Mattera On Christ & Culture (Part 2)

4. Biblical justice to critical race theory (CRT)

The biblical notion of justice is being supplanted by CRT, which emphasizes systemic oppression and racial categorization. Scripture teaches that our identity is found in being children of God through Christ, not in our skin color or ethnicity (Galatians 3:28). The gospel unites us as one body in Christ, transcending racial and ethnic divisions.

In contrast, woke ideology views reality primarily through the lens of skin color and victimization, promoting division and fostering resentment. As believers, we must reject this worldview and uphold the biblical principle that all are equal before God, striving for true justice and reconciliation through the Gospel’s transformative power.

That is, at best, a truncated understanding of Galatians 3:28, & his usage of this text places him at odds with his own theology of sex & gender as well as his Us Vs. Them perspective on the present state of affairs in the United States. 

The text of Galatians is not about the erasure of racial & ethnic distinctions within the covenant community & society at large.  Rather, Paul is emphasizing the doctrine of Soul Competency & the need for unity within the Body of Christ in face of the demands of the polytheistic society in which the Christians (and Jews)  of the Apostolic Era lived. 

Paul teaches in Romans 1:20 that the Created Order’s purpose is to magnify & testify to God’s image & authority.   In Christian theology, God is both singular & plural (triune), both transcendent & immanent; Christ is fully God & fully human, & people are both male & female.  The Scriptures emphasize the simultaneous nature of these qualities that are stamped across the whole of the Created Order. 

Mr. Mattera uses the text of Galatians as if  ethnic & racial distinctions have been erased on the one hand, while his own perspective on sex & gender emphasizes sex/gender distinctions & sex/gender roles that he himself recognizes as diverse not erased.   That’s just plain wrong.  

The text of Galatians 3:28 is about our general vertical position relative to God & the necessity for missional focus in opposition to a particular foil - a culture whose liturgical philosophy at the time Galatians was written overemphasized diversity due to its polytheistic nature.  It doesn’t erase racial & ethnic distinctions any more than it erases male / female distinctions. Rather, it seeks to strike a balance between unity & diversity in accordance with God’s own attributes & His behavior. 

With respect to CRT, we ought to take the good & leave the bad.  We are living in a society in which secular government has sought to penalize individuals & corporations on the basis of the guilt feelings of employees or potential employees.  That’s the gist of FL HB 7 Sec 8(a)7.

 

FL law is quite specific about its rejection of concepts like covenant solidarity & corporate moral responsibility.  The Bible, by way contrast, includes a robust doctrine of individual & corporate responsibility & speaks directly to systems of oppression both inside & outside the covenant community. It indicts Sodom & Gomorrah, Egypt, the Amalekites, Gibeah, Jersusalem, Nineveh, & Rome corporately, not just individual members of those classes.   

Yeshua even indicted members of the Sanhedrin for the rejection of the Prophets just like their forbears.   The LORD’s name even states that God visits His wrath to the 3rd & 4th generation.   If you agree with the sins of your fathers, you have a measure of share in them.  One is hard pressed to fail to see that the Lord’s indictment of them ran through the concept of shared guilt that comes to individuals & institutions that agree with the sins of the past. 

Luke 11:46–52 (ESV): And he said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. 47 Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed. 48 So you are witnesses and you consent to the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs. 49 Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’ 50 so that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation. 52 Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.” 

I’ll also add that the FL Governor’s rhetoric centered around CRT, but the law doesn’t specify.  On that view, if the epistemic basis for a continuing education program that results in a labor dispute is the Bible correctly exegeted, exposited, understood, & applied, then the claimant stands a real chance of prevailing — which means that the law effectively suppresses religiously based speech, not just CRT. 

5. From personal responsibility to state dependency

The biblical principle of personal responsibility, as outlined in Galatians 6:7-8, is being eroded by a progressive woke ideology that fosters reliance on the state. This ideology resembles a “nanny” state, assuming responsibility for every aspect of its citizens’ lives.

Scripture teaches that individuals reap what they sow and are accountable for their actions. In contrast, the increasing dependency on state intervention undermines personal responsibility and initiative, leading to a culture where the state is seen as the ultimate provider and caretaker. Thus, progressive ideology has the upper hand in controlling and defining civilization. 

