{"id":32661,"date":"2020-07-14T07:41:27","date_gmt":"2020-07-14T13:41:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/?p=32661"},"modified":"2026-08-23T14:08:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-23T21:08:17","slug":"guest-commentary-a-seismic-shift-in-culture-the-new-left-and-marxist-critical-theory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lighthousetrailsresearch.com\/blog\/guest-commentary-a-seismic-shift-in-culture-the-new-left-and-marxist-critical-theory\/","title":{"rendered":"Guest Commentary: A Seismic Shift in Culture \u2014The New Left and Marxist-Critical Theory"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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LTRP Note:<\/strong> The following commentary is written and compiled by a Lighthouse Trails reader who is involved at a political level in his home state. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Dick Pence<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Bit of Background<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

We are living in a moment of time that is a cultural seismic shift.\u00a0<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I will discuss Critical Theory<\/strong> as the working engine of Marxism, but first a little background. One article asserts that “You Can Be A Christian, You Can Be A Marxist, But You Can\u2019t Be Both<\/a><\/strong>,” Please keep this truth in mind as you read the following information.\u00a0 These two worldviews are absolutely mutually exclusive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am going to appeal to you to watch a video titled Critical Theory and Racism in America<\/a><\/em> with Dr. Glenn Sunshine.\u00a0 It\u2019s not short; it\u2019s a training tool.\u00a0 This is a rare opportunity to train your kids if you wish for them to survive as Christian conservatives.\u00a0 They are being bombarded with cultural Marxism <\/em>from every direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Critical Theory <\/strong>is the weapon being used by the “New Left” to promote Marxist indoctrination.\u00a0 It is the essence of what “the Left” has become. Understanding this will give you a whole new perspective of Marxism (and the Democratic Party).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ancient Greeks had two words for time:\u00a0chronos<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0kairos<\/em>. The former refers to chronological or sequential time, while the latter relates to the circumstances that open moments of opportunity.\u00a0<\/em> We are in a kairos moment in America.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clarion Call for Grass Roots Leadership<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

We would normally look to three institutions for leadership\u2014the Congress, local and state Legislators, and the Church.\u00a0 At the moment, none seems to be coming from these sources. There are a few who are issuing a clarion cry that we are losing the culture. <\/em>I embrace the thinking that, at times, to NOT speak is sin.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#1<\/strong>. Sadly, at this very kairos<\/em>, the majority of our Republican Legislators at all levels are sitting on their hands\u2014keeping their powder dry until the right time to speak. From talking to some of the Montana R\u2019s I respect, it appears they think they are going to address this in the next legislative session starting in January. \u201cThey have us over a barrel; we could lose our income,\u201d one said.\u00a0 The problem is that the Cultural Consensus<\/a> on these issues is quickly shifting because the Left is working, and we are not.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#2<\/strong>. What is the source of salt and light doing?\u00a0 If you walk into the vast majority of evangelical churches <\/em>today, it is like walking into a backwards time warp. Dennis Prager writes American Jews and Christians are Failing the Test of Their Lives.<\/a> What they are talking about is completely divorced from the reality of the kairos<\/em>.\u00a0 They grind away talking about various forms of what really amounts to self-help dressed up with Bible verses\u2014playing Ostrich to the kairos<\/em>.\u00a0 You would never know anything was happening outside the four walls.\u00a0 We experienced sexual revolution, Roe v. Wade, loss of school prayer, the LGBT revolution, Obergefell v. Hodges (same-sex marriage) and now Bostock v. Clayton County\u2014the recent Supreme Court decision to change the meaning of sex which amounts to a national NDO-SOGI law. These court decisions will open the doors to a seismic cultural shift <\/em>that will also impact the church. In the 1980s, I was a pastor and we were coached to never get involved in controversial cultural issues<\/em>. Well, like the church today, we were complicit.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Encouragingly, some of my pastor friends are speaking out.\u00a0 The problem is that there are not enough to become a force that can change things.\u00a0 Remember that verse in Ecclesiastes 4:12, \u201cAnd if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” Maybe you ought to be asking some hard questions of your church leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#3. We the People \u2013 yes, YOU, WE, US?\u00a0 Mathew 11:17 comes to mind: “We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented.” Along with the word trifling<\/em>.\u00a0 Your pastors can\u2019t talk that way because we think if we are offended by them, then they <\/em>are wrong.\u00a0 It\u2019s called rebellion.\u00a0 The vast majority of Americans are deeply committed to\u2014their amusement.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The New Left: Never Let a Crisis Go to Waste<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The problem is that the New Left is very attuned to kairos.  <\/em>While we are ignorant and complacent, the Left is always ripe for the moment, the kairos<\/em>.  I did not say we are stupid; we can fix<\/em> ignorant; you can\u2019t fix stupid.  You have heard them say never let a crisis go to waste<\/em>?  We thought this was just a clich\u00e9 someone uttered, but it\u2019s not.  This is the motto of the Critical Theorists. Boy, they mean it! And, their commitment level to that kairos is strong\u2014they put the conservatives and Christians to shame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our Biggest Threat<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I am firmly convinced that Cultural Marxism or what you will see as Critical Theory (CT) is the biggest threat America faces.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Glenn Sunshine<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Glenn Sunshine, the speaker in the “Critical Race Theory and Racism in America” <\/a>video I link to above, said this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The protests and the rioting and looting in the aftermath of George Floyd\u2019s death at the hands of the police have brought the issue of racism in America to the forefront. As Christians, we must oppose racism whenever and wherever we see it. But does that mean we must support the most outspoken leaders of the anti-racism movement? What are the core ideas of Critical Theory, the worldview that underpins Black Lives Matter and similar organizations?\u00a0 In this webinar, we will look at the development of Critical Theory, how it works as a worldview, and provide a biblical critique of its ideas. We will also explore a more biblically grounded approach to race and race relations.\u00a0<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

A Few Ideas You Need to Understand<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

(gleaned from the video)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What you are seeing playing out today in culture is undergirded by Critical Theory.\u00a0 It has been at work for well over a century.\u00a0 Stalin and other Marxists originally believed they could take over the world by armed revolution.\u00a0 Marxist theory taught that the Proletariat (the so-called working class) would rise up in revolution and take over the means of production by force.\u00a0 When it did not happen, Antonio Gramsci began to push the philosophy of cultural takeover after WWI.\u00a0 By slow, incremental cultural changes, <\/em>they would move resistant countries into Marxism without firing a shot.\u00a0 And, they have been very successful.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some thoughts and questions:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n