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| Yes | 76% | 987 votes | Total: 1293 votes | |
| No | 24% | 306 votes |
Yes
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Add to FavoritesThere is a difference between how we judge a person, and how we feel about a person. Both concepts can sometimes become intertwined with each other, but let us look at how each one is inherently different from one another.
When you look for the definition for the word "judge" in the dictionary, you will get a few meanings. A judge is a person who hears evidence on legal arguments, is charged with the administration of justice, an administrative head, a person who holds an opinion or estimate, or even someone who makes a careful guess about something.
In general, a judge is someone who settles an argument or holds an opinion based upon the facts put in front of him or her. To settle this argument, the judge needs laws in order to make sure that justice is carried out. The first known laws created by humans date back as far as 3000 BC., and they have changed through the years depending on the time and situation. As these laws have changed through time, the concept of a judge has not. His job will always be to base an opinion based on the laws he has to work with. In other words, a judge cannot simply say that he is right and others are wrong. He has to decide based upon the law. In addition, we as a society have laws of etiquette and other concepts that we regard as important. These "laws" may not be written, but we as humans try to abide by them as well.
Today, people might say that we have the laws of Moses (Ten Commandments), and that we as humans can interpret those laws, and therefore judge based upon what we think is right, but this is not entirely true. There is a difference between the laws of God and the laws created by man. We as humans create our laws, and we change them according to the time and situation, but the law of God will never change. It will be the same until the end of the world. Since we create our laws (legislation, etiquette, communication, political, etc.), we can judge accordingly, but we did not create the laws given to us by God. Even if we add them to our own legislation or belief structures, we still have to abide by his guidelines. Only God can judge us according to his law. If for example we feel that we are "better" because we pray every day, this does not mean that we are better, just that we have judged according to our feelings, and not by God's law, which bring us to the concept of feelings.
Feelings can range from emotions, sentiments, attitudes, and opinions, to consciousness, and thought. For now, we will simply look at how our beliefs can affect our feelings leading us to judge.
Based upon our own beliefs, when we come upon a situation in which we feel our beliefs have been threatened, we as humans will simply rush to a judgment. This judgment can appear to us to be the "right" one, but it will usually be based upon our own belief structure, and not by God's law. You will not find any part of the Bible that states that we must judge. You will find many parts in which we are told to do certain things, and to act out to make sure that justice is served, but these actions are not brought about by using our own judgments, but by the commandments given to us by God.
As Christians, we are not taught to judge, but to accept, to hope, and to love. We cannot judge someone based upon what we feel is right or wrong, but we should only accept them as who they are, hope for the best outcome in any situation, and to love one another as Jesus Christ loved us.
Learn more about this author, Rene Dabdoub.
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No
The question "Is it against Christian principles to judge others?" implies a certain element of judging "motives" Most would agree that we have no rights to judge the motives of any one. This type of judgement remains G-d's alone. But, we do have the right, and moral responsibility to judge the actions of others. Without this ability we would have no means of establishing "Justice". To judge someone's actions is to remove elements of subjectivity that many liberal Americans view as invasive. But, without this removal we have no definite value system on which to base our society. What is meant by this. Basically, when we see an action that violates a certain set of presupposed axioms of right and wrong, we do have the responsibility to make a judgement. Especially in a Christian setting. If we see a person stealing from his neighbor, not only do we have the responsibility to make a judgement call on this behavior, but we have an obligation to the one being stole from to set things right.
Judging the actions of our fellow humans must be based on an objective set of values that are basically accepted in society. For instance, we can not judge someone for dying their hair green, because hair color is not a moral issue. We can make a judgement call if someone purposely spray paints another persons hair green without their permission. This is based on the principle that we must not violate another persons freedoms. So, judgment must be a moral judgement, not an ascetic or personal bias judgement. We know it's wrong to steal, to verbally abuse another person, to murder, etc. When we see actions that violate a certain standard of morality accepted by society as a whole, it is our personal right and responsibility to make judgement calls.
In the area of Faith and Religion, things get a little stickier. We have no right to impose our own religious views on another. But we do have the responsiblity to warn those who profess belief in our faith that their actions are in violation of the creeds of our religion. For instance, adultery is not illegal in America. But to most religions, it is taboo. So, if we find a member of our faith involved in this action, we do have the right to make judgement based on religions values. In fact, according to Christian Scripture, it is our responsibility to warn him that they is in violation of Christian principles. So, while we cannot judge motive, or people of other religions in the area of religious values, we do have obligation to make moral judgements. We have a moral responsibility to make Justice an integral part of our society and our lives.
Learn more about this author, Ginger Betzer.
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