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Is it against Christian principles to judge others?
Results so far:
| Yes | 75% | 1318 votes | Total: 1767 votes | |
| No | 25% | 449 votes |
Yes
by Mary W. Matthews
Created on: December 09, 2010
“Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the giant sequoia in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye.” (Matthew 7:1-5)
Do you consider one of the most important of Jesus’s teachings to be a “Christian principle”? If not, why not?
There are well over 300 verses in BOTH testaments of the Bible like this quotation from Jesus, and all of them say the same thing: Judging humanity is God’s department, not yours. If you call yourself a Christian, you must accept that sitting in judgment upon other people is against your own principles.
“But wait!” I hear you say. “Opportunities for judgment appear dozens of times a day! Are teachers not supposed to grade students? Are courtrooms supposed to let the bad guys go free?” (Well, yes, but such a purely Christian community is too perfect to be anything but Utopia!)
The ancient Hebrew and Greek words translated as “judge” covered not merely assessing or evaluating, but “to assume power over,” “to call to account,” “to judge as if in a courtroom,” “to sentence,” “to arraign,” and even “to condemn.” Jesus was not forbidding elementary school teachers from writing notes like “Chris needs to work harder”; nor was Jesus forbidding you to look both ways before crossing a road so as to judge whether it is safe to do so.
What Jesus was forbidding was not assessing or evaluating, but assuming a position of moral superiority. “You do not love the same sorts of people that I love; therefore you are evil, and God hates you,” says the anti-gay “Christian.” “You are a baby-murderer; therefore you are evil, and God will condemn you to Hell. Therefore a good Christian murderer like Randall Terry should murder YOU,” says the “Christian” who believes that women are not created AS MUCH in the image of God as men are, but must be controlled as if they were slaves or children. “You are a woman who believes that God created you in God’s image (Gen. 1:27, 5:1-2). You’re wrong. You aren’t good enough to serve God at the altar. Only male human beings who agree with me are made ENOUGH in God’s image to serve God at the altar,” says the pope.
“You want to worship God in a special, private room in a community center in lower Manhattan,” say many “Christians”; “therefore you are an evil terrorist. Go to Hell!”
These judgments, and others like them, assume that the speaker, as a good “Christian,” is a better person than the one who is being judged and condemned. And THAT is what Jesus was forbidding. When you set yourself up as a better Christian than the person whom you are judging to be “evil” or a “sinner” – whatever the other person may have done, or whatever characteristics the other person may exhibit that you don’t like – you are basically putting yourself in God’s place. You are saying that you are smarter than God is, and your judgment is better than God’s judgment. After all, God wants you to love and forgive, not to judge and condemn – God wants you to let the evildoer off the hook, so he will live happily ever after. We can’t let THAT happen, even if God can!
So many “Christians” feel free to sit in judgment upon their neighbors, especially fundamentalists and evangelicals. “You love different people than we love; therefore you are evil and going to Hell” says the Westboro Baptist Church, as they harass innocent Christians grieving over the death of a hero in battle. The members of the Westboro Baptist Church who feel free to proclaim their “Christian” message of hate, judgment, and exclusion are saying that they are smarter than Jesus was, when he told his followers to forgive not just once or twice but “seventy times seven” (an ancient synonym for infinity). Their message “God hates ___” (gays, feminists, Muslims, liberals, atheists, whatever) is a direct contradiction of 1 John 4:8, which says flatly, “God is Love.” In other words, the Westboro Baptist Church, through its harassment of innocent mourners, is saying that the Bible is a pack of lies, and only THEY have a true understanding of who God is and what God wants for God’s creation.
(Notice, incidentally, that I am judging and condemning these politically active members of the Westboro Baptist Church. I rather imagine that MY arrogance and lack of compassion are less than pleasing to God!)
Christians are commanded to bless those who curse them, but many “Christians” feel free to curse those they perceive as their enemies. “Baby murderer!” a Republican politician shrieked at an opponent during a debate over reining in skyrocketing health care costs. Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-TX) sat in judgment upon the morals of Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI) and condemned them as if Neugebauer were God’s authorized stand-in – the ancient Greek word for which is “apostle.” The funniest part of this incident is that on the subject of women’s NON-creation in God’s image, Reps. Stupak and Neugebauer are in complete agreement! BOTH of these fine “Christian” gentlemen believe that women should not be allowed to make their own medical decisions or control their own bodies, JUST IN CASE they might make decisions these "Christians" disagree with.
Many “Christians” proclaim that Jesus instructed them to hate the sin but not the sinner, and deliberately close their eyes to the undeniable fact that Jesus never said any such thing. Although not easy, Jesus’s theology was quite simple. Rule Number One: Love God above all else; love God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength. Rule Number Two: Love God’s creation as much as you love yourself. Rule Number Three: In ANY situation where you just aren’t sure, go back to Rules Number One and Two. Jesus never seriously instructed anyone to hate anything. God is LOVE!
