Image Eraser

to slander no one, not to be contentious, to be gentle, showing every consideration for all people.  Titus 3:2  NASB

Slander – You might not recognize the intensity of this word in Paul’s letter unless you read it in Greek.  Then it would be obvious. Why?  Because the word is blasphēmein.  Yes, the same root that verbally violates and disparages God.  There’s something more to this exhortation than simply restraint from malicious gossip.  God is in the mix.  Let’s find out why.

First, we notice that even though “blasphēmía has no fixed Hebrew original [in the LXX]. It always has reference to God, e.g., disputing his power (2 Kgs. 19:4), desecrating his name (Is. 52:5), violating his glory (Ezek. 35:12), wicked speech (Is. 66:3), or human arrogance (Lev. 24:11).”^[1]  In other words, there are a number of Hebrew terms that express desecrating the name of God that are translated by blasphēmía, but they are always about God, not men.  When Paul employs the term in his instructions about proper behavior, he imports a powerful Hebraic idea.  Defaming another human being is the equivalent of desecrating God.  Why?  Because human beings carry God’s image.  To insult the work of the Creator is to insult the Creator Himself.

Second, Paul’s imported equivalence means that our words toward or about another person carry the same weight as God’s words in the creation of human beings.  We speak something into existence just as He spoke things into existence, but in this case, speaking slander is creating evil, creating an identity opposed to the divine image and intent.  When we slander, we not only undo what God has done, we re-create the other according to our evil words.  We give the other person a new identity, not from God but from our own depravity.  Blasphēmein is no trivial matter.  No wonder there are legal punishments for slander.

Perhaps we need a more expansive term than “slander” in order to comprehend the reach of such blasphemy.  The rabbis use the term lashon ha’ra.  “Lashon Hara is any derogatory or damaging statement against an individual. In Hilchot Deot 7:5, Maimonides supplies a litmus test for determining whether something is or isn’t Lashon Hara: Anything which, if it would be publicized, would cause the subject physical or monetary damage, or would cause him anguish or fear, is Lashon Hara.”[2]

With these thoughts in mind, we should be appalled at the ubiquitous vitriol that fills our public and private conversations.  Slander is the lingua franca of social media.  It is common rhetoric in the political world.  It floats on the airwaves, is a constant companion to divisive opinion, and finds welcome mats even in religious circles.  Every time it unmakes God’s work.  Every time it defames the sovereign Lord.  Every time it diminishes both the perpetrator and the victim.  Choose your words carefully!

Topical Index:  slander, blasphēmía, lashon ha’ra, Titus 3:2

^[1] Kittel, G., Friedrich, G., & Bromiley, G. W. (1985). Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Abridged in One Volume (p. 107). Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans.

[2] https://torah.org/learning/halashon-review1/