What Is Critical Theory?: A Concise Christian Analysis

“Brad Green’s book provides a readable and penetrating introduction to critical theory, a subtradition of Marxism. It describes the basic founding figures and their views but also—most valuably—critiques them from a Christian perspective. The hopes of Marxists and advocates of critical theory are a twisting and counterfeit of the Christian view of sin and hope in Christ as the remedy. This book does well to equip Christians with a basic understanding not only of these views but also of the mixture of good and bad they offer.”

“I’ve read numerous articles and books on critical theory, but Brad Green’s What Is Critical Theory? is the most lucid, insightful, and penetrating treatment I’ve encountered. His argument that critical theory is a kind of parasitic imposter that seeks to subvert and supplant a biblical Christian worldview is especially illuminating and powerful. I learned much from this book, and it will be my first recommendation for any Christian who wants to understand the challenge of critical theory and the ways in which it has infected Western culture.”

“Ideas have consequences, and this is certainly true of critical theory. Critical theory is postmodern thought applied, with disastrous consequences for our society. In this helpful primer on critical theory, Brad Green does a masterful job of explaining what it is and responding to it by the truth of the Christian worldview. By engaging this false view of our day in terms of the creation–fall–redemption–new creation framework of Scripture, this book is much needed so that the church can respond to the issues of our day with biblical and theological precision and life-giving truth. Highly recommended.”

“This book is timely. It has a number of virtues. First, it is about the whole of critical theory and not just race questions. Second, it does not shy away from embracing various positive aspects of critical theorists, even while it exposes their errors. Third, it conjoins the subject to contemporary issues such as hate speech. Fourth, and most important, it scrutinizes each topic with Scripture. Even if this subject is not on your radar, you will benefit enormously from this book’s approach. A must read for anyone wishing to interact with a powerful branch of current analysis.”

“Brad Green observes and understands critical theory and then evaluates it. Like a faithful elder, he not only teaches sound doctrine but rebukes those who contradict it (Titus 1:9).”

“Brad Green’s Christian guide to one of the dominant issues of our day is a triumph of scholarship yet readily accessible to the general reader. For Christians who feel the need to learn what critical theory is and how to assess it, this is the book they should reach for. It is a compact, all-you-need source.”

“Critical theory is now part of our society, and Christians need to learn how to navigate the language of its proponents. In this book, Brad Green gives us the framework to do so. With precision and care, he traces the history of those concepts now heard everywhere. He encourages us to take the time to listen to the thinkers of critical theory before declaring our opposition to this new view of reality. This is the path of wisdom because it is the only way Christians can truly see that the triune God is the only true source of freedom for love, compassion, and justice.”

“This is a remarkably insightful and surprisingly dispassionate study of the fundamental differences between cultural Marxism and biblical Christianity. It is written by an evangelical theologian who has reflected long and hard on the implications of critical theory and where that thought movement has led.”

“Saint Irenaeus wrote against the seductive influence that Gnostic sects had in the second-century church. Brad Green has reenacted that project in a criticism of a select group of thinkers (Benjamin, Horkheimer, Marcuse, and Adorno) that inspired the latter-day gnostic sects of critical theory, which have run amok in higher education in recent decades.”