Judge Not?
Scripture tells us to judge not least we be judged (Matt.7:1). I have often felt that this passage was either poorly translated or very misunderstood. What I have come to learn is that as rational, intelligent human beings we are called to make sound judgements on any number of things in the course of daily life. What we are not to do is condemn; there is a difference. Hopefully when we are attempting to make sound judgements we are doing so according to objective truth. When we condemn another or their actions, we are accusing and tearing them down. That is a no-no.Now I could go on because as I said this whole "let's not be judgemental" thing has bothered me for quite some time. It is just one more catch phrase in the book of Political Correctness or as I like to call it "Political Convenience".
What I am going to do is send you over to Abbot Joseph at Word Incarnate. There you can read his very intelligent post On Truth and Judging~Pt. 1. He does a far better job of explaining this calmly and rationally; me, I would probably end up on one of my soapboxes.
This topic has so much relevance for the time in which we now live. Our culture wants no part of objective truth; absolute right and wrong. We live in a "if it feels right to you then think it, say it, do it!" And well you can see where that has gotten us...
So click the link and read Abbot Joseph's excellent post and stay tuned for Part 2. I will put it in my Worth The Time box on my sidebar when he posts it.
Comments
Now for the reason I stopped by, I wanted to tell you that I couldn't agree more!
I have given this scripture a great deal of time and prayer. If we don't have a godly opinion about things, we will make poor choices and believe lies and that will be our judgment.
Talk to you soon,
~D~
Thanks for the visit. The Eucharistic Pic is from an old card. I had to take it, clean it up and use embossing. But I was pleased with the outcome. We are so very blessed to have the Eucharist! Hugs and love to you.
I can't thank you enough for introducing me to Abbot Joseph. Since he is Byzantine, I wrote to him to ask a question that has perplexed and troubled me for years...he sent me a personal email with the most eloquent, kind, and CLEAR answer that I've even been given on the topic...so THANK YOU for I would never have found him without you:)
It is impossible to be a true relativist -- if one were, he would have to remain silent and irrelevant the rest of his life. The moment an authentic relativist would speak, he would have to retract his statement, since he can't know anything for certain.
Instead, divorced from truth, the relativist (who despises being silent OR irrelevant) gains influence and relevance through other means -- fast talking, keen intelligence, money, political strength, ideology -- and uses it to dominate the quiet, the ignorant, the poor, the weak, and the vulnerable -- the definition of a dictator.
A dictator acts as though he is judge, jury, and verdict -- and thereby becomes everyone else's.