Our nation has an increasing number of points of view, guiding people's thoughts, values, orientations and actions in radically different directions. The Christian worldview may be well known to our listeners, but some other worldviews have adherents with an almost religious zeal. A few years ago, most of us had never heard of Critical Race Theory or Social Justice Theory, among others. Rev. Fred Hinz is a Public Policy Advocate and works with the Minnesota South District of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. Rev. Hinz will talk about the competition for the hearts, minds, and souls of our citizens. Pastor John Cain hosts.

The following program is sponsored by evangelical life ministries.

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And welcome to another addition of engaging truth. I'm your host pastor John Kane with us today. We have the Reverend Fred hints and Fred is the public policy a for, uh, the district at, uh, of Minnesota, south of the Lutheran church, Missouri Senate. Welcome to the program.

Thank you very much pleasure to be here.

So we understand that you are, uh, presenting a topic very soon on, uh, a clash of world views. Can you define what, what you mean by worldview?

Sure. Uh, I will be speaking primarily about, uh, the worldview that we kind of collectively know is, uh, the, the Western, uh, Christian liberal in the sense of, uh, being freedom oriented that, um, that kind of worldview, as opposed to, uh, the, the Marxist, um, atheistic type of worldview, uh, that is being, um, uh, so, so broadly, um, advocated for in our culture.

Right? So some of us, uh, who are maybe a little bit older would remember the Soviet union or other countries that had a Marxist worldview. Um, so, so what are, you know, now that the Soviet union has gone and has been gone generation, what are some of the names, uh, that would this, this worldview would, uh, fly under the, of,

Uh, well, it, it is in fact, uh, a, uh, a version of Marxism, uh, probably Neo Marxism would be, uh, a better term. Uh, it, it is also commonly known as, uh, cultural Marxism, uh, and in our country, we, we find that frequently, uh, advocated for, by organizations like, uh, black lives matter and similar kinds of, of organizations. Um, so it, it's not so much associated with any particular person, uh, as it is, uh, simply a, a cultural movement.

Right. And, and I would say that, uh, when you mentioned the black lives matter, one of the founders of that organization admitted to the fact saying that we're all Marxists, uh, in that organization. So it's, um, it, it may sound shocking to our listeners, but, um, it's acknowledged even by some of the leaders of, of, uh, some of these, these groups, w where did this come from?

Well, of course, uh, because it is Marxist, you can ultimately, uh, trace its roots back to, uh, mid 18th century, uh, Carl Marks and, uh, Frederick Engels. Um, the, the core of their proposition, uh, of course, was that, uh, was that the individual, uh, matters very little, uh, as opposed to, uh, the group. Uh, and so, because marks and Engles were, first of all, they were, uh, clearly, uh, atheistic. Um, but they, they wanted to, uh, create some kind of a utopian society and that required, uh, in their view that the current, uh, society needed to be essentially destroyed. Um, as that has translated into our American context here, uh, that same impulse is still present. In other words, uh, there's a, an effort to, to destroy the, the culture, uh, as we know it, uh, they do that essentially by introducing, uh, as many different forms of conflict as they can to produce, uh, as great a chaos as they can.

Um, it is their stated intention to, um, to, to destroy the, of values, the value system that, that we subscribe to here, things as basic as free speech, uh, religious freedom, uh, equal application of the law, all those kinds of things, uh, are, uh, in are they intend to destroy those. Um, and at the doesn't stop with those kinds of concepts, they intend to, to destroy some of the basic, uh, stabilizing institutions of our society, uh, notably the, um, uh, nuclear family, which they have very clearly said they are out to destroy. Uh, and the same thing is true of the church. Uh, Marxism has always, um, been, uh, an antithetical to, uh, to the church. And so that continues to be the case, uh, to this day.

