“We have got to stop demonizing each other,” said former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, right before she blamed white, conservative, Christian men for the state of the current political climate.

As she put it during her MSNBC “Morning Joe” interview on Wednesday, in a time of demonizing each other and “pointing the finger,” “I think most of that right now in our country’s history is coming, you know, from the Right, coming from people who want to dominate.” According to Clinton, “what makes us so special as a country” is that “we have always been a work in progress. … [A]nd the idea that you could turn the clock back and try to recreate a world that never was dominated by, you know, let’s say it, white men of a certain persuasion, certain religion, a certain point of view, a certain ideology, is just doing such damage to what we should be aiming for.”

Clinton’s comments come in a blatantly hostile political environment. In late August, a Catholic school in Minneapolis became the center of a tragic shooting, where a transgender-identifying, Christian hating gunman opened fire on young school children. Two, tragically, died. In that same time period, Iryna Zarutska, a young Ukrainian woman escaping war, was stabbed to death on the Light Rail in North Carolina by a man who, as captured by surveillance footage, said, “I got the white girl.”

The violence doesn’t end there. Just two weeks ago, Christian and conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was assassinated while speaking at Utah Valley University. The suspected killer, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, inscribed leftist messages on his bullet casings and lived with a roommate who identifies as a transgender furry. Yesterday, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Texas was targeted in a shooting — the third such incident in the state this year — with the gunman writing “Anti-ICE” on his casings. Social media is rife with videos of young conservatives being harassed by crowds outside the United Nations in New York or while engaging in public discourse, often targeted for their Christian, conservative, or white identities.

All of this, and yet, Clinton pinned the blame squarely on the Right. While bad actors exist on both sides, the evidence suggests hostility is surging from the Left. Clinton’s call to end finger-pointing rings hollow when she herself casts blame on her political opponents, saying, “Stop accusing one side,” only to follow with, “but while we’re talking about it, I blame…”

Like Clinton, Virginia Democrat gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger also put forth her two cents. However, rather than attempting to offer a message of neutrality, or a call to lower the temperature (which one could argue Clinton at least alluded to), she went full steam ahead, encouraging her supporters to let their “rage fuel” them.

Reportedly, Spanberger said this during a June event. But given current tensions, it has recently gone viral. Apparently, “let your rage fuel you” was advice her mother gave her. “And so,” Spanberger said at the time, “Mom, I love you. I thank you for the sage advice. And to the rest of us, every time we hear a new story, we let it fuel us. Every time we turn on the news, we let it fuel us. Every time something bad is happening, we say, ‘Oh that’s motivation.’”

Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, the Republican candidate running against Spanberger, responded on X: “Rage. That’s what Abigail Spanberger is calling for. We’ve seen it with racist signs, cruel jeers, even cheering a father’s assassination for daring to disagree. I’m asking for love. Love for our neighbors and our Commonwealth. Because Virginia is for lovers — not rage.” I commend her response. But, even more importantly, I want to direct us to what the Bible says.

Scripture consistently warns against unchecked anger. James 1:20 states, “For the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” Ecclesiastes 7:9 cautions, “Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the heart of fools.” Psalm 37 warns that anger “tends only to evil,” and the Proverbs repeatedly connect anger and wrath to foolishness. “A man without self-control,” reads Proverbs 25:28, “is like a city broken into and left without walls.” Ephesians 4:31-32 urges believers to reject “bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander” and instead embrace kindness, tenderness, and forgiveness, “as God in Christ forgave you.”

To explore the concept of righteous anger, I consulted David Closson, director of Family Research Council’s Center for Biblical Worldview. “From a biblical worldview,” Closson explained, “anger, blame-shifting, and even violence are not surprising because they flow from the human heart apart from Christ.” He pointed to James 4:1-2, which asks, “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?” Closson noted that the anger permeating politics reflects a deeper spiritual brokenness, traceable to Genesis 3, where Adam shifted blame to Eve and God for his sin.

“Christians should not be naïve about the reality of sin, nor should we respond in kind,” Closson said. “We are called to model Christ, who when He was reviled, ‘did not revile in return’” (1 Peter 2:23). This, then helps us better approach the conversation regarding righteous anger.

Closson put it this way: “The Bible does allow for righteous anger, but it’s very different from what we usually see in politics or culture. Righteous anger is directed at what angers God: sin, injustice, and idolatry. It’s not rooted in personal offense or pride, but in zeal for God’s glory and love for others.” We have en example of this in Jesus, where He “displayed righteous anger when He cleared the temple” (John 2:13-17). And yet, Closson emphasized, “even then, His actions were controlled, purposeful, and aligned with God’s holiness.”

In contrast, Closson described worldly anger as “impulsive, self-centered, and destructive.” He urged Christians to discern whether their anger aligns with God’s heart or stems from personal frustration. “These are tense days,” he acknowledged, noting that violence tied to political disagreements is “deeply troubling.” Yet, he emphasized, “Christians have hope and clarity that the world does not.” Quoting John 16:33, he reminded us, “Jesus said, ‘In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.’” This means, he emphasized, that “even in times of hostility, we are not without peace, courage, and purpose. Our call is not to match hostility with hostility, but to stand firmly for truth with both conviction and compassion.”

Galatians 6:9 offers us encouragement for us to “not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” And so, Closson concluded: “Stay anchored in Scripture, keep your eyes on Christ, and remember that our ultimate hope is not in politics but in the gospel. That perspective frees us to be salt and light even in dark, chaotic times.”