Lent and Anti-Lent 2022
Rev Gregory P Schulz, DMin, PhD
Professor of Philosophy in Exile
When Jesus tells us, "Give unto Caesar that which is Caesar's and give unto God that which is God's" (Matthew 22:21), He certainly does not mean that we should give our children to the government.
This is crucial to remember during Lent in this Year of our Lord 2022: The church regards Lent as a time for worshipping Christ by repenting; by contrast, the government regards Lent 2022 as a time for defying Christ by not repenting of its worship of Wokeness.
Barely one week before Passion Week, the White House announced its support for changing at will the sex of our children. The President, apparently, is promoting this violent and evil assault on children made in the image of God: male and female, as He created them. Our government recommends surgical amputations and untested doses of puberty-inhibiting hormonal alterations for our under-age children in order to carry out their Woke agenda.
In a word, the government is being anti-Lent and anti-Christ in keeping with its Woke agenda, its Woke worship. As I point out in my published essay, “Woke Dysphoria at Concordia,”
Marquart’s reply [to the Seminex explosion in the 1970s and 80s] exposes the fundamental problem with Woke-ness. Think of his formula this way. “X has neither use nor room for privileged authorities or sacrosanct texts.” You can plug in for X every element of the Woke agenda: DIE, BIPOC, LGBTQ-ism, Transgenderism, Harvard’s Critical Race Theory, and so on. In each case, it comes to light that there is no room for privileged authorities or sacrosanct texts.
This is the same government that has been promoting Harvard’s Critical Race Theory and Diversity, Inclusion, Equity (DIE) in public schools throughout our country over and against the express rights and responsibilities of the parents of these children.
This is the same government that provides “significant income from federal student loans” to the $107 million annual budget of Concordia University Wisconsin and Ann Arbor. “Accepting those loans requires accreditation, which mandates racial policies at odds with Christian teachings about the equal and priceless value of all humans, who are created in God’s image,” as reported by Joy Pullmann in The Federalist. As Voddie Baucham puts it in his analysis of “Social Justice” (another term for Wokeism), transgenderism is just one of many boxcars towed by the train engine of Critical Theory.
Can we hope for the government to repent of its un-Godly worship of Wokeism this Lent?
Can we hope for the Board and Administration and certain staff and faculty to repent of their commitment to Wokeism this Lent? Presumably, all the parish pastors in our Lutheran congregations are leading Christ’s people to repentance this Lenten season, but what about the churches’ institutions such as CUWAA: Where is the repentance? Pres Harrison and members of his investigative team, including members of our Concordia University System, has visited CUWAA’s Mequon and Ann Arbor campuses. Presumably, the President’s report and plan of action will be coming out shortly after the Feast of Christ’s Resurrection, Easter Sunday.
Meanwhile, where is the repentance at the university? Is there any indication of repentance on the part of the Board of Regents and the Interim Administration? I see no impulse toward repentance and certainly no evidence of the fruit of repentance.
Another reminder from my essay about Woke dysphoria: “As I have been arguing, Woke-ism is afflicting the consciences of students, faculty, and supporters of Concordia. Therefore, programmatic, systemic Woke-ism merits reconsideration. It also merits personal and institutional repentance.”
May I recommend that you download a copy of “Woke Dysphoria at Concordia” and highlight each of my references to “repentance”? Then, please consider emailing a highlighted copy to Concordia’s Board and Administration with the subject heading: “From One of the 6000: Protect our sons and daughters; Repent of this un-Godly Wokeism!” You may wish to copy your parish pastor and district president as well. Or, you can reach people at the university’s mailing address.
For Your Reference:
Biden Administration Promotes Transgender Sex-Change Surgery, Puberty Blockers for Minors
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2022/03/31/biden-administration-promotes-transgender-sex-change-surgery-puberty-blockers-for-minors/
Voddie Baucham defines “Social Justice” (aka, Wokeism), which he describes as devotion to “’The Holy Trinity’ of Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity.” See especially his illustration of all the boxcars attached to the engine of Critical Theory at about the 39-minute mark. Baucham’s presentation is available at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhmONchRuC8&ab_channel=FriendshipBaptistChurchofGirardOhio
My essay, “Woke Dysphoria at Concordia,” published by Christian News, is posted at
https://christiannewsmissouri.com/2022/02/15/woke-dysphoria-at-concordia/
Joy Pullmann’s article, “Christian University Bans Professor,” published by The Federalist, is posted at
The presidential search email for the CUWAA Board of Regents is officeofthepresident@cuw.edu
The email for the interim president of CUWAA is william.cario@cuw.edu
The address for the university is
Concordia Wisconsin Campus
12800 N Lake Shore Drive
Mequon, WI 53097