Make Your Case – With Gentleness and Respect

Concerns about political polarization abound, but how exactly does one go about de-polarizing? How can a Christian hold fast to truth without forsaking grace? At a recent Friday Forum, Biola professors Rick Langer and Tim Muehlhoff sought to answer that question. The two co-direct the Winsome Conviction Project and have published books on the topic of productive disagreement.

While the word “civility” does not appear in the Bible, said Langer, who is also a pastor, “you can hardly find a page in the New Testament that doesn’t care about how we speak to each other.”

Case in point: 1 Peter 3:9-15. Exhorting believers who would soon face severe persecution, the apostle Peter forbids them from repaying evil for evil. Instead, he commands them to bless their revilers ‘for to this you were called.’

“Blessing is not capitulation,” said Muehlhoff. “It is not about not having the argument.” But how we defend our views matter. Since many of us lack “the spiritual muscles to give a blessing for insult…we need a gameplan.”

Understanding communications theory is a good place to start. Meuhlhoff explained that there are two levels of communication: content and relational. “For sure, policies are important, and that would be the content. Peter does not ignore the content. He says, ‘Be ready to give an answer for the hope that is in you.’ But do not miss the second part: ‘with gentleness and respect.'”

“If you mess up the relational,” said Meuhlhoff, “I do not care about the content. Your content will not work. It will not penetrate what we have identified as ‘my side bias.’”

Developing spiritual muscle is best done in community with others. “That’s what I love about Faith and Law, the Intern reading group, and being in conversations like this,” he said. “We all need to discipline ourselves together…We can become Spirit-filled and do the fruit of the Spirit, even as we disagree with people about very important topics.”

Thank you, Biola, for lending us your wise professors for a few days in DC. Faith and Law is honored to be part of the game plan on Capitol Hill.