# Charity in disagreement > Peter says to give a reason for the Christian hope with gentleness and respect, without pretending a real disagreement is small. - Canonical: https://apologetics.wiki/charity-in-disagreement - Religions: none - Denominations: none - Beliefs: Other - Tags: charity, method - Updated: 2026-10-09 - Author: [Paul Ambrose](https://apologetics.wiki/author/hi-its-paul) ([GitHub](https://github.com/hi-its-paul)) [1 Peter 3:15](/bible/1-peter/3/15) says to be ready to give a reason for the Christian hope, with meekness and fear. [Colossians 4:6](/bible/colossians/4/6) says those words should be gracious and fitted to the person. Gentleness does not make the Trinity, the cross, or the resurrection a small disagreement. ## Key points - [1 Peter 3:15](/bible/1-peter/3/15) pairs the reason for the hope with “meekness and fear.” - [1 Peter 3:16](/bible/1-peter/3/16) says a good conscience answers slander of a good manner of life in Christ. - [Colossians 4:6](/bible/colossians/4/6) says speech should be “alway with grace, seasoned with salt,” so that each person is answered. - [James 1:19](/bible/james/1/19) says to be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath. - Christians confess that the Trinity, the cross, and the resurrection are true. “We all believe in God, so the rest is details” erases tawhid, the Latter-day Saint Godhead, and an atheist’s unbelief. - These articles quote the other community’s texts and then state the Christian claim. A joke is not that claim. ## What Peter and Paul require [1 Peter 3:15–16](/bible/1-peter/3), King James Version: > But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. [Colossians 4:6](/bible/colossians/4/6): “Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.” The reason is required. So is the manner. The verses do not say to hide the claim. ## What the verses do not mean Charity is not a claim that the disagreement is small. Christians confess the Trinity, the cross, and the resurrection, and they hold that some honored teachings in other communities are not true. “We all believe in God, so the rest is details” is not a kindness to a Muslim who has explained tawhid, to a Latter-day Saint who has explained the Godhead, or to an atheist who does not believe in God. It erases what they said. [James 1:19](/bible/james/1/19) says, “let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.” Hearing comes first. The articles state the other community’s words before the Christian answer. Names people do not use for themselves, and stories told about them that would not be told in their presence, are not that answer. ## How these pages are built An article states their view in words the quotations will bear, states the Christian claim, and lists the passages and the sources. Mockery is not published here, including when the conclusion is one this wiki shares. [How to use this wiki](/how-to-use-this-wiki) says what a page is and what it is not. ## Passages - [1 Peter 3:15–16](/bible/1-peter/3). - [Colossians 4:5–6](/bible/colossians/4). - [James 1:19](/bible/james/1/19). ## Keep reading - [The Islamic dilemma](/islam/the-islamic-dilemma) - [How to use this wiki](/how-to-use-this-wiki) - [The Trinity](/christianity/the-trinity) - [Catholic vs Protestant](/christianity/catholic-vs-protestant), where Trinitarian churches disagree and the page quotes each side ## Passages quoted on this page ### James 1:19 King James Version. > Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: ### Colossians 4:5–6 King James Version. > [4:5] Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time. [4:6] Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man. ## Sources Numbered to match the HTML References list. Item 1 is `#ref-1` under `#references`. Scripture links to the King James Version on this site. 1. [First Letter of Peter, 3:15–16](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/1-peter/3). King James Version 2. [Letter to the Colossians, 4:6](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/colossians/4/6). King James Version 3. [Letter of James, 1:19](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/james/1/19). King James Version ## See also - [How to use this wiki](https://apologetics.wiki/how-to-use-this-wiki) — Each article states a claim, quotes the texts it uses, and lists its sources. A short page is not a finished library. - [Is the Sabbath Saturday or Sunday? Must Christians keep it?](https://apologetics.wiki/judaism/is-the-sabbath-saturday-or-sunday) — The Sabbath in Exodus is the seventh day, Saturday. The apostles also met on the first day of the week, and Colossians 2 calls sabbath days a shadow. Christians are not bound to keep Saturday. - [What do Seventh-day Adventists believe?](https://apologetics.wiki/what-do-seventh-day-adventists-believe) — Seventh-day Adventists confess one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and Jesus as truly God and truly man. They also teach a binding Saturday Sabbath, an investigative judgment from 1844, unconscious death, and Ellen G. White’s prophetic gift. ## History [View history on GitHub](https://github.com/Apologetics-Wiki/apologetics-wiki/commits/main/src/content/articles/charity-in-disagreement.mdx)