Thread by @NeilShenvi

@AlsoACarpenter Brad, @RealPatSawyer responded on your previous post, but we're not arguing that CT is the *only* ideology that draw distinction between oppressor and oppressed, but that this dichotomy *is* central to contemporary CT (along with other elements). 1/

@AlsoACarpenter @RealPatSawyer He also provided references to support this claim, such as "Since its inception, critical theory has been primarily concerned with the elimination of oppression and the promotion of justice…Liberation is a theme that runs through critical theory; 2/

@AlsoACarpenter @RealPatSawyer Liberation from objective oppressors such as colonizers and exploitive employers, and liberation from subjective forces such as mass culture and ideology." -Heather Davidson et al, "Power and Action in Critical Theory Across Disciplines:", Am. J. of Comm. Psych, 2006, p. 36. 3/

@AlsoACarpenter @RealPatSawyer or "Since it is a concrete situation that the oppressor-oppressed contradiction is established, the resolution of this contradiction must be objectively verifiable. Hence, the radical requirement—both for the individual who discovers himself or herself to be an oppressor 4/

@AlsoACarpenter @RealPatSawyer and for the oppressed—that the concrete situation which begets oppression must be transformed." - Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Paulo Freire, 2005, p. 50. 5/

@AlsoACarpenter @RealPatSawyer We've provided many, many other examples of these statements from contemporary CTs (distinct from the Frankfurt School): 6/
shenviapologetics.com/critical-theor…

@AlsoACarpenter @RealPatSawyer We recognize that 'critical theory' is a broad field and that you'll likely respond that you personally don't conceive of the field in these terms. However, we've 1) provided plenty of examples of scholars who *do* conceive of CT in these terms 7/

@AlsoACarpenter @RealPatSawyer and 2) shown that these ideas are indeed at work among evangelicals. as documented extensively below. In many of these cases, the evangelicals in question are explicitly citing the works of self-identified critical theorists:
shenviapologetics.com/critical-theor…
8/

@AlsoACarpenter @RealPatSawyer So if you think we've somehow mischaracterized 'critical theory' (in spite of our documentation) and ought to refer to this ideology by some other label like 'Neo-Marxism' or 'Grievance Studies,' we'd encourage you not to focus on the label we use, 9/

@AlsoACarpenter @RealPatSawyer but rather to focus on the underlying ideas involved, which are deeply unbiblical and are working their way into the evangelical church. 10/10

@AlsoACarpenter @RealPatSawyer @threadreaderapp unroll