Showing posts with label Toward a Definition of Gossip. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Toward a Definition of Gossip. Show all posts

Monday, December 22, 2014

A Functional Definition of Sinful Gossip

12/22/2014 07:00:00 AM , , , 0 comments

This is the conclusion of a series of blog posts where I've been "showing my work" of biblical and theological research into how I arrived at my definition of sinful gossip.

A Functional Definition of Sinful Gossip

After studying gossip throughout Old and New Testament contexts and considering both the power of words and story and the overflowing heart as the source of our words, we are now in a position to offer a functional definition of gossip. This proposed definition is synthetic, drawing together all of the insights we’ve gathered so far. It is also practical, meant to help Christians to properly identify gossip in everyday life. Sinful gossip is bearing bad news behind someone’s back out of a bad heart.

This functional definition has four key elements: the action, content, situation, and motivation of gossip.

1. The Action of Gossip – “Bearing (Bad News).”

Gossip involves talking. It is about sharing information. Gossip is a kind of communication. As we have noted, a gossip betrays, chatters, reveals, talks, spreads, whispers, meddles, speaks, repeats, “tongues,” reports, recounts, defames, slanders, moans, complains, and says “things they ought not to” (1 Tim 5:13). Gossip is a communicative act. It involves words (in the form of a story) being shared by one person to at least one other. Of course, the actual physical tongue is not necessary for gossip to occur. People can communicate through printing, electronic information sharing, and other technological means. But gossip is always a powerful communicative act.

I’ve chosen the word “bearing” to define this action for several reasons. One is to make an historic connection with the older language of “tale-bearing.” A second is that it conveys the idea of carrying something from one place to another. This reflects what we learned about the sneaky actions of the rakil in the Old Testament and the idle house-hopping behavior of the gossiping young widows in the New Testament. A third is that when we share information with someone else, the recipient now “bears” that information, as well. So, it also reminds us that receiving this kind of negative information through evil listening is also sinful gossip, as the listener is now burdened with the information, too.

2. The Content of Gossip – “Bad News.” 

The content of sinful gossip is never neutral information. It is always “bad news.” The rakil reveals secrets. Those secrets might be someone else’s plans, but more than likely, they are the “skeletons” in someone’s closet. The rakil is an informer or spy. Spies reveal the weaknesses of their enemies. A nirgan separates close friends by repeating a matter instead of covering over an offense (Prov 16:27-28, 17:9). The content of gossip is often shameful information about the subject of the communication. The reason why the words of the nirgan are attractive is that they appeal to something wrong within the listener (Prov 18:8, 26:22).

The content of gossip is dibbah, an evil report. More often than not, there is a falsehood in that information. In that case, the “bad news” is “bad” information, bearing false witness or devilish slander. At other times, the information is true, but its nature is potentially shameful information about the subject of the gossip and is, therefore, “bad news” about them.

Some gossip is bad news for the subject. In Psalm 41, the content of the gossip was the rumor that King David was about to die (Ps 41:7-8). It was not something that David had done wrong and was trying to keep secret; it was a conjured story imagining bad things to come upon David.

The phrase “bad news” also communicates the opposite of the gospel. The gospel may start as bad news because of our sin but always moves to the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ. “Gossip” is antithetical to “gospel.”

3. The Situation of Gossip – “Behind Someone’s Back.”

We have consistently noted the furtive and clandestine nature of gossip. The rakil slinks. The nirgan whispers. The lashon seter is a sly or hidden tongue. Psithurismos even sounds a bit like what it describes, starting with an attention-arresting hissing sibilant. John was far away when Diotrephes maligned him. David’s miserable comforters said one thing to his face and another behind his back (41:9, cf Ps 28:3). Gossip happens when the victim of the gossip is not present. This is intentional. When the subject is away, it is much easier and interesting to talk about them whether the gossip is malicious or merely careless.

4. The Motivation of Gossip – “Out of a Bad Heart.”

Sinful words come from the “overflow” of a sinful heart. Gossip comes from many evil motivations. A rakil hopes to gain something from his tale-bearing. A nirgan has a heart filled with complaint.103 There is a reason why King David’s foes spread their bad news–they wanted it to be true, and they gloried in David’s downfall. We’ve noted that gossip comes from treachery in the heart, from anger, judgmentalism, self-exaltation, and hate.104

We’ve seen that not all gossip is malicious. Some gossip is merely idle or careless. But idleness, carelessness, and aimlessness are not neutral motivations either. We will be judged for every idle word. The only good motivations for opening our mouths are those that are in harmony with love.

Summary

In this blog series, we have studied the Bible’s teaching on the subject of sinful gossip and assembled a functional synthetic definition from all of the relevant biblical data. We’ve learned that sinful gossip is bearing (either speaking or listening to) bad news (which can be false information, true but needlessly shameful information, or bad news projected for the subject) behind someone’s back (when the subject is not present) out of a bad heart (from an evil, unloving motivation and false worship). When a follower of Jesus Christ encounters such a temptation to bear bad news behind someone’s back out of a bad heart, it is time to resist!

Notes

[103] For more on the “little” sin of grumbling, see Paul David Tripp, “Grumbling – A Look at a ‘Little’ Sin,” The Journal of Biblical Counseling 18, no. 2 (Winter 2000): 47-52.

