8/12/2019 1992 Issue 10 - Privilege and Confidentiality: The Righteous Use of Shared Information - Counsel of Chalcedon

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From time

to

time many Christians

and ministers find

themselves

in the

difficult situation where they possess

information that wasgiven to

them

con

fidentially and yet they

carmot

use

that

information in any constructive way. It

seems

that

if

a person prefaces their

remarks with a statement suchas Thisis

confiden tial and it carmot

leave

this

room OT, Don't tell anyone I told

you

this,

then

no matter what follows those

statements it is presumed that we

are

morally boundtokeepthemsecret. How

can we pronrise

to.

keep secret that

which we

do

not yet know? Such

unconditional

commiUUents

must be

avoided i we are to be faithful to

Christ. Pastors may especially

find

themselvesinthissituationandtherefore

mustmakeitclearwhatlimitationsapply

to these situations.

In our day, confidentiality and

privilege

is one of the sacred cows of

professional ethics.

However,

as

is al

ways

the

case for

Christians,

we

must

ask

the ultimate question concerning this

and all other issues - What does the

Bible

say about the

matter? his

is our

only rule of faith and

life,

and we must

therefore rum to it in determining what

it teaches concerning

privilege

and con

fidentiality. Does this practice stem

from scriptural teaching, and if so,

what are i ts limitations? Or, does our

modem view of this subject spring from

other sources such as tradition or hu

manistic thought?

The Scriptures cer-

tainly

speak to this

subject,

as

they

do to

all

others.

Ourpersonal and

ministerial

policy

must therefore be

based

solidly

upon a correct theological understand

ing of what the Bible requires and pro

hihits in this

matter.

Scripture

does

not use the tenns

''privilege

or

confidentiality,

but it does

speak of

secrecy, gossip

and slander.

These

ideas

involve private

infonnation

and its proper and improper uses. Se

crecy, forexample,caneitherbe

good or

evil.

We

are

to give alms and to pray in

secret

(Matt. 6:4), which

the

Father

sees

in secret

(Matt.

6:6); this is a good use of

secrecy. Yet Scripture speaks more often

of a

secrecy designed to

conceal

evil.

There are those

who

strike theirneighbor

in secret (Dent. 27:24); there

is

the se

cretcounselofevildoers cPs. 64:2);

or,

our

secret sins

cPs. 90:8); we also read of

secret slander cPs. 10I :5); it speaks of

those who devour the oppressed in secret

(Hab. 3:14); menwere secredyinduced

to falsely

testilY against

Stephen

(Acts

6:11);

or, falseteachets secretly

introduce

destructive heresies

IT

Pet.

2:

1). Related

to the idea of secrecy is that which is

hidden or dark. Scripture

tells

us that,

men

love the

darkness

rather

than

the light;

for

their deeds

were evil.

For everyone who

does

evil

hates the light, lest his deed should

be

exposed

Qo. 3:19-20). We can see

then, that much

secrecy is

used for

the

bad purpose of covering up

evil.

There

are certainlymany times

when

we

should hold infonnation about an-

8 IHECOUNSEL

ofOlalcedon

November, 1992

other person and

keep

it

to ourselves.

intimate

relationshipsare built upon our

trusting

others

with infonnation that

could be used to hun us or others. As

Will become evident from the direc

tives of Scripture, i t

s

the righteous or

unrighteous use of that information

that is to be the determining factor in

whether or not private information

is

revealed.

The

question must

be asked,

What is the purpose for revealing sensi

tiveinfonnation? Is it to promote righ

teousness, justice or

peace?

Or,

is

it a

matter of carelessness, insensitivity or

maliciousness? The Bible demands the

fonner and prohibits

the

latter.

Gossip

lander

Gossip and slander involve the

unrighteous use of true or false infonna

tionconceminganotherperson.

Gossip

fallsintotwocategories. First,

gossipmay

be idle talk, which is careless and

insen

sitive infonnation that

is

spread to

those

who

have no

real

need to know it. It

is

a

way oflettingothers know thatwe know

what

is

going on. his is the work of

busybodies who have

nothing better to

do than nrind other people's business

(I

Tim.5:l3). Or,gossipmaybeassimple

as a careless friend

allowing

sensitive

infonnation to slip out during a

casual

conversation.

The second

type

of

gossip is the

ma

licousgossip (I Tim. 3: 11). This person

has

a clear, though

often thinly

dis

guised, purpose of hanning the person

they

are

talking

about. t may very well

be that what

they are

saying about the

person is

true.

However,

rather

than

speaking the truth in love (Eph. 4:15),

they

are

out to inflict wounds and do

damage (Prov. 17:9).

