A Book Review from Books At a Glance
by Darren Bradley
Darrell Harrison and Virgil Walker are qualified to speak about this topic not because they are co-hosts of the Just Thinking podcast. They are qualified primarily because they are believers who rightly handle the Word of God based on their use and interpretation of Scripture in the book. Secondly, they approach this topic as ethnically black men who are biblically engaged in the culture as teachers, counselors, and ministers. Additionally, they are learners, not just men offering opinions based on feelings and experience. Harrison is a “fellow of the Black Theology and Leadership Institute at Princeton Theological Seminary (PTS) … and a graduate of the Theology and Ministry certificate program at PTS” (p. 153). Walker has “earned his Master of Business Administration (MBA) and is currently attending Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he is working toward the completion of his Master of Divinity (MDiv)” (p. 153).
Book Summary
Despite what the title might indicate, this book is about something other than ethnicity in a general sense. It is primarily about the relationship between people considered “white” and ethnically black people. As their thesis, Harrison and Walker state, “We must be willing to address these things [race, ethnicity, and social justice] with historical honesty and scriptural faithfulness, unflinchingly dealing with these topics through the lens of a biblical worldview” (p. 1). With this thesis in mind, Harrison and Walker deal with issues such as the incorrect use of terms (i.e., the use of race instead of ethnicity), faulty theories and theologies (such as Critical Race Theory “CRT” and black liberation theology), the impact of these faulty theories and theologies on society, and the biblical view of the issues.
Each of these issues is so intertwined with the others that the authors connect all four issues in every chapter of the book. The first chapter is an example where the authors discuss incorrectly using the term “whiteness.” Harrison and Walker point out that the so-called experts define the term as “Whiteness is anything that is not blackness … in other words, anyone of any ethnicity other than black is guilty of whiteness” (p. 2). The authors connect CRT and black liberation theology with the incorrect use of this term. Ultimately, Harrison and Walker state the problem, “‘Whiteness’ and its origins in CRT and black liberation theology are fundamentally grounded in worldly, man-centered wisdom, not the wisdom of God” (p. 7). Even as they state the problem, the biblical solution is also provided—the wisdom of God. Each of the other eight chapters follows a similar pattern.
Book Evaluation
Using ethnicity as their platform, Harrison and Walker have done an excellent job addressing race, ethnicity, and social justice. The authors have been honest regarding the history of the issues, exhibited scriptural faithfulness, and diligently viewed each issue through the lens of a biblical worldview. In regards to facing our history honestly, Harrison and Walker state, “We must not flinch from the realities of history … we look full face into what took place in the past, yet we don’t allow past experience to inform our understanding of Scripture. Scripture, not our experience, is what interprets Scripture” (p. 81). This honesty regarding the history of Christianity in America provides credibility when delving into the history of CRT and black liberation theology and their connection with atheistic and worldly philosophies. About CRT, the authors conclude, “Secular CRT scholars are honest about their desire to destroy the fundamental framework of the Judeo-Christian worldview” (pp. 23-24). Regarding black liberation theology, Harrison and Walker state, “Comparing the words of black liberation theologians with God’s Word will clearly reveal that black liberation theology is a false gospel with a false Christ” (p. 37).
Although one of the book’s strengths was the honest and informative historical background provided, one of the weaknesses was the failure to adequately help the reader understand what the term “critical” means in CRT. It may mean precisely what critical usually means, but why is the term used? A few brief words on this term would have been helpful. A second weakness relates to this first. The authors rightfully point out that race is a term being misused and, in most instances, should be replaced with the term “ethnicity.” Harrison and Walker mostly use ethnicity instead of race, although there are a few places where they use the term “race.” This shows just how pervasive the incorrect use of the word has become, and part of the problem seems to be the connection with the term “racism.” The authors want their readers to use the terms correctly. However, they did not provide an alternative for the term racism. It may be that a corresponding concept that relates to the word “ethnicity” is not available, but some discussion on the issue would have been helpful as well.
Harrison and Walker faithfully use Scripture throughout the book. One prime example comes in Chapter 4 and their discussion of activist theology. After walking the reader through the issue, they state, “There are professing Christians today who prefer an activist gospel to a gospel that quietly changes people’s hearts, thinking naively that the former can somehow accomplish by force what the latter accomplishes by the power of God (1 Thess. 2:13)” (p. 59). This is not the only example. Still, it exemplifies a strength of the book. Harrison and Walker have faithfully guarded scriptural knowledge and provided excellent instruction with that knowledge (Mal 2:7).
Another strength of the book is its reflection on biblical reconciliation and forgiveness. True social justice will only occur with both actions being faithfully addressed. Harrison and Walker write, “Contrary to what many have suggested, we are not ‘divided by faith’—we are divided by our flesh. We are not ‘compromised by color’ but by corruption. … ’Sin is the great dividing element’” (p. 80). Because of their excellent reflection on biblical reconciliation, the authors can bluntly say, “The entire racial reconciliation movement is so far from biblical reconciliation that it is clearly a demonic and diabolical scam” (p. 87).
This book is written by Christians so that Christians will faithfully engage with culture. Harrison and Walker’s best appeal to their readers is, “If Christians desire to engage with cultural ideas like whiteness or other issues related to sociology, psychology, and anthropology, they must maintain biblical categories and terms. … so-called theologians are extracting ideas from Marxism, incorporating them into liberation theology, and reframing theological categories into nonsense wrapped [as] intellectualism” (p. 10).
Darren Bradley