Dear Editor,
In the heated debate surrounding LGBTQ lifestyles one of the expressions I've come to increasingly detest is 'don't judge'.
Implicit in that statement is a judgement on the act of judging, thus rendering the speaker both incoherent and hypocritical, since he is contradicting himself by engaging in the very act he is currently condemning.
It is important to note that we must be gentle and loving in our interactions with all people, regardless of the views they express. And it must also be noted that judging another person's behaviour and judging another person are two different things.
But equally important is the fact that people are sometimes offended simply because you disagree with them, no matter how respectfully you package that disagreement. Jesus did absolutely nothing wrong in His entire life and look at the response He got -- a painful, humiliating death. While I (and no other Christian for that matter) can put myself on the infinitely perfect, sinless level of Jesus Christ, I say all this to highlight that being offended doesn't mean you're in the right.
To the inveterate instigators of this incoherence, I implore you to instead say to Bible-believing Christians, "I disagree with your judgement on this issue," or "I don't approve of your reasons for this position". But please, do not cite the expression "don't judge" outside of its logical, original scriptural context and use it as a weapon against God's word
and truth.
Alexander Smith
lexsmith269@gmail.com
The paradox
of not judging
-->
In the heated debate surrounding LGBTQ lifestyles one of the expressions I've come to increasingly detest is 'don't judge'.
Implicit in that statement is a judgement on the act of judging, thus rendering the speaker both incoherent and hypocritical, since he is contradicting himself by engaging in the very act he is currently condemning.
It is important to note that we must be gentle and loving in our interactions with all people, regardless of the views they express. And it must also be noted that judging another person's behaviour and judging another person are two different things.
But equally important is the fact that people are sometimes offended simply because you disagree with them, no matter how respectfully you package that disagreement. Jesus did absolutely nothing wrong in His entire life and look at the response He got -- a painful, humiliating death. While I (and no other Christian for that matter) can put myself on the infinitely perfect, sinless level of Jesus Christ, I say all this to highlight that being offended doesn't mean you're in the right.
To the inveterate instigators of this incoherence, I implore you to instead say to Bible-believing Christians, "I disagree with your judgement on this issue," or "I don't approve of your reasons for this position". But please, do not cite the expression "don't judge" outside of its logical, original scriptural context and use it as a weapon against God's word
and truth.
Alexander Smith
lexsmith269@gmail.com
The paradox
of not judging
-->