Faithfulness in Contentious Times: The 12th Homily in the Digital Age
It is no secret that we live in contentious times. Strife and dissension are part of the air we breathe. The tools of the day, particularly social media, serve as rich soil where much of this strife is sown. We generally do not have our arguments down at the local pub or even in local newspapers as past generations often did. Instead, we conduct them very publicly, in real-time online, on platforms like X, Facebook, or TikTok.
Public debate and disagreement have their place. They can be very useful. But what has emerged is something else —a mean-spirited, win-at-all-costs manner of discourse that is often slanderous, inciting, and eminently personal. Particularly distressing are the ways Christians are participating in this type of activity. The ugliness Christians (even Christian ministers) display online is breathtaking. This un-Christlike behavior has not only been defended and rationalized—it has been normalized. While, of course, this is a poor witness for individual Christians, it is damaging the unity and the witness of the Church of Jesus Christ far more than we realize.
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Homily 12’s Admonition
As Anglican Christians, we would do well to consider the admonitions found in our formularies, particularly the twelfth and final sermon in the First Book of Homilies, “On Strife and Contention”. Our predecessors in the faith certainly understood this. They lived in divisive and contentious days. Many of them faced violent persecution for their opinions. Others worked for years in secret. Some had to flee to countries like Germany or Switzerland to continue their work. They had seen their leaders and friends imprisoned, tortured, and martyred.
Amazingly, it is out of this violent context that we inherit this sermon on dealing faithfully and Biblically with strife and contention. Our English Reformers were not composing these homilies in the ivory towers of academia, but in the streets and situations faced by Christian people in highly charged, divisive, and often violent days. So what might this homily say to us in the 21st century?
Leading with Our Faith
Near the end of the 12th Homily, we read:
If we are good and peaceable Christians, let it appear so in our speech and in our tongues. If we have forsaken the devil, let us no more use devilish tongues. The one who has been a railing critic, now let them be a sober counselor. The one who has been a malicious slanderer, now let them be a loving comforter. The one who has been a vain ranter, now let them be a spiritual teacher. The one who has abused their tongue in cursing, now let them use it in blessing. The one who has abused their tongue in evil speaking, not let them use it in speaking well.
Gatiss, Lee (ed.), The First Book of Homilies, Church Society, London, 2021, 191
Here, the homily urges us to allow the Gospel to have its way in us. Do we think that the Biblical admonitions that apply to Christian behavior somehow become suspended the moment we get behind our keyboards and open X? Maybe we need to reconsider passages like Ephesians 4:31 where Paul instructs us, “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.” Or what about Proverbs 20:3? There we read “It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife, but every fool will be quarreling.”
The tendency in online discourse, especially due to the limitations of length or time, is to hit hard, fast, and brutally. There’s something satisfying to our sinful nature about a solid put-down, slam, or dismissive comment. It prevents discourse and feeds our ego. Consider the advice given in Homily 12, “Is there a hope of remedying argumentativeness, by answering argumentative people with argumentativeness?” If you have ever found yourself caught up in an online squabble, you know the truth of this rhetorical question.
What if we took a far more radical Christian approach to the whole situation? The homily continues,
But if one cannot amend someone else’s fault, or cannot amend it without a fault of your own, it is better that one should perish than two. If you cannot quiet them with gentle words, at least do not follow them in wicked and uncharitable words. If you can pacify them with suffering, then suffer; and if not, it is better to suffer evil than to do evil, to speak well, than to speak evil.
Homilies, 183
That’s revolutionary!
Unity, Liberty, Charity
It would be good for us to consider once again the concept of “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.” Although many have attributed this phrase to Augustine, it most likely comes from a little-known 17th-century theologian named Rupertus Meldenius. Regardless of its source, its principle is helpful if we recognize that not all things are essential and that we should value unity in its Biblical context.
Doctrine or Opinion
There is a tendency, particularly in our day, to blur essentials and non-essentials, to confuse bona fide Christian doctrine with sectarian Church partisanship and pious opinion. Therefore, Christians attack other Christians not over first-order issues of faith but over second or third-tier issues. It is right to challenge a brother or sister over the denial of creedal issues or, as Anglicans, from issues related to the Formularies. That would be the fulfillment of the promise in our ordination vows, “to be a messenger, watchman, and steward of the Lord” (2019 Book of Common Prayer, 489).
It is lamentable that we attack one another over things like vestiture, ceremonial, music, the raising of hands, or the color of one’s clergy shirt. In Romans 16:17, Paul urges us to, “watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.” (Romans 16:17). The doctrine the apostle is referring to is not the doctrine of a particular branch of the Anglican tree, but the root of the Gospel itself. The words of the homily on contention remind us,
…stiffness in maintaining an opinion breeds contention, brawling, and criticism which, along with other vices, is most damaging and destructive to common peace and quietness.
Homilies, 180
Let us have liberty in the non-essentials and charity in the midst of it all. What a far better witness this would be for the Church!
Are We Too Comfortable with Strife?
