The End of Woke ?

Binaries, Boundaries, and Spirits

Scottish writer Andrew Doyle has a new book called The End of Woke: How the Culture War Went Too Far and What to Expect from the Counter-Revolution. Amazon calls it “ A revelatory investigation into the rise and fall of the ‘woke’ movement and how we can keep it from happening again.” Doyle defines woke as “ a cultural revolution by which certain identity groups seek to impose their values on society by authoritarian means.” While it is true that there has been massive pushback to this ideology in the US and some countries in Europe, I think rumors of its death may be greatly exaggerated. There is absolutely no doubt that the radical social justice warriors on the left went too far, and I would lay odds that the reactionary over-correctors on the right are on their way there too. However, once you blur all the binaries and break all the boundaries in a culture, the fragmented pieces of the societal puzzle may not go back together as quickly or as easily as expected. One can forgive Doyle for his optimism. Although Scottish, he has been living in the States, and the new administration has been taking the Silicon Valley motto “ Move fast and break things” to a whole new level. Their unofficial motto could be: “If it’s woke, it gets broke!” I can see how if you lived Stateside you could view the dismantling of the whole DEI educational-industrial complex as the death of its undergirding worldview. That worldview may be embedded deeper into the psyche and more central to the zeitgeist than politicians know. Although it appeared to spring out of nowhere, it was fomenting below the surface for a long time, and its source is ancient.

Where I live in Canada, woke is as alive and unwell as ever. Our recent election, which was greatly influenced by our golden neighbor to the south, saw the re-election of a party that is the poster child for all things woke. After ten years of pride parades, land acknowledgements, pro-abortion rallies, and cancel culture… we voted for four more years of pride parades, land acknowledgements, pro-abortion rallies, and cancel culture... The opposition candidate who pledged to “ end the imposition of woke ideology,” was soundly defeated, not even winning his own seat in parliament. Canadian military bases and warships are the only ones on earth where it is mandatory to stock tampons next to urinals. As we head into June, though a tad more subdued because of the influence of our golden neighbor to the south, the co-opted rainbow is everywhere, and every small town is gearing up to celebrate a word that the Bible notes as the original sin (Is 14:13), what comes before a fall (Pr 16:18), and is to be avoided (Phil 2:3). With 150 days on the calendar celebrating various LGBTQ+ lifestyles, the cries of oppression seem somewhat overstated. On a more international note, the singer Lorde recently told Rolling Stone she “ feels in the middle gender-wise.” Her new album is called Virgin, her new single is called Man of the Year, and she says: “ I’m a woman except for the days when I am a man.” After undergoing therapy for an eating disorder, she noted: “ My gender got way more expansive when I gave my body more room.” She posted a photo on Instagram. Her tightly duct-taped breasts contradict her gender broadening claims of freedom. I am not a therapist, but she appears to me to be as confused as the teenage Therians who claim to be wolves. This is classic delusional thinking, and is not just harmful to the deluded person, but also to the vulnerable people under her influence. Reality is not based on inner feelings alone, but also on outward evidence. While Lorde asserts that masculinity and femininity are on a fluid, sliding spectrum, there is another Lord who asserted: “ But from the beginning of creation. God made them male and female.” (Mk 10:6) His name was the Lord Jesus, and to quote Joe Rogan in a recent conversation: “ I’m sticking with Jesus!” A Public Religion Research Institute survey revealed that 28% of Gen Z are not sticking with Jesus when it comes to their sexuality. They are as fluid and confused as Lorde. For them, the broader road of celebrity feels better than the narrower way of Christ. Unfortunately that road does not lead to a good place. (Mt 7:13)

[An aside: Did you know that June is named after the Roman goddess Juno ? Me neither. She was the goddess of marraige, childbirth, and the protector of women. So she was the original trad wife. Although pagan, she would probably be in favor of keeping men out of women's sports. But I digress…]

