# Does The Bible tell anyone to inform, tattle, snitch? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 6, 2013, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-bible-tell-anyone-to-inform-tattle-snitch/675709 "2013-12-06T21:57:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-bible-tell-anyone-to-inform-tattle-snitch/675709/1 "2013-12-06T21:57:31Z")
We are often advised to report wrongdoing to the authorities. Go to parents or police or professionals and report (tattle, snitch, inform) on many matters. Does the Bible instruct us to report wrongdoing? ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-bible-tell-anyone-to-inform-tattle-snitch/675709/2 "2013-12-06T22:55:36Z")
The closest thing I can think of is Jesus speaking in Matthew chapter 17: “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.” But that specifically relates to fellow Christians who are engaged in wrongdoing; and the focus is on reconciliation, not punishment. ---
**Author:** ![Human\_Action](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@Human\_Action](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Human_Action)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-bible-tell-anyone-to-inform-tattle-snitch/675709/3 "2013-12-06T23:04:44Z")
There’s also Leviticus 5:1: "'If anyone sins because they do not speak up when they hear a public charge to testify regarding something they have seen or learned about, they will be held responsible. That doesn’t speak to exposing wrong-doing on one’s own initiative, though. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-bible-tell-anyone-to-inform-tattle-snitch/675709/4 "2013-12-06T23:07:50Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > “…and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.” 🙂 Damn. Ol’ Matt had quite a sense of humor!! ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2013, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-bible-tell-anyone-to-inform-tattle-snitch/675709/5 "2013-12-06T23:45:12Z")
There’s also [Deuteronomy 13:6-11](http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deut%2013:6-11&version=NIV): > [@](#): > > If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods” (gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known, gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, from one end of the land to the other), do not yield to them or listen to them. Show them no pity. Do not spare them or shield them. You must certainly put them to death. Your hand must be the first in putting them to death, and then the hands of all the people. Stone them to death, because they tried to turn you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and no one among you will do such an evil thing again. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-bible-tell-anyone-to-inform-tattle-snitch/675709/6 "2013-12-07T02:46:17Z")
Romans 13 argues that the State is an agency for suppressing evil which implies that one should inform it of criminals. ---
**Author:** ![monavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@monavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monavis)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-bible-tell-anyone-to-inform-tattle-snitch/675709/7 "2013-12-07T12:20:45Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > The closest thing I can think of is Jesus speaking in Matthew chapter 17: “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.” > > But that specifically relates to fellow Christians who are engaged in wrongdoing; and the focus is on reconciliation, not punishment. I wonder if the word church was ever said by Jesus, he went to Temple! ---
**Author:** ![monavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@monavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monavis)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-bible-tell-anyone-to-inform-tattle-snitch/675709/8 "2013-12-07T12:22:44Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > There’s also [Deuteronomy 13:6-11](http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deut%2013:6-11&version=NIV): This sure doesn’t sound like a Good, Just or loving being! ---
**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-bible-tell-anyone-to-inform-tattle-snitch/675709/9 "2013-12-07T15:34:25Z")
The situation that provoked the question in my OP was the dismissal of a professor from a Christian college for unknown reasons but it was conjectured he may have been a whistle blower in some impropriety case and I got to pondering what the scriptures may have said about reporting wrongdoing. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-bible-tell-anyone-to-inform-tattle-snitch/675709/10 "2013-12-07T16:03:11Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > The closest thing I can think of is Jesus speaking in Matthew chapter 17: That would actually be Matthew 18:15-17. > [@monavis](#): > > I wonder if the word church was ever said by Jesus, he went to Temple! Small “c” church: a body of people, not a specific location. The Greek word used was ekklēsia, meaning more “an assembly of people.” In context this would suggest “an assembly of other Jews.” ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-bible-tell-anyone-to-inform-tattle-snitch/675709/11 "2013-12-07T16:19:10Z")
