On Anonymity
When is it Appropriate for a Christian Man?
In my church body - the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (LCMS), there has been a recent dust-up regarding a book written by a young Lutheran woman and published by our church publishing house - as well as the response to it by critics.
Part of the controversy is the biblical limitation on the role of women as teachers. In 1 Tim 2:12, St. Paul prohibits women from teaching in general: “I do not permit a woman to teach (διδάσκειν - didaskein) or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.” However, in Titus 2:3-5, he encourages women to teach other women in the church:
“Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good (καλοδιδάσκαλος - kalodidaskolos) , and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.”
So where does this particular book fit in? Part of the controversy involves different narratives about the intended audience. Is this a book written by a woman for a female audience? Or is this woman acting as a teaching theologian of the church in general? I can see the conflict from both sides - especially as the publisher seems to have asked the author to write a book intended for women, but is not marketing it in that way. There is legitimate reason for concern by the critics.
But that is not the issue I want to consider here. Rather, it was the unchivalrous way this young woman was treated by men - which is both ironic and unfortunate.
Her pastor complained that she was being anonymously attacked on social media, and he was angry and protective of this member of his flock.
The anonymous nature of some social media platforms lends to “swarming” by “trolls.” And given the ubiquity of “cancel culture,” this is understandable. This explains the emergence of nearly unregulated free-speech platforms such as Gab - which generates a lot of complaints that the dialogue in that forum may well be extreme in nature and would be banned elsewhere. So what?
For if you hold and articulate an unpopular political or historical idea - such as certain explanations for the Covid pandemic, 9-11 event, the Great Reset, the January 6 protests, historical schools of thought regarding the so-called American Civil War or World War II or even the role of Christopher Columbus, or the rejection of woke ideology - one could find oneself swarmed, doxed, out of work, or even physically intimidated if not assaulted. Hence the need for anonymity.
This is really nothing new. The founding fathers at times resorted to pen names in times of political crises, such as during the volatile debates between the Federalists and the Antifederalists - in which both sides used pseudonyms.
So there are indeed times when anonymity is understandable and desirable - especially when one wants these socio-political ideas to be discussed and to thrive instead of being put down by force. But in certain cases - such as when this involves one’s Christian confession, one should be willing to put one’s name and reputation on the line.
In the case of a book written by a woman - and the very real and reasonable debate that is happening over the role of women in the church, not to mention the corruption and incursion of feminism into even conservative circles within Christendom - I think we need to be willing to put our names out there, regardless of what side we might come down on. Indeed, there are pastors and professors whom I respect on both sides of this issue. It has to be settled in the way that the differences between Lutherans were settled in the 1570s - by engaging in solid theological inquiry and seeking consensus, not by “destroying the libs” or “shitposting” and other appeals to memes and shallow statements. There is a time for that, but not in the matter of our confession of the holy faith.
An interesting hypothetical involves the Finnish member of Parliament Päivi Räsänen (who is also a pro-life medical doctor and Lutheran pastor’s wife). In 2004, she wrote a short theological work (“Male and Female He Created Them”) that makes the traditional biblical argument about the immutability and the roles of the sexes. This booklet was used in conservative churches in her country, and was not limited to reading by women. Many years later, she was subsequently arrested, interrogated, and tried for what amounts to “hate crimes.” She could have been imprisoned were she convicted. She, along with a Finnish Lutheran pastor (now bishop) Juhana Pohjola - who used the booklet in his church - are facing new trials, as the state’s appeal of their acquittal was granted.
Dr. Räsänen and Bishop Pohjola have both enjoyed broad support around the world - including from LCMS circles. I have not heard of anyone questioning whether or not Dr. Räsänen’s booklet constitutes forbidden teaching, or if it is an incursion of feminism into conservative Lutheranism. But imagine if that were the case. It would be ironic indeed for men to attack her from the safety of their living rooms in America and hiding behind anonymous social media accounts. Dr. Räsänen put her name on the book, and is willing to suffer the consequences of it. Imagine the specter of men standing up for biblical patriarchy while cowering behind a fake name because they fear that “something bad might happen to me.”
That is where we are right now, as men, who are indeed supposed to lead the church, refuse to use their real names, but instead approach theology with the mindset of the cowering keyboard-warrior using a pseudonym. When it comes to the Christian faith, we should not resort to pseudo-anything. We come from a long tradition of men and women, clergy and laity, willing to confess and take the consequences of their countercultural confession of Christ.
In the Martyrdom of Polycarp, the 86-year old bishop was bound and led into the arena and pressured upon pain of being tortured and executed to renounce His Lord Jesus Christ. A voice was heard:
Be strong, and show yourself a man, O Polycarp!1
When the proconsul “yet again pressed him” to renounce Christ for worship of Caesar, the Bishop of Smyrna did not cower, hide, or evade, even knowing that a stake awaited him:
Since you are vainly urgent that, as you say, I should swear by the fortune of Cæsar, and pretend not to know who and what I am, hear me declare with boldness, I am a Christian. And if you wish to learn what the doctrines of Christianity are, appoint me a day, and you shall hear them.2
“I am a Christian,” said Polycarp. “Χριστιανός εἰμι.”
Do we face trouble, soft-persecution, even possibly physical suffering or death for saying “I am a Christian,” and for adopting a countercultural confession of the Holy Scriptures? Absolutely. But when it comes to theological matters, we must be willing to confess our faith, and to do so courageously. This is a different matter than one’s thoughts about politics or history. Jesus said, “So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.”3
Be strong and show yourself a man, O Christian!
Martyrdom of Polycarp, Chapter 10.
Reverend Beane, are you familiar with the story of Junker Jörg?
I decided against anonymity well over a decade ago in a very different world where cancel culture was not yet a thing. Thus far, I suspect I've only made a down payment on that decision, but there's no taking it back at this point. What's done is done.
But I will by no means judge another man for choosing differently. Scripture and history alike show us that there is both a time to embrace persecution and a time to put it off for another day. When Paul escaped Damascus in a basket, was he refusing the accept the consequences of proclaiming Christ in the synagogues? When Luther was anonymous under a pseudonym at Wartburg, was he failing to show himself a man? When Jesus repeatedly slipped away from those trying to stone him because his hour had not yet come, was he "cowering"?
What gives you the right to judge another man for making that choice in their lives and according to their own God-given wisdom and vocations? In my own experience, the deepest wounds have been inflicted by members of the LCMS. I cannot see shaming people for anonymity as anything other than a deliberate attempt to induce vulnerability in those with whom you disagree.