Debate: Is it wrong for Chrisians or Christ-Followers to judge others?

good point

Amen!

ALL3 OLD-NEW-ISLAM TESTAMENT should be one that is the root of the problem

That, right there is being very judgmental.

Not all Christians should be lumped together as 'the same', all humans, in general, are different in what they believe.

And what would you call a "non-denominational" church.
i guess that counts as a denomination, but the question still stands.

"And what is it with always focusing these questions on Christians? "

It's because Christians are the largest religious group in the world. Though that will end in the next 50 years or so with the steady increase of Muslims and the slight decrease of Christians.

"And why do people always lump all Christians into their own neat compartments? "

Because most Christians have the same fundamental beliefs, the most basic one being the belief in Jesus Christ.

"This title sounds a tad judgmental to me as well."

The guy who posted this article is a Christian.

"And what is it with always focusing these questions on Christians?" I think this one was in particular because the poster is Christian and is looking for perspectives based about Christianity specifically.

Lame excuses. People are judgemental even if they are atheists.

Obviously you missed my point Jan, I'm saying he's focusing it on Christians because he's a Christan.

"Lame excuses. People are judgmental even if they are atheists"

First, no one is giving an excuse.

Secondly, of course they are judgmental, all humans are judgmental. Including yourself. Hell you've insinuated that I don't have morals(not on this post though). However, secular atheistic nations tend to be more productive and filled with happier people, that isn't a coincidence. I'm referring to Adrian White's 2007 study.

Excuses for what?

"People are judgmental even if they are atheists." No doubt. People should be judgmental sometimes.

yes, i am Christian.

i was looking for others perspectives of Christians or Christ-Followers. I like to keep an open mind, especially when Christians are tagged as being close minded.

Well for the most part I do agree. Honestly, I'm not as interested in what happens to the soul after death as making sure justice is served here on earth- in that way, we can have a secular way of "evaluating behavior" and taking actions in response to it during a person's life, and leave all the souls, god and afterlife stuff up to the people that believe in it to hash out and worry about.

a big YEP!

or is judgment the basis of religion?

I guess I can understand what you are saying, but it's different for me because I do not believe in a soul. I don't think there is some separate piece of Hitler which escapes condemning. However if there is a soul, how could it not be tainted with the actions of it's bodily container? It would seem to me that if there is a hell, Hitler is exactly the type of person who would be on the guest list!

i agree completely - see my next post!
but we cannot know. i consider myself agnostic - i have no 'proof' that there is or is not a god, heaven, hell, soul, etc...if there is one, god has chosen not to reveal;

i guess i think all people are agnostic....even the pope.

god is beyond our knowing.....

I worship life! It will always be my god!

use that golden rule paraphrase and the crocodile god thing on the 'evangelists' - it really pulls the rug out from under them...

"my god is better than your god", thats what Christians call the "holier than thou" aspect.

All religions try to do anything with the best of intentions and i beg of you, do not label all religions or Christians as the same. As humans we can never do things 100% right and we are always flawed, no matter what god you worship or if you have a god at all, you are correct, we are ALL still Human in nature.

Not to be a jackass but Jesus said a lot of things.

"If a man not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned”-John 15:6.

"Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword."-Matthew 10: 34-36

"Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels" (Matthew 25:41)

“God deems it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you…when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance upon those who do not know God…"-2 Thessalonians 1:6-9 says

"true, some must be 'caged' to prevent harm to others - the term 'judge' in this context is being used as 'condemn to hell', and that is simply beyond all human understanding - unless you too have been resurrected...." I'm confused by this, can you elaborate?

Isn't that what they call hypocrisy?

It's nice to sit there and say "Oh no, I NEVER judge anyone because I love Jesus!" but let's get REAL!!! It's either hypocrisy or plain out bullshit!

before you call me a liar you would have to know the things I have survived (all of wich has made me stronger and wiser and I am greatful).The closest I come to judging is making personal decisions based on past experiences.as far as hitler ,I was asked one time in high school if I could go back and kill him as a baby would I ? my first response was yes . now that I am older and wiser my answer is no . not because he is not evil in my opinion , but becuase an incident of that magnitude (death ,life and living it ) had to play out the ripples of that puddle were to great for any one person to decide.We do not have an inkling.who was living and dieing and what they were taking from it to make our world what it is or isn't today.you have to be careful if your gonna sit on a throne

So you do not judge Hitler for the death he caused? All of your speculation doesn't change the fact that millions of people died, right? One successful assassination could have saved millions of lives; that is the type of judgment calls we are talking about. I don't think it "had to play out" the way it did.

You do not judge child molesters, serial killers, habitual wife beaters? You don't think to yourself "Wow, that's wrong! That person has done very bad things!" That is a judgment that I am not ashamed to say I make.