In terms of unity, I believe we have become far too comfortable with strife, contention, and division. The current “alphabet soup” of Anglican jurisdictions should be all the evidence we need of this reality. Yes, there are times when it is no longer possible to walk together, especially in the midst of a departure from the essential doctrines of the faith and Biblical authority. But among Christians, there should naturally be a desire and reverence for unity. The writer of the Homily (presumably Cranmer himself) says,
What would [Paul] say if he head these words of contention (which are now in almost everyone’s mouth), ‘He is a Pharisee; she is an evangelical; he is of the new sort; she is of the old faith; he is a sound chap; he is a good catholic father; she is a liberal she is a heretic.’ O how the church is divided! O how the cities are cut and mangled! O how the coat of Christ, that was seamless, is all pulled apart and torn!
Homilies, 178
1 Corinthians 1:10 reminds us,
I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.
1 Corinthians 1:10
This requires active work, humility, self-sacrifice, and Christlike commitment. It requires a true commitment to the Body of Christ more than our own preferences or opinions. It requires a commitment to the concept, “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.”
Trolling for Contention
Still, we must face the reality that some enjoy contention, strife, and conflict. The New Testament has strong (and often overlooked) instructions for handling these situations. Consider Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 5 where he tells the Church,
…not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one.
1 Corinthians 5:11
A “reviler” here means a person who rails, is abusive in language, who slanders, or insults. Homily 12 says this,
St. Paul numbers a scolder, a brawler, a picker of quarrels among thieves and idolaters… A ranting tongue is a pestilence so full of contagion, that St. Paul wishes Christians to avoid the company of such people, and neither to eat or drink with them.
Homily, 181
We also see guidance in Paul’s words to Titus where he says, “As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.” (Titus 3:10-11). The Homily points out that the New Testament doesn’t call for a wife to leave an unbelieving husband, nor for Christians to avoid unbelievers, but it does call for the avoidance of the company of those who stir up strife, division, and contention. In our digital age, this may mean disengagement from “revilers” in the online space and the refusal to enter the endless back-and-forth of online discourse. It may also mean a necessary break in fellowship, as Paul outlines.
Answering When Needed
So what do we do when we must answer or engage with a contentious person? It is unrealistic to think that we will never have to engage in conflict. In fact, total conflict avoidance is not healthy nor is it Biblical. We are called to “contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). These situations should be occasions for prayerful discernment and wisdom.
The first course of action that Homily 12 suggests is that we answer with our lives,
This is the best way to counter an adversary: so to live, that all those who know your honesty may bear witness that you are slandered unworthily.
Homilies, 188
Yet the homily continues,
“There is a time when it is appropriate to ‘answer a fool according to his foolishness, in case they should seem in their own conceit to be wise’ (Proverbs 26:5).”
Homilies, 189
If we are maligned or attacked in such a way that the wrong done to us is simultaneously an assault on the Gospel itself or will endanger the spiritual health of others, we should prayerfully consider how God would have us respond. We can answer with conviction and with zeal—as we see in the examples of John the Baptist, Paul, Peter, Stephen, and Jesus himself. The homilist says:
These sharp words came not from anger, rancor, or malice, or desire for vengeance, but from a fervent desire to bring them to the true knowledge of God, and from ungodly living, by an earnest and sharp rebuke and reprimand.
Homilies, 189
This response is particularly needed from those with an office of pastoral leadership within the Church.
The Temptations of Online Engagement
Christians, particularly those who engage online, constantly face a number of temptations. We need to be on guard against them.
Reactionism
There is the temptation to reactionism—heat-of-the-moment, knee-jerk responses that have the potential to become sparks for flame contention and promote self-righteousness far more than truth.
Confirmation Bias
There is the temptation to confirmation bias, where we see no other view but our own and believe everything the bots and algorithms put in our feed. They confirm and fuel anger, malice, and rage.
Catastrophization
There is also the temptation to catastrophize, which draws us into a place of deep anger and despair because it seems the world is falling apart. We feel that we must do something, and then we compound the reactionary tendency.
Demonization
We also must face the temptation to demonize—to assume the worst about a brother or sister Christian based on what others are saying about them or because of their own careless posts. I have several good, faithful, Christian friends who have been attacked and demonized with the most horrible of accusations, personal attacks, and threats—from other Christians.
To Be a Non-Anxious Presence
I remember, many years ago, hearing (then Bishop) Bob Duncan encourage those of us who felt called to stand against the innovations of the Episcopal Church to be a “non-anxious presence” in the midst of the turmoil and trouble we were facing. I still think that is good, Biblical advice. In this age of social media, I also recommend the advice given by Archbishop Foley Beach, which you can find here.
There are times to challenge, to debate, and even to argue. There are occasions where a zealous answer, full of holy conviction, is needed. Sometimes, there is a necessary conflict. The Bible shows us the early Church had its fair share of debate and disagreement. My belief is that we need to re-learn how to do this well and faithfully so that God is glorified, even in our disagreement. What if we put into practice some of the timely lessons we see in the 12th Homily? What if we chose a different way, a Christian way, of engaging with one another?
I think Cranmer would like that.
I think the Lord Jesus would, too.
Image: design by Jacob Davis. Elements from AWSeebaran from Getty Images Signature and Junnie from TypoSketch Lab, courtesy of Canva.
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