Dissension is identified, drawing on William Barclay's commentary in *The Letters to the Galatians and Ephesians*, as one of five works of the flesh singled out from a longer list for closer examination—alongside hatred, contentions, outbursts of wrath, and heresies. Barclay explains that the word for dissension literally means "a standing apart," describing a society or group whose members fly apart instead of coming together. It portrays an individual who separates himself from the group because he holds a differing opinion, and through this act the group, community, or church becomes fragmented. This definition is presented as strikingly relevant, prompting the observation "Sound familiar?"—suggesting that this pattern of fracturing over disagreement is recognizable in contemporary experience. Dissension is closely linked to heresies, which Barclay describes as "crystallized dissension." The tragedy of this progression is that people who initially differ over views often end up disliking not merely each other's opinions but each other as persons. Barclay insists that it should be possible to differ with someone and still remain friends, yet this ideal is contrasted sharply with the present state of the church, where crystallized dissension has become entrenched. Members refuse to speak to one another once they no longer agree on points of doctrine, resulting in numerous factions and a hardened, unbending party spirit. This condition is compared to the Hatfield-McCoy feud, where positions have solidified to the point that reconciliation seems nearly impossible. This discussion of dissension is framed within a broader critique of incivility in society—illustrated through examples such as the caustic hypocrisy of British Parliamentary debate, the venomous exchanges common on American talk radio, the mudslinging of political campaigns, and the general decline of basic courtesy among young people toward authority and elders. A 1996 *US News and World Report* article on "The American Uncivil War" is cited to show that the vast majority of Americans recognized incivility as a serious, even socially corrosive, problem. The connection drawn is that these carnal behaviors—hatred, contentious rivalry, uncontrolled outbursts, dissension, and hardened heresies—lie at the root of society's incivility and produce the division and disunity characteristic of the present era. Doctrinal discussions within the church are noted as sometimes mimicking the same quarrelsome, competitive spirit found in secular arguments. The call to self-examination in II Corinthians 13:5 is applied directly to this problem, urging believers to consider whether these fleshly works have crept into their own lives amid daily struggles. The concluding point is that a greater measure of civility could significantly contribute to restoring unity among God's people, countering the fragmenting effects of dissension and its hardened form, heresy.

Dissension grows out of anger, and anger does not have to be dramatic to sow it. Paul warns the Romans, Ephesians, and Colossians against evil, wrath, vengeance, quarreling, malice, and evil speaking, and these faithful believers were not committing vigilante violence or slashing tires. The same roots show up in small, hidden ways: repaying one morsel of gossip with another, saying something true but unhelpful when godly love covers a multitude of sins, or cutting someone down to size just enough to do a little damage. Hidden anger also creates little bits of chaos in others' environments. It breaks commitments and leaves people hanging, procrastinates on purpose to keep others off balance, gives mixed messages to leave them confused, and withholds needed information to punish and disadvantage. It refrains from doing good when it is in one's power to do it, rejoices secretly at a rival's calamity, and pouts when things go well for him. Proverbs 16:29-30 describes a violent man who entices his neighbor with winks and pursed lips, devising perverse things. Whatever its form, ungodly anger destroys both the person and those around him unless he removes it (Proverbs 29:22). Those who make a habit of anger and its cousins will not fit in God's Family. Christ's disciples instead love one another, seeking others' well-being even at personal sacrifice. Such love is not rude, does not seek its own, is not provoked, and thinks no evil.

Dissension appears explicitly in Galatians 5:19-21, where Paul lists it among the works of the flesh alongside hatred, contentions, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, and heresies (factions). This passage becomes the theological anchor for understanding modern protest movements, since the sinful attitudes and behaviors Paul catalogs are precisely what one observes when people take to the streets in protest today. Dissension, in this framework, is not merely disagreement but a fractious, divisive spirit that sets people against one another—evident in protest movements where factions arise and everyone seems opposed to everyone else. Paul's conclusion is severe: those who practice such things, including dissension, will not inherit the Kingdom of God. This concept connects to a broader examination of protest culture through the lens of Scripture. The Ephesian riot in Acts 19 serves as a historical example of civic disorder springing from self-interest (Demetrius protecting his idol-making business) that escalated into citywide chaos, illustrating how quickly dissension can spread and threaten social order. Rome viewed such unlawful assemblies as signs of societal breakdown, responding typically with force rather than tolerance. The wilderness generation of Israel offers another biblical picture of dissension in action: constant murmuring, complaining, and grumbling against God and Moses over provisions and leadership. This rebellious spirit, though sometimes tempered by Moses' intercession, generally resulted in severe consequences, including death, for those who engaged in such faithless protest against their Creator. Solomon's proverbs reinforce this pattern by warning against rebellion and association with agitators for change. Proverbs 17:11 states that a rebel seeks only evil, inviting a cruel messenger against himself. Proverbs 24:21-22 counsels avoiding those "given to change," since calamity will suddenly overtake them, whether from the king or from God. Proverbs 22:24-25 extends the warning to the underlying emotional posture of dissension—anger, fury, and wrath directed at government, ethnic groups, or other segments of society—cautioning that association with angry, discontented people leads to picking up their traits and ultimately ending in personal ruin, likened to a bird caught helplessly in a trap. Against this backdrop of dissension, contention, and rebellion, Jesus' teaching in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5) sets a strikingly different standard for His followers: not to resist, protest, or fight back even against injustice, but to turn the other cheek, give more than is demanded, and even do good to oppressors and enemies. Rather than joining dissension, believers are called to bring complaints to God in prayer, trusting Him to handle injustice, while displaying a submissive, loving attitude toward the world—a high and demanding standard, but one held forth as the worthy goal of Christian conduct in contrast to the divisive, rebellious spirit characteristic of dissension.