[104] Another reason why the Bible emphasizes gossip as a person and not just as an action is that all of our actions come out of our personhood. We act because of what we are. See Edward T. Welch, Motives: Why Do I Do the Things I Do? (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2003).

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Friday, December 19, 2014

The Principle of Overflow

12/19/2014 07:00:00 AM , , , , 0 comments

One last section on the theological building blocks before we put them together to articulate a biblical definition of gossip.

Overflow: The Source of Good and Bad Words

The second aspect of the broader theological framework for us to consider is the source of words. From where do words come? We have already seen the Bible’s answer to this in several places, but it will be helpful to consider the Bible’s explicit teaching about the source of good and bad words.

In Matthew 12, the Lord Jesus excoriates the Pharisees for assigning a satanic origin to his exorcizing power. He indicates that their accusatory words come from their evil hearts.

Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned (Matt 12:33-37, cf. Luke 6:45).
D.A. Carson explains, “That Jesus describes the evil of the ‘brood of vipers’ in terms of their hearts or natures does not thereby excuse them. Far from it! . . . Jesus is saying that every spoken word reflects the heart’s overflow and is known to God. Therefore words are of critical importance.”98

Words come from hearts. Leon Morris says, “The heart is used here as an inclusive term to denote ‘the seat of the physical, spiritual and mental life . . . as center and source of the whole inner life, w. its thinking, feeling, and volition’ (BAGD, 1 and 1b). It is what the heart is full of (abundance) that determines what anyone says. People do not speak out of character.”99

Matthew records Jesus teaching something very similar in chapter 15. “But 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 immortality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man ‘unclean’; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him unclean” (Matt 15:18-20, see the parallel in Mark 7:20-23).

Words Come From Hearts

This heart-word connection was also taught in the Old Testament. “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” (Prov 4:23). Life overflows from the heart. “The tongue of the righteous is choice silver, but the heart of the wicked is of little value. The lips of the righteous nourish many, but fools die for lack of judgment” (Prov 10:20-21). The Hebrew parallelisms equate the tongue and the heart and closely connect the lips of the righteous with the lack of judgment in the heart of the fool.100

James is certainly building upon this teaching when he asks, “Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water” (Jas 3:11-12). The only way to truly clean up our speech is to change something at the headwaters, the spring, the root, the source of our words.101

This principle of overflow is very important to grasp for recognizing and resisting gossip. Sinful gossip comes from a sinful heart. The intent of the speaker is crucial. We have seen in both testaments the careless (at best) and malicious (at worst) intentions of those who gossip. What is motivating someone to spread bad news about someone else? As we have noted, motivation is also important for listening. Why are we so attracted to gossip (Prov 18:8, 26:22)? What in our souls is magnetically drawn towards bad news?

Often, to recognize sinful gossip as sinful, Christ-followers will need to be somewhat aware of their motives in either talking about or listening to bad news about someone else.102 Our hearts are active, and what overflows from them will have to be accounted for on the day of judgment (Matt 12:36-37).

Notes

[98] D.A. Carson, Matthew, EBC 8 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984), 293.

[99] Leon Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew, PNTC (Grand Rapids: Wm B. Eerdmans, 1992), 321.

[100] Examples abound. See, for example, Prov 10:8-10, 14, 31-32, Prov 15:1-4, 28.

[101] For more on the centrality of the heart, see the many works of CCEF especially Timothy S. Lane and Paul David Tripp, How People Change (Greensboro: New Growth Press, 2006), Paul David Tripp, Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands: People in Need of Change Helping People in Need of Change (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2002), Edward T. Welch, When People Are Big and God Is Small: Overcoming Peer Pressure, Codependency, and the Fear of Man (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 1997), Edward T. Welch, Running Scared: Fear, Worry, and the God of Rest (Greensboro: New Growth Press, 2007), Winston T. Smith, Marriage Matters: Extraordinary Change Through Ordinary Moments (Greensboro: New Growth Press, 2010), Michael R. Emlet, CrossTalk: Where Life & Scripture Meet (Greensboro: New Growth Press, 2009), and David Powlison, Seeing with New Eyes: Counseling and the Human Condition Through the Lens of Scripture (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2003).

[102] They will also, while guarding against judgmentalism, have to be aware of possible motives of those with whom they are communicating.

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Thursday, December 18, 2014

The Power of Story

12/18/2014 07:00:00 AM , , , 0 comments

Yesterday, we considered the power of words. Today, we are reminded of the potency of story.

Words Working Together

The Power of Story. Words add together to form sentences. Sentences join together into stanzas or paragraphs, then chapters of letters and books. And often, those sentences tell stories. The Bible teaches not just the power of words on their own but words working together to tell powerful stories.

For example, the book of Deuteronomy mainly consists of retelling the story of Israel up to the present day. Moses recounts, at great length, Israel’s origin, rescue from Egypt, adoption by the Lord, reception of the Law, and failures in the wilderness. There is a grand purpose to Moses’ storytelling. It helps the present generation to understand who they are, who God is, and what is before them. Israel is shaped by story.

Bible Stories

The vast bulk of the Bible is full of stories95 and is carried along by a grand story of redemption. It is a story that is both negative and positive. One summary of the story says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Eternal life and eternal death are bound up in believing or not believing in the story of Jesus.

