I can think of several times when rumors have started about me. Reputations of honest and honorable people are damaged. Marriages are broken up because of false rumors that someone has spread. Those who spread them were guilty of bearing false witness.įrequently people say untrue things about others. These rumors hurt the man's career and reputation. It was too late to stop the false rumors that this man was involved in drug dealing. It turned out that the white powder was a diet mix, and so the singer was discharged from his arrest and confinement. A search of his car revealed some white powder, and he was booked on a drug charge. For example, a well-known gospel singer was picked up in Los Angeles because of his careless driving. It is possible to bear false witness or slander by spreading rumors. Outside the context of the courts, it is termed slander. Since judgment based on false testimony could destroy the life or property of innocent human beings and discredit a country's system of justice, the penalty for perjury was very severe.īut the commandment against bearing false witness has a much broader application.
A false witness could lie under oath during judicial proceedings in order to establish guilt in a criminal case, or fault in a civil case. Two or three witnesses were needed in ancient Hebrew law to establish a claim under civil law or a crime under criminal law. The ninth commandment says, "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor" (Exodus 20:16).
0 kommentar(er)
