Slander

Slander was a problem in parts of the early church. See how the Apostle Paul addresses those who were engaging in slander against one another:

Ephesians 4:31 (NASB) 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.

Colossians 3:6-8 (NASB) 6 For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience, 7 and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth.

Here are some definitions of slander:

Slander

*Cambridge Dictionary (online)

a false spoken statement about someone that damages their reputation, or the making of such a statement:

*Merriam-Webster (online)

1: the utterance of false charges or misrepresentations which defame and damage another’s reputation

2: a false and defamatory oral statement about a person

The term ‘slander’ involves falsehood with the intention to smear someone’s reputation. Of course, the term can be misapplied as when the late Cardinal George Pell was falsely accused by Cardinal Angelo Becciu of being slanderous for exposing a financial scandal involving Becciu. Cardinal Pell, a man of virtue and honour, would never have engaged in slander/lies. Cardinal Pell’s innocence from all manner of charges can be deduced from snippets of him and about him across various media, from mainstream to conservative to Catholic. His innocence was also, thankfully, acknowledged by our judicial system, especially that of the High Court of Australia by unanimous judgements and by one out of three justices in the Victorian Court of Appeals. The fact is that Cardinal Becciu is now on trial for embezzlement of Vatican funds. True slander, which necessarily involves falsehood, is denounced throughout both the OT and NT. New Testament writers Matthew, Mark, Paul, Peter and John all denounced it. Discerning and pointing out evil and error in someone’s public actions and teaching is absolutely worthwhile but persistently justifying one’s judgementalism as has been defined gives licence to denouncing what has been misunderstood as well as to casting final judgement on people. True understanding of words, phrases and ideas can sometimes be lacking. The task is simply to point out error where it can be discerned, leaving judgement of others to God.