Gossip, Bad Talk And Belittling

[MitchWitts]

Are gossip, bad talking and belittling mortal (or at least grave) sins?

What does Christ mean when he says "And anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell." (Mt 5:22)

What about one he hears someone bad mouthing someone else, refuses to join in and does not encourage it, but remains silent on the matter. I heard silence is a way of partaking in someone's sin, would this situation make you equally guilty? 

[cappie]

Gossiping is a sin when it kills the character and lying about it. Two things can happen there – killing and lying. We not only can kill a person physically but also character wise. It can be a grave matter when it is done with malicious intention and also depend on the content of the gossip and how much harm it could do to the victim. And it is a mortal sin in that situation. To some people their reputation is perhaps much more valuable than their life; so one can see how harmful a gossip can do to them.

 

Gossip is frowned upon in the Gospel and it is not very Christian to gossip. We should not encourage it. One of the things you could have done was to discourage the person to continue. That would have a very dramatic effect on them – to be told that they are gossiping.

 

Gossip thrives when there are listeners but more so when the listeners take part to spread it. Likewise it is stifled when it is being ignored.

 

 Jesus said that whoever calls another a fool will have to answer to God. That is not to say that calling someone a fool will condemn a believer to eternal punishment in hell. Rather Jesus was saying that to utter such words is to place oneself in a worse condition at the time of judgment (see 1 Cor. 3:12-15)."

 

in my opinion to be truly non consenting in something, you have to avoid it, not participate in it, so for me to freely listen to gossip in silence would mean consent.