The text of Galatians speaks to bond service & reminds us that good works ought to proceed from the heart not just the lips, & that God rewards those who do good, regardless of their social status.  How exactly does this connect to a philosophy of individual liberty & anti-statism?   

Apparently, Mr. Mattera denies the 3 uses of the Law. As a reminder, God condemns & commends people in aggregate, not just individuals.

The Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6:33 reminds us that people experience anxiety about the necessities of life, like food, clean water, & clothing/shelter.    Reading the text as if the 3 uses of the Law & Gospel are irrelevant results in a reductionistic perspective that conduces to a species of works righteousness, as if all we need to do is accomplish our quota of spiritual duty (rigamorole) & God will provide.   On the contrary, the text teaches that ecclesiastical institutions & secular governments have a moral responsibility to address these issues in order to alleviate anxiety about the fundamentals of life so that all living beings — and the Created Order generally — can thrive & survive. 

We ought to remember that the Bible was written to people who lived in a communal manner, a manner which stands in stark contrast to the rhetoric Mr. Mattera’s philosophy propounds.   When he talks about the church in Acts 4 he writes: 

This unity and shared purpose fueled their missional focus, ensuring the entire community worked together to spread the gospel and support one another. This corporate calling created a powerful, cohesive movement that transcended individual interests and pursued a common, divine mission.

The Church’s Mission & its Order go hand-in-hand.  The **Church** is a governed entity that he acknowledges includes a communal dimension & a government order.  In order to live out Galatians 6:7-8 as individuals, people require institutional support in the familial & civil spheres of life & living, not just the churchly level.   

We ought to remember that the Christians in Ephesus worshipped at night on Sunday, which was a work day for them.  Doing good as a bond servant in those days required a support system that the churches were supposed to model for families, businesses, other religious & social institutions, as well as whole Governments.  For example, one of the major themes in the subtext of 1 Corinthians is the failure of the Corinthian church relative to its mission to model good behavior in a world ruled by polytheism, bigotry, gluttony, & empire.   The Church in aggregate, not just in the individual / familial sphere is supposed to provide a principled, healthy alternative to secularism — not statism.  The Bible is not a libertarian document.  It is a statist document through & through. 

6. From meritocracy to victimocracy

A Western culture that once celebrated merit and achievement is shifting towards one prioritizing victimhood. In a meritocracy, individuals are recognized and rewarded based on their abilities, hard work, and accomplishments, fostering a society of innovation and excellence. However, the rise of victimhood culture places greater emphasis on perceived oppression and grievances, often rewarding those who claim victim status over those who demonstrate competence and effort. 

One cannot help but notice that Mr. Mattera didn’t offer any Scripture for this entry.    At this point, he has twice cited Galatians to underwrite his argument, but Galatians is overall topic is justification by grace alone through faith alone.  

On the one hand, he wants us to analogize between statements in Galatians to a present day application of them that conduces to a species of individualism & reward for work, yet on the other, the text he uses doesn’t comport with either thesis as he has articulated them.  How so?   

The Bible includes a robust doctrine of individual moral & social responsibility as well as principles that underwrite reward for work like 1 Timothy 5:8.   However, it also teaches us about principles of Moral Governance, & it exhorts us to analogize from God’s image & authority in the Inter-Trinitarian Covenant to the way we are relate to one another & regard one another.  God governs the Realm as a constitutional monarchy, not a strict democracy run on the principles of Classical Liberalism & laissez-fare economics. 

We depend on God for everything, & everything God says & does is covenantal. Justification is via grace alone & faith alone. Our vertical relationship with God is not a strict meritocracy.  How is it, then, that our relationships with each other are to turn on meritocratic principles?  Aren’t we supposed to analogize between our vertical relationship with God to our relationships with each other? 

7. Culture of service to culture of entitlement

The biblical call to serve others is increasingly overshadowed by a culture of entitlement, where personal demands and rights are prioritized over communal responsibility and selfless service (Mark 10:45). This shift fosters a societal expectation of receiving benefits without corresponding duties.

…Like Mr. Mattera’s desire to put the Religious Liberty of Christians ahead of serving a gay couple by baking the cake. He’s writing in support of the same liturgical philosophy espoused by the writer-contributors to the Christian Post.  It’s fair to say that he seems blind to the application of Matthew 5:41 to the  issue he is citing.    

