Timothy Keller's Marxist Gospel

While Timothy Keller has done a lot of good, I'd like to begin a discussion asking whether his teachings are increasingly causing more harm. Revered Keller holds two positions that reveal a problem with the foundation of his beliefs. On the one hand, he claims that Christians areat liberty to vote their conscience in support of a political party that requires taxpayer-funded abortion on demand, and even infanticide if an infantsurvives an abortion (1). These are the types of positions held bythe present Democratic Party (2). On the other hand, Reverend Kellerclaims that all Christians have a moral responsibility to take actionagainst alleged 'systemic racism' and 'white guilt' that he believesare serious prevailing problems, as outlined in one of his speeches(3). While a secular-atheist could logically support abortion andactivism regarding collective white guilt, a biblicalChristian cannot logically support these positions when the underlyingdetails are fleshed out.  

From the standpoint of scripture,it's pretty clear that murder is a serious sin, as listed in the TenCommandments. It's plainly forbidden based on the authority ofscripture, whether or not one may feel in their conscience that it iswrong. Our feelings alone, and conscience, can easily be influenced by false information. And so this begs the question: Does Timothy Keller believethat killing a fetus upon demand at 9-months of age is not murder? Or thatkilling an infant that survives an abortion is not murder andinfanticide? Most people that support abortion and infanticide do sobased upon secular atheist values. These are valid questions thatKeller should address if he wishes to maintain credibility.
 
To compel a sense of detached indifference to the clear authority of scripture for the sake of Value Pluralism within a Christian community isn't in keeping with verses such as Proverbs 31:18 (NLT) that compel us to raise our voices especially for the most vulnerable that cannot speak up for themselves:  "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed."  

Regarding his second position, Keller lists three scripturereferences that he believes support his view that white Christiansare born guilty of the 'racial sins' of past generations and areresponsible to make attempts to address this presently (Joshua 7,Daniel 9, Romans 5). I'll argue that his referenced scriptures aretaken out of context and, in fact, do not support what Keller claims.

Regarding Joshua 7, Keller offers that all of Israel waspunished corporately due to the sins of Aachen, therefore, thisimplies that we Christians today also share in 'corporate guilt'for sins in our community. However, the very first verse in Joshua 7outlines that Aachen's punishment was due to a violation of aspecific command to that specific group of people in that specifictime period. Joshua 7:1 states: “But the children of Israel[a]committed a trespass regarding the accursed[b] things” and thisis elaborated on in verses 11, 12, 13, and 15. Joshua 7:11 states,“Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenantwhich I commanded them. For they have even taken some of the[g]accursed things, and have both stolen and deceived; and they havealso put it among their own stuff.” I'll give credit for thisrebuttal point to Jonathon Bradford (4).

Per Daniel 9,Reverend Keller claims that because Daniel repented on behalf of thesins of Israel, as one guilty, then all white people share in the collective guilt of racism today. As with the Joshua 7example, Israel, as an entity, was under the direct guidance of God as a theocracy using the Mosaic Law and,therefore, corporate guilt was of valid importance then. Today we'renot governed as a theocracy through the Mosaic Law in this corporate sense. The new covenant ismore so written in our personal hearts rather than on a physical stone for all to see and isbased more so on knowing God in a relationship and obeying Godintimately, rather than corporately, as shown in Jeremiah31-34:

“Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I willmake a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house ofJudah: 32 Not according to the covenant that I made with theirfathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out ofthe land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was anhusband unto them, saith the Lord: 33 But this shall be the covenantthat I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saiththe Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it intheir hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every manhis brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, fromthe least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for Iwill forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

Lastly, Mr. Keller uses Romans 5 to suggest that the gospelitself is based on corporate guilt and corporate forgiveness,therefore, the alleged corporate sin of 'white guilt' is in keepingwith the gospel. However, the very first verse in Romans 5 hints atwhy Keller's view is unfounded:

“Therefore being justifiedby faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2 Bywhom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand,and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

The true gospeloutlines a once-and-for-all original sin through Adam and once-and-for-all forgiveness and right standing with God throughChrist. To claim that there's a continuous ebb and flow of 'corporateguilt' of any kind for Christians is antithetical to the grace of Godand is opposed to the true gospel. In contrast to Keller's two verses implying collectivist guilt in the Old Testament under special circumstances, there are Old Testament texts, such as Ezekiel 18:20, explicitly stating that the principle of collectivist guilt is generally not in keeping with God's will:

"The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him." 