In a broader sense, the Bible repeatedly tells us to protect the weak or helpless, etc. which would often require that we speak up to the authorities about things like child abuse, domestic violence, etc. This concept alone wouldn’t require that you report everything illegal though. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-bible-tell-anyone-to-inform-tattle-snitch/675709/12 "2013-12-07T16:50:18Z")
> [@janeslogin](#): > > The situation that provoked the question in my OP was the dismissal of a professor from a Christian college for unknown reasons but it was conjectured he may have been a whistle blower in some impropriety case and I got to pondering what the scriptures may have said about reporting wrongdoing. Well, I think we’d go with the Matthew verse for that situation. Christ says go to the offender as a brother first, then to the community of faith, then to the temporal authorities. “Whistleblowing” doesn’t necessarily fit that model, but of course we have no idea what the professor in question might have actually done. Please correct me if I’m wrong, but it sounds like you disagree with the professor’s termination and are looking for Biblical grounds that the college was wrong to fire him. If that’s the case, I think you’re out of luck. ---
**Author:** ![Kable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kable)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-bible-tell-anyone-to-inform-tattle-snitch/675709/13 "2013-12-07T17:01:27Z")
> [@andros](#): > > Please correct me if I’m wrong, but it sounds like you disagree with the professor’s termination and are looking for Biblical grounds that the college was wrong to fire him. If that’s the case, I think you’re out of luck. I don’t know about that. You know what the Bible says about not forgiving people. It’s against it. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2013, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-bible-tell-anyone-to-inform-tattle-snitch/675709/14 "2013-12-07T20:56:12Z")
> [@monavis](#): > > I wonder if the word church was ever said by Jesus, he went to Temple! Well, Jesus probably never said the word “temple,” either. ---
**Author:** ![monavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@monavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monavis)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2013, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-bible-tell-anyone-to-inform-tattle-snitch/675709/15 "2013-12-08T11:56:51Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Well, Jesus probably never said the word “temple,” either. That is correct, but he did go to the Temple and drive out the money changers. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2013, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-bible-tell-anyone-to-inform-tattle-snitch/675709/16 "2013-12-08T12:40:03Z")
While if you ask for a hard rule, yes you can have a procedure (some have been stated here), Though there is another path in the Bible, trust God your Father, ask Him and He will instruct you in all your ways, seek His counsel and depend not on your own wisdom. One path leads to death, the other to life. ---
**Author:** ![Kable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kable)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2013, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-bible-tell-anyone-to-inform-tattle-snitch/675709/17 "2013-12-08T14:31:59Z")
Don’t forget all snitching happens in accordance with God’s plan. ---
**Author:** ![MostlyUseless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@MostlyUseless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MostlyUseless)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-bible-tell-anyone-to-inform-tattle-snitch/675709/18 "2013-12-09T14:23:47Z")
You know, I kind of have an issue with the semantics of snitching or tattling. These words have a negative connotation that make no sense to me. From the perspective of the perpetrator being told on, snitching is probably an awful thing. From the perspective of the victim and society as a whole, snitching seems to be an awfully good thing. If I have to choose which side I am going to give the benefit of the doubt, I think I will snitch for the victim everytime. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-bible-tell-anyone-to-inform-tattle-snitch/675709/19 "2013-12-09T16:34:44Z")
> [@MostlyUseless](#): > > You know, I kind of have an issue with the semantics of snitching or tattling. These words have a negative connotation that make no sense to me. From the perspective of the perpetrator being told on, snitching is probably an awful thing. From the perspective of the victim and society as a whole, snitching seems to be an awfully good thing. If I have to choose which side I am going to give the benefit of the doubt, I think I will snitch for the victim everytime. Well damn. That’s an excellent point, and one I overlooked in my guess about the OP’s angle. Using that kind of pejorative language would suggest that s/he is opposed to the whistleblowing, rather than the school’s response to it. But given the lack of further input so far I suppose I’ll never know. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2013, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-bible-tell-anyone-to-inform-tattle-snitch/675709/20 "2013-12-09T21:40:14Z")
> [@andros](#): > > That would actually be Matthew 18:15-17. Oops, so it is, my mistake. Although really you should have come to me in private about it first before telling the whole assembly. 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-bible-tell-anyone-to-inform-tattle-snitch/675709.md?page=2)