Without judgment, how can we successfully run society? We have to be able to draw lines and have consequences for behavior and actions that are harmful to society and other people.

hitler has been judged by history, what eats me is that his co-conspirators got away with it, any thing less than 100% is not justice in any form but hypocrisy.

It all happens for a reason, a reason that humans could never comprehend. Some live and some die, we have no say in it and i would never want that responsibility to begin with.

As for me, I would never want to screw around with history in any way.

if we know something bad is to happen ahead of time, then, by all means, try and stop it.

I'm sorry, but the whole "everything happens for a reason" is a complete cop out and a complete suspension of basic logical thought on the premise of "faith".

It may be a nice warm blanket to curl up to in a scary world, but it's complete crap.

A slow torturous death to good, loving, peaceful people doesn't happen for a "divine reason". It happens because some sick s.o.b. figured he could get his jollies and get away with it, and often does.

but i never said "divine reason"

I just said reason, it all happens for some reason, good or bad.

"It all happens for a reason, a reason that humans could never comprehend."

If you aren't referencing "god's plan" then what the hell are you talking about? If it is in fact "god's plan" or some mystical equivalent that you are talking about, then they would in fact be "divine reasons".

If so, I would then divert you back to my explanation of how such a world-view is devoid of rational thought and is in fact complete crap.

However,

"I just said reason, it all happens for some reason, good or bad."

If you are implying that you were referencing mortal reasons that have both good and bad origins, then these are things that humans CAN comprehend and the statement,

" . . . a reason that humans could never comprehend.",

is false and misleading.

So tell me . . . are you simply inarticulate, or do you not understand what you are saying?

It would seem that many people on this site are stuck on "rationality", or i should say, what YOU believe to be rational thought.

Everyone is entitled to their own belief systems.

Everything does happen for a reason and there is never such thing as coincidence or chance. Most, if not all, of those reasons can not be comprehended by humans and, if it makes you happy, could be divine reasons or just a simple chain of events that stems from one event. That chain can go so far and have many turnarounds or twists that you or I can't possibly begin to comprehend where it all started.

I am not here to please your mind or sugar coat it for you so you can feel happy about yourself. I posted this to gain perspective on the Christian faith and you, my friend, have shown me a perspective harsh logic and low self-esteem. You seem to have a dislike for people who do not have YOUR rationality, I can say this because of what you have typed here. I judged upon what I can see and what I saw was your clear lack of faith. You seem like the person that only believe what they see or what they are told. Very close-mined.

Don't get me wrong, you seem like a nice guy and all, but your logic has led you to a stale thought system of the world around you.

Please tell me you can see the wonders of our world and the Universe beyond it, how can that be an accident? In logic, the odds are against it, you can relate to that, right?

What is so wrong with a belief in a higher power? If I'm right, well good for me and bad for you. If your right, nothing for either of us.

I believe something and I shouldn't be harassed for it.

Exactly.

For some people, putting there god or their faith before all else is what they believe is right or they believe it is what their god would want then to do.

As for myself, I believe my faith in God or my "salvation" is an absolute truth. If I did not then what faith could i possibly have if I don't consider it to be the truth.

Whether or not we HAVE to make judgments in this world or not, I can't answer.

It is good that we dictate our own morals and make our own choices for if we did not then we would nothing more than mere robots.

Most organized religion, while having the best of intentions, does do more harm than good, you are correct on that.

A belief in God or a god does change peoples perspectives, but that change is not always the same for everyone nor is it always for the best.

if people would just accept other people and their beliefs then the world would be a lot more peaceful.

People should live THEIR lives by THEIR standards and no one should get to say otherwise.

Thank You for commenting and bringing these points up.

Significant? Proper? According to whom? According to what principles? Yours? Your God? The statutes of the state of Wisconsin? or Nazi Germany?

I'm an atheist. I don't have a god. Additionally, if we shouldn't judge people that means we should'nt prosecute them for crimes. It's wholly foolish to say we can have a society without some standard by which we judge others. In fact, I dare say you've judged me already based on one comment. You've already insinuated certain things about me without taking the time to ask me questions that don't have a biased attitude.

"It's wholly foolish to say we can have a society without some standard by which we judge others." Exactly. We have to make some judgments about what is "right" and "wrong" for humanity and society. Call me crazy, but I'd rather come to those conclusions with the newest, most relevant information and a more global perspective than based solely on 'holy scriptures' and 'god's will'.

I'm sorry if something I said led you to believe I judged you .I know nothing about you to judge.crime should always be sought out by our justice system but I do not believe it perfect that is also why I do not believe in capitol punishment . And for the record I have alot to answer for when I meet my maker .

Oh I wasn't directing my comments towards you, no need to be sorry! A little mis communication there.