the goal of a woke worldview: a book review

What the book is about

The book "Awake, Not Woke: A Christian Response to the Cult of Progressive Ideology" is a critical examination of contemporary "woke" culture from a Christian perspective. The author, Noelle Mering, contends that this ideology functions as a quasi-religious movement, promoting division and undermining traditional Christian values.

The word “woke” can be politically charged and have a wide variety of meanings. For the purposes of this book, it is defined as a radical ideological framework that reinterprets society through the lens of power, oppression and identity.

Who is it for and why you should read it

What makes this subject so hard to understand is that most of its ideas are premised in a good–but it’s a good with a slight tilt, and over time, that tilt leads to going in direct opposition to the original good.

Here is an example:

The good: Racism and sexism are inherently evil because God has ordained that all have equal value, therefore we should treat everyone with equal dignity.

The good with a tilt: Racism and sexism are inherently evil, therefore we should flip the power dynamic and give special power and treatment to the historically oppressed group.

While the tilt may seem reasonable upon first glance, it is actually just repeating the original evil in a different form–if you give special power and treatment to one group, you must take it from another–thus repeating both racist and sexist behavior.

In Chapter 2, Mering writes:

“Within the umbrella of the woke ideology, there tend to be two types of people: the well-intended, who seek justice but misunderstand the real aims of the movement, and the militant true believers. Though the militant are fewer, they are in many ways directing the movement and are the ones willing to play out the internal violent logic of the ideology.”

What the book seeks to do is open the eyes of the well-intended to the aims of the militant. Drawing from theology, philosophy, history, and current events, Mering traces the ideological roots of wokeness to critical theory and neo-Marxist thought.

Why does that matter?

Because the underlying ideas of woke ideology have the specific aim of creating revolution against Western civilization. Western civilization’s fundamental ideology is derived from a Judeo/Christian worldview. This means that this ideology and its derivatives are a direct attack on Christianity. Karl Marx quite literally called religion “the opiate of the masses.” The mistaken conclusion that many people are making is that because Western civilization has imperfectly implemented the Judeo/Christian worldview, that the underlying worldview must be bad. But a worldview, or a set of ideas, should be judged on their own merit, not a group’s imperfect implementation of those ideas.

For example, God’s idea of marriage is that one man and one woman should commit to each other for life. That they should stay faithful to one another, love and respect one other as they do their own body, have children and instruct them in the way of the Lord. And yet, we know that over 50% of marriages end in divorce and are fraught with lies and deceit and cause deep pain. Shall we conclude that the institution of marriage is a bad idea or that people are screwing up a good idea?

We should instead compare it to an alternative idea, a world with no marriage or monogamous commitment. Would society function better if no one committed to one person but instead followed every fleeting sexual desire? Would that cause more or less heart ache in comparison to committing to one person? Would children grow up more or less adjusted in this environment? Is society better off promoting no sexual restraint? Should we do away with the family structure all together? This is quite literally what the Frankfurt school (where wokeness originated) is suggesting. It wants no family structure, no sexual restraint and the state to magically provide unlimited resources to everyone equally–despite being in direct opposition with economic reality.

If you have ever wondered how society got so confused to the point that we don’t know the difference between what a man or woman is, this book will help you understand.

If you’ve ever wondered why your conservative friend gets so peeved about the idea of being “anti-racist” but they suck at explaining why, this book will help you understand.

If you’ve ever wondered how modern “female empowerment” somehow encompasses sexual promiscuity, taking a pill that stops you from ovulating, and celebrates the ability to kill your unborn child, this book will help you understand.

If you’ve ever wondered how truth has shifted from objective reality to a subjective feeling in your tummy, this book will help you understand.

It sheds light on all of these subjects simultaneously by exposing the root of the trees from which they grow.

Mering closes not with a political call to arms but for the restoration of the Christian view of the Person, the Family, and the City of God. She specifically calls for the courage of Christians to take a stand for truth stating, “The weakness of most Christians today is not that we are too strident but that we are too cowardly.”

Needless to say, if you’re afraid to challenge modern ideals, put your head back in the sand, this book isn’t for you.

Tyler Chacon

Tyler grew up in the church and was baptized in 2001. He served in the ministry in Gainesville at the University of Florida, where he received his Bachelor’s Degree. He has his MBA from the University of South Florida and works as a Certified Financial Planner. He’s been married to his middle school sweetheart, Tiffany, for fifteen years. They live in Tampa with their two sons. You can reach him at tntchacon@gmail.com