📖 Biblical Definition
Slander is false or malicious speech that injures another’s reputation — the breaking of the ninth commandment (Exodus 20:16) in everyday clothes. Scripture forbids it absolutely. The slanderer is grouped with the murderer and idolater in the catalogue at the close of Romans 1:29-30: "backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters." The Greek diabolos ("slanderer") is the very title of the devil. A deacon’s wife is disqualified by the trait: "Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things" (1 Timothy 3:11). Christian men must refuse it absolutely — not gossip, not innuendo, not cleverly worded half-truths. "Speak evil of no man" (Titus 3:2).
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
SLAN'DER, n.
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1. A false tale or report maliciously uttered, and tending to injure the reputation of another. 2. Disgrace; reproach; disreputation. 3. To slander — To defame; to injure by maliciously uttering a false report respecting one.
📖 Key Scripture
Exodus 20:16 — "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour."
Proverbs 10:18 — "He that uttereth a slander, is a fool."
Psalm 15:3 — "He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour."
1 Timothy 3:11 — "Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Modern outrage culture is slander on a subscription model.
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Slander used to require courage — you had to whisper it across a fence. Now an anonymous account can publish a false claim to a million viewers before lunch and never face the man it harmed. Cancel culture is largely the gamification of slander, often with a religious veneer. The ninth commandment has not been repealed; it has only been ignored at scale.
The cure is not silence about real evil — Scripture commands the church to expose darkness — but truth, with names attached, in the right venue, at the right time, with the right motive. Slander is none of those: false, anonymous, public, and aimed at injury. The believer who indulges it for sport is borrowing a sin Christ died to remove. Bridle the tongue. Verify before posting. Speak to a brother before speaking about him.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Hebrew rakil (H7400); Greek katalalia (G2636).
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H7400 — rakil — tale-bearer, slanderer
G2636 — katalalia — speaking against, slander
G1228 — diabolos — slanderer; the devil's own title
Usage
"Slander is so loved by the devil that one of his names means “slanderer.”"
"Verify before you forward; love covers a multitude, slander multiplies it."
"A church that tolerates slander cannot pursue holiness; the two are oil and water."