1 Timothy 1:19-20

While the word "gossip" is not found in the King James Version of the Bible, the idea is certainly included in such words as backbiting, evil speaking, and whispering. And it goes without saying that the practice is uniformly condemned.

To gossip means to reveal information about another person that is designed to put him in a bad light. In other words, the information is mean or unkind. Usually there is the element of secrecy or confidentiality; the person doing the gossiping would...

The conscience is a monitoring mechanism which God has given to man to approve right conduct and to protest against what is wrong. When Adam and Eve sinned, their consciences condemned them and they knew they were naked.

Like all other parts of man's nature, the conscience was affected by the entrance of sin so that it is not always completely reliable. The old maxim "Let your conscience be your guide" is not an invariable rule. However, even in the most depraved, the conscience still...