Are Christians Judgmental?

[mackie]

I think Christians are very judgemental people and a few of my non-Christian friends agree. Does anyone else get the impression that Christians say everyone is equal and there should be no discrimination an then they themselves judge people?? It pisses me off and I wish they would either complain about people to God or not say anything to the person they are complaining about!

[Bryn]

This isn't the case for ALL Christians, at all. There are some who use their religion to judge other people (which is odd because I'm sure it says in the Bible "judge not lest thee be judged thyself" or something) but you can't then generalise that to all Christians.

[hr]http://bryn.ipfox.com

[Prophet Tenebrae]

As there are over a billion Christians (nominally) I think it would be somewhat foolish to generalise...

[mackie]

I'm not generalising...of course there are some Christitans who don't judge people but I find it kind of hypocritical of the ones who do judge people.

[iohannes]

Obviously they are some Christians who are not judgmental - the ones who try to follow Christ's example. You know by ministering to tax collectors, and prostitutes and the scum of society. But there are a lot of Christians (and members of other religions) who use their religion to put others down. The whole holier-than-thou attitude. This is what turns people away from the church.

The Bible doesn't actually say "judge not lest ye be judged" but the following verses sum it up: Matthew 7:1, Luke 6:37, and James 5:9.

I also like to live my life according to the words of the Protestant martyr John Bradford (d.1555) who remarked on seeing some criminals led to the scaffold: "there but for the grace of God goes John Bradford"; paraphrased into "there but for the grace of God go I", I think it is a good way to live a life. Even if you are an atheist you can substitute "grace of God" with "blind luck" and still get the same sentiment.

[Wong]

Isn't it rather judgemental to say that all Christians are judgemental?

Of course, there are the insane ones (www.almenconi.com, www.capalert.com) but we're not all that bad for the most part...

[hr]You would not feel sadness if you never tasted joy
That's the curse of humans - born in passion, you destroy

[mackie]

[s]iohannes wrote on 03:00, 27th Mar 2004:
Obviously they are some Christians who are not judgmental - the ones who try to follow Christ's example. You know by ministering to tax collectors, and prostitutes and the scum of society.


Prostitutes aren't necessarliy scum of society...perhaps they have no choice?

[mackie]

[s]Wong wrote on 06:13, 27th Mar 2004:
Isn't it rather judgemental to say that all Christians are judgemental?

Of course, there are the insane ones (www.almenconi.com, www.capalert.com) but we're not all that bad for the most part...


Yeah I know that some aren't judgemental but the ones I have came in contact with seem to ask God for help on issues that are pretty important and ones that need to be decided pretty quickly...you can't hang around for an answer from God! Also, they try and tell other people to cover up, or say people who seem to be a little bit different are 'strange.' I'm sure your not one of them though wong.

[Rufus]

Whether one is judgemental or not has bugger all to do with one's religious leanings, but everything to do with one's prejudices and assumptions.

It's a misguided mindset, not an adopted affectation to correspond with one's beliefs.

If that makes any sense at all I will be flabbergasted.

[mackie]

[s]Rufus wrote on 08:53, 27th Mar 2004:
Whether one is judgemental or not has bugger all to do with one's religious leanings, but everything to do with one's prejudices and assumptions.

It's a misguided mindset, not an adopted affectation to correspond with one's beliefs.

If that makes any sense at all I will be flabbergasted.


Your gona b flabergasted then cause it makes no sense to me!

[S.P.I.G]

Foolish to generalise - what the hell is wrong with you Tenebrae? They're bloody christians. Have the moderators gotten to you already - first censorship and now brain-washing...

[Manic23]

[s]mackie wrote on 00:44, 27th Mar 2004:
I think Christians are very judgemental people and a few of my non-Christian friends agree.



the likes of Mrs. Howard and her Zealot like cohorts- YES (the woman is no better than any other fundamentalist, using terror to inflict her beliefs(well, pouncing on me when I walk to Buchannon for a lecture)

The majority of the christian population-NO(it would be contradictory to the christian ethos of 'Do onto others as you would have done onto yourself'). Being a christian myself the last thing I would want to do is judge another person, as I'm far from being perfect myself

[Manic23]

[s]S.P.I.G wrote on 11:41, 27th Mar 2004:
Foolish to generalise - what the hell is wrong with you Tenebrae? They're bloody christians.


