A Slanderous
Article
As I’m sure everyone reading
this already knows, a couple of weeks ago the tabloid National Enquirer
published an article which strongly implies that Ted Cruz has had sex with five
women who are not his wife.
Although
the article gives the “feel” and appearance of accusing Cruz, if one carefully
reads it, the article does not actually say that Cruz has done anything
wrong. The article simply claims that
other, unnamed, people are investigating rumors that Cruz committed
adultery. The article does not present
any evidence at all, NONE, that Cruz has ever been unfaithful to his wife.
To
me, the article looks and feels like slander.
When I say “slander”, I do not mean slander or libel in the legal sense. The tabloid was careful to word things in a
way that probably protects them from a civil suit. That does not mean it is not “slander” in the
more important Biblical sense of the word.
The Enquirer may be safe from human judges, but just like you and I,
they will one day have to give an account for every word (Matthew 12:36).
How Do I know the
Accusations are False?
I don’t. I’m not claiming to somehow know whether or
not Ted Cruz did any of the things implied in the article. What I am saying is that the article looks,
smells, and feels like slander. In order
for it not to be slander, all of the implied accusations would have to be
completely true. If that turns out to be
the case, then instead of calling the article slander, I would call it an
example of really bad, terrible reporting.
Remember,
Ted Cruz is not the only one being harmed by the article. Although the photos of the five women were
somewhat pixelated, there was enough description of them so that most of them
were quickly identified in public media.
So if it turns out that 4 out of 5 are guilty (and there is NO evidence
that even one is guilty), it would still be very serious slander. What if the 5th “innocent one” was
your wife, sister, or daughter? You
would rightly feel deeply hurt. For
years to come it is likely that these women will sometimes run into people who
will look at them funny or treat them differently because they wonder if the
article might be true.
But Isn’t It
Usually True that “Where there’s Smoke there’s Fire”?
Yes,
where there is smoke there is usually fire.
But we must be careful. The
nature of the article tells me that something evil is going on. But whether that evil consists of a campaign
to falsely accuse and smear Ted Cruz with lies and innuendo, or whether there
actually was adultery, or perhaps some combination of the two, we cannot tell.
So What Should We
Do About Cruz?
Until
and unless there is real, concrete, sufficient evidence to show that Cruz
actually did something wrong we should treat him as innocent. I would urge people not to be influenced by
these accusations when it comes time to vote. If he is later proved guilty of adultery, I’ll
be the first to drop him as my first choice among the candidates who remain in
the race. In the meantime, I continue to
support Cruz. If you don’t support Cruz,
I hope it is for reasons that have nothing to do with these allegations.
In
the meantime, I want to take this occasion to share some thoughts about the
nature of slander.
I’ve been a Victim
of Slander
If
you’ve ever been on the receiving end of slander, you know how much damage it
can cause.
At
my first pastorate, there was a group of people who wanted to get rid of
me. Their opposition to me began even
before I arrived. One of the major
reasons for their opposition was that when I described my vision for the church,
that vision included making intentional efforts to reach the black community
and bring more African Americans into our church. Most churches in the area where I live are
either 100% white or 100% black, or very nearly so. I wanted to at least try to change that.
Shortly
after my family had moved to the town where the church was, the first anonymous
letter was sent to the deacons. It was
the first sign of what turned into a two year campaign to get rid of me. There was constant gossip and slander. One of the deacons actually accused me to the
other deacons of having a serious criminal record that no one previously knew
about. Thankfully, the other deacons
pressed him to show his evidence. It
turned out that all he had was a publically available report of a minor traffic
violation from over twenty years ago.
Unfortunately, the other deacons were not willing to put this man off
the deacon board.
As
the constant conflict in the church continued to hurt me, my family, and the
church, I finally decided it was best to leave.
This might not have been necessary if the church had been willing to
take proper church discipline against some of the most obvious slanderers. I left without another job lined up. It hurt me and my family, a lot. In fact, it is painfully true to say that so
called “Christians” in North Carolina hurt me far worse in my first two years
back in the US than our Muslim neighbors ever did during fourteen years of living
in a Muslim majority nation. And the
main methods they used were slander and gossip.
Jesus was a Victim
of Slander
Those who wanted Jesus
crucified sought out and used slander in their plotting against him.
Advice and Insight
In the rest of this post I will use a Q&A format to
offer some advice and insight about slander and gossip.
How can we recognize
slander and gossip?
The nature of evil, including slander and gossip, is that
it hides in the dark and when it has to be seen, it attempts to disguise
itself. So how can we recognize it? Here are six indications that it might be
slander or gossip:
1. Is the accusation anonymous? Slander and gossip often come from anonymous
sources. The Bible, ancient Roman law, and
our own court system insist that the accused has a right to face their accusers
(Deuteronomy 19:16-19; Acts 25:16).
Anonymous accusations should usually be completely ignored and should
never be used as evidence of guilt.