The shorthand phrase for this story in the New Testament is “the gospel.” The gospel is news, good news, and it is powerful. “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile” (Rom 1:16). The gospel is good news that is powerful for those who believe it.96

Gossip Tells a Bad Story

The power of story, then, adds to our biblical understanding of the problem of sinful gossip. Gossip tells a bad story. Gossip is about something bad that has happened to someone or something bad that someone has done. Gossip is the spreading of bad news. And while there are times that this is necessary (especially leading up to the good news), bearing bad news can be antithetical to the gospel itself.

Telling bad stories can have a powerful effect, especially upon reputations. The serpent in the garden told the woman a bad story about God (Gen 3:1-6). He slandered God’s reputation, and the effect, when his bad story was believed, was devastating on all of human history. Every small moment of sinful gossip in daily life is an evil echo of what went wrong at the very beginning.97

Notes

[95] And even those genres which are not narrative history, such as law codes, psalms, proverbs, and prophetic oracles, are replete with storytelling features. We read even the New Testament epistles with a keen interest in the “backstory” of the occasions of their writing.

[96] For more on the power of the gospel story, considered broadly throughout the Bible’s grand storyline, see the very accessible works of D.A. Carson, especially The God Who Is There: Finding Your Place in God’s Story (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2010).

[97] The power of story to shape our lives is the theme of Grapevine: The spirituality of gossip by Jerry A. Camery-Hoggatt (Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 2002). Camery-Hoggatt uses “gossip” to mean something like “small talk, both positive and negative.” While I would hesitate to use the English word “gossip” so positively without many qualifications, his main point is very strong. Our lives are made up of and shaped by stories, both small and great.

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Wednesday, December 17, 2014

The Power of Words

12/17/2014 07:00:00 AM , , , 0 comments

Gossip Within a Biblical Theology of Words and Story

Our understanding of the problem of gossip can be significantly increased by placing what we’ve learned so far (in our study toward a biblical definition of gossip) within a broader theological framework of words and story. The Bible has much to say about words. It is not only a book of words, but also, a book of words about words.94 The Bible is also a story made up of many stories. In today's and tomorrow's posts, we consider two important aspects of this framework.

Life and Death

The Power of Words. The Bible teaches that words are not only meaningful but powerful. Both testaments testify to the power of words. “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit” (Prov 18:21). “Life and death” is a merism to indicate both extremes and everything in between. This power extends in both positive (life) and negative (death) directions. The apostle James expands on this concept. He begins by vividly expounding on the wild power of (even very small) words:

We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check. When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison (Jas 3:2-8).
Then, James concentrates on the power of the tongue being both life-giving and positive, as well as, death-dealing and negative.
With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water (Jas 3:9-12).
Playing with Fire

This explains why sinful gossip merits such strong warnings in both testaments. The malicious (or simply careless) words spoken about people behind their backs are not just evil in meaning, they are powerful and can have a potent evil effect on the listeners, the speakers, and, eventually, the subjects of the sinful speech. Those who gossip are playing with fire.

Notes

[94] For a broader practical theology of words see Paul David Tripp, War of Words: Getting to the Heart of Your Communication Struggles (Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing, 200) and John Piper and Justin Taylor, eds., The Power of Words and the Wonder of God (Wheaton: Crossway, 2009).

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Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Greek Words for Gossip: "Dilogos" and "Diabolos"

12/16/2014 07:00:00 AM , , , 0 comments

Today, we round off our study of Greek words often translated "gossip" in the New Testament with two "d" words that highlight the importance of Christian leaders ought to talk.

Not a Double-Talker

3. dilogos and diabolos. Our last set of Greek terms both appear in the pastoral epistles. They are in very close proximity in 1 Timothy 3. Paul is listing the qualifications for church officers. Leaders must have good character and good reputations. In verse 8, Paul turns from overseers to deacons. “Deacons, likewise, are to be men worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain” (1 Tim 3:8). The Greek words translated “sincere” in the NIV are mh [not] dilogous [the plural form of dilogos] a New Testament hapax legomenon. Dilogos  may be a word that Paul made up for the occasion, as it only appears one other place in later Greek literature where it means “say something twice, repeating.”92 The Revised Standard Version (RSV), KJV, ESV, and NASB all render it “double-tongued,” probably meaning something like our colloquial, “two-faced,” “speaking out of both sides of our mouths,” “double-talk.” But Mounce suggests that the best translation may be “gossips.”

“The closest form in the LXX is diglossos, ‘double-tongued,’ a person who reveals secrets in contrast to one who keeps secrets (Prov 11:3). . . . Deacons thus must be the type of people who are careful with their tongues, not saying what they should not, being faithful to the truth of their speech.”93 
Gossips may be insincere, but the godly are not (cf. Ps 28:3).

Not a Devil-Talker

In verse 11, Paul turns to deacons’ wives (or perhaps female deacons). “In the same way, their wives are to be women worthy of respect, not malicious talkers [may diabolous] but temperate and trustworthy in everything” (1 Tim 3:11). The NASB translates the plural of diabolos as “malicious gossips.” The adjective diabolos used substantivally refers throughout the New Testament to the devil, the enemy of Jesus and all of his followers. As a name for Satan, it emphasizes his adversarial and slanderous nature. Applied as an adjective to deacons’ wives, it teaches that a respectable woman has close control of her words and doesn’t let them become like the enemy’s. Paul uses it again in Titus 2 in a list of qualities that Titus should teach the older women: “to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips, nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good” (Titus 2:3 NASB).

