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Is Your Silence Actually Sinful? Why "Being Nice" Isn't the Goal of Faith

February 10, 2026 by Duncan Pile

Silence Bible

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In recent months, I’ve noted a number of ways believers justify remaining silent while their neighbours are oppressed. Scriptures are quoted and used as a shield against accountability, and justifications become spiritualised, taking on the appearance but not the substance of holiness. In this article, I want to test these deceptions against the character of Jesus.

The praise and cursing argument

A relative of mine I shall call Tom wrote a letter to me recently, warning against critical social media posting on the basis of James 3:9-12,

“With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.”

In Tom’s view, this scripture is so clear that it can only be understood as a command to refrain from criticism, including criticism of world leaders, even when what they do is profoundly harmful or corrupt. Tom believes that Christians should only have sweet and gentle things to say – ‘praise’ instead of ‘cursing’. The problem with this application of James’ teaching is that it makes Jesus a sinner.

Jesus was merciful to sinners but harshly criticized those who used their authority to lord it over others.

In Matthew 23, he demonstrated the very opposite of restraint – a deliberate, lethally sharp verbal attack:

“But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.” (verses 3-4)

“…they love the place of honour at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues…” (verse 6)

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.”(verses 13-15)

These rebukes are direct and deliberate, calling out hypocrisy for what it is. But why would Jesus speak so harshly? Certainly not from vitriol or hatred! Jesus spoke the way he did because he sided with the victims of oppression – the poor, the marginalised, and the vulnerable, which is a consistent theme throughout both testaments and of the highest importance to the Father’s heart. In that moment, he prioritised the oppressed by rebuking the oppressors.

I think we have to assume that Jesus told the Pharisees exactly what they needed to hear, to shatter their delusions. As a result, I have to reject my relative, Tom’s, understanding of James’ teaching on ‘praise’ and ‘cursing’. When we select a verse we like the sound of and overlook the example of Jesus, we reach conclusions that are not supported by a wider view of scripture.

The purity and peace argument

Another justification I sometimes come across is a misapplication of Philippians 4:8,

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

This is an encouragement to dwell on things that lift us up, but it isn’t an instructing to only think about such things.

What would applying it that way say about Jesus? When he wept over Jerusalem and its tragic failure to listen to the prophets, should he have thought about something nicer instead? In Gethsemane, when he needed to wrestle with his doubts, should he have distracted himself with a happy memory? Applying Philippians 4:8 in such a way is no more helpful than the “positive thinking” ethos passing for wisdom in the shallow end of the wellbeing community. It shouldn’t be used as an excuse for keeping silent in the face of evil.

The submission to authorities argument

Others use Romans 13:1-3 to argue that one must submit to political leaders, and therefore offer no criticism of them:

“Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended.”

First if all, it’s telling how selectively this is applied – it is only ever quoted to quash criticism of a person’s preferred administration. Hypocrisy aside, it is intellectually and morally unsupportable to suggest that this verse applies universally, at all times and under all administrations. Even the church of my youth, which was highly conservative in its theology, permitted the single exception of Hitler. It is impossible to argue that the brave citizens who hid Jewish families in the nooks and crannies of their houses, risking their own lives in the process, were wrong to oppose the Nazi government.

The trouble is that once an exception has been made, other comparable scenarios have to be excluded too, and it isn’t long before the honest thinker realises they can no longer believe in the broad application of Paul’s teaching on submitting to authority. The cannon of scripture provides a plethora of examples that countermand Paul’s instruction.

Should Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednago have bowed down to Nebuchadnezzar’s idol? Should David have let King Saul kill him? Was each and every prophet wrong to speak truth to power? Was Moses wrong to liberate the Hebrew slaves from Egypt? Were Mary and Joseph wrong to flee Herod?

Should they have handed Jesus over to be murdered? When Jesus drove out money changers from the Temple, calling it a "den of robbers", was he wrong to oppose the corrupt alliance between the priesthood and Roman authorities? Should he have bought one of their products instead? The answer to all these questions is obvious – of course not!

I don’t know how Paul’s teaching on submitting to authorities is to be interpreted other than as a general instruction to live as a decent citizen when it is possible to do so without compromising your values.

The love your enemies argument

The best argument I’ve heard for holding your peace during political turmoil is that we are called to love our enemies, rather than boil with anger towards them. I understand the good intentions behind this stance, but for me, it lacks the nuance that wisdom requires. Yes, we should pray for the baying mob, but we can also resist what they’re doing without entertaining hate in our hearts. Yes, we should avoid being polluted by anger towards the individuals who are currently acting as agents of injustice, but we are also called to speak out against that very injustice.

Proverbs 31:8-9,

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”

Isaiah 1:17,

“Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.”

Micah 6:8,

“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

Leviticus 19:33-34,

“When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.”

Injustice is the real enemy

If we identify injustice and oppression as the enemy, we can fiercely oppose those villains without hating those who are currently serving them, and by necessity, this has to include those at the highest level of accountability. Vengeance is never a god-blessed goal; it is ugly, diminishing anyone who channels it. It is challenging to curb spiteful thoughts, separating the instinct to hate from the choice to stand against injustice, but it’s a bar we can rise to. Sure, we can get angry, but at oppression itself, while praying for those who are mired in corruption.

We pray for their enlightenment, their repentance, and their freedom, while standing firm against what they are doing, using our voices and choices to oppose and obstruct. Those who are lawmakers should fight them in the courts, those who have influence should use it where they can, those who can shield the oppressed from the oppressors should do so, even to the point of civil disobedience, and we should all lend our voices to the cause of justice, even if it costs us to do so. We can do all this without a scintilla of hatred in our hearts, other than hatred of injustice itself.

The justifications for silence while our neighbours are being oppressed are, in my view, ways to dodge the divine draft. If we are silent, we have denied the call to raise our voices against injustice and given up on following the example of Jesus, who opposed injustice every day of his life. Christians are called to be emulators of Christ, so let’s follow him with everything we’ve got.

Philippians 12:1-2a,

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”

2/10/2026 12:13:09 AM

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About Duncan Pile

Duncan Pile is a writer, author and speaker, living in Derbyshire, England with his wife and stepson. His mystical approach to faith straddles the Evangelical/Progressive divide, and flowing from lived experience, he is passionate about the deconstruction and reconstruction of the Christian faith.

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