by IMHO 5 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
They said so at the Circuit Assembly. (but not harmful gossip)
Despite the fact that the first two meanings of 'Gossip' on The Free Dictionary are:
1. Rumor or talk of a personal, sensational, or intimate nature. 2. A person who habitually spreads intimate or private rumors or facts. Although to give them their due they didn't actually say 'gossip' is good but they did say: "Casual talk about others helps maintain healthful relationships."
Well since they can't get the definition of generation right I'm not surprised the meaning of gossip eludes this person.
Sometimes gossip is fine. You are telling the truth--say, a worker on the job got caught stealing. Others may also be stealing and they didn't get caught yet. Gossip of this sort might just get someone to stop stealing, knowing others are watching. Which would save that person from getting in big trouble, plus prevent that person's theft. Or, gossip can be used to let others know that a person has a specific need--that's often how people figure out what to give them for Christmas.
Now, the kind of gossip that is referred to as "harmful gossip" is the kind that people say nasty things, with the viewpoint of undercutting a person's reputation. You see this kind of gossip all the time in politics--even though it might be true, it is usually out of context. This often becomes slander--which is intentionally lying about someone with the intention of ruining their reputation. That is supposed to be grounds for getting disfellowshipped when it reaches slander.
Problem is, the witlesses themselves are usually as guilty of harmful gossip and slander as any politician. Even among hounders, it is not uncommon to hear harmful gossip and slander. And they almost never get removed from the body of hounders, let alone disfellowshipped.
According to the dictionary definition I would say that 'gossip' is always harmful, so the phrase 'harmless gossip' cannot exist. I agree that it is not wrong to talk generally or postivitely about others but I wouldn't call that gossip.
If we pass on 'gossip' that we do not know to be fact then we are a 'slanderer' whether we realise it or not.
A statement "Joe Blow was caught stealing from the company" is not, in my opinion gossip if Joe Blow was actually caught stealing from the company. "I heard Brother Jones likes to watch the Playboy channel" is gossip. It serves no purpose, it may or may not be true, and it probably isn't the busy of either the speaker or the listener.
Kingdom Halls are always full of the later sort of conversation.
I would say both statements are gossip (assuming they are true, else slander). The first statement falls under the qualification of 'a personal or sensational matter'. It only matters to the person they stole from.
