Hey John,
In chapter three, you mentioned the three spiritual conditions that have to be present for slander to occur. All of the spiritual conditions are describing children of God. The one doing the slander is defined as the unwise believer (Chapter 2 also calls them the foolish virgins in the body of Christ). But I was thinking on the case of institutionalized slander that is done by Christians who are not necessarily in the body of Christ. That case doesn’t seem to fit the definition of the unwise believer – someone with the holy Ghost.
I do understand how Christian ministers fool the innocent because they claim to be the body of Christ and the innocent don’t know any better than to trust them (i.e., because everybody just “knows” Christianity is the religion of Christ). Is it because the backslidden true body of Christ is entangled in that institution that gives it and its ministers the same effect as of a trusted unwise believer? Or is it that the spirit of Satan (being the original slanderer and unwise believer) is the one behind that religion. I’m trying to make the connection between the institutionalized form of slander and the definitions that you’ve given. Do you explain this in the book?
Thanks,
Lyn
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Hi Lyn.
Slander can and does happen in the world at large among sinners. I am concentrating only on how slander works in the body of Christ. I have not made that clear in the book, yet, but I need to. Others have asked about that, as well.
Thanks for bringing it up.
Pastor John