SLANDER (Snapshot)
Now here’s a word most of us have heard. It is a word I know well. Too well. It is also a word I
felt in my body long before I ever knew what to call it.
By definition …
Slander is the act of making false, damaging, or malicious statements about another person in
order to harm their reputation. It occurs when a person’s character, motives, or reputation are
attacked unjustly, maliciously, or without sufficient knowledge.
What people often think it means …
Anyone who:
- Disagrees with my perspective
- Calls for accountability
- Exposes wrongdoing
- Calls for correction
- Rebukes harmful behaviour
- Calls sin what it is
- Criticizes an idea, belief, interpretation, or action
In short: the word slander often gets pulled out when someone really means, “I do not like your
interpretation, your correction, your rebuke, or your refusal to stay silent.”
What it actually means (Biblically) …
In Christian circles, the word slander often gets thrown around whenever someone disagrees,
asks difficult questions, or confronts harmful behaviour.
But that is not what Scripture means.
Scripture uses words that carry the idea of speaking “against” someone, defaming them, or
acting as an accuser.
Hebrew
One common Hebrew word from the Old Testament is: רָכִיל (rākhîl)
It means a talebearer, gossip, slanderer, or one who goes about spreading damaging reports.
Leviticus 19:16 says: “Do not go about spreading slander among your people.” The word here
carries the idea of trafficking in harmful information, whether true, distorted, or false, in a way
that damages another person.
Greek
In the New Testament, one Greek word is διάβολος (diabolos), meaning slanderer, accuser, or
one who throws accusations. Interestingly, this is the same word from which we get the title
“Devil.” The root idea is not simply telling a lie. It is attacking someone’s character through
accusation.
Another common Greek word is καταλαλέω (katalaleō), meaning to speak against, defame, or
malign.
James 4:11 says: “Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another.”
The noun form is καταλαλιά (katalalia), meaning slander, backbiting, or evil speaking. It is used
in places such as 1 Peter 2:1 and 2 Corinthians 12:20.
In my own words …
At first, slander may seem like an inflated form of gossip, but it is much, much more than that.
From my own life, I can say this plainly: slander is when someone takes a version of you they
created, passes it around like fact, and leaves you outside the room while everyone else
decides who you are. It is a particular kind of violation to know your name has been in
someone’s mouth, your motives have been assigned, your character has been edited, and your
humanity has been reduced to whatever version of you best served their need to look innocent.
If you walk into a space where no one truly knows you, yet you are already disliked, doubted,
distrusted, or disbelieved, there is a good chance slander has entered the room before you did.
Slander, to me, is not just words spit out of a deceitful mouth. It is theft.
Sure, we can dress slander up as explanation, concern, context, a prayer request, testimony, or
leadership. But if the purpose is to distort, diminish, discredit, or destroy another person while
they are not there to answer for themselves, it is not truth-telling.
And slander does not only happen in obvious places. It happens in therapy rooms, when a
spouse intentionally reshapes the story to cover their own guilt. It happens in pubs with friends,
around family tables, in private messages, and in hushed explanations meant to make betrayal
sound reasonable.
It happens when someone justifies an affair by corrupting the character of the one they
betrayed. It happens when ashamed people protect their own reputation by damaging someone
else’s. It happens when leaders, pastors, or trusted voices give false character witness under
the appearance of concern, discernment, or spiritual authority.
And it often does so cowardly, in rooms and conversations where the one being attacked has no
voice, no defence, and no opportunity to answer for themselves. Sometimes that looks like
sitting alone on a bench outside a courtroom, knowing someone else’s version of you is being
heard before the truth is even called to the stand.
The whole point of slander is to present a corrupted image of another person’s character. It
does not simply wound a reputation. It reaches deeper than that. It attacks the image of God in
a person and tries to redraw it without permission.
There is a particular kind of grief that comes when your name enters rooms before you do,
dressed in someone else’s accusation. And attached to that grief is a deep loss. The loss of
trust, the loss of safety and the loss of being seen clearly.
You are no longer who you are, you become who someone else created you to be. And words
cannot always be gathered back once they have been believed.
Why it matters:
The Body of Christ is called to unity, but unity has never meant protecting falsehood, hiding
harm, or silencing truth. Paul repeatedly warns against division in the Church.
In Romans 16:17–18, he writes: “I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who
cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have
learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own
appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naïve people.”
It is entirely possible to disagree with someone without slandering them. Perhaps it is a new
concept, but it is possible to challenge an idea without attacking the person. It is also possible to
expose harm without “becoming” harmful.