The problem of mimicking the devil’s own kind of talk is not limited to the fairer sex. Paul warns Timothy in his second letter that in the last days this kind of behavior will characterize all sinful men
People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous [diaboloi,“malicious gossips” NASB], without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God–having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them” (2 Tim 3:2-5).
When the devil speaks, he hates and lies. Malevolent, accusatory, abusive, slanderous, lying speech is his “native language” (John 8:44). Godly people will reject malicious gossip. May we be spared from having “diabolical” tongues!

Notes

[92] BAGD 198.

[93] William D. Mounce, Pastoral Epistles, WBC 46 (Nashville, Thomas Nelson, 2000), 199. See also his weblog article on the difficulties of translating words like this one. William D. Mounce, “1 Timothy 3:8 – Double-Tongued Deacons,” Koinonia Blog, entry posted October 5, 2009, http://www.koinoniablog.net/2009/10/doubletongued-deacons-2-tim-38.html (accessed June 21, 2011).

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Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Greek Words for Gossip: "Phluareo" and "Phluaros" (Part Three)

12/10/2014 06:46:00 AM , , , 0 comments

Yesterday, we started into a study phluaros in 1 Timothy 5 about the young widows who were tempted to go from house to house gossiping. I argued for the traditional interpretation and translation because it best fits the word use and context.


Insights Into Idleness

A closer look at the verse in question will yield a few more insights into the nature of gossip. Paul begins his description of the erring young widows with the somewhat sarcastic phrase argai manthanousin. Mounce paraphrases, “These widows are studying to become professional idlers.”86 The word translated “idle” is argos which means “unemployed, idle, with nothing to do, lazy, useless, unproductive.”87 The Lord Jesus uses argos to describe the careless words that men will have to account for on the day of judgment (Matt 12:36). In the context, he teaches that these idle words are the overflow of an evil heart (Matt 12:34). Gossip comes from deep within a person, from who they really are. Idle gossip may not be malicious, but it is still evil because the tongue is not employed in love (Eph 4:29).

Meddling In 1-2 Thessalonians

The erring young widows are “going about from house to house” as “busybodies.” They are tempted to meddle in other people’s affairs. Meddling is not love. Paul tells the Thessalonians that they know about brotherly love and don’t need to be taught more about it; and yet they do need to be urged to increase in it (1 Thess 4:9-10). “Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody” (1 Thess 4:11-12).

At least some of the brothers in Thessalonica did not take Paul’s counsel. In his second letter he reports, “We hear that some among you are idle [ataktos, a different word for idleness88]. They are not busy; they are busybodies89” (2 Thess 3:11). This is bad news and requires strong action. “Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat. And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right. If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of him. Do not associate with him, in order that he may feel ashamed. Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother” (2 Thess 3:12-15). The apostle is clear. Settle down. Get to work. Do right. Warn the idle. Stop meddling.

Meddling in 1 Peter

Paul is concerned that meddling will hurt the advance of the gospel (1 Thess 4:12, 1 Tim 5:14). Peter shares that concern. Peter lists meddling alongside murder and theft. “If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name” (1 Pet 4:15). The obscure Greek word translated meddler, allotriepiskopos, is used in Greek literature only here in the New Testament and a few more times in later Christian writings so the exact meaning is hard to substantiate. Some have taken it, with the gravity of the other crimes in the list, to mean “a concealer of stolen goods, spy, informer, a revolutionist, infringing the rights of others.”90 

However, allotriepiskopos is set off from the murderer, thief, and criminal by “or even” which points towards it being in something of a different category, though still highly undesirable. Peter Davids concludes that “one who meddles in things that do not concern him” is the proper translation
considering the roots from which the word is formed. Thus it is probable that our author is concerned that Christians in their rejection of idolatry and pagan morality or their zeal for the gospel not put their noses (or worse) into situations in which they ought not to be involved and thus justly earn the censure of pagan culture for transgressing culturally approved limits. Gentle persuasion is one thing; denouncing idolatry in a temple courtyard is another, as might also be interfering in the affairs of another family, however well meaning it might be. No Christian should disgrace Christ by being guilty of such things.91
Meddling Is Seriously Wrong

The person who meddles may or may not be serious. But meddling is seriously wrong. Christians need to be reminded to mind their own business (Prov 26:17). We should regularly ask ourselves about involvement in any one else’s affairs as Jesus did John, “What is that to you?” (John 21:23).

Notes

[86] William D. Mounce, Pastoral Epistles, WBC 46 (Nashville, Thomas Nelson, 2000), 293.

[87] BAGD 104.

[88] “In the sense of insufficient inclination to disciplined work in a disorderly or an irresponsible manner.” BAGD 119.

[89] The NIV nicely captures Paul’s play on words: maiden ergazomenous alla periergazomenous.

[90] BAGD 40.

[91] Peter Davids, The First Epistle of Peter, NICNT (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1990), 169.

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Tuesday, December 09, 2014

Greek Words for Gossip: "Phluareo" and "Phluaros" (Part Two)

12/09/2014 07:00:00 AM , , , 0 comments

Yesterday, we were introduced to phluareo, commonly translated "gossiping." Today, we turn to its adjectival form in the longest passage about the behavior of gossip in the New Testament.