2. Is the information based on first hand testimony? Gossip and slander are usually based on
second or third hand testimony. In fact,
often gossip is worded in such a way that you cannot tell if the testimony is
second or third hand or if there even is a first-hand witness. This is the case in the National Enquirer
article. There are clearly no first hand
witnesses giving testimony in the article. In fact, there isn’t even a claim
that a first-hand witness exists anywhere.
3. Is the
accusation clear and specific? Slander
and gossip often consists of vague accusations.
Vague and general accusations are used by slanderers because they are
nearly impossible to check up on or disprove.
If someone says, “Pastor Joe sleeps around”, that’s hard to
disprove. If someone says, “I saw Pastor
Joe come out of hotel X last Thursday night with a woman in immodest clothing”,
at least that can be investigated.
4. Is there more
than one source of evidence? The Bible
requires there be at least two witnesses to find someone guilty. (Deuteronomy
19:15; 2 Corinthians 13:1; 1 Timothy 5:19)
5. Has the
teaching of Jesus in Matthew 18:15-17 been followed? Jesus instructs us to first go to the
person we are accusing before sharing the accusation with others. Gossips and slanderers consistently disobey
this teaching of Jesus. If someone
begins to tell you something bad about someone else, you should immediately
stop them and ask them if they have already talked with the person they are
accusing.
6. Are accusations
exaggerated? Even if someone has really
done something wrong, it is not alright to exaggerate what they have done. Accusations must be clearly limited to actual
wrongdoing without exaggeration. Slander
and gossip often exaggerate relatively minor errors to make them sound like
huge sins.
2. What should you do if you hear what sounds
like slander or gossip?
1. Just as it “takes
two to tango”, it also takes at least two for gossip to occur: a gossiper and a listener. As soon as you
recognize slander/gossip you should stop it. If a firm, gentle word is not
enough, you should hang up the phone or walk away. I’ve seen people who did not spread gossip
themselves (that I know of), but who listened to it day after day. It does damage to your soul.
2. If a person
continues to try to gossip or slander after you warn them, you should treat
this as a serious sin because it IS a serious sin. This may involve taking the steps of Matthew
18:15-17. It may eventually involve
taking church discipline against the gossiper.
Gossip and slander destroys churches and hurts people. It should not be tolerated any more that you
would tolerate a church member who is selling cocaine.
3. Be very careful
not to spread the gossip yourself. Be careful not to let it influence how you
feel about someone. Sometimes, you
should go to the person who was accused in the gossip to clear things up and
let them know what is being said about them.
3. But, what if someone really is doing
something wrong which disqualifies them from leadership or is seriously hurting
other people?
1. Accusing
someone of doing wrong is not slander if the accusation is true and if it is
handled in accordance with Biblical principles, including the steps given in
Matthew 18:15-17. Sometimes it is the
right thing to do to confront people.
Sometimes it is even right to expose evil (Ephesians 5:11). This is not the same as slander.
2. Even if you are
telling the truth, you must be very careful if you seek to confront someone or
expose evil. Of course you must tell the
truth, but the Bible has an even higher standard for Christians. We must also have the right motive for all
that we say:
NIV Ephesians 4:29
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is
helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit
those who listen.
4. What should you do if you are the one being
slandered?
1. Ask yourself if
the accusation might be true. If it is,
humbly confess and repent.
2. If it really is
slander, rejoice.
NIV Matthew
5:11 "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute
you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12
Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same
way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Slander can really hurt.
Slander led to Jesus being crucified.
Slander played a part in hurting me and my family financially. So, I don’t
offer this advice naively. Nevertheless,
Jesus taught us to rejoice when we are falsely accused while serving Him. You are being treated like the true prophets,
the apostles, and like our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus has promised to bless you.
3. Bless your
accusers. Pray for them and look for opportunities
to do good for them.
1Peter 3:9 Do not repay evil with
evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called
so that you may inherit a blessing.
4. Sometimes you
may defend yourself. Sometimes it is
best to remain silent and let others defend you or even allow yourself to be
harmed. Stay close to Jesus. Do not become bitter. Trust God. Be led by the Spirit. God knows the truth and eventually the truth
will come out.
5. Finally, know
that for those who do not truly repent, God will bring justice in His time.
If you want to read more about this, here are some
additional Bible verses about gossip and slander:
NIV Exodus 20:16
"You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
ESV Exodus 23:1 "You
shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with a wicked man to
be a malicious witness.
2 You shall not fall in with the
many to do evil, nor shall you bear witness in a lawsuit, siding with the many,
so as to pervert justice,
ESV Leviticus
19:16 You shall not go around as a slanderer among your
people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am the
LORD.
NIV Proverbs
10:18 Whoever conceals hatred with lying lips and spreads
slander is a fool.
NIV 1 Corinthians 5:11
But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims
to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or
slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.
NIV 2
Corinthians 12:20 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 discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, slander, gossip,
arrogance and disorder. (2Co 12:20 NIV)
NIV 1
Peter 2:1 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit,
hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.
Hebrews 13:16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others . . .
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