What does scripture say about slander?

It’s the political season, so the mud is being flung with reckless abandon.  What is disconcerting, though, is the participation of those who claim to be Christians.  Even if you disregard the 9th Commandment by taking in its proper context (testimony in legal proceedings), scripture is replete with warnings against slandering your fellow man.

So, before you pass on that email forward, remember that Paul told us that slanderers will not inherit the kingdom of God.

This wasn’t originally going to be the topic of my next post, but after reading the latest slander filled diatribe from J. Grant Swank I felt compelled to dig a little deeper.  For the purpose of this post, I’ll be using the NIV translation. I’ll also be focusing on what scripture says about slander. Although bearing false witness could be related, that’s a topic for another post.

We begin with the popular Proverbs 18:31, “the tongue has the power of life and death”. This should form the foundation of any scriptural study on slander. Secondly, we should define both slander and libel. For this, I’ll use the legal definitions:

Slander: An untruthful oral (spoken) statement about a person that harms the person’s reputation or standing in the community.

Libel: An untruthful statement about a person, published in writing or through broadcast media, that injures the person’s reputation or standing in the community.

Both are untruthful statements, e.g. lies, about a person, only one is spoken, the other broadcast.

Slander is a common topic in scripture, first appearing in Leviticus 19:16 where God commands Moses to tell his people “Do NOT go about spreading slander among your people.” You’d think that’d be clear enough, but being a stubborn and hard hearted people, we evidently need substantial reinforcement.

Psalm 15:2-4 answers the question of “Who can dwell in the Lord’s sanctuary?” with “He who speaks the truth from his heart and who speaks the truth from his heart and has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong, and casts no slur on his fellowman

In Psalm 54 the psalmist implores God to have “evil recoil on those who slander” and that God “destroy them in his faithfulness”

Proverbs 10:18 says “He who conceals his hatred has lying lips, and whoever spreads slander is a fool.”

In lecturing the Pharisees on “clean and unclean”, Jesus says “the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean.’ For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man ‘unclean’; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him ‘unclean.’ “

In Romans 1, Paul tells us that God “gives over” idolaters to all sorts of wickedness, including becoming gossips and slanderers.

In 1 Corinthians 5 and 6 Paul tells us not even to associate with slanderers and that they shall NOT inherit the Kingdom of God.

1 Peter, Ephesians 4 and Colossians 3 tell us that we must rid ourselves of slander and malice from our lips if we are to walk with Christ.

In Titus 3 Paul tells Titus to remind people to “be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men.”

As one can see, there is no shortage of scriptural direction when it comes to slander. So one has to wonder how people like Gary Randall of the Faith and Freedom Network, Dennis Baxley, head of the Florida Christian Coalition, Rev. Rob Schenck, Pastor Rod Parsley, and others continue to not only promote, but encourage and support slanderous rumors from the pulpit?

No matter your political persuasion, whether it be left, right, center, or none of the above, take a second and think before you forward that email or repeat the latest juicy rumor.  From the days of Moses, God has consistently told us how much he abhors slander….. you’d think we’d have learned the lesson by now.