Making the Widow List

The adjectival form of this word, phluaros, occurs in 1 Timothy 5. The apostle Paul is giving instructions about young widows. Younger widows should not be placed on the widow support list for a number of reasons. One is that they still have time to remarry (1 Tim 5:14) and to build their reputations for godliness and good deeds (1 Tim 5:9-10). Another reason is that putting younger women on the support list would present too many sensual temptations that would draw them away from Christ (1 Tim 5:11-12). Giving in to these temptations would bring disrepute to the church (1 Tim 5:14-15).75

Widows put on the support list too quickly can also be tempted to become gossipy. “Besides, they get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also gossips [phluaroi]76 and busybodies, saying things they ought not to” (1 Tim 5:13).

Debated Interpretation and Translation

Not everyone is convinced that “gossips and busybodies” is the best translation of phluaroi kai periergoi in this context. Lloyd Pietersen argues that given the magical practices in Ephesus described in the book of Acts (Acts 19, especially v.19), and the possible alternative meanings of the words,77 phluaroi should be rendered, “those who talk nonsense” and periergoi should be translated “those who practise magic.”78 Pietersen believes that most interpreters of the pastoral epistles have been hermeneutically blinded by patriarchal assumptions so that they see stereotypical versions of women in 1 Timothy 5.79 He suggests instead that the writer of 1 Timothy “is exercising pastoral care in seeking to warn his congregation concerning the dangers of falling back into magical practices from which they have escaped.”80

This interpretation is possible but unlikely. It seems to me that the traditional rendering is correct for at least three reasons. First, this verse has a preponderance of phrases that naturally point to aimless living (“getting into the habit of being idle,” “going about from house to house,” “saying things they ought not to”). Second, these phrases are used in conjunction with two words that regularly mean “gossips and busybodies.”81 Third, the situation envisioned, that is, widows being supported too early in life, would very naturally yield temptations to carelessly meddle in other people’s lives. It is more likely, therefore, that Paul is actually warning against younger widows becoming gossips and busybodies.82 William Mounce adds, “If the problem was as serious as magic, a harsher and more direct condemnation would be expected.”83

Frivolous Talk

It must be noted that Paul is not saying that all women are naturally gossips and busybodies but that they would be tempted to be so if financially supported too early in life. A life without work would produce that temptation in any person, regardless of gender. We will see below that Paul is certainly not gender specific in his denunciation of meddling in the Thessalonian correspondence. Gossips come in both sexes.

Gordon Fee does not detect magic in 1 Timothy 5:13 but rather the presence of false teaching.
The translation “gossips” (phyaroi) is quite misleading. . . . The Greek word, however, means to talk nonsense, or foolishness, and is used most often in contexts of speaking something foolish or absurd in comparison to truth. Thus, the young widows are described in terms very much like the false teachers, whose talk is foolish (1:6) and empty (6:20), and who are also saying things they ought not to.84
Fee’s suggestion is much more likely than seeing sorcerous practices at play, and perhaps their chattering from house to house included elements of the false teaching that Paul was countering in the pastoral epistles, but I am inclined to agree with Stott’s conclusion, “[Fee’s interpretation] is an ingenious reconstruction, but Paul gives no explicit indication that they are doing more than wasting their time in frivolous talk.”85

Notes

[75] Paul says that this would give the enemy an “opportunity for slander” using the word loidoria that we encountered above.

[76] The plural form of the adjective is here used substantivally to label the erring widows as gossips. We note again that the Bible mostly speaks about gossip as a kind of person not just a kind of speech.

[77] The word periergos can mean “of things belonging to magic” and is used that way in Acts 19:19. BAGD 646.

[78] Lloyd K. Pietersen, “Women as Gossips and Busybodies? Another Look at 1 Timothy 5:13,” Lexington Theological Quarterly, 42, no. 1 (Spring 2007): 19, in ATLAReligion Database with ATLASerials, http:ebscohost.com (accessed June 21, 2011).

[79] In his article, Pietersen also interacts with feminist commentators such as Marianne B. Kartzow and Deborah Krause who believe the traditional reading is a faithful translation, but sadly, reject the apostle’s teaching. Lloyd K. Pietersen, “Women as Gossips and Busybodies? Another Look at 1 Timothy 5:13,” Lexington Theological Quarterly, 42, no. 1 (Spring 2007): 20-22, in ATLAReligion Database with ATLASerials, http:ebscohost.com (accessed June 21, 2011).

[80] Ibid., 31.

[81] It is true that periergos can mean “of things belonging to magic.” But Paul certainly uses the verbal form (periergazomenous the present middle participle of periergazomai) to mean “busybody” in 2 Thessalonians 3:11.

[82] So, all major English versions.

[83] William D. Mounce, Pastoral Epistles, WBC 46 (Nashville, Thomas Nelson, 2000), 294.

[84] Gordon D. Fee, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, NIBC 13 (Peabody, Hendrickson, 2002), 122.

[85] John R. W. Stott, 1 Timothy & Titus, BST (Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity Press, 1996), 134. Stott is interacting with an earlier version of Fee’s commentary than the one quoted in the previous note.