So is this a movement that's political, uh, cultural or religious or all the above

All of the above? Absolutely. Um, it it's a, a case where, um, when the, the Digger, the, the deeper you dig into it, uh, the more you understand that what's being proposed really is a, uh, an, an alternative, a Riv pseudo religion to, to the Christ, to the Christian faith. Um, it, it attempts to, to smuggle in a variety of heroes, uh, and unfortunately it's been somewhat successful at least in some church bodies. And so, uh, there, there are reasons why we in the church stand opposed to it. Um, it's, it's not just that, that they are a valid enemies of the church itself, but they seek to destroy our Republican form of government, which, uh, we in the Lutheran church, uh, via our two kingdoms doctrine. We understand that to be something that, that we want to defend. And, uh, so it's for that reason that, but I, as a representative of the church, uh, take an interest in this, uh, topic.

Could you define for our listeners, uh, two kingdoms? What do you mean by that?

Sure. Uh, it it's simply the recognition that, that God governs, uh, in this world that he created, uh, in two ways, uh, he, he governs, uh, through the church, uh, and it it's gospel, uh, and he also governs through the state and, uh, it is through the state that, that we main maintain, um, uh, order in society generally. Uh, and it is through the church that, that we maintain, uh, essentially an internal order, uh, by having a right relationship with, uh, with God, our, our creator.

And I, I, I guess I'd add that, uh, we prefer not to have one person who is both the head of the church and the head of government.

Absolutely. That has, uh, to keep the recipe for trouble,

Like, like to keep those, uh, roles and functions separate. So we understand, uh, analytically, why it is, uh, dangerous to have, uh, uh, a group that wants to do away with church and, uh, the structure of, of family and, and things like that. And supersede that becoming, becoming the, um, the replacement church, if you will, uh, through Marxism, why is this so important for our listeners to identify and understand and, um, uh, recognize

Well, as I indicated earlier, it's important because, uh, the intent of this movement, uh, goes under either the name, critical race theory, or, uh, more recently the, the moniker of, of social justice. Uh, the intent is literally to destroy the, um, the society, as we know it, um, I suppose we can grant them the good intention of, uh, you know, that they wanna create something better, but, uh, there's always destruction that comes first. And so, uh, this obviously has implications for, for every person, but, uh, in particular for every Christian person, because as we understand, uh, via our baptism, uh, that we're called on, uh, not just to, uh, defend the church and its beliefs, but, uh, that we have obligations to, to the society in general, to, to safeguard, uh, the, uh, liberties and, and life of, of all our neighbors.

So I imagine some of the cold war enemies of the United States probably started seeding some of these, uh, destructive thoughts in universities and campuses across the United States. And it's, it's now coming to fruition, perhaps. What, what are some of the key points of conflict, or what are the, the intersection between these foreign ideas and life in this country?

Sure. Well, uh, first of all, I think we have to recognize that, uh, critical theory or critical race theory as we're experiencing it now, uh, versus Christianity Christianity clearly, uh, is a, uh, uh, a worldview that acknowledges that we are created beings that our, our world is created as opposed to, uh, critical race theory, uh, critical theory in general, which, uh, really is, uh, materialistic, uh, uh, it views us, uh, as evolved creatures. Um, whereas, uh, a Christian would look at at human beings and, and say that we, we have because of the fall, uh, a sin human nature, and that it is that human nature that, uh, leads us that, uh, causes us to fail, to love our neighbor as we should sometimes resulting in race, racist, uh, attitudes, uh, but, uh, from the critical race, the Marxist point of view, there is no such thing as human nature.

Uh, and therefore if you're going to point to something that, that accounts for racism, uh, you have to fabricate something. And in the case of critical race theory, that fabrication is called whiteness. Uh, it, it is that, uh, to which they, uh, have to point, uh, as a, a reason for our failure to love, whereas, uh, Christians freely acknowledge that we are all sinful human beings from the Marxist perspective, critical race perspective. Uh, some, some are not sinners, uh, or at least they have been absolved of their sin by means of scapegoat. In other words, all their sin has been, uh, placed elsewhere on it turns out, uh, members of the, the white, white race as it were. Uh, and then finally the, probably the, the key distinguishing point, uh, would revolve around the Christian concept of forgiveness. We understand that in Christ, our sins are forgiven, therefore forgiveness is available to all, and, and it is that forgiveness that then results in a, uh, a new unity, first of all, between us and God. Uh, but then secondarily between us and other human beings, uh, it is forgiveness that that's the source of our unity con Contra that, uh, critical race theory essentially rejects the whole concept of forgiveness. That is not something you can ask for. It's not something you can, uh, give. Uh, and so consequently, there, there is no hope for unity, uh, either with, uh, God or with each other. It it's a very fatalistic. And, uh, so you, you can hardly imagine, um, a, a group of, of, um, beliefs that are more contrary to Christian belief.

