Although acknowledging its seamier side, Willimon discourses on its positive aspects: as «the moral casuistry of ordinary people» and as «a primary means of congregational bonding.» (religion-online.org)
Gossip, as a church activity without malice, may well be, at its best, the moral casuistry of ordinary people, a primary means of congregational bonding, a source of utterly essential moral data about ourselves, an everyday means of investigating communally what it means to be baptized. (religion-online.org)
Elisha does not plunge into casuistry, differentiating what would be legitimate for him from what would not. (religion-online.org)