Franklyn Wise on Gossip

In 1988, Franklyn Wise wrote a helpful little booklet entitled The Problem of Gossip: Guidelines for Christian Speech.¹ Wise presents a very concise and helpful summary of both the problem and solution to gossip in just forty-three pages. His main contribution is concision, but he also addresses the role of the Holy Spirit in a helpful and fairly unique way. “The Holy Spirit wants to help you and to enable you to make the best spiritual progress you can. He wants to help you with your tongue and speech, your self-image, your ability to love Christ completely, and to express His image through your whole life’s actions and interactions.”²

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¹F. Franklyn Wise, The Problem of Gossip: Guidelines for Christian Speech (Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press, 1988).

²F. Franklyn Wise, The Problem of Gossip: Guidelines for Christian Speech (Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press, 1988), 40.

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Note: We are in the middle of a long blog series working through my doctoral research into the problem of gossip. We have listened to many voices along the way--proponents of gossip, those who have exacerbated or exploited the problem, those who are ambiguous or ambivalent, and now opponents of gossip both secular and religious.

Two weeks ago, we surveyed the contributions of business leaders, social workers, educators, and Jewish moral teaching against gossip.

This week, we are continuing to interact with Christian teachers throughout church history.