So what should we do, uh, in our congregations or as individual Christians, uh, what should we do to, uh, uh, become more resistant to some of these ideas?

Uh, well, I, I think you could probably summarize, uh, the, the variety of things that we can do by simply saying that the church needs to be the church. Uh, we need to, uh, be confident we need to do so unapologetically. We need to teach our, our Christian doctrines with clarity, um, important that we, that we challenge evolutionary thought. Um, and, and not just from a scriptural point of view, but from a scientific point of view, uh, modern science has really completely discredited, uh, Darwinism, uh, as a, the legitimate scientific, uh, viewpoint. Um, we need to continue to, um, emphasize that the, the sacraments, particularly we in the Lutheran church, uh, because it's in the sacraments, uh, where each of us as individuals is assured, uh, we are assured of God's forgive. And then finally, uh, we need to be very intent on deeply grounding ourselves, ourselves, and our children in God's word. There's simply no substitute for that.

So what, what is God's word?

God's word is the Bible. It is the scriptures.

Absolutely right there. There's none other

Correct.

And could you define for our listeners what you mean by sacraments also?

Well, uh, in the Lutheran church, uh, we typically, uh, acknowledge two sacraments, two, two means by which, uh, God comes to us, physically, those being baptism, uh, through the, uh, through the physical, uh, uh, water and also, uh, holy communion through the bread and the wine. It is through those that we understand that God, uh, uh, assures us of our forgiveness for Jesus' sake. And, uh, and then as I said earlier, we proceed to celebrate that forgiveness and the unity that it brings, uh, for which of course is why we call it frequently, call it communion, uh, a, a unity that, uh, comes no other way.

So we're, uh, we're being public now in our, in our presentation, as you, uh, talk about this issue, what are some things that we can do publicly to, um, strengthen the, uh, the tradition of, uh, Christian faith, uh, for individuals, but also the very foundation of so many of the structures within our nation?

Sure. Well, I think it's, uh, incumbent on us as, uh, Christian people, first of all, to be refu, uh, refused to be silenced, uh, to be called it into silence. Uh, rather we should be, uh, speaking, uh, lovingly publicly plainly about moral matters, uh, not setting out to be, uh, harsh or antagonistic, but still, uh, speaking in plain terms, I, I think we need to encourage each other to be, uh, civically active, um, that that's an important way in which we, um, uh, challenge the, the idea of, of, uh, pitting one group against another. It it's in the civic realm that we come together as individuals, uh, for the common good of our society. Uh, I think we need to, uh, use science to, to, uh, challenge, uh, a variety of, uh herses, but especially agnostic. Herses, uh, the, the whole recent idea that you can be born, uh, in this, in the wrong body, um, that scientifically that that's just an absurdity, uh, and we, we need to not be afraid to use science to communicate that, um, for us, uh, it's important to, to celebrate, I think, both the reality and, and the complementary of, of, uh, male and female, uh, who would've ever thought that that is something that we, you know, has to be so explicit, but it does.

