Should Christians be Known for Calling Names?

When I was in college in the late 1980s there was a preacher, who has now since gone into eternity, that was going about the country using “name calling” terms to describe those who opposed his views and teachings.  He used terms that I will not even repeat here as an example, because in some cases they were so absolutely vile words that they have no place in any Christian vocabulary.  His preaching was called by may to be “red hot” and often he was quoted by the secular media as being a “hateful bigoted fundamentalist preacher,” a badge which he chose to wear with honor.  He called names and some excoriated him for it while others exalted him because of it.

But this is not a new or isolated activity.  One only need to do a basic search of Facebook or Google to openly see Christians using every name you can think of to describe political leaders and well known religious speakers. 

But is this right?

One of the things that the world constantly is rebuking Christians for is the fact that many Christians will “call names” and then in return we are “called names” because of our beliefs.  For instance, when I say that I stand against same sex marriage or homosexuality, then I am a “homophobe.”  If I believe that a person should come to my country through legal means, then I am called “racist.”  Yet if I call sin what it is - abomination, then I am labeled intolerant.   

So what are we to do about name calling?  Is it biblical and where do we draw the lines?  Should I back down from name calling?  What should I do when the world in which I live says that "name calling" is a form of bullying and I MUST stop it?

In Matthew 23 we find a partial answer to these questions.  In verses 1 to 10 Jesus preaches TO His disciples and the multitude gathered.  His topic for the message was the religious leaders of the day and their teachings.  He warned the people in these verses that religion will try to weigh down true faith with un-doctrinal philosophy and teachings, but, when He preached ABOUT the scribes and Pharisees, he does not call them negative names.

But, in verses 11 to 33, His message and tone changed.  Jesus began to direct His preaching directly AT the scribes and Pharisees and His message became very pointed.  He used terms to describe these groups such as “hypocrites” and “vipers.”  In other words, Jesus did not pull any punches and “called names” when it came to preaching directly AT these unbiblical people.  He used terms to describe what they were, but He did it to their faces and not just about them.   He shows this again in John 8:44 when He says, “Ye are of your father the devil” and “Thou hypocrite” in Matthew 7:5.  Those that were in front of Jesus could readily expect to be called by name to their face.  Jesus had no issues “calling names” to be sure the truth of the situation was fully seen.  He even did this in implying that Peter was influenced directly by the Devil himself in Matthew 16:23.

Now, I have tried my best to study the usage of “name calling” in scripture and have found the following to be true, as best I can tell.

1. Name calling was never directed at a specific person or group of people unless that specific person or group of people were present or their influence was directly impacting the group being spoken to.  Such is the case of Jesus calling Herod “a fox” in Luke 13:32 with Herod’s minions in front of Him or when Paul practiced this concept of name calling confrontation when he confronted Peter “to the face” in Galatians 2:11, saying “he was to blame.”  It seems that the strongest type of “name calling” was always TO someone right there and not to just stoke an “Amen” out of a group of believers.
2. Name calling in scripture was always born of doctrinal error not personal or political differences alone.  When John, “the Apostle of Love,”  wrote to his children in 1 John 2:18-19, he warned them of antichrists that would seek to lead them astray.  Notice he did not give the names of these “antichrists,” just that their teaching of falsehood is what made them “antichrists.”  I could not find anywhere where political ideology was ever used to give license to name call.  Also, I tried to find anywhere in Scripture that a political leader, even a horrible one, was even called a negative name by Jesus or one of the Apostles and I found nothing!  On the contrary, Romans 13 gives a clear view of how to deal with political leaders and its not name calling them.
3. Name calling in a general way was done when a false doctrine had caused a person to be lead into that error.  For instance in 1 Timothy 4:2, Paul says that those who reject the Spirit of God’s leading are “speaking hypocrisies” because their conscience has “been seared.”  Once again notice there is not one single person’s name attached to this, but, the fact that anyone who does this horrific act is labelled as “speaking hypocrisy.”  As an antithesis of this, I just read a Facebook article where a person used the term “whore” to describe President Trump.  I really would like to know where that person got their permission in Scripture to completely reject 1 Peter 2:17’s command to “honor the king?”  As a word of caution, if you walked up to President Trump and called him a “whore” to his face, as it appears biblical admonition encourages, you might get more than you bargained for.
4. Biblical “name calling” was NEVER to just vent frustration or find common dissent among a group, but to warn directly and admonish directly.  Can that be said of the name calling that goes on in the name of Christianity today?  Those who post things would probably never walk up to the person they are posting about and call them the same name to their face, yet they feel licensed to do so outside of their presence and may even use Scripture to defend their words.  Is that not in direct opposition to both the examples mentioned above and the principles of God’s Word in Proverbs 27:19 and 2 Timothy 3:1-9?  Remember that Jesus loved the world (John 3:16), including the “vipers” and “hypocrites” and so His words were not born of anger but correcting firm love (Ephesians 4:15).

Please do not go away from this post saying that the author is opposed to saying what needs to be said, because that would be untrue.  But I am very concerned about the fact that so many Christians are justifying their language choices by taking Scripture out of contextual usage.  Did Jesus call names? Yes!  Did Paul call names? Yes!  Did John call names? Yes!  But did they just arbitrarily call names? NO!  

Just a couple final verse to consider before the next time you name call:

James 1:19 “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.”

Psalm 19:14 “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.”

Psalm 141:6 “When their judges are overthrown in stony places, they shall hear my words; for they are sweet.”

Proverbs 16:24 “Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.”

Ephesians 4:15 “But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.”