There are many examples of BlackLives Matter activists demanding acknowledgment of 'white guilt' anddemanding apologies. While that's a logical result of theclass-struggle Marxism underlying BLM, it does not in any way reflectthe underlying scriptural basis of the gospel, as reflected in Romans8:1:

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them whichare in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after theSpirit.”

In his 'white guilt' speech, Keller acknowledgesthe idea that blacks are acting out in various ways due to a poorself-image and a lack of self-esteem. Instead of blaming society fora poor self-image, a better solution would be to point blacks, andall people, to the true gospel that offers complete forgiveness ofsins, complete peace, complete self-worth as belonging to God's ownfamily. This is the best starting place for all people and if Goddirects specific individuals into helping victims of racism, thenthat's a good thing, but it's not a mandate for all.

The ApostlePaul urged that our prime identity as Christians should not be insuch things as our gender, ethnicity, nationality, etc. but that oursignificance as Children of God should be emphasized so as to promoteunity, per Galatians 3:28:

“There is neither Jew nor Greek,there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female;for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

The Apostle Paul didnot highlight social racial injustice, rather, he downplayed it incomparison to the all-important life in Christ that we have asbelievers noted in 1 Corinthians 7:21. Paul would probably beattacked by an angry BLM mob for stating such today:

“Wereyou a slave when you were called? Do not let it concern you—but ifyou can gain your freedom, take the opportunity.” (BereanBible)

Over two-dozen people have died in race protests andriots since the death of George Floyd was widely publicized and the netgain by protests has not been positive (5). According to a 2018 report from theBureau of Justice Statistics (6), there is approximately nine to ten timesthe amount of violence by blacks against whites than the other wayaround. So the main narrative by Black Lives Matter, that blacks aresystemically singled out and hunted down, is not true. When one looksinto the backgrounds of the BLM founders, it's clear that Marxismplays a supportive role and that opposing Capitalism and the nuclear family are some of thegoals (7). Karl Marx urged that violence was necessary for political change and a recent study showed that 91% of the race riots over a three month period were linked to the Black Lives Matter organization, with BLM organizer Ariel Atkins even claiming that looting is a form of "reparations" that is needed (8).






Despite what the Fake News Media claims, President Trump has supported the black community more so than any US president since Abraham Lincoln freed slaves. Trump has led bi-partisan support for The First Step Act criminal justice reform, the Minority Busines Development Agency, inner-city Opportunity Zones, and restoring HBCU funding. The false claim of a 'racist agenda' levied against the president, conservatives, and the Republican Party is a big fat lie. The testimony of Alice Johnson is a prime example of the truth of the matter. 
 

 
The Bible does not elevate either collectivism or class struggle as a central aim, rather, it actually depicts God as a capitalist landowner that rents out land and hires as he wishes for wages and rewards that he deems as fair (Matthew 21:33, Matthew 25:14-30). Marxism, however, does centralize collectivism and class struggle as primary goals: “Unlike the French historians, Marx made class struggle the central fact of social evolution.” (9) In case you thought Keller's 'white guilt' speech was just a momentary slip-up, here's another example from Protestia of him claiming basically that, 'if you have white skin, the Bible says you're involved in injustice' based on no supportive scriptural references.


