From 1976 to 1983, a military junta ruled Argentina. Claiming they were fighting communism and stopping left-wing terrorism, the leaders of this junta launched a war - against Argentine citizens.

"People were kidnapped on the streets and never seen again; the prisons overflowed with so-called political prisoners, and torture was common; there were no trials or pretense of legal process. An estimated 11,000 Argentines disappeared," according to www.onwar.com.

Other sources indicate as many as 30,000 people disappeared. Mass graves have been found, and former soldiers say many people were drugged and thrown alive from military planes into the ocean.

In his book, State Terrorism and the United States (Clarity Press, 2004, p. 96), Frederick H. Gareau reports that the "vast majority" of the victims were "not only innocent of acts of terrorism, but even of belonging to guerrilla organizations." They were professionals, university students, trade union leaders, nuns and priests - and journalists who dared to speak out.

A dirty war indeed. And it happened in my lifetime. So why did the news escape me until a few weeks ago? And why does the story of this regime seem so disturbingly like another Dirty War happening right under our noses?

Before you accuse me of being a false accuser myself by linking "church" with such ugliness, I'd urge you: Start watching, listening and asking questions of people in any church, any denomination. Include those who used to be in church, but aren't now. In particular, talk to people who are or were deeply involved in service or leadership roles, rather than folks who occasionally wander into a Sunday morning service.

See how many people you find who have, at some point, been falsely accused by others in the church. Unless the accusation was minor or easily dismissed, those who've been thus attacked might describe their experience in words like: shocked, crushed, shattered, devastated, stabbed to the heart.

Indeed, the pain may have been so acute that death by fall from airplane might have seemed blessed relief.

Yet when false accusers have their way, onlookers may notice only that someone has disappeared from the place they were serving.

Of course, some accusations are true. A person has become involved in immorality or embezzled money or decided he himself is god, and the sin needs to be exposed. But in more cases than we realize, Christians are accusing Christians falsely and maliciously.

Depending on the group, "best" and "right" may mean "most biblical," "most compassionate," "most Spirit-filled," "most relevant," etc. But in asserting the positives of our segment of Christianity, we tend to vilify other segments.

We use hot-button words and labels, pegging churches and groups as "liberal," "fundamentalist," "charismatic," even "cult." We tell derogatory jokes. We disparage discreetly with a certain inflection, a raised eyebrow, a pause - using innuendo and body language to create questions in people's minds and fear in their hearts.

This fear keeps each grouping of believers hiding in its own little fort behind barricaded gates. We're the Body of Christ - but the hand is scared of the foot, which is frightened of the chin, which is terrified of the heart, and so on. When we foment such mistrust, we're aiding and abetting "the Accuser of our brothers and sisters" (Rev. 12:10 MSG).

In relating to the Body of Christ, we do need discernment. But discernment comes from listening closely to God and to each other. We are most protected against error when we know how to judge what we're hearing. We're most open to error when we're dependent on certain persons to tell us what to think and believe.

For one thing, the Accuser is also the Deceiver, and he loves nothing more than to deceive God's people about each other. He specializes in making black seem white and white, black. And we who should be the most discerning are often the most gullible.

That's partly because we're so used to judging by appearances. Fact is, anyone who's been "going to church" for any length of time has learned this culturally expected practice: Appear righteous. Look like you have it together. Smile. Say the correct words. Do the correct things.

When you can't tell who's blameless and who's just appearing to be, it's extremely hard to know whether false accusation is happening. But God will show us the truth if, from a pure heart, we: (1) confess that we cannot see apart from Him, (2) cry to Him for discernment, and (3) watch to see what He shows us.

Keep your mouth shut until you're sure you know the truth and you understand from God Himself what He wants you to do with it. He does call His people to expose sin, but it must be done His way in His timing to accomplish His purposes: the rescuing of people and the honor of His name.

Don't be quick to pass judgment. Watching takes time.

Get the facts. Again, this isn't always simple. But do not accept innuendo and generalities. Ask for the facts. If people start side-stepping, don't let them. Insist on their telling you the facts. Then, investigate thoroughly, double- and triple-checking what you've been told.