Yet it feels as though, on certain issues within the Church, this distinction has been almost
entirely lost. Women in ministry and women in leadership are two of those places. Too often,
women who preach, teach, lead, study, proclaim, or partner in Gospel work are not merely
disagreed with. They are accused (often publicly), their motives are assigned, their character is
questioned, their relationship with God is judged, and their obedience is doubted before their
actual words, fruit, or theology are honestly examined. This is slander.
And ironically, Paul’s words are often used to defend the slandering of God’s daughters, while
the same Paul repeatedly laboured to build the Church into one unified body in Christ.
In Romans, Paul calls the Church to live as one body. He points to Christ as the servant. He
calls believers to humility, mutual honour, and love. Then, in Romans 16, before giving his
warning about divisive people, Paul publicly commends and greets women who “partnered” in
Gospel work.
In Romans 16:1–16 alone, Paul names or refers to ten women:
- Phoebe, a deacon and benefactor.
- Prisca, his co-worker in Christ Jesus.
- Mary, who worked hard for the believers.
- Junia, noted among the apostles.
- Tryphaena and Tryphosa, workers in the Lord.
- Persis, who worked hard in the Lord.
- The mother of Rufus, whom Paul calls a mother to him as well.
Julia.
- And the sister of Nereus.
These women were not invisible to Paul. They were not treated as liabilities to the Church. They
were named, honoured, commended, and remembered as participants in the work of the
Gospel.
Yet hierarchy often chooses to omit Paul’s words here while building entire arguments on
isolated readings elsewhere. It rewrites the narrative of women in Scripture, then calls that
rewritten version biblical. And that same pattern continues to be used against God’s daughters
today, women who dare to preach, teach, lead, study, proclaim, and partner in the same Gospel
Paul commended women for labouring in with him.
The moment we move from addressing what a person has said or done to pronouncing
judgment on their heart, motives, intentions, or relationship with God, we may have crossed a
line Scripture warns us not to cross. Scripture calls us to look to the fruit. We can easily observe
the behaviours. Patterns can be named and harm can be confronted. It’s ok to call sin what it is.
But the throne of the heart belongs to God.
We can examine what is produced without pretending we have the authority to rewrite who a
person is before Him.
Not every disagreement is slander. But neither is every accusation truth simply because it is
spoken with conviction.
Words matter. So does reputation.
And so does the image bearer standing in front of us.
-RJ Burton
Now here’s a word most of us have heard. It is a word I know well. Too well. It is also a word I
felt in my body long before I ever knew what to call it.
By definition …
Slander is the act of making false, damaging, or malicious statements about another person in
order to harm their reputation. It occurs when a person’s character, motives, or reputation are
attacked unjustly, maliciously, or without sufficient knowledge.
What people often think it means …
Anyone who:
- Disagrees with my perspective
- Calls for accountability
- Exposes wrongdoing
- Calls for correction
- Rebukes harmful behaviour
- Calls sin what it is
- Criticizes an idea, belief, interpretation, or action
In short: the word slander often gets pulled out when someone really means, “I do not like your
interpretation, your correction, your rebuke, or your refusal to stay silent.”
What it actually means (Biblically) …
In Christian circles, the word slander often gets thrown around whenever someone disagrees,
asks difficult questions, or confronts harmful behaviour.
But that is not what Scripture means.
Scripture uses words that carry the idea of speaking “against” someone, defaming them, or
acting as an accuser.
Hebrew
One common Hebrew word from the Old Testament is: רָכִיל (rākhîl)
It means a talebearer, gossip, slanderer, or one who goes about spreading damaging reports.
Leviticus 19:16 says: “Do not go about spreading slander among your people.” The word here
carries the idea of trafficking in harmful information, whether true, distorted, or false, in a way
that damages another person.
Greek
In the New Testament, one Greek word is διάβολος (diabolos), meaning slanderer, accuser, or
one who throws accusations. Interestingly, this is the same word from which we get the title
“Devil.” The root idea is not simply telling a lie. It is attacking someone’s character through
accusation.
Another common Greek word is καταλαλέω (katalaleō), meaning to speak against, defame, or
malign.
James 4:11 says: “Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another.”
The noun form is καταλαλιά (katalalia), meaning slander, backbiting, or evil speaking. It is used
in places such as 1 Peter 2:1 and 2 Corinthians 12:20.
In my own words …
At first, slander may seem like an inflated form of gossip, but it is much, much more than that.
From my own life, I can say this plainly: slander is when someone takes a version of you they
created, passes it around like fact, and leaves you outside the room while everyone else
decides who you are. It is a particular kind of violation to know your name has been in
someone’s mouth, your motives have been assigned, your character has been edited, and your
humanity has been reduced to whatever version of you best served their need to look innocent.