  
The question becomes, why would Tim Keller goout of his way to support a false Marxist agenda? It seems that early on in college Keller had a passion for social justice and he's taking this personal calling and trying to motivate all Christians into this ministry by way of virtue signaling and the 'white guilt' narrative:

“In hisbook The Reason for God: Belief in the Age of Skepticism, he revealsthe direction his worldview took in his college years: [quote] Thehistory and philosophy departments were socially radicalized and wereheavily influenced by the critical theory of the Frankfurt School. In1968 this was heady stuff. The social activism was particularlyattractive, and their critique of American Bourgeois society wascompelling. But its philosophical underpinnings were confusing to me.I seemed to see two camps before me. And there was somethingradically wrong with both of them. The people most passionate aboutsocial justice were moral relativists. While the morally uprightdidn’t seem to care about the oppression going on all over theworld.” (10)

While a blend of Christianity and Marxism is notstrictly Marxist, the Marxianity that is the result is not purelyChristian either. If Mr. Keller truly believes that we sharecorporate guilt for all that whites and Christians do, then he'sheaping on a lot of guilt by indirectly promoting abortion and murderbased on feelings of conscience alone (a seared conscience), and avoiding the authority of scripture on such matters. Christians actively supporting BLM are basically supporting a Marxist organization that's antithetical toChristianity. The urged-for Marxist collectivist guilt trip is not only harmful to our personal relationship with God, but it's also being used to help attack free-market Capitalism and to bring about a more totalitarian world in which free speech and the gospel will be all the more hindered.(11)
 
The Apostle Paul used extremely stronglanguage when it came to defending the one-and-only pure gospel: “Butthough we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto youthan that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.”(Galatians 1:8) While many pastors have expressed concern about the trend towards a 'social gospel' as opposed to the pure gospel, TimKeller has refrained from signing an affirmation in support of makingthis clear distinction, regarding 'The Statement on Social Justice &the Gospel' prepared by many pastors, such as John Mac Arthur (12). Keller's promotion of class-struggle ideologies such as 'white guilt' is a major red flag because the praises of collectivism usually precede the horrors of bloody revolutions and Totalitarianism.

References

1) “This means when it comes to takingpolitical positions, voting, determining alliances and politicalinvolvement, the Christian has liberty ofconscience.”
https://www.christianpost.com/news/tim-keller-rejects-claims-that-christians-must-vote-a-certain-way-says-stop-demonizing-opponents.html
2)“Today, with the exception of Gabbard, Democratic presidentialcandidates uniformly oppose the Hyde amendment and all forms ofabortionrestrictions.”
https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2019/11/25/democrats-on-abortion-safe-legal-and-unlimited/
3)YouTube, Racism and Corporate Evil A White Guy’s Perspective -MARCH 28, 2012 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhJJcTKTVGo
4) Jonathon Bradford - Corporate Responsibility, CorporateGuilt, and theGospel
https://www.guardingthegospel.com/corporate-responsibility-corporate-guilt-and-the-gospel/
5)15 People Died In The Protests And Riots Following George Floyd’sDeath. Here’s Who TheyAre
https://dailycaller.com/2020/06/05/15-people-died-protests-riots-george-floyd-death/
6)Interracial Violent Crime Incidents 2018 Table 14 (Pg13)
https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/cv18.pdf
7)Deeper Truth: Why All Lives Always Matter, All TheTime
http://templestream.blogspot.com/2020/07/deeper-truth-why-all-lives-always.html
8) Black Lives Matter Linked To 91% Of Riots Over Three Months, Study Finds
https://www.dailysignal.com/2020/09/18/black-lives-matter-linked-to-91-of-riots-over-3-months-study-finds/
9) Marxism - Class struggle |Britannica
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Marxism/Class-struggle
10)The Marxianity of Tim Keller & His GospelCoalition
https://www.worldviewweekend.com/news/article/marxianity-tim-keller-his-gospel-coalition
11) Democrats open door to Marxist totalitarian rule through attacks on police, history and institutions
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/jun/23/democrats-open-door-to-marxist-totalitarian-rule-t/
12)The Statement on Social Justice & theGospel.
https://statementonsocialjustice.com/#affirmations-and-denials

Web-clip Image credit of Washington Times

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/jun/23/democrats-open-door-to-marxist-totalitarian-rule-t/