If the Christian community paracleted the LGBTQ community more, Disney, Target and Bud Light & whoever else probably wouldn’t be as strident with respect to what they are doing.   We should ask ourselves why, in the age in which gay people can legally marry, it is still legal in some states to discriminate against people with respect to sexual orientation with respect to employment, housing, and public accommodation. 

We should remember that Christians have a checkered history with respect to these issues.  In the 80’s, Tom, Carol, Ted, and Alice were swinging while Jerry Falwell pointed fingers at gay men with respect to HIV/AIDS.   In the 90’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was controversial while Christians were openly lying about the efficacy of latex condoms and instituting purity culture and abstinence only sex education programs that excluded gay people from discussions except to send the message that that sort of behavior kills and is otherwise unacceptable. 

In the 2000’s the BSA decided to allow openly gay students into its ranks.  Christians in the churches, while saying that gays need Jesus and that the BSA chapters they sponsored were part of their outreach ministries, cut ties with the BSA and decided to do their own thing in order to exclude gays, thus sending the message “No Jesus for you!” to gays.   That happened concurrently with the standing in line at Chick Fil’A to oppose the gay agenda.   Did anyone who bought Combo 1 for Christ buy one for their gay friend?  

About a decade ago in ATL, a group of local mean girls banded together and falsely accused the ATL Eagle of allowing drug sales on premises and turning their speakers onto the neighborhood illegally.   A paddy wagon appeared on a week night and violated the rights of staff & patrons alike in a raid of the bar that turned up no evidence whatsoever of the Women’s Temperance Union’s allegations. 

In NC, when the GOP took over the General Assembly, they decided not to honor a gentlemen’s agreement between the GA & LGBT lobbyists in which they had agreed that in exchange for continued funding of NC ADAP, they would do their best to keep the marriage issue out of NC.   After saber rattling by some Republican legislators who wanted to severely curtail or end ADAP, the LGBTQ community retaliated, and that act went all the way to SCOTUS, and now gay marriage is legal.   In NC, Conservative ideologues helped build the monster they feared.  

TN is targeting drag queens in the public square and censuring African-American legislators in the State House for being agitators while cutting the Nashville Metro area government in half for brazenly political reasons - and all of this while their legislature is reliving another cycle of sexual harassment by one or more legislators.  

In FL it is now forbidden to allow matters touching on these issues into an American or British literature class for high school juniors and seniors unless reading material that touches on these issues is mandatory.  In addition, if an employer uses Matthew 5:41 as the basis for a continuing education module that touches on race relations and an employee feels guilty, that is now an actionable offense, regardless of whether or not CRT is involved. 

We live in the age of dutiful culture warriors whose first impulse with respect to Target and now Chick Fil-A and the production staff of Chosen is to take up arms instead of repenting for their role in continuing the cycle of mutual oppression.  Their response is to point fingers and take up arms instead of paracleting their enemies.

Matthew 5:41 was written as a confutation of the Sanhedrin and Zealots who were the dutiful culture warriors of their day.  The Sanhedrin was teaching the people that loving your neighbor was a cover for hating your enemies.  The Zealots acted accordingly.  

According to Matthew 5:41, if the jackbooted Roman soldier compels (or otherwise requests) you to walk a mile, you will walk two.   If the soldier (African-American couple) compels (or otherwise requests) you to walk a mile (not redline them), you will walk a mile (not redline them) and walk a second (show them a home, sell to them if they financially qualify).    This applies to all civil rights legislation.  

According to God, a business owner does not have a religious right to do as he/she/they desire.  You can’t deny service to your enemies, even if your enemy is a Roman soldier.   That was true in Exodus too: If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him. 5If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it; you shall rescue it with him.  

However, as soon as you point out that this applies to LGBTQ people, these people cry foul.   They say that refusing to bake the cake, to take just one example, is a matter of religious liberty.  

The idea that baking the cake is an act that somehow infringes upon the religious liberty of the baker is driven by the axiom that doing so is an invidious act of collaboration with Evangelicals’ sociopolitical/cultural enemies.  Matthew 5:41 addresses that position by commanding that the baker serve the couple by baking the cake.  Further, by virtue of this axiom being used as a means to refuse service to LGBTQ people, this refusal - which admits to being religious or quasi-religious in nature - amounts to spiritual abuse, and it is an act of religious or quasi-religious bigotry, and that was the proximate sin of Sodom & Gomorrah in the Bible. 

God bless us all, each & every one.  Go & sin no more.