Judging

[GuidoHunter]

I don't get it.

Earlier today, there were some Evangelical Christians from Open Air Ministries on the SMU campus. They had a permit to preach for an hour, so there were about five guys who took turns standing on a bench and yelling to a gathered crowd outside of our student center. The main idea of what they were doing was to get us to repent, for we are sinners and will go to hell. They also mentioned that we gave a bad name to Methodists because we were drunkards and fornicators due to our weekend partying habits. This struck a nerve with some of the crowd, so arguments ensued, later turning to how all those people (and homosexuals and others) are going to hell if they don't repent.

So, in a debate between one of the guys and a girl from the crowd, I hear the girl shout, in an offended tone (sorry for not having the context), "Don't judge me!"

I thought to myself, "Self, what did that fellow say to elicit such a response, and what did her admonition mean?" This wasn't the first time I was confused about such a statement. I've heard such a line before, the previous time I could recall being on television where a lady told a man to not "sit there and judge [her]".

I can't actually come up with an explanation for this. What is a judgment and why is it so offensive? The only thing I can think of is it being an opinion of another in one's mind. This seems to be a logical idea, but why is it bad? We do that on a regular basis to lots of people! It's also just an opinion, which is, in most cases, harmless.

I ask, so what if it is even laced with hypocrisy? In such a case, attack the hypocrisy and not the perfectly normal judgment.

Such a line is often heard in debates with Christians, I've seen. People call them judgmental, but I don't really understand that. If you have ever uttered these, or like, words, why did you say that and what prompted your response?

I may be way off base here, so help me out.

What's wrong with being judgmental?

--Guido

http://andy.mikee385.com