And what exactly are you implying with this comment?

[Fionnlagh]

[s]Manic23 wrote on 12:46, 27th Mar 2004:
The majority of the christian population-NO(it would be contradictory to the christian ethos of 'Do onto others as you would have done onto yourself'). Being a christian myself the last thing I would want to do is judge another person, as I'm far from being perfect myself


I'd agree that there are an awful lot of Christians who aren't judgemental, like yourself, but I'd disagree that this makes the majority. Obviously one person's experience isn't statistically high enough to make such a generalisation, but in all my years of Sunday school and church functions and scripture union camps (among the leaders, i don't think you can accept the children show the average christian) and generally among the christians I know (although I was one, I no longer am), I would say that christians are as a group very judgemental. However, one thing I will say is that I don't think they are any more judgemental than any other belief group.

I think the main reason I think christians are judgemental, is because their prejudices affect me directly. Most I've met tend to believe that following rules of christianity (the word of god?) instantly makes them a more moral person than someone who doesn't (and i consider myself to be an extremely moral person).
This means they look down on me, which is perhaps why i see them as more judgemental than others do


But in response to the original post, I think it would be very judgemental to label christians as being judgemental

[edited for spelling, silly eejit]

[Quentinfetishwoman]

I would say the answer is yes and no. I think many of the ones who are judgmental merely beleve what they are doing is right because they think everyone should be in God's image. However, why are we limited to Christians? What bout Muslims, Seikhs, Devil worshippers, the whole fucking world? A lot of people believe what they are doing is right and so will at some time or another judge another person's actions because of it. If they didn't beliee in what they were doing they, for the most part, wouldn't do it. Unless, of course, they had no choice.

[Rapunzel]

[s]mackie wrote on 08:43, 27th Mar 2004:
[s]iohannes wrote on 03:00, 27th Mar 2004:[i]
Obviously they are some Christians who are not judgmental - the ones who try to follow Christ's example. You know by ministering to tax collectors, and prostitutes and the scum of society.


Prostitutes aren't necessarliy scum of society...perhaps they have no choice?
[/i]

Prostitutes aren't tax collectors either. The original post is phrased "tax collecters, AND prostitutes AND the scum of society." NOT "prostitutes, the scum of society."

[Joesta]

[s]Quentinfetishwoman wrote on 16:59, 27th Mar 2004:
I would say the answer is yes and no. I think many of the ones who are judgmental merely beleve what they are doing is right because they think everyone should be in God's image. However, why are we limited to Christians? What bout Muslims, Seikhs, Devil worshippers, the whole fucking world? A lot of people believe what they are doing is right and so will at some time or another judge another person's actions because of it. If they didn't beliee in what they were doing they, for the most part, wouldn't do it. Unless, of course, they had no choice.


Well, I couldn't possibly put it better than Quentinfetishwoman did ... but I'll try anyway. In general, most people are judgemental regardless of religion, as you have clearly shown yourself - on the assumption that you are not Christian. It is probably due to Britain's being a Christian country that gives you this impression, or perhaps its because of the history of Christianity in Europe, the negative light it is often cast in or perhaps you just were speaking out of ignorance and were being judgemental for no reason; either way, you will find that the second sentance of this paragraph holds a lot of truth.

[hr]
Words without actions are the assassins of idealism.
Herbert Hoover (1874 - 1964)

[mackie]

[s]Joesta wrote on 21:55, 27th Mar 2004:
[s]Quentinfetishwoman wrote on 16:59, 27th Mar 2004:[i]
I would say the answer is yes and no. I think many of the ones who are judgmental merely beleve what they are doing is right because they think everyone should be in God's image. However, why are we limited to Christians? What bout Muslims, Seikhs, Devil worshippers, the whole fucking world? A lot of people believe what they are doing is right and so will at some time or another judge another person's actions because of it. If they didn't beliee in what they were doing they, for the most part, wouldn't do it. Unless, of course, they had no choice.