Love your enemies; do good to those who hate you; bless those who curse you; pray for those who persecute you. If a bad guy forces you to work for him, don’t say, “You’re a sinner and God hates you”; do twice as much as the bad guy wants to force you to do. If a bad guy hits you in the face with a hand that’s dirty with poop (the left hand was reserved for wiping oneself; Matt. 5:39), don’t say, “You’re evil and God will send you to Hell”; turn the other cheek so she can hit you on BOTH sides. If a bad guy sues you for half of your wardrobe, give him ALL of your wardrobe and stand there in the courtroom naked.
Aside from the two Great Commandments, Jesus commands his followers to get rid of anything in their lives that comes between them and fulfilling these Commandments. If you love your money and your “stuff” better than you love God, give it all away to the poor. If you love your family better than you love God, then “let the dead bury the dead.” If you love your power and status, if you love ordering people around and having them do what you tell them, then get ready to spend the afterlife as THEIR peon, for “The have-mores will be on unemployment, and the people on unemployment will be the have-mores who stop their benefits.”
Christians are commanded to love their enemies, not to judge them. Christians are commanded to pray for those who persecute them, not to persecute others – not even those “evil” gays, liberals, witches, Muslims, atheists, agnostics, terrorists, illegal immigrants, progressives, “statists,” brown people, yellow people, red people . . . not even females created in the image of God who want to control their own bodies, or the physicians who help them.
“Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked a follower. “No one is good but God alone.” (Mark 10:18). And the Hebrew Scriptures agree with him. “Far be it from YOU to [act]! Shall not the Judge of all the Earth do what is just?” (Gen. 18:25) “God judges humanity; judge me, O God, according to my righteousness, and according to the integrity that is within me.” (Ps. 7:8) “Rise up, O God, judge the earth; for all the nations belong to you!” (Ps. 82:8) And more. And HUNDREDS more!
Try to live your life looking at the world from God’s point of view. God is eternal, infinite, omnipresent, and omni-loving. To God, you are smaller and less significant than a microbe. When you judge another human, to God it is less significant than one microbe saying, “My cilia wave in the CORRECT pattern, and your cilia don’t. Therefore I am a GOOD microbe, and you other microbes are evil sinners.”
Don’t set yourself up as the one microbe that God loves more than all the other microbes in the Universe. It’s a very big Universe and an even bigger God. Love God, and love all the other microbes – if only because God created them too, and God loves them exactly as much as God loves YOU:
Infinitely!
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Learn more about this author, Mary W. Matthews.
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No
by Diana Howard
Created on: August 16, 2008 Last Updated: June 15, 2011
The answer to this question is comlex and deserves both a yes and a no answer. Whether or not it is against Christian principles to judge others, is soley determined on what you mean by the word "judge" and who is to be judged.. The term to "judge" can mean several things, just as the word "trunk" can mean a suitcase, an elephant's nose, the back end of a car or the main part of a tree. The word judge, as a verb, is rendered in the Online Dictionary as:
1. To form an opinion or estimation of after careful consideration: judge heights; judging character. 2. a. Law To hear and decide on in a court of law; try: judge a case. b. Obsolete To pass sentence on; condemn. c. To act as one appointed to decide the winners of: judge an essay contest. 3. To determine or declare after consideration or deliberation. 4. Informal To have as an opinion or assumption; suppose: I judge you're right.
According to these definitions, in various portions of Scripture, most notably Matthew 7:1, we Christians are instructed not to "judge" others.
Matt 7:1-5 (NLT)1 "Do not judge others, and you will not be judged.2 For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. 3 "And why worry about a speck in your friend's eye when you have a log in your own?4 How can you think of saying to your friend, Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,' when you can't see past the log in your own eye?5 Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend's eye.
This Scripture speaks a resounding "no" to blatant criticism and condemnation, especially for the sake of compariing ouselves to another individual's own righteousness. That is definitely prohibited. We are not in authority over others, so we cannot judge them as in a court of law. In fact, we, as Christians, are not to compare ourselves to other Christians, but only to Christ, to see if we are following our Master as He would have us do. On the other hand, there are far more Scriptures that define the parameters by which Christians are to "judge" and this does include judging the behavior of "others" in special circumstances. This is the "yes" part of the answer. In fact, in these passages we are commanded to "judge". The manner and circumstance in which judgment is meted out is clearly defined. Consider 1 Corinthians 6;
1 Cor 6:1-3 (NLT)
Avoiding Lawsuits with Christians
1 When one of you has a dispute with another believer, how dare you file a lawsuit and ask a secular court to decide the matter instead of taking it to other believers!2 Don't you realize that someday we believers will judge the world? And since you are going to judge the world, can't you decide even these little things among yourselves?3 This scripture deals with judging cases between individuals, which may include behavior. Paul is admonishing the Corinthian Christians for suing each other and allowing a secular judge to settle matters between them. In this case to "judge" would mean to form an opinion after hearing evidence...using discernment to come to a conclusion or agreement. Paul states in 1 Corinthians 6:2 2: "Surely you know that god's people will judge the world. So, if you are to judge the world, are you not able to judge small cases as well". This is beyond the realm of judgmentalism.