Another disturbing area where the woke/intersectionality/colonial-settler narrative is still too much with us is the strange hybrid of islamic fundamentalism and progressive identity politics on college campuses. This has lead to the reemergence of a new/old anti-semitism that should send a collective shiver down our spines. The cold-blooded murder of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim outside of the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington is the fruit of this strange union. This young, engaged couple were gunned down by a radicalized Hamas sympathizer who yelled “ Free Palestine,” as if he were some kind of freedom fighter, rather than a misguided, indoctrinated coward. “ I did it for Gaza,” he told police. He was not from the Middle East, but middle America. He was simply a progressive pawn in the globalized intifada, which is a fancy way of saying open season on the Jews. The great irony in this was that the murdered couple were attending a Young Diplomats Reception which was dedicated to bringing together war torn and politically divided regions of the world. They were committed to inter-faith dialogue and peaceful coexistence for Christians, Jews, and Muslims in the Middle East. Their only crime was believing Israel had a right to exist. Israeli Embassy spokesman Tal Naim wrote: “ Instead of walking you down the aisle, we are walking you to your graves.” The contrast between their worldview and the Palestinian death cult could not be more stark. Even if all accusations against Israel are correct, which they aren’t, gunning down a young couple who were working towards peace is irrational and evil. To those like Tik Tok influencer Guy Christensen, who told his 3M followers to support the shooter because he is a “resistance fighter” against Israel’s “genocide machine,” I would say it is nonsensical and counterproductive to believe you can fight genocide with genocide. Real freedom fighters look a lot more like Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim than Elias Rodriguez. He is not an activist; he is a terroist. He is not a martyr; he is a murderer. They were not just peacekeeper; they were peacemakers. He broke the ultimate moral boundary by taking life simply because of identity. The only thing they broke was bread, and their vision of humanity was un-blurred by tribal, religious, or ideological hatred. As followers of Yeshua, they were working to turn the world right side up.

That brings us to what Andrew Doyle calls the counter-revolution. He says it has already begun, and he may be right. But I fear what Joe Rogan, in an interview with Bono, called “ The Great Overcorrection.” This is when the right goes too far, and you end up with delusion conservative thinking, like trying through political force to recreate an ideal utopian past that never really existed. Make [fill in the blank] Great Again! I don’t care what you fill in the blank with, the reality is that we were never that great and God always is. Blurring binaries, breaking boundaries, and inverting morality can happen at all points along the ideological/political continuum, and the great temptation for everyone is to use coercion and force to advance their agenda. Behind the turmoil in our news feed each day, there is a spirit of transgression, urging us to violate trust and betray ourselves, others, and God. It was there in the garden of Eden when Adam and Eve ate the one fruit they were forbidden to have, and there in the garden of Gethsemane when Judas betrayed Christ with a kiss. “ God is not the author of confusion, but of peace…” (1 Cor 14:33) The one the Bible calls “ the adversary,” (1 Pet 5:8) is always the author of confusion, and the result is always conflict and chaos. We obviously live in a time of moral inversion. Sin, which is lawlessness (1 Jn 3:4) is applauded, while righteousness is regarded with suspicion at best, and met with resistance at worst. “ Woe to those who call evil good and good evil.” (Is 5:20) To all the masked, keffiyeh wearing protesters on college campuses I would caution: No matter what you have been fed by the compromised media or your communist university professor, you are not the arbiter of good and evil, God is. He has declared clear binaries, boundaries, and morality in His word. Any confusion you have about this is not coming from Him, but lesser sources. So “ Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” (Js 4:7)

Woke is Satan’s counterfeit of being awakened by the Holy Spirit to the eternal justice and mercy of God . No doubt there will be a faux counter-revolution on the right, but the real counter-revolution is always Jesus. He said: “ Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.” (Mt 5:9) Through Jesus we make peace with God, peace with ourselves, and peace with others. He is the calmer of chaos and the settler of conflict because He is “ the prince of peace.” (Is 9:6) Conversely, Jesus also said: “ You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (Jn 8:44) If we, as a people, heed the words of Jesus, our society will mirror heaven. If we listen to the voice of the evil one, our society will become a living hell, the kind of place where lies are the native language and violence is the currency of the culture. Believe me, none of us really want to live in that world.

In the midst of times not unlike our own, Jesus said to His followers: “ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. Not as the world gives do I give you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” (Jn 14:27) Rather than fear the darkness, we are called to fight in faith. We must fight bad ideology by articulate argument, demolishing “ every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God and taking every thought captive to Christ.” (2 Cor 10:5) Beyond that, we must battle the transgressive spirit that lures people to cross moral boundaries into a no-mans land that reverses polarity and causes disorientation. To paraphrase Jesus, this kind “ can only come out by prayer and fasting.” (Mk 9:29) “ For we are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen realm, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in heavenly places.” (Eph 6:12) The good new is that “ the battle belongs to the Lord.” ( 1 Sam 17:47) David did not defeat Goliath by using the same weapons as Goliath, or Saul for that matter. He prayed, picked up a few pebbles, walked out onto the battlefield, knowing that His God was bigger than the giant, and that the giant had to fall. We must do the same. Ultimately, there is a Kingdom coming that will be ruled by the One who calls Himself “ the Truth.” (Jn 14:6) We will see and understand everything, including ourselves, with perfect clarity ( 1 Cor 13:12). Weapons will be repurposed for more productive use, and all conflict will cease. (Is 2:4) That will be the real end of woke, and all the other “vain philosophies, which depend on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world, rather than Christ.” (Col 2:8) I’ll let the Bible have the last word: “ So come, Lord Jesus.” (Rev 22:20)