If you walk into a space where no one truly knows you, yet you are already disliked, doubted,
distrusted, or disbelieved, there is a good chance slander has entered the room before you did.
Slander, to me, is not just words spit out of a deceitful mouth. It is theft.
Sure, we can dress slander up as explanation, concern, context, a prayer request, testimony, or
leadership. But if the purpose is to distort, diminish, discredit, or destroy another person while
they are not there to answer for themselves, it is not truth-telling.
And slander does not only happen in obvious places. It happens in therapy rooms, when a
spouse intentionally reshapes the story to cover their own guilt. It happens in pubs with friends,
around family tables, in private messages, and in hushed explanations meant to make betrayal
sound reasonable.
It happens when someone justifies an affair by corrupting the character of the one they
betrayed. It happens when ashamed people protect their own reputation by damaging someone
else’s. It happens when leaders, pastors, or trusted voices give false character witness under
the appearance of concern, discernment, or spiritual authority.
And it often does so cowardly, in rooms and conversations where the one being attacked has no
voice, no defence, and no opportunity to answer for themselves. Sometimes that looks like
sitting alone on a bench outside a courtroom, knowing someone else’s version of you is being
heard before the truth is even called to the stand.
The whole point of slander is to present a corrupted image of another person’s character. It
does not simply wound a reputation. It reaches deeper than that. It attacks the image of God in
a person and tries to redraw it without permission.
There is a particular kind of grief that comes when your name enters rooms before you do,
dressed in someone else’s accusation. And attached to that grief is a deep loss. The loss of
trust, the loss of safety and the loss of being seen clearly.
You are no longer who you are, you become who someone else created you to be. And words
cannot always be gathered back once they have been believed.
Why it matters:
The Body of Christ is called to unity, but unity has never meant protecting falsehood, hiding
harm, or silencing truth. Paul repeatedly warns against division in the Church.
In Romans 16:17–18, he writes: “I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who
cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have
learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own
appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naïve people.”
It is entirely possible to disagree with someone without slandering them. Perhaps it is a new
concept, but it is possible to challenge an idea without attacking the person. It is also possible to
expose harm without “becoming” harmful.
Yet it feels as though, on certain issues within the Church, this distinction has been almost
entirely lost. Women in ministry and women in leadership are two of those places. Too often,
women who preach, teach, lead, study, proclaim, or partner in Gospel work are not merely
disagreed with. They are accused (often publicly), their motives are assigned, their character is
questioned, their relationship with God is judged, and their obedience is doubted before their
actual words, fruit, or theology are honestly examined. This is slander.
And ironically, Paul’s words are often used to defend the slandering of God’s daughters, while
the same Paul repeatedly laboured to build the Church into one unified body in Christ.
In Romans, Paul calls the Church to live as one body. He points to Christ as the servant. He
calls believers to humility, mutual honour, and love. Then, in Romans 16, before giving his
warning about divisive people, Paul publicly commends and greets women who “partnered” in
Gospel work.
In Romans 16:1–16 alone, Paul names or refers to ten women:
- Phoebe, a deacon and benefactor.
- Prisca, his co-worker in Christ Jesus.
- Mary, who worked hard for the believers.
- Junia, noted among the apostles.
- Tryphaena and Tryphosa, workers in the Lord.
- Persis, who worked hard in the Lord.
- The mother of Rufus, whom Paul calls a mother to him as well.
Julia.
- And the sister of Nereus.
These women were not invisible to Paul. They were not treated as liabilities to the Church. They
were named, honoured, commended, and remembered as participants in the work of the
Gospel.
Yet hierarchy often chooses to omit Paul’s words here while building entire arguments on
isolated readings elsewhere. It rewrites the narrative of women in Scripture, then calls that
rewritten version biblical. And that same pattern continues to be used against God’s daughters
today, women who dare to preach, teach, lead, study, proclaim, and partner in the same Gospel
Paul commended women for labouring in with him.
The moment we move from addressing what a person has said or done to pronouncing
judgment on their heart, motives, intentions, or relationship with God, we may have crossed a
line Scripture warns us not to cross. Scripture calls us to look to the fruit. We can easily observe
the behaviours. Patterns can be named and harm can be confronted. It’s ok to call sin what it is.
But the throne of the heart belongs to God.
We can examine what is produced without pretending we have the authority to rewrite who a
person is before Him.
Not every disagreement is slander. But neither is every accusation truth simply because it is
spoken with conviction.
Words matter. So does reputation.
And so does the image bearer standing in front of us.
-RJ Burton