Christianity and Wokeness: How the Social Justice Movement Is Hijacking the Gospel - and the Way to Stop It

This book is a masterpiece. Of straw man arguments.Owen mischaracterizes everything he criticizes. (Bars for Crosswords.) I want to believe that he does so due to confusion and ignorance rather than deception and malice. But that’s hard to do when Owen enjoys the positions of Provost and Research Professor at an academic institution of sorts.He manufactures his own definitions of CRT and “wokeness” in ways that serve only his own purpose. His attempts to reflect on America’s past with nuance and sensitivity simply sound like whitewashing to me. And he does precious little to encourage genuine or lasting unity, unless of course everyone inside and outside of Christendom would just uniformly and always agree with him.I don’t know why, but I expected more. Unfortunately, “Christianity and Wokeness” is as shallow as it is provocative -- a Chick tract dressed up to sound like Johnny Mac. CRT and other philosophies or movements addressing racial inequalities are clearly worth careful consideration and critique. This book is not that. Those already on Owen's ranch will find plenty of fodder to feed themselves on, but they won't be any better or wiser for it.

This book exposes “woke” teaching (such as Critical Race Theory, intersectionality) as a false religion that is incompatible with the Gospel and divisive and destructive to the Christian church. It is an excellent introduction to the “woke” movement and a Biblical defense of the Gospel that every Christian should read, especially since this false ideology is invading schools, the workplace, popular culture and even the Church.Dr. Strachan first covers how wokeness has entered our culture and even our churches. He then compares woke ideology to what the Bible has to say on race, ethnicity, and justice.Dr. Strachan has written a well-reasoned, winsome, biblical and Christian response to the woke movement. I highly recommend this timely book.

If you are a Christian you need this book. If you are a Christian pastor, leader, teacher, or parent you need this book. Christianity & Wokeness is the right book for the right time. Owen Strachan has provided a comprehensive analysis of what it means to be woke in 2021, and how the social justice movement has invaded Biblical Christianity. The thing that stuck out to me as I read it was the tone of the author. While it is obvious that Dr. Strachan is passionate about the Gospel and the church, his analysis is fair, thoroughly Biblical, and avoids the cheap shots at the intellectual opponents. I have read this book once and have already made plans to read it again with a group of men in my church. Christianity & Wokeness will be my go-to recommendation for any future discussion on the topic. Do yourself a favor and get your copy ASAP.

In “Christianity and Wokeness,” Owen Strachan provides the church with a much-needed resource. Christians are being challenged daily to take up the mantle of “wokeness” and “social justice” as a mandatory requirement of preaching the gospel, but should they be doing so? Owen Strachan pulls back the curtain to help Christians see exactly what “wokeness” is and why it is antithetical to biblical truth. Strachan spends two chapters explaining what wokeness is and how it has infiltrated society at large and the church specifically. He then takes the time to break down the tenets of wokeness, drawing from the primary sources themselves. Contrasting these teachings with Scripture, he demonstrates that wokeness is an ungodly ideology that is wholly incompatible with the teachings of Scripture. Strachan then takes his readers through a biblical analysis of identity and ethnicity as it is revealed in God’s Word. He provides the church with biblical answers as to who and what man truly is, the nature of sin (including partiality and ethnic hatred), and points to the only possible solution between God and men, the gospel. “Christianity and Wokeness” is a great resource for Christians and the church. In a time when so many are trying to use the world’s definitions to explain equality, fairness, justice and love, Christians need to be reminded that God has already defined them in the Scriptures. “Christianity and Wokeness” will equip Christians to not only understand the issues at hand but to respond biblically when the world demands they acquiesce to their demands. I highly recommend this text to Christians and churches everywhere.

I loved Voddie Baucham’s book Fault Lines as he exposed the divide within evangelicalism on the subject of Wokeness. Strachan’s book does a great job showing that Wokeness is not compatable with biblical Christianity. He doesn’t sugar coat the real sin of America’s past, but roots this defense of biblical Christianity in the gospel. If we are ever going to have unity, only the gospel can unite diverse people from every, tribe, nation, and tongue. Strachan makes this overwhelminly clear. This book needs to be read by every Christian. -Josh Hitchcock

The average Christian may instinctively think the social justice movement is something they should support. Even if they may not agree with everything it calls for, surely it's a good cause and the church probably has something to learn from it.Gracious yet firm, Owen Strachan exposes the true nature of the social justice movement by carefully analyzing the works of a few of its prominent voices and contrasting them to the gospel message from the Bible. He shows that it is a harmful and toxic system that creates great divisions. It also pushes back on the claim that there is systematic racism in modern-day America and demands more concrete proof than demographic disparities. As in other forms of critical theories and Marxism, critical race theory has a dualistic view of the oppressors and the oppressed. If you are labelled as the oppressed, the only thing you can do is lifelong repentance and trying to redeem yourself by aligning your interests with the oppressed (while still being deemed an oppressor).While this view has certainly found its way in churches, the author shows clearly this is contrary to the gospel and must be rejected. In fact, the gospel unites all people, Jews and gentiles alike, under Christ. And there is no more guilt, shame, and sin left after a person surrenders their life to Christ.The book is especially helpful to end with a chapter of FAQs and glossary, both very clearly and concisely written based on gospel truths, which answers many of the questions the reader may have.

I've read a number of books on Christianity and the woke movement, searching for something useful for members of my congregation to think through this issue. This is the best I've read. Well-written; good exegetical work; persuasive. Highly recommended.

I would suggest readingFault Lines by Voddie Baucham and I would suggest reading that first.As for this book, I am about 2/3 through and am finding it very insightful and relevant to the church body today. There is a battle on the horizon...one that will divide the church because CRT, SJT, Intersectionality and Wokeness are not compatible with the Gospel. Each of these are rooted in Marxism in someway and will have serious consequences.Many people are sucked in because they just don't have the proper knowledge but this book will help open your eyes. These teachings are being sold, even by so called Christian leaders, as being compatible with Biblical teaching and the Bible, but don't be fooled. They use many catch phrases that sound like Christianese but it is a lie.Maybe you've heard of some of the terms mentioned but couldn't tie it all together. This book will help along with the Voddie Baucham book I mentioned above.

I haven't had the time to completely finish the book, joining the launch team with only a few days left, and only skimmed the last two chapter, but i have greatly enjoyed. It is written in an accessible language no need to be a theologian to understand and follow the line of thought. It is a book for everyone, the non-woke, to be equip, to defend the hope that is within him and the faith once delivered to the saints. The unsure and hesitant, to see pass the fog of beautifully crafted words of Wokeness (CRT, intersectionality...). And finally, to the christian who have fall prey, to that new gospel, it is a call similar to the one of Paul to the Galatian " I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; 7 which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ." Gal 1:6-7 and calling them to seek to please God rather than men (v.10). Owen Strachan, demonstrate unequivocally, that ideas put forward by Wokeness, is incompatible with biblical christianity and must be expose and opposed vehemently. I would have, personally, prefer a more exhaustif treatment, and more "visual biblical support" i could see and recognized many biblical truths, stated in his own words, but without the references, that may leave the un-educated the vilain or the critique to say "this is just his "white fragility" speaking. Finally, since most professed christian (e.g. Southern Baptist Convention's resolution 9) are advocating the use of CRT... as an analytical tool, i would have like that to be address, in the book. Great read and definitely a strong introduction into the issue. Thank you Owen for this work.