In 1 Corinthians 5:12, however, we also see this;
"It is not my business to judge those who are not part of the church. God will judge them. But you must judge the people who are part of the church"
We have, in this case, a Divine help which is the Word of God. We are then to "measure" someone who is out of line with God's Word and not our own opinion. Other Christians who are part of our church family, who having been admonished about their sin, and have refused to repent, but instead flaunt their disobedience, should be admonished in love. . In this case, the church is advised to mete out discipline for the sake of the sinning brother. We are part of a Body, the Church, and we can be infected by sin which works much like bacteria in the human body. If other cells in our Spiritual Body, care for the wounded parts, and cure the infection, with love and encouragement, then the body will be healthy again.
Sometimes infections, however, in the human body are so invasive, that amputation is called for. Certain Christians in the church at Corinth were so out of control that Paul recommended that they be put out of the church temporarily. In these cases, they were disciplined by being dismissed, but were to be welcomed back with love and restored once they had repented. The dismissal was meant to cause them to miss the fellowship, so they might once again desire to follow the Lord. Taken all together, we see that judgment or discernment is very much a part of Christ's church, but the element of implimentation has largely been ignored, and this is the heart of all the debates.
John 5:27 states "And the Father has given the Son the power to judge, because He is the Son of Man"
This form of "judging" is discernment based not on our own wisdom, but God's. We know that Christ is the Head of the Body (Ephesians 5:23) and we are its members in Christ (Romans 12:5). We are righteous and holy only "in Christ", and we have received wisdom and knowledge "in Christ" and also power by His Spirit. When we operate "in Christ", we operate as He would and by the power of His Spirit...not in our own strength. Then and only then will are we able to judge situations within the body and act accordingly. Christians, apart from who Christ is, are not to judge, for we are incapable in and of ourselves to do so.
One of the worst mistakes that new Christians make is to judge unbelievers. Many times in their zeal for God, they attack old friends and sometimes acquaintance's behaviors and weaknesses, telling them to give it all up to follow Christ, or burn in hell forever. While it is important to show the unbeliever that he has sinned, and is in danger of hell, we must be sure that he understands that Christ died for him and paid his debt. Christ would never have approached an unbeliever without Grace, therefore, those who do so are not judging "in Christ". In fact, Jesus expressly stated that He did not come to judge the world, but to save it. (John 12:47) Christians are allowed and even commanded to judge, but rightly so "in Christ" as He would.
Romans 13:14 admonishes us to "clothe" ourselves with Christ and just like a judge puts on a robe and becomes the representative of the Law, so we must honor all that Christ is when we need judge an issue or admonish a fellow believer in love.
Colossians 3:12 teaches us how to do this;
12 " God has chosen you and made you his holy people. He loves you. So always do these things: Show mercy to others, be kind, humble, gentle and patient. 13 Get along with each other and forgive each other. If someone does wrong to you, forgive that person because the Lord forgave you. 14 Do all these things; but most important, love each other. Love is what holds you all together in perfect unity. 15 Let the peace that Christ gives control your thinking, because you were all called together in one body to have peace. Always be thankful. 16 Let the teaching of Christ live in you richly. Use all wisdom to teach and instruct each other by singing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Every thing you do or say should be done to obey Jesus, your Lord. And in all you do, give thanks to your Father"
In the Church of Christ there are critical busy bodies that have nothing better to do than stick their nose into other believer's business. They judge others solely by fleshly wisdom, not by the wisdom from above which believers have only in Christ by virtue of His Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 2) However, the judgment that comes from being in Christ is each believer's right and responsibility for heaven must not be held hostage by open willful rebellion and disobedience. While the church must be careful in how she judges church matters and obey the precepts laid out in Scripture, she must never abdicate that responsibility to the satisfy world's perceptions of what might be "politically correct".
To sum up the issue, Christians are, "in Christ", capable and commanded to make value judgments based on God's word and His Spirit. They are commanded to speak the truth in love to all. Admonishment is reserved for the church body, because those in the church have committed themselves to follow Christ. To keep the body healthy, the body must be allowed to discipline its members, but always understanding that God is the judge of all and His law is a Law of Love.
Learn more about this author, Diana Howard.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.
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