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... The Texas Minute ... Good morning, Leftists have shown us there is nothing good about identity politics—and Christian conservatives must be wary of adopting any of the variants. More on that below. This is the Texas Minute for Friday, January 16, 2026. – Michael Quinn Sullivan
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Friday ReflectionIdentity politics has driven Democrats into the nastiest recesses of their leftwing ideology. It would behoove folks on the right to take notice before going down the same, vile path. There is nothing new about identity politics. The urge to easily designate someone a friend or foe based on a single external (and usually immutable) characteristic is not new to the 21st Century. Throughout history, it has taken on various forms—none of them good. It is the notion that led African tribes to trade their neighbors as slaves between each other and with Europeans. It drove Margaret Sanger to create Planned Parenthood. It was Adolf Hitler’s justification for genocide. At its core, identity politics is about elevating ourselves while getting rid of “others.” Who? Those people who seem to have what “we” want, or can be made responsible for “our” travails. Rarely, of course, do those “others” actually live up to the hype. Such notions are the easy refuge of a lazy mind gripped by sin. Make no mistake: it is sin that drives identity politics. Just as it separates us eternally from God, the most immediate effect of sin is to separate us from each other. Christians are supposed to have a better vision of identity. It is one distinctly different from the tired old tropes of the fallen world. Frankly, the political and cultural identities assigned by the world are as useful to us as a screen door on a submarine. When our enemy tries to define our allies for us, it is never for our good. As Paul wrote to the church in Galatia, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Jesus does not see us as we see ourselves. He knows our identity: pitiful individuals who have fallen and cannot get up. In Him, though, we rise to something much better. There is no room, in Paul’s explanation of identity, for hyphens. Using his terms, there is no such thing as a “Greek-Christian,” “Jewish-Christian,” or “Slave-Christian.” There is just “one in Christ Jesus.” This, in turn, must shape how we view the world. Yes, groups of people acting in concert will do bad things, but in each case, the individuals bear culpability for their own actions. We must not force anyone to carry guilt for an injustice (real or imagined) committed by others, whether distant ancestors or modern contemporaries. We cannot see people as “the Jews” or “the Greeks,” we must instead see individuals who need to know Christ. Lastly, when we wrap an individual’s worth in the group identity of the world, we cease to be effective followers of Christ. Even when someone declares their identity to be in opposition to Christ, we must see them as a fellow sinner in need of His grace. None of that is easy because sin makes it hard. The grace that brought us to Christ is the grace that lets us introduce Christ to others. We must recall daily that our only meaningful identity is in Christ and in Christ alone.
Quote-Unquote"The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried." – G.K. Chesterton
* The new congressional boundaries for representational purposes will not take effect until January 2027. |