A third, and more dangerous typeof

person the Bible

calls

a slanderer. The

slanderer adds a new dimension to the

gossip's

desttuctive work in that he

is

willingto perven the truthand ie against

the person he is speaking about. God

promises to destroy the slanderer (Ps.

101:5);he is a

perverse

man who spreads

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forgive their sins.

The

position of the

pl1est,

as one who wouldheartheconfes

sions of sinners, was held to be sacred.

The priest vowed not to reveal any

infonnation that came by way of the

confessional. This

is

lmown

as

the

seal

of the confessional and must not

be

violated.

He heard the confession of the

sinner

as

a representative of

God,

but

as

a man he

forgot

what he heardas soonas

being sued for a breach of confidence.

TlUth is held at bay in the interest of

pl1vilege

- winning the case is more

important than justice.

ragmatism

Promises

The argument is often put forth that

without privilege and confidentiality

people would be reluctant to come for-

ward and disclose matters of an intimate

nature. They could never go to confes

strife

(Prov.

16:28);

it

is

an

evil

thing

that proceeds 'from within

(Mk.

7:23).

The slanderer may be guilty of slander

duetoignoranceormisinfonnationabout

the person

who

they are speaking about.

They have heard one

version

of the story

and that's enough

for

them; they

are

prepared

to pass

the infonnation

along.

The slanderer may embellish a story

to

make it a bit more dramatic and inter

esting

for the

listener.

Or,

the

slanderermay deliberatelycal

f Jfe who goes

a60ut

as {anderer

reveafs secrets

therefore

do

not

associate with

culate to spread a lie and do

serious damage to the name

and reputation of Ins enemy.

There is no question that

the Bible forbids aU forms of

gOSSip and slander.

As

be-

lievers we are commanded

to

set

such conduct aside

(Eph. 4:31;IPet. 2:1). Weare

told not to

even

associate with

thosewhoconductthemselves

in this way (Prov. 20: 19).

Therefore, as we proceed with

our discussion of

this

subject

of

privilege

and confidential

ity, there can be no doubt that

these unrighteous

uses

of inti-

sion, could never seek per

sonal or

legal

counsel and could

never get the help they need

for fear of public exposure.

Biblically,

our confession is to

be made directly to God

I

John 1:9) and He already

knows our secrets (Ps. 44:21).

The confessionalisnotneeded.

Legally, the innocent have no

fear of the tlUth coming out,

only those who

have

some

thing to hide. Those seelting

counsel, presumably are

coming to gain help in solving

a problem. s longas they are

moving to

solve

that problem

there would be no need

for

a

mate infonnation are never

allowed by

God. Deuteronomy 19: 17 tells us that

'you

may

surely

reprove

your

neighbor,

but

you

shall

nottncursinbecause of

him.

No

doubt, much of

this

unrighteous talk is

disguised as righteous concern. How-

ever, we

must be discerning in these

matters and evaluate the motives of our

selves and others.

Historical Roots

The conceptofprivilege and confi

den1iality, as we have come to know it

today,

is

not a product of biblical

thinking. Instead, these concepts stem

from the false doctrine surrounding the

necessity of a pliest to interoede

for

our

sins.

This

false doctrine produced the

Roman Catholic Confessionalwhere sin

ners were to regularly go to confess their

sins.

After

the

sinner confessed his sins

to

the priest, the pl1est could then in

tercede in behalf the sinner and

actually

agosstp

PriwerGs

20:19

counselor to reveal intimate

he left the confessional. How else could information.

sinners be encouraged to come to con

fession?

laws were passed that protected the

priests, and kept others, including gov-

ernment

officials, from

being able to

demand that the priests

reveal

informa

tion gained via the confessional. This

was a privileged position that the priest

held

with

regard to his parishioners that

could not be violated. This concept of

privilegedinfonnation

was

later extended

to protect others such

as

physidans and

attorneys. Confidentiality laws now go

beyond the idea of a person being pro

tected

fT m

forced

disclosure

ofinfonna

tion to actually forbidding a person fT m

disclosing

certain information. Even

though an attorney

may have received

a

confession

from hisc1ient concerning his

guilt in a crime, that attorney

may

not

reveal that infOlmation without 5 < of

However, for those with evil intent,

the idea

of

confidentiality can become

a convenient cover for their

unrighteous motives. They may want

to discuss a problem that they have no

intention of working to

resolve.

Or, they

want to pass on infonnationaboutsome

one else,

thus poisoning the well against

them, while maintaining their anonym

ity and avoiding any real involvement or

responsibility in solving the problem.

They

may disguise it as concern for the

otherperson, but they are not concerned

enough to run any personal risk of get

ting

hun;

Let

me tell you this, but don't

tell anyone I told you. They want you

to

know, but they don't want anyone

to

lmow how you lmow. They want you

to have information that you cannot

reaUyuse to help anyone. We maynot

agree to such evil.

