Holy Scoffers

Recently I figured out the root cause of division in America—and it’s not what you think.

The standard way to think about our divided culture is to hold up the opposing sides: Republican and Democrat, Conservative and Liberal, Pro-Life and Pro-Choice. You name it. The list of opposing forces in society is long. But differing opinions are not the real cause of division. So what is?

What Causes Division?

I think the root cause boils down to a very old-fashioned word from the Bible: scoffers. The dictionary defines scoffing as “speaking to someone or about something in a scornfully derisive or mocking way.” In other words, scoffing is ridicule — treating another person’s words, beliefs, or character with contempt.

The Bible sharpens that definition. Jude 18 warns that “in the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions”—a warning echoed in 2 Peter 3:3. A scoffer is not someone with honest questions. Biblically, a scoffer is someone who treats truth with contempt, ridiculing what is holy in order to justify ungodliness. Proverbs adds that scoffers corrode community: “Drive out a scoffer, and strife will go out” (22:10). Scoffing is not courageous truth-telling — it is contempt masquerading as conviction.

Ridicule as Entertainment

If we look at our culture today, scoffing has become America’s bad habit, like a married couple who can’t stop arguing. Over decades, talk radio, cable news and late-night comedy have made mockery the currency of persuasion. Figures like Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter, Jon Stewart and Joy Behar, turned ridicule into entertainment. Now, social media and memes have trained us all in the art of derision. To gain a following, you don’t need thoughtful arguments — you just need sharper insults than “them.”

Donald Trump has taken scoffing to another level, using his platform as President of the United States to call his opponents insulting nicknames. Although his supporters would never let their own children talk that way, they cheer the “Scoffer-in-Chief” for his childish put-downs. After being overwhelmed by Trump’s tsunami of scoffing, his opponents are finally “getting smart” and joining the fray — Governor Gavin Newsom being one example. And the scoffing epidemic is spreading globally as politicians realize, “people love this stuff!”

Double Deception

Too often the church has copied this style. Instead of modeling a different spirit, some Christians have baptized scoffing as if it were faithfulness. Mocking unbelievers gets repackaged as “contending for truth” or “standing up for God.” But this is a double deception. First, we ourselves become the scoffers the Bible warns against. Second, we deceive ourselves into thinking we are defending the faith, when in reality we are mirroring the world and driving people away from the gospel.

Jesus shows us a better way. He endured mockery without returning it in kind. Paul commands us to let our speech “always be gracious, seasoned with salt” (Col. 4:6). Peter urges us to “give an answer…with gentleness and respect” (1 Pet. 3:15). Christians are called to speak truth boldly, but never with contempt. The world already knows how to scoff. The church’s witness will be the strongest when it learns to speak the truth in love without echoing the culture of scoffing.

Three Ways to Resist the Culture of Scoffing

1. Examine your own speech. Ask: “Would I want my children or grandchildren to talk this way?” If not, neither should we.

2. Practice gracious truth-telling. Boldness and kindness are not opposites. Jesus never said, “mock your enemies.” He said, “love your enemies.” And if loving those who merely think differently from us feels too difficult, perhaps we could start by simply respecting them.

3. Ask, “How would Jesus respond?” In conversations, on social media, and in church, refuse to return scoffing for scoffing. Show what it looks like to follow Christ, who “when he was reviled, did not revile in return” (1 Pet. 2:23).

Photo by Bekky Bekks on Unsplash