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Monday, December 08, 2014

Greek Words for Gossip: "Phluareo" and "Phluaros" (Part One)

12/08/2014 07:00:00 AM , , , 0 comments

For the last three posts, we have been learning about two related words, psithurismos and katalalia, which figure in to our understanding of gossip in the New Testament. Today, we pick up a new set of words commonly translated "gossip" in the New Testament.

Calling Out Diotrophes

2. Phluareo and phluaros. The second set of Greek words that are often translated in English with the word “gossip” is the verb phluareo and its adjectival form phluaros. In 3 John, the “apostle of love” announces his intention to call out Diotrephes, an overbearing leader in the local church. “I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will have nothing to do with us. So if I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, gossiping maliciously [phluaron] about us. Not satisfied with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church” (3 John 9-10). Apparently, Diotrephes was making groundless accusations about John. BAGD defines phluareo  as “talk nonsense (about), bring unjustified charges against.”73 John uses it in conjunction with poiei logois ponairois, literally, “making evil words.” John Stott draws attention to the connection between Diotrephes’ words and his motives:

Diotrephes evidently regarded John as a dangerous rival to his own assumed authority in the church and sought to undermine his position by slanderous gossip. . . . Self-love vitiates all relationships. Diotrephes slandered John, cold-shouldered the missionaries, and excommunicated the loyal believers because he loved himself and wanted to have the pre-eminence. Personal vanity still lies at the root of most dissensions in every local church today.74
Not All "Against-Speaking" Is Gossip

It is important to notice that John is not gossiping about Diotrephes even though he is also offering an evaluation of and accusation about Diotrophes’ behavior. John speaks from love for the church and for Diotrephes. He has a position of authority as an apostle that requires him to discern actions and even motives such as these. John’s charge is not groundless nonsense, as Diotrephes clearly does love being preeminent, and John will say these things to his face. Not all “against-speaking” is gossip.

Notes

[73] BAGD 862.

[74] John R. W. Stott, The Epistles of John, TNTC 19 (Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity Press, 1983), 227-228.

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Friday, November 28, 2014

Greek Words for Gossip: "Psithurismos" and "Katalalia" (Part Three)

11/28/2014 07:00:00 AM , , , 0 comments

For the last two posts, we have been learning about two related words, psithurismos and katalalia, which figure in to our understanding of gossip in the New Testament. Yesterday, we learned that katalalia is the bigger category of which psithurismos is the sub-category that specifically means behind-the-back gossip.

More About Katalalia

The larger category, katalalia/katalalos, including its verb form, katalaleo, appears elsewhere in the New Testament. The apostle Peter urges his readers, in light of the gospel, to lay it aside. “Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind [katalalias]” (1 Pet 2:1).61 In this context, “evil speaking” (KJV) is closely connected with heart attitudes, especially of what could be called “the anger family” of sins. Gossip often is an expression of anger.

James 4:11-12

The apostle James offers the fullest teaching on katalaleo. “Brothers, do not slander [ma katalaleite] one another. Anyone who speaks against [katalalon] his brother or judges him speaks against [katalalei] the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you–who are you to judge your neighbor?” (Jas 4:11-12). Gossip often involves condemning someone whom we have no right nor occasion to judge (cf. Matt 7:1-5). There is one who judges perfectly, and we can entrust ourselves and others to him. Tasker says, “Backbiting others is, in fact, a subtle form of self-exaltation.”62 Moo explains,

We should note that James is not prohibiting the proper, and necessary, discrimination that every Christian should exercise. Nor is he forbidding the right of the community to exclude from its fellowship those it deems to be in flagrant disobedience to the standards of the faith, or to determine right and wrong among its members (1 Corinthians 5 and 6). James rebukes jealous, censorious speech by which we condemn others as being wrong in the sight of God.63
We should also notice in verse 11 that katalaleo is linked with judging not only our brothers but also the law itself. Whenever we disobey a law, we are saying, in effect, that we think it is a bad law. A gossiping person can become a law unto themselves.

More Than Just Lies

By now, we should be seeing that the katalalia/los/leo word group connotes not merely spreading lies about someone (which is often what we mean by the English word “slander”), but also talking them down in other ways. Ralph Martin says that the word “literally means ‘to speak ill of’ and translates it “disdains” in James 4:11.64 R. Kent Hughes states,
The command here forbids any speech (whether it is true or false) which runs down another person. . . . Most people think it is okay to convey negative information if it is true. We understand that lying is immoral. But is passing along damaging truth immoral? It seems almost a moral responsibility! By such reasoning, criticism behind another’s back is thought to be all right as long as it is true. Likewise, denigrating gossip (of course it is never called gossip!) is okay if the information is true. Thus many believers use truth as a license to righteously diminish others’ reputations.65
A similar phenomenon, without the katalalia/los/leo word group, appears a few verses later in James 5. “Don’t grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!” (Jas 5:9). The word for grumble is stenazo which means to “sigh or groan.”66 It is a form of moaning and complaining about each other that is often the content of gossip. James again connects this grumbling with judgment–this time with their impending judgment! When Christ returns, do we want to be found groaning about our fellow believers?

