Young’s definition of “wokeism” is: “An authoritarian worldview that seeks to deconstruct the foundations of our Christian faith by overwhelming, overpowering and overthrowing those who do not adhere to its ideology.”
“Wow,” said Young after reading his definition. “That’s pretty heavy. I hope you got that down.”
He continued, “If I had to define ‘wokeism’ in one word: paganism. If I had to define it in another word: pride.” Another definition of “wokeism,” according to Young, is “moral superiority based on race, gender and sexual orientation.”
The “cult of wokeism” goes directly against the gospel, said the pastor. Those who are “woke” see anyone not “woke” as bad. White people, for example, can “never, ever be redeemed of your sin of ‘racism.’”
“It is a seductive, satanic strategy,” said Young. “This is much bigger than being a Democrat or Republican. It’s much bigger than government.” Young added, “This is not some series where I’m trying to wrap the Bible in the American flag.” He believes that many churches are unwilling to talk about “wokeism” and that the reasons why are 1) they are afraid to and 2) they are unwilling to put the time into researching a confusing topic.
Satan is attacking our institutions, “coming after Christ followers,” said Young, who proceeded to explain that the reason “wokeism” is pervading American society is because of the influence of Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche and Sigmund Freud. According to Young, university professors who grew up in the 1960s were influenced by these men and now their students are leaders in education, business, and other parts of society.
The solution to the problem of “wokeism,” said the pastor, is for people to “adopt a biblical worldview.”
Pushback on Ed Young’s Sermon
Pastor Ed Young has received blowback online from people who say his definition of “wokeism” is fabricated and who find irony in the fact that Young critiqued cults for creating their own definitions.