November, 1992 *m COUNSEL of Chalcedon 9

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If,

by not promising

absolute confi-

dentiality, this means that some people

will not come

"for

help, this may be

good. People whoare reallyinterestedin

help and righteousness and justice will

not hesitate to come, they have nothing

to

fear.

Those

who want to continue

to

hide thei.r deeds will no doubt

remain

reluctant Wemaynotbeconspirators

in the hiding

of

evil. Ephesians 5:11

instructs us,

And

do

not partidpate

in

the

Urifruiiful

deeds

of

darkness,

but

instead

even expose them.

n

an article in the Journal of

Pastora

Practice,

Lmy

Spalink said:

"In fact,

it

seems tharfar most

cqunselees who are

serious about solving their problems, .

confidentialityisnotan

ssue;

they'll

take

help no matter what the cost. But still,

this

argumem is

answered

by

ar;lother

remnant ofsacramentalism, i.e., the con

viction that one needs only a minimal.

sorrow

for

sin

for

the sacrament

to be

effective. A

person need not be

so

sorry

for hissinthat he must

sacrifice

hispride

for

effective

counseling to

occur. This

is

a sacramentarian attitude; it

has

no bib

licalwarnmt, Butithasfounditswayinto

the counseling theory and practice ofthe

great majority of counselors. Our pri

mary commitment must be to truth,

justice and righteousness,

even

when

Itmay cause some personal pain.

Policy

uggestions

Wemust

seek a

biblical

policythat

places the emphasis on reconciliation

and

peace, ratherthansecrecy. Inligluof

these.teachings on this issue, would

propose the following as guidelines for a

more biblical policy regarding

the use

of

priyate information.

These guidelines

may be adapted for personal orinstitu-

tional

use:

I ..All

forms

ofgossip and slander

are

not permitted. shall not gossip or

slanderanyonemyseJf,notshall receive

gossip or slander from another party.

2.

Iwillnot agree to unconditionally

maintaininformationinconfidencesince

to do so would possibly require me to

other commands ofClutst.

3.

Pastors,

counselors and other in

valved parties must be

free to

consult

with others (e.g., other ntinisters or

counselors),

when

necessary,

in orderto

gain insight and help in resolving prob

lems.

4. Ifapersonchoosestoinvolveother

persons in adiscussion

of

a matter, all

parties involved

are

free

to discuss

the

matter among themselves in the interest

of

the

nuth and a just resolution to

the

problem. Thiswill facilitate greateraccu

.racy ofinformation and help hold

down

rumors and

gossip.

5.

If

reCeive information that

may

prove harmful

to

the person

giving

the

informationorharmfultoothers,ltismy

moral obligation

to reveal

.or use that

information in order to prevent such

hatmful or unjust affects . Examples of

such situatiotis

are these:

Aperson reveals plans to

conirnit

suidde.

b. Aperson indicates that they plan

.

to

.commit a crtm.e

or

an .IDIUOra act

such as

theft,

adultery, abortion, deceit,

etc.

c. Information you pOssesswill clear

an innocent party or

convict a

guilty

party.

6. If

I

receive information from a

third party regarding the sin,

cOnflict;

or

other problem of another person, Imay

find it-necessary

to

reveal the source of

my information to the troubled party in

order to provide godly help for that

person.

7. Iricasesinvolvingajudidalaction,

(e

.g"churchcoun,dvilorctiminalcoun),

may find it necessary

to

reveal private

information in order

to

facilitate a righ

teous

and just judgment in

the matter.

a Inmatterswherelamtheredpient

ofaccusations, may

find

it

necessary,

in

order

to facilitate

a

just

judgment,

to

reveal privateinformationaboutanother

person.

9. The above drcumstances may

apply to information

that is

received in

formal or informal counseling

sessions,

letters, notes, phone or

private conver

sations.

20 ,

TIlE

COUNSEL ofChalcedon November,

1992

The

idea

thewe maynever

talk

about

another person,underanycircumstances

is a false andunbiblical notion. We may

not gossip

about

or slander another per

son, butwe may discuss that person and

matters pertaining

to them when

we

are

genuinely

seeking

to obtain the nuth in

orderto brtngabouta justand righteous

resolutiontoaproblem. Wemustremain

silent where SctiplUre permits silence,

but

we

must likewise speak up when

faithfulness

to

Sctipture reqUires such

revelation.n

LanySpalink,"warning:

ThlsOfficeBugged

By the Holy Spirit," The Joumal o[ Pastoral

Practl

ce ,VoL3, No3,

Presb

ytertanandRe[onned

Publishing Co Phillipsburg, Nj, 1979, pp. 5S-

59,