Other "Against-Words"

Katalaleo and its related forms are not the only Greek words that the New Testament uses to describe hateful, accusatory, abusive, reviling, and slanderous speech.67 Words such as blasphameo “slander, defame, blaspheme,”68 loidoreo “insult, abuse, revile,”69 and katagoreo, “to accuse, reproach”70 and their cognates often serve in the New Testament to describe these “against-words.”71 The actions denoted by these strong verbs are not gossip, per se, but are related to the phenomenon of gossip, indicating some of the base things that can be said as someone talks about others behind their backs (e.g. Jude 9, Eph 4:31, Rev 12:10, and 1 Cor 4:12-13, 5:11, 6:9-11).72

Notes

[61] Peter, using this same word, also says to expect that the pagans will speak against and accuse the Christians (1 Pet 2:12, 3:16).

[62] R. V. G. Tasker, The General Epistle of James: An Introduction and Commentary, TNTC 16 (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1983), 99.

[63] Douglas J. Moo, The Letter of James, PNTC (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2000), 199. The rest of Moo’s discussion of this passage is very helpful and repays careful reading. He connects these two verses both with the near context of chapter 4 and with themes that run throughout James’ epistle, including sins of the tongue (Jas 3:2-12) and conflicts (Jas 3:13-4:2).

[64] Ralph P. Martin, James, WBC 48 (Nashville, Thomas Nelson, 1998),163.

[65] R. Kent Hughes, James: Faith that Works, Preaching the Word (Wheaton: Crossway, 1991), 194.

[66] George M. Stulac, James, IVPNTC 16 (Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity Press, 1993), 172.

[67] The same could be said of the words we studied in the Old Testament. We have concentrated on the words that are regularly translated “gossip” even though the semantic domain overlaps with those which are often translated “slander.”

[68] H. Wahrisch, C. Brown, “blasfhme,w,” NIDNTT 3:341-345.

[69] H. Wahrisch, “loi,dorew,” NIDNTT, 3:346-347.

[70] BAGD 423.

[71] Of these three, only kathgore,w is used in both a positive and negative way. Some accusations are appropriate (John 5:45), however, kathgore,w is used most often as the work of Satan and those who opposed Jesus and the apostles.

[72] The best place to start for a comprehensive study of these key words is the set of articles on “Revile, Blaspheme, Slander” in NIDNTT 3:340-347.

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Thursday, November 27, 2014

Greek Words for Gossip: "Psithurismos" and "Katalalia" (Part Two)

11/27/2014 07:00:00 AM , , , 2 comments

We are analyzing the Greek words commonly translated "gossip" and each New Testament passage in which they occur on our way to developing a biblical definition of gossip. Yesterday, we were introduced to two bad words, "Psithurismos" and "Katalalia,"

How Are "Psithurismos" and "Katalalia" Related?

What is the relationship, then, between these two word groups? C. E. B. Cranfield suggests,

Both words denote people who go about to destroy other people’s reputations by misrepresentation. The difference between psithuristas and katalalos is that the former denoted specifically one who whispers his slanders in his listener’s ear, whereas the latter means a slanderer quite generally, irrespective of whether he whispers his calumnies or proclaims them from the house-tops–though the fact that it is used immediately after psithuristas makes it natural to understand it to refer here in particular to the more open sort of slanderer. The psithuristas is, of course, the more vicious and dangerous kind, inasmuch as he is one against whom there is virtually no human defence.57
Douglas Moo agrees. “The final part of the vice list begins with two terms that denote slander. The first is the more specific, suggesting the ‘whispering’ of the person who spreads ‘confidential’ rumors about others. The word translated ‘maligners’ could more clumsily be paraphrased ‘one who speaks against.’”58

John Calvin writes,
Whisperers and backbiters are to be distinguished in the following way: the whisperers destroy the friendships of good men by their secret accusations, inflame their minds to anger, speak against the innocent, and sow discord. Backbiters, with innate malignity, spare the reputation of none, and as though driven by a passionate urge to speak evil of people, revile the deserving as well as the innocent.59
R. G. V. Tasker interprets them in this way, “By backbitings, katalaliai, are probably meant slanders spoken behind people’s backs; and by whisperings, psithurismoi, defamations in the forms of innuendos.”60

Larger and Smaller Categories

It seems, therefore, that the katalalia/katalalos word group is the larger category of evil-speaking against another (sometimes taking secretive forms) and the psithurismos/psithuristas word group is the smaller category that always refers to talk “behind someone’s back.”

Notes

[57] C. E. B. Cranfield, The Epistle to the Romans, Volume 1:1-8, ICC (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1980), 130-131.

[58] Douglas J. Moo, The Epistle to the Romans, NICNT (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1996), 120.

[59] John Calvin, The Epistles of Paul the Apostle to the Romans and to the Thessalonians, ed. David W. Torrance and Thomas F. Torrance, trans. Ross Mackenzie, Calvin’s New Testament Commentaries 8 (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1973), 38.

[60] R. V. G. Tasker, The Second Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, TNTC (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1971), 185.

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Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Greek Words for Gossip: "Psithurismos" and "Katalalia" (Part One)

11/26/2014 07:00:00 AM , , , 0 comments

We are analyzing the Greek words commonly translated "gossip" and each New Testament passage in which they occur on our way to developing a biblical definition of gossip.

Two Bad Words

1. Psithurismos/psithuristas and katalalia/katalalos. The first word, psithurismos, literally means “hiss, whisper” and in the New Testament is used “only in a bad sense whispering, (secret) gossip, tale-bearing.”52 The related form, psithuristas, is therefore, “whisperer, tale-bearer.”53 It is similar to the Hebrew word nirgan we encountered in the Old Testament. In both of their New Testament uses, these Greek words always appear in very close proximity to katalalos (“speaking evil of others, slanderous” used substantivally “slanderer”)54 or its related form katalalia (“evil speech, slander, defamation, detraction”).55 The two words seem to be connected.

