Is it wrong to judge?

[classical_hero]

A simple question!

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Some times.

 

[Cutlass]

The Bible tells you it is.

 

[Heretic_Cata]

It depends who is doing the judging - idiot people/posters shouldn't be allowed to judge.

 

[Core Imposter]

That question demonstrates the problem with trying to ascribe personal morality to institutions and governments.

Society must have law, order and justice none of which is possibly moral in the individual sense, ergo, "judge not lest ye be judged" and "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's" is consistent with the concept of individual submission to earthly authority and the acceptance of the authority of government to impose sanctions and enforce those sanctions without respect to the moral sensibilities of individual people.

You must also differentiate between judging behavior and individuals. In respect to homosexuality, I can simply not judge whether or not people are or are not born as "homosexuals", the evidence of it is unclear. Therefore I cannot judge it as a wrong nor can I judge indivuals. In the sense that clearly some simply chose to practice it as a voluntary act, I can condemn the behavior as abominable, but not the individual.

Insofar as certain sexual familarities between homosexuals are offensive to me when displayed in public, it should not be done, however, in return, those who are truely homosexual may very well be offended and repulsed by certain public displays of heterosexuals. Therefore those behaviors should be subject to restraint as well.

But we cannot judge individuals as individuals in any moral sense except to exercise our right to disassociate with them.

IMO.

 

[Mr. Dictator]

I judge myself, try not to judge others.

In return, I expect others who would like to judge me to find a nice quiet bush to service themselves behind.

 

[bombshoo]

It's perfectly fine to make judgements. We will always be making judgements and there is nothing that can be done to stop that. What actions to take based on our personal judgements are really what's up for debate.

 

[Tee Kay]

It's wrong to judge on insufficient grounds or if your mind is clouded by impure thoughts.

 

[Lillefix]

Depends on whether or not you act on it or not. I don't think we should judge other people's thoughts...

 

[Angst]

It's not wrong for a judge. What exactly are you getting at? Judge morally? Judge can mean many things.

 

[Lone Wolf]

What exactly are you getting at? Judge morally? Judge can mean many things.

He's probably just annoyed at wishy-washy Christians using the 'judge ye lest not be judged" maxim as a response to any condemnation of anything from more hardline Christians.

 

[JollyRoger]

It my judgment, yes.

 

[MobBoss]

The Bible tells you it is.

Not precise enough and lacking more than a bit of context. The bible says we shouldnt judge peoples souls, as that is solely the Lords purview. But even the ancient hebrews had judges to sit in judgement over those that broke the law.

There is a difference in judging a person's soul and judging a persons actions. Always has been. Course that nuance is lost on a lot of people who dont seem to get the difference.

 

[classical_hero]

Well first off the title is not correct since saying you can't judge is a judgement on judgement, so really it is a saying that if you are not allowed to judged, they why are people judging those who judge.

@cutlass, I am assuming you are referring to the Sermon on the mount, but the problem Jesus is not saying not to judge, just not to judge hypocritically. There are plenty of examples in the Bible of Jesus judging those around them when they tried get to him. The best example is about the Woman that was caught in Adultery. His words basically condemned the accusers and as a result they left since they knew they could not carry out the judgement since they might as well be in the same situation.

 

[El_Machinae]

I like how you used a 2nd century insertion into the Bible in order to 'qualify' what Jesus apparently meant!

 

[holy king]

blessed are the greek.

 

[kochman]

A simple question!

Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log 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 brother’s eye
Matthew 7.1-5

Seems pretty clear.

 

[Dreadnought]

I try not to judge others.

I find people who judge others to be extremely prideful; what qualifications do you have to be judging others?

 

[IdiotsOpposite]

I'm sorely tempted to post Touhou pics here, but I won't. Be glad.

From a Christian perspective, of course judging is wrong. Which is why I sure hope none of our judges are Christian Kidding, kidding.

From a non-Christian perspective, that really depends on the magnitude, I think. Judging for a small thing that you don't do yourself is fine. If you do it yourself, you're being a hypocrite, which is bad. If it's something big... it's less fine.

 

[El_Machinae]

I think it's fine to judge. It might be a mistake to use a judgemental decision in order to justify a loss of sympathy. Animals are flawed, flawed beings, and are hugely a product of their environment. People mainly deserve sympathy, and deserve even more sympathy if they conduct their lives in such a way that they are often judged severely