Investigate the accusers as closely as the accused. If possible, talk to each personally. Ask them to tell their stories. As they do, really listen. Afterward - or from afar, if you don't know the parties well - keep watching. Again, don't assume you have the situation figured out. Do trust God to give you discernment. Jesus said, "You will know them by their fruits" (Matt 7:16). Fruit takes time to appear and mature.

False accusers almost always speak out of wrong motives. Watching with discernment, look for evidence of envy, anger, fear, pride, hatred - or other motivation that is clearly not from God.

Be aware that anger and bitterness can also result from false accusation. When Job's friends falsely accused him (saying, in effect, "You must have done something REALLY bad for all this terrible stuff to happen to you") - Job got so worked up insisting on his innocence that he bad-mouthed God. God took Job to task for his wrong response. Yet God also held Job's friends accountable for accusing an innocent man.

False accusers are often guilty of the very thing they're accusing someone else of doing. Potiphar's wife accused Joseph of trying to seduce her. In reality, it was the other way around.

The scribes said of Jesus, "This fellow blasphemes!" (Matt. 9:3). The chief priests and Pharisees called Him "that deceiver" (Matt. 27:63). Pilate told these religious leaders: "You brought this Man before me as One Who was perverting and misleading and turning away and corrupting the people and behold . . . I have not found any offense (crime or guilt) in this Man in regard to your accusations against Him" (Luke 23:14 AMP). The accused was innocent. But reread the accusations, and see how well they describe the accusers.

False accusers make good deeds sound like bad ones. Daniel was thrown into the lion's den for praying to God, instead of the king. The religious leaders said of Jesus, "This man receives sinners and eats with them" (Luke 15:2). Thank God both Jesus and Daniel did what they did!

False accusers mingle truth and lies. The religious leaders said of Jesus, "Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!" (Matt. 11:19). Notice which part is true, which is not.

False accusers are bold. They will often make outrageous, totally unfounded charges. Jesus - a glutton? A drunkard? In Mark 3:22, the same religious crowd said, "He is possessed by Beelzebul," and "He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons." Really?

False accusers have a frightening ability to make a lie appear true and to make the truth seem a lie. Notice how, in John 5:18, Jesus' accusers did both: "For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God."

Hearing such bold, vicious, confusing accusations, bystanders may think: "At the very least, that person must have done something really iffy to provoke such violent attack." More likely, the person did something that was seen as threatening to the accusers' pride, position and/or religious structure. Remember Joseph, Daniel, Jesus.

You see, false accusers are often extremely deceived themselves. Many think the end justifies the means. They may be quite sure they're saving some indispensable aspect of Christianity and thus have special dispensation from God to use ungodly means to do so - including saying whatever will remove anyone seen as not fully cooperative to the cause.

May I specifically address my own constituency here? Don't think for a minute that, because someone is theologically conservative, you can assume they're doing what's right and saying what's true. A well-known, godly leader who is himself "conservative" spoke to me sadly about leaders with whom he has worked. "They believe the Bible," he said. "They just don't live it."*

Who knows how long that Dirty War would have lasted if people who were watching had not had the courage to cry, "This is wrong!"

The same is true for us. If we ignore false accusations in the church, if we do not recognize them, expose them and hold those accountable who are saying them, we're assenting to - and participating in - Dirty War.

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* I do not have permission to give the names of these men. The statements are true and were made in private conversations with me.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from New American Standard Updated. Also used: The Amplified Bible (AMP) and The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson (MSG). All rights reserved.

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• "Falsely Accused, Truly Accepted" - Those who've experienced false accusation cannot just dust off their hands and "get over it." Nor does the fallout simply evaporate over time. These principles and Scriptures provide a starting point for releasing the trauma and going forward on the path of life.
• "Do I Get a Witness?" - Three witnesses God has given every believer to enable us to recognize truth (and avoid error). This article appeared in What's a Woman to Do?, March 2006.
• Information on hosting a Snapshot Reading Party for frazzled family, friends and co- workers.

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To get a glimpse of Deborah's experience with false accusation, see "Rescue" (along with other back issues of her weekly Perspective column) on Deborah's blog.

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