a struggle between, on the one hand, the “prophetic imagination” of Moses and the prophets, and on the other, the “royal consciousness” of the kings and priests.

The prophetic imagination remembers when the people broke from empire (e.g. the Exodus), and so it moves through the wilderness with an economics of equality, a politics of justice, and a religion with a God who is free and who cannot be co-opted. When this imagination is replaced and stifled by the royal consciousness (e.g. the reign of Solomon), the rulers impose an economics of affluence, a politics of oppression, and a religion in which priests control a static system of access to God.

In our day, as then, a prophet is someone who challenges injustice in the status quo and moves people to work against evil. Who sees affluence, oppression, and religious control and speaks out. Who uses their imagination to paint a picture of how things might be—how empire might once more be broken and equality, justice, and freedom might bloom.

How do prophets operate?

This is the question that I don’t see much dialogue about. How do prophets go about the work of critique and energizing? Of course there are many, many ways for people to approach this work. Writing books. Forming non-profits. Organizing political groups. But today I’d like to reflect on some of the most common “tools” of the prophets in the Bible, and some that have emerged more recently. If you think of some other good ones, let me know!

1. Parables

   • The prophet Nathan rebuked David and drove him to repentance by telling a story about a wicked rich man (1 Samuel 12).

   • Jesus used parables in much of his teaching, including some of his challenges to the Pharisees and religious leaders (e.g. Luke 15).

2. Woes

   • The OT prophets used these super-harsh words of warning often, usually against groups of people practicing corruption and injustice (e.g. Ezekiel 13, Micah 2, Isaiah 5).

   • Jesus spoke forth seven woes against the Pharisees and teachers of the law, criticizing their hypocrisy and exclusivity (Matthew 23).

3. Hashtags

   • It is remarkable how powerful hashtags have been in recent prophetic work. The #MeToo and #ChurchToo movements, for instance, have shone a light on the horrific evil of sexual abuse.

   • These movements have given way to modern-day prophets like Rachael Denhollander, who uses her platform to amplify the voices of victims and to fight for justice and change.

4. Critical Race Theory

   • CRT is not an ideology, a religion, or a political philosophy. It is an academic approach that uncovers institutional racism in the US legal system (and, by extension, in other systems). In this sense, it is more of a “diagnostic tool” than anything else.

   • What could be more useful to a prophet than a diagnostic tool? In order for a prophet to criticize injustice and call others to action, they will need to understand how the mechanisms of oppression work, how they came to be, and what might be done to untangle them. CRT analyzes forms of racism that are harder to see than the KKK or segregation laws, and thus it provides an invaluable service to those who would work against oppression.

   • The first three tools above are geared more to help the prophet communicate with those perpetuating evil or with those who might stand against it. Meanwhile, CRT seems to be situated to help the prophet and fellow workers understand what must be changed. Either way, it has a role to play in the overall prophetic enterprise!

As I mentioned in the earlier article, I’m not an expert on CRT. But to the extent I have engaged with it and understood it, it has been a gift to me. Whether you’re a prophet or just ready to be energized to do good, I hope it will be a gift to you as well.

If you’d like to discuss CRT, race, or anti-racism with Jon, you can schedule a Zoom call here.