Not a Minor Sin

In Romans 1, the apostle Paul has begun his grand exposition of the gospel of God. He is declaring the universal sinfulness of humanity and, in specific, the depravity of the Gentiles. Paul ends his first chapter by listing the sins of the depraved mind. “They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips [psithuristas (plural)], slanderers [katalalous (plural of katalalos)], God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless” (Rom 1:29-31). Gossip is not a minor sin. It shares space in a list with every other kind of wickedness deserving the wrath of God. “Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them” (Rom 1:32).

Repentance Required

Similarly, in 2 Corinthians 12, Paul uses these two words right next to each other (though in opposite order) in a list of vices that he fears will be present in the church in Corinth when he returns. “For I am afraid that when I come I may not find you as I want you to be, and you may not find me as you want me to be. I fear that there may be quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander [katalaliai, (plural of katalalia)], gossip [psithurismoi56 (plural of  psithurismos)], arrogance, and disorder” (2 Cor 12:20). While the list in Romans 1 was about sinners in general, this vice list is more specific to dissension, disunity, and discord among the church in Corinth. Gossip divides Christians. When Paul returns on his third visit, for the edification of the church, he will have to exercise painful discipline unless the Corinthians examine themselves and repent (2 Cor 12:21-13:10). If someone has engaged in sinful gossip, the only way forward is repentance.

[To Be Continued...]

Notes

[52] BAGD 892.

[53] BAGD 893.

[54] BAGD 412.

[55] Ibid.

[56] Interestingly, this is the first place in our study of gossip throughout the Bible where a key term is used to describe the phenomenon of gossip itself and not the kind of person who engages in it. The Bible seems to be more interested in teaching us what kind of people to be than in giving us precise ethical definitions of what behavior is acceptable or unacceptable.

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Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Gossip in the New Testament

11/25/2014 07:00:00 AM , , , 0 comments

The next major stop on our tour of the Bible in search of a definition of sinful gossip is the New Testament. In my doctoral project, I introduced the NT section like this:

Gossip in the New Testament

As our study of gossip in the Old Testament centered upon the book of Proverbs, our study of gossip in the New Testament will focus mainly on the epistles. Gossip is denounced as much in the New Testament as, if not more than, in the Old Testament. Whenever it appears, gossip is viewed as negative, shameful, unrighteous, and undesirable. In what follows, we will study three sets of Greek word groups usually translated in English versions as “gossip,” “gossips,” “gossiping.” We will analyze each occurrence of these words, give exposition of the context and content of the surrounding teaching, and also note related terms and phenomena.

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Monday, November 24, 2014

Bearing False Witness

11/24/2014 07:00:00 AM , , , 0 comments

This is our last stop on our tour of the Old Testament in our series of fragments from my D.Min project showing how I arrived at my definition of gossip. We've been learning about phenomenon in the Old Testament we might call "gossip" even when a technical term is not used. Today's post is about the fourth of four important and related concepts, along with exposition of key texts.

Thou Shalt Not

4. Bearing False Witness. The ninth commandment is “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” (Exod 20:16, cf. Exod 23:1, Prov 3:30). We have seen that gossip often involves falsehood on some level (even when the facts being recounted are accurate). Reformed Christians have long understood the ninth commandment to prohibit gossip.49 It is fitting to end our study of the Old Testament50 by observing what question 144 of the Westminster Larger Catechism teaches about the obligations of the ninth commandment:

The duties required in the ninth commandment, are, the preserving and promoting of truth between man and man, and the good name of our neighbor, as well as our own; appearing and standing for the truth; and from the heart, sincerely, freely, clearly, and fully, speaking the truth, and only the truth, in matters of judgment and justice, and in all other things whatsoever; a charitable esteem of our neighbors; loving, desiring, and rejoicing in their good name; sorrowing for, and covering of their infirmities; freely acknowledging of their gifts and graces, defending their innocency; a ready receiving of a good report, and unwillingness to admit of an evil report, concerning them; discouraging talebearers, flatterers, and slanderers; love and care of our own good name, and defending it when need requires; keeping of lawful promises; studying and practicing of whatsoever things are true, honest, lovely, and of good report.51
Notes

[49] Question 145 of the Westminster Larger Catechism says, “The sins forbidden in the ninth commandment are . . . speaking untruth, lying, slandering, backbiting, detracting, talebearing, whispering.” Johannes Geerhardus Vos, The Westminster Larger Catechism: A Commentary, ed. G. I. Williamson (Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing, 2002), 394.

[50] Much more could be said about gossip in the Old Testament, including a survey of stories of gossip in action in the Pentateuch, History Books, and Prophets. All of the principles we have learned so far are illustrated in the garden, the land of promise, the wilderness, the conquest, the kingdom, and the exile.

[51] Johannes Geerhardus Vos, The Westminster Larger Catechism: A Commentary, ed. G. I. Williamson (Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing, 2002), 394. I find this kind of ethical extrapolation from the 10 Commandments to be helpful for moral instruction even if I do not share all of the hermeneutical assumptions of covenant theologians.

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