These Words Don't Mean What Christians Think

Due to pervasive ideas spawned by Critical Theory, there are some “buzz words” that Followers of Christ should understand. These words don't mean what Christians think.

One of these words is oppression, and its sister-word, oppressor.

Oppression (in the context of Critical Theory), does not necessarily mean cruel treatment. A person is an oppressor if he/she is part of an oppressor group, as we discussed in recent posts. The individual is a non-factor.

But what defines or determines an oppressor group? 

An oppressor group is not necessarily the largest group. Old white males, for example, make up 15% of the U.S. population. But they are deemed an oppressor group because they have “hegemonic power.”

Hegemonic power establishes what is socially normal. It is a “gate keeper" for socially acceptable behavior.

For many years, Christianity had “hegemonic power” in the U.S. When I was a boy, even non-Christians accepted Christianity as the “gate keeper” for acceptable moral behavior. It was common to hear people say, "we're a Christian nation.”  

In the 1830s, when the French historian Alexis de Tocqueville came to examine the U.S., he noted: “The Americans combine the notions of Christianity and of liberty so intimately in their minds, that it is impossible to make them conceive the one without the other” (from Democracy in America). 

Not so today.

Critical Theory cannot tolerate hegemonic power, because hegemonic power determines what is “normal” or “acceptable” for others, and that is oppressive.  

This is why some Christian groups are now being branded as “hate groups.” Teaching that homosexual practice is wrong for everyone is now deemed “hate speech.” It imposes a “normativity” on people across people groups. Such cross-group "norming” is verboten. Such teaching is an oppressive imposition, especially if those who teach it are quoting the Divine.   

Imposing social norms on others (even if it is a passive imposition through unspoken expectations) is an offense because it restricts people’s freedom to determine what is acceptable for themselves.

Even for a 5’ 9” white guy to say he is a 6’5” Chinese woman is not a problem these days. To not agree with him/her would be offensive—and oppressive. It’s a postmodern sin to say your neighbor's self-identity is “wrong.” To do so imposes a social norm on them, and this is oppressive.  

Watch how Critical Theory has affected students at the University of Washington (https://youtu.be/xfO1veFs6Ho):

Posted by Dr. Christian Overman