Fire in the Streets: How You Can Confidently Respond to Incendiary Cultural Topics

From the origins of critical theory in the bowels of the academy to its use in justifying rioting and arson in the name of a dubious equity agenda, an eminent philosopher unmasks the intellectual origins of this mental virus, and details steps rational thinkers can take to combat its insidious spread.

What can we do amidst all the controversies over race and gender in society today? Do we have anything constructive to offer the world? As Jesus followers, we do, and this book shows the way.

A dangerous and revolutionary philosophy is responsible for the street fires in America. It fuels the actions of Black Lives Matter and Antifa. It invades curricula in public schools and in our military. It is in our churches. You have heard the phrase “white privilege,” the need for “safe spaces” on campuses, and perhaps the tongue-twister “intersectionality.”

Behind all of these is an ideology called critical theory, which is a form of cultural Marxism that divides society into the oppressed and the oppressors. It claims that America is “systemically racist” and founded on slavery. It believes that the voices of the minorities should trump the perspective of the dominant (and oppressing) culture. Unfortunately, this flawed perspective is overtaking our culture and infiltrating many of our churches.

In this book, we consider the importance of critical theory, explain its origins, question its aims, and subject it to a logical critique. Readers will:

• Gain a better understanding of critical theory
• See how it is permeating many aspects of society
• Discover how it opposes a Christian worldview
• Learn how to counter it constructively

A biblical alternative to matters of justice and politics is available. One that is right and true. One based on the ideals of the American founding. Find it in these pages.

Douglas Groothuis, Ph.D., is Professor of Philosophy at Denver Seminary, where he has served since 1993. He is the author or co-author of fourteen books, including the best-selling, Unmasking the New Age, the much-used apologetics textbook, Christian Apologetics, and introduction to philosophy, Philosophy in Seven Sentences, a memoir, Walking through Twilight, and a children’s book, I Love You to The Stars (with Crystal Bowman).