Theo Todman's Web Page - Paper Abstracts

Author’s Summary

1. For some Christians critical race theory is part of a dangerous ‘woke’ agenda threatening the church; for others it holds valuable insights into biblical themes of justice and reconciliation.
2. This paper takes a careful look at critical race theory through the work of Derrick Bell, one of its founders, before contrasting it to classical liberalism, which is often seen as the default alternative.
3. It is argued that the biblical pattern of creation, fall, redemption and consummation stakes out a position on race, oppression and freedom that is different to both critical race theory and liberalism, from which they both borrow, which they both distort, and which alone offers concrete hope for the future of race relations.
4. Dr Christopher Watkin lectures at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. He has written extensively on modern and contemporary European thought, atheism, and the relationship between the Bible and philosophy. Chris blogs about his academic work at Christopher Watkin: Home Page, and posts reflections on the Bible and culture at Thinking Through The Bible.