How CRT may corrupt our 'Good Samaritans'

By Paul Swamidass, Op-ed Contributor Saturday, February 20, 2021

“Good Samaritan” refers to one of the most beloved parables of Jesus Christ in the Bible. When Jesus was asked, “Who is my neighbor,” Jesus coined the “Good Samaritan” parable as His reply (Luke 10:29-37; ESV).

According to this parable of Jesus, a Samaritan traveler, who was passing by, volunteered to help a Jew, who had been beaten soundly by robbers, and abandoned half-dead on the side of the road. The Samaritan traveler had the choice of ignoring the injured man like other travelers did, or break his journey to provide help in a timely manner with all the resources at his disposal; he did the latter and is remembered for it as the “Good Samaritan.”

He exemplified more than material and physical help to the injured helpless man. His act of sacrifice and generosity made a “good” statement about racial and ethnic relations.

The Samaritan overcomes ethnic baggage

According to historical accounts, Jews and Samaritans in Christ’s time did not get along, moreover, they even hated each other.

In the parable described in Luke’s Gospel (Luke 10: 29-37), Jesus ensured that His audience heard clearly that the traveler, who stopped and helped the injured Jew, was a Samaritan. Although Luke does not say the injured man in the parable was a Jew, he is considered a Jew by scholars. The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. said in his very last speech (April 3, 1968), “I have been to the mountain top,” and referred to the Samaritan as, “a man of another race,” as opposed to the race of the injured man on the ground.

By choosing to portray a Samaritan man helping a badly injured, helpless Jew, Jesus highlights to His Jewish audience not only the obvious acts of generosity of the Samaritan to his “neighbor,” but also his willingness to overcome his personal ethnic baggage to help an injured Jew.

Jesus, through this parable, conveys to His audience that one’s ethnic baggage can be overcome. Jesus is also telling us to suppress our racial and ethnic baggage to reach out and serve generously anyone and everyone in need of help, and ends the parable with a command to those who are in a position to help others, “You go, and do likewise” (Luke 10: 37b).

CRT adds to racial baggage

We all carry an ethnic and/or racial baggage; in the above parable, Jesus shows we need to overcome our respective racial/ethnic baggage.

For years, CRT is being thrust upon us as a vehicle for solving racial problems in America; CRT comes with good intentions. At the heart of CRT are multiple “Assertions.” Beware of assertions because assertions may not be based on facts, and may or may not be true; investigate all assertions.

Take for example a common assertion of CRT: I quote, “CRT challenges the claims of neutrality, objectivity, colorblindness, and meritocracy in society.” What are the likely implications of this assertion?

If you challenge American “neutrality” regarding race, you must believe you are being treated unequally because of your race. You may use this as justification to give unequal treatment to people, who are not of your race.
If you challenge American “objectivity” regarding race, you must believe Americans are subjective, not given to objective facts on racial matters. You may use this as justification to be subjective, and to deny objective facts in inter-racial relationships.
If you challenge American “colorblindness” regarding race, you must believe Americans judge people by their color. You may use this as justification to use skin color to judge other people, and to deny fairness to others based on skin color.
If you challenge American “meritocracy” regarding race, you must believe Americans disregard merit and engage in favoritism. You may use this as justification to hire, promote, and reward candidates according to their race, while disregarding their merit.

To summarize, a person accepting CRT and its assertions can justify at least four kinds of racially-biased decisions or conduct. Through its assertions, CRT may add to the racist baggage one carries. Any theory, whose assertions may serve as an instrument to justify racist conduct is suspect.

CRT and “Good Samaritans”

The beloved Good Samaritan parable of Jesus Christ is meant to motivate us to rise above racial and ethnic strife and to encourage us to engage in loving and caring actions across racial and ethnic lines. On the other hand, in the example above, one of the many CRT assertions justifies racially-biased decisions, the very opposite of what Jesus taught us using the parable.

To make a point, let us imagine the “good” Samaritan in the parable comes under the influence of modern CRT assertions. In the reimagined parable, under the influence of the above-described CRT assertion, one could argue, the Samaritan may walk away from the injured, dying man in the parable because of his ethnicity. Then, it would be a case of CRT assertions corrupting the “good” Samaritan. In today’s context, the question would be: Could CRT assertions corrupt “Good Samaritans” living amongst us now? This is the “million-dollar” question.

Most of us agree, we must erase all racist tendencies in individuals, our systems, and our nation. But is CRT the way to do it?

If you are evaluating CRT, pay close attention to all core assertions of CRT. Those assertions may have regressive consequences for race relations in America.

Paul Swamidass, PhD, is Professor Emeritus, Harbert College of Business, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA. After a total of 33 years of teaching and publishing as a business management professor, he retired from Auburn University in 2016 after teaching there for 24 years. He teaches Biblical Leadership for Kerusso Institute for Global Leadership. His newest book is, Greater Things: The Qualifications of a Biblical Leader, Vide Press, 2020. He and his wife Nimmi worship at Lakeview Baptist Church, Auburn, AL. His Facebook page is here.