Um, I think also we need to learn to, uh, uh, to, to recognize the code language that's being used in, in, in our culture, um, critical race theory, distorts language in so many ways. And, and it, then it embeds this distorted language in so many of our institutions, especially our educational institution. Um, and then, uh, uh, I think it, it's absolutely critical that, that we continue to advocate for greater parental empowerment, particularly when it comes to education. Uh, school choice is an absolute must, uh, so that, uh, in fact parents can, uh, guide the, the, uh, instruction of their young people, according to their most fundamental beliefs. And, uh, fortunately that's something in which we're making a good deal of progress right now. And we need to continue to press that through mechanisms like, uh, education savings accounts and, and the like, uh, and then finally, I, I guess we, I just need to encourage people to be politically active, even though that isn't, uh, necessarily a, a comfortable thing for, for everyone. Uh, it is something that we are called to, uh, in our baptism. And, uh, so those are our variety of ways. I think that we can, uh, publicly, uh, allow our, our faith to, uh, to guide our actions.

Yeah. You talk about, uh, using your faith to, uh, be in the public, uh, square. Um, you talk a little bit about, uh, voting and prep that maybe a Christian should have, uh, the reason why I'm asking this, we had a guest on some time ago and he cited what he calls the 40% rule where 40% of Christians, uh, are registered to vote and of that 40%, only 40%, um, actually vote and of that 40%, only 40 actually vote as a Christian. Uh, so you're down to six and half percent of, of Christians in the United States who are actually voting in alignment with, uh, Christian faith. Um, what's at stake here.

What, what, isn't that stake? Uh, you know, I, I had not heard those, uh, those, uh, statistics before, uh, if, if they're accurate, uh, it, you know, it's kind of a depressing thing, but, um, I, I believe, uh, that, uh, it is possible for us to motivate much larger percentages of our fellow Christians to be, uh, politically informed, first of all. And that's part of what I do as a, a public policy advocate. Uh, and by the way, I serve both, uh, our Minnesota north and M sort of south district. So it's a, a statewide, um, uh, venue that I have. Um, but, uh, I, I take it as, as part of my calling to try to inform as many of our members as we can not telling them, of course, who to vote for, but, uh, informing them the, the issues that are in play and, uh, trying to bring up a, uh, Christian biblical perspective to them,

Right. We'll come back to pastor Hanson, just a moment. First, I'd like to direct your attention to our radio programs website, E L M houston.org. And on that website, you'll find podcasts of our past, uh, programs. You'll find links to our YouTube, Facebook and Twitter accounts, and also on Elm houston.org. You may ask questions and you may support us with, um, uh, your tax deductible donations, your radio hosts on Elm houston.org, all volunteers. And so your donations go far to help us share the good news of Jesus, uh, and the good things that are happening through Christians, such as pastor hints. We appreciate you, your listenership and your support. And now back to pastor hints, uh, what's your view of the future?

Well, uh, I, I am, uh, I'm an optimist. Uh, I believe that, uh, frankly from, from a, uh, strategic point of view, uh, those that, that are trying to, uh, uh, invoke this Marxist view have, uh, so far, uh, overplayed their, uh, their hand, so to speak, uh, that it's becoming clear to, to a wide variety of people, of a wide variety of political persuasions, both the conservatives and liberals, uh, that what is at foot here, uh, does not serve the common good. And, uh, so I, I believe that there's a new openness to hearing these, uh, critiques of, of this movement and on, on that basis, uh, and because simply the Lord is in charge of history. Uh I'm uh, I believe that, uh, things are going to move in a better direction than they have for recent than in recent years

In the last minute here. Is there a way that, uh, people could, uh, connect with your work or, or contact you?

Sure. Um, I, I can be found, uh, on our, uh, district website that is the Minnesota south district, uh, of the LCMS. Uh, I have a, uh, a, there's a public policy tab there that, that they can go to. And I put out, uh, a, um, well, roughly, uh, a monthly, uh, newsletter called, uh, one voice for public policy. Um, and they can also find my, my contact information there. Again, that's Minnesota, south district LCMS.

Well, God's blessings on your work, and thank you for sharing some times with our, uh, listeners today. Join us again real soon for another addition of engaging truth. Goodbye.

Thank you for listening to this broadcast of engaging truth. Be sure to join us each week at this time, to help support our ministry contact evangelical life ministries, post office box 5 6 8, Cyprus, Texas 7 7 4 1, or visit our website@elmhouston.org, or find us on Facebook at evangelical life ministries. Thank you.