Well, I couldn't possibly put it better than Quentinfetishwoman did ... but I'll try anyway. In general, most people are judgemental regardless of religion, as you have clearly shown yourself - on the assumption that you are not Christian. It is probably due to Britain's being a Christian country that gives you this impression, or perhaps its because of the history of Christianity in Europe, the negative light it is often cast in or perhaps you just were speaking out of ignorance and were being judgemental for no reason; either way, you will find that the second sentance of this paragraph holds a lot of truth.

[hr]
Words without actions are the assassins of idealism.
Herbert Hoover (1874 - 1964)
[/i]

I'm not speaking out of ignorance...I'm speaking out of experience. And yes fair enough, I am judging some Christians, but I'm only judging the ones who judge me therefore I have the right to judge the people who think they can judge people.

[Joesta]

[s]mackie wrote on 22:39, 27th Mar 2004:
I'm not speaking out of ignorance...I'm speaking out of experience. And yes fair enough, I am judging some Christians, but I'm only judging the ones who judge me therefore I have the right to judge the people who think they can judge people.


Fair enough, I'll give you that then, as you can judge those that have judged you. I guess I mis-read what you said at the start even though you did do a bit of a u turn later on by saying, 'I know that some aren't judgemental'. Although you can see why most people thought that you were attacking all Christians:


'I think Christians are very judgemental people and a few of my non-Christian friends agree. Does anyone else get the impression that Christians say everyone is equal and there should be no discrimination an then they themselves judge people?? It pisses me off and I wish they would either complain about people to God or not say anything to the person they are complaining about!'

[underworlddreams]

I'm just gonna put my tuppen'orth forward...

I recently (well, in the last month or so) had an interesting conversation with a young Christian lady in halls in which we, without really meaning to, ended up talking about Paganism. Her reaction to Paganism in general was extremely close-minded (I forget exact phrases, but the general opinion was one of disapproval of the beliefs and teachings of this wide-ranging group of religions) and I found myself almost smirking, realising that (despite my pendent and one of my rings being pentacles) she didn't realise who exactly she was talking to.

I took my time to find out what her opinions were of Pagans, and then asked why she held them. And it turned out that she didn't even know anything about Paganism - didn't even know any Pagans or what they actually did. In an effort to simply educate, I explained what the general beliefs are of pagan religions, and what it was that some pagans do. And then explained that I consider myself to be Pagan (not any particular version of paganism, much in the same way as someone can consider themselves Christian without having a specific denomination - they just want people to know that they believe what the Bible says about God and Jesus and so forth.)

I've never seen anyone try so hard to get out of a conversation.

I've had many experiences of varying similarity to this. In some cases, people are very much open to hearing what I believe, and also what other Pagans in general believe. What I find particularly irritating are those that use such conversations to try and convince me that Christianity is right; if I had it in me to be a Christian, I would be one by now. Such arguments go along the lines of;

Me: "...and so most Pagans believe that God, or a divine force, is not only the creator of the universe, but part and parcel of it - nature is not only divinely created, but divine in and of itself..."

Them: "Yes, but the Bible says... {Insert bible reference/ quote/ paraphrasing here}..."



And thus I come (finally) to my point. Christians, in quite a lot of cases, merely take the Bible, and their religion, as absolute truth. Which is not in itself a problem. It becomes a problem when they fail to realise that the foundations of that do not lie in logic or a priori knowledge - it lies, by definition, in faith; the believing of something to be true without proof, or the need for proof. When they quote from the Bible, or talk about Christianity in such a way, they are trying to convince someone with what they see as a logical argument, but to those of us who are not Christian, it is not a valid argument.

When a Christian (or a Jew, or a Buddhist, or a Pagan, or anyone else) is prejudiced against someone of a differing religion (or someone without one,) they are forgetting that simple fact - only those of their religion can possibly be on the same level in regard to religious topics (and sometimes not even then.)


Anyhow, enough of my rambling. I hope that all made sense to someone...


[hr]They say that if you play a Windows Install CD backwards, you hear satanic messages. That's nothing - play it forwards, and it installs Windows...