No one is going to be teaching at Southern Seminary from ‘the other side,’ of post-modern, critical theory.

Al Mohler, President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

There is no denying that the Southern Baptist Convention has been overtaken by a Marxist movement which is clearly undermining the gospel of Jesus Christ and turning Evangelicals toward a culturally-minded social gospel. The new Evangelical gospel of social justice has nearly completely replaced the true gospel with a gospel of works with a system of self-atonement. The movement is largely centered around the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission’s (ERLC) game plan to turn churches into racial justice centers and is born out of a secular Marxist worldview known as Critical Race Theory.

Critical Race Theory (CRT) emerged as an offshoot of Critical Theory, a neo-Marxist philosophy that has its roots in the Frankfurt School and its methods are drawn from Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud. CRT teaches that institutional racism exists within every structure of society and that these structures are intrinsically designed in such a manner as to protect and preserve “white supremacy” in our culture. Further, CRT does not rely on factual statistics or objective evidence to support the theory, rather it relies on anecdotal evidence and personal experience.

In June of 2019, the Southern Baptist Convention adopted a resolution affirming Critical Race Theory as a “useful tool” for examining racialist issues in the culture and the Church. While quite a number of conservative Southern Baptists are opposed to the use of Critical Race Theory — as it is a worldview completely devoid of and opposed to the gospel — some Southern Baptist seminary leaders have stated they would not support the use of these secular ideologies in their institutions.

Despite their rhetoric to oppose the use of CRT in their seminaries, Danny Akin, president of Southeastern Seminary (SEBTS) and Al Mohler, president of Southern Seminary (SBTS) both allow open Critical Race Theorists to teach and espouse their unbiblical ideologies on their watches. On the heels of two open Cultural Marxists exposure at SEBTS, Matthew Hall, the provost at SEBTS who has bought into the notion white privilege, white supremacy, and racism are inherent in white people, and Walter Strickland, a professor at SEBTS who openly teaches and promotes James Cone and liberation theology, another prominent professor at Mohler’s seminary (SBTS) has also been openly teaching Critical Race Theory.

Jarvis Williams is a well-known professor at SBTS, Associate Professor of New Testament Interpretation, and the author of several books, including one that clearly exposes his graceless view of atonement, Removing the Stain of Racism from the Southern Baptist Convention. Williams’ book offers a way for white people to atone for their sins of inherent racism, white privilege, and white supremacy by way of works. Like his presbyterian counterpart, Jemar Tisby — who suggests that white people need to atone for their sins through virtuous acts of reparations — Williams clearly ascribes to the same view of self-atonement when it comes to issues of race.

In an article published at The Gospel Coalition and authored by Matt Smethurst, Williams answers some questions about books he recommends that have shaped his view of racial justice. The article, titled On My Shelf: Life and Books with Jarvis Williams, Williams answers the question, “What books have most shaped your understanding of racial justice?”

So many. A few are: Michael Emerson’s Divided by Faith; Christena Cleveland’s Disunity in Christ; Richard Delgado’s Critical Race Theory: An Introduction; Benjamin Isaac’s The Invention of Racism in Classical Antiquity; Love L. Sechrest’s A Former Jew: Paul and the Dialectics of Race; and W. E. B. Dubois’s The Souls of Black Folks. 

and, “Which book do you wish every evangelical Christian would read and why?”

Richard Delgado’s Critical Race Theory: An Introduction. A necessary book because evangelicals still tend to be decades behind on critical race discussions.

He goes on to allege that the “evangelical movement and white supremacy are closely connected.”

Jarvis Williams holds one of the most prominent professorial seats at SBTS and teaches one of the most important subjects in seminary — New Testament interpretation. Yet, Williams looks at the Bible, society, and the Church through the lens of a Marxist worldview? Further, Mohler declared that he would not allow anyone at his seminary who espouses these views to do so. Yet, here he is, doing so.