"Wokeness" - A New Religion?

9/12/20   Dean   (see HERE)

Is “wokeness” developing into a new religion?

I think I caught a glimpse of that “woke” righteousness in a comment made by a man named Dean near the end of a street outreach conversation.  He had listened patiently through my explanation of the Gospel and how despite our sinfulness we can be made right with God through Jesus, rather than our own efforts.  In the end, though, it seemed he had just been waiting to play a hidden trump card that allowed him to disregard all that, for he had his own plan of righteousness.  He made mention of the evils of slavery, and pretty much walked away, his “wokeness” vindicating him.

I would argue that “wokeness” is indeed developing into a new religion, because it provides a way for people to feel the sense of moral righteousness or validation that we all seek.  History is full of examples of people using social issues to try to justify their existence.  The push for a negative carbon footprint or a socialist utopia or a universal religion are all fueled largely by well-meaning people who want to leave an impact on history and make the world a better place for having been here.  What could be wrong with that?

Not just social or environmental issues, but all the major traditional religions can be seen as man’s efforts to deal with the fact that although we have a moral conscience, we have not followed it.  We have broken God’s moral laws, and we want somehow to make things right or to be “righteous”.  We don’t want to concede authority to God, so we try to establish our own standards to justify ourselves, leading to all sorts of man-made religions.

In the end, however, we just get a lot of self-righteousness, people pointing fingers at others and propping themselves up as morally superior, all in an effort to virtue signal and self-justify.  Listen to how Jesus describes the Pharisees of his day, and tell me if we are not seeing many of these same attitudes in those who claim to be “woke” today: “They do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.  Everything they do is done for people to see…”

What we find in Jesus, however, is different.  Jesus sets us free from the burden of self-justification.  He allows us to be honest about our sins and shortcomings, and he doesn’t condemn us with a burden we could never bear, because he bore the consequences of our sin at the cross for us.  He gives us his Spirit who builds in us a desire to serve God and our neighbor, not out of obligation but out of love and gratitude.

Let’s wake up and see “wokeness” for what it really is – a man-centered effort at moral self-justification that can never take the place of the work and sacrifice of Jesus at the cross.

Thanks, Dean, for allowing me to record our conversation.  It can be seen at https://youtu.be/1IKxtEhSf2Q