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utility for accomplishing destruction and may- ter; and character, hope.” (Rom. 5:3-4). In sum,
hem in a spiritual war. stress may be understood as divine pruning, a
Fourth, a central element of rumors is their re- growth-oriented trial ordained by the hand of a
ception. Humans choose non-deterministically loving Father.
to embrace or reject rumors. Modern main- Rumors of trials, temptations, and suffering are
stream psychology has almost uniformly as- therefore information and stories that God uses
sumed determinism (Slife, O‘Grady, & Kosits, to prune us. They are rumors of dreaded events,
2017), but the Scriptures assume a non-trivial and have been dubbed dread or fear rumors
agency: “…I have set before you life and death, (Knapp, 1944).
blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that They are “bad news”—such as when we hear of
you and your children may live.” (Deut. 30:19). coming layoffs and loss of employment. They
Luther’s teaching on the eighth commandment are “evil rumors”—such as when we are slan-
is relevant here. Luther taught that we should dered falsely. They are “bad tidings”—such as
not listen or spread slander against our neigh- when we learn of an impending viral epidemic,
bor, but give our neighbor the benefit of the war, or any other perceived threat to well-being.
doubt, and “…explain everything in the kindest They are sometimes about the possibility of tra-
way.” (Luther’s Small Catechism, 1943, p. 75). gic loss and death.
Luther understood that people choose how to Fear rumors need not lead inevitably to fear.
respond to rumors. They can be interpreted within a Biblical sur-
In sum, Christian psychology conceives rumors round, assessed with respect to theological nar-
as information and stories that are interpreted rative, evaluated as to their source and inten-
and responded to within theological narrative tion to harm, and either embraced or rejected.
and cosmic conflict contexts. How might these We have seen how Psalm 112 characterizes per-
ideas be linked to stress? sons rooted firmly in God: they are not shaken
by evil rumors, bad news, or threats. The theme
Divine Pruning and Evil Rumors is seen in other Scriptures, for example, Jesus’
Scripture understands the mechanistic idea of warning: “You will hear of wars and rumors
“stress” using human terminology: trials, temp- of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed.
tations, and suffering. For God’s people, these Such things must happen, but the end is still
experiences are understood as divine pruning: to come.” (Matt. 24:6). In other words, a good,
“He cuts off every branch in me that bears no powerful, and knowing God has the situation
fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit under control, the calamity is part of his plan.
he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” These ideas dovetail with recent research de-
(John 15:2). Pruning cuts away the dead bran- monstrating that a deeply felt confidence gai-
ches to make room for live growth. Pruning ned through Christian contemplation of God’s
by the gardener is meant for the good for the all-knowing, all-loving, and all-powerful nature
tree—it grows stronger and flourishes. Similar- led to reduction in chronic worry and stress
ly, trials are meant for the good of the believer, (Knabb, Frederick, & Cumming, 2017). In the-
part of a fatherly discipline that paradoxically se samples, a deep awareness of God’s love, po-
signifies sonship: “the Lord disciplines the one wer, and knowledge was incompatible with fear,
he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts worry, and stress. It may be that contemplative
as his son.” (Heb. 11:6). The end goal is righ- Christians were more fully able to: 1) interpret
teousness and peace: “No discipline seems ple- stressful reports within a biblical frame (“God
asant at the time, but painful. Later on, howe- has all things under control”), 2) perceive them
ver, it produces a harvest of righteousness and within the “God is good” narrative frame (“God
peace for those who have been trained by it.” has my welfare in mind”), 3) consider their spi-
(Heb. 11:11). Suffering is part of a development ritual realm origins (“Is this report intended to
of character culminating in hope: “…suffering discourage, distract, and provoke distrust?”),
produces perseverance; perseverance, charac- and 4) reject their dread meaning (“I am aware

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