Judgement and Opinion

[Grannie Annie]

What is the difference between making a judgement about a person or situation and having an opinion about it ??

We're told by God not to judge people...but if we have an opinion about someone is that not the same as judging them ? I asked this in "Ask A Chaplain" and wasn't happy with the response I got...I was told...go look it up in a dictionary !!

If I see a piece of art and I like it, is that my judgement about it, or my opinion ?? If I disapprove of the way a person lives, is that a judgement I'm making about them...or is it my opinion ???

Your comments will be appreciated and I'm sure interesting.

 

[joey_downunder]

Are you thinking about the very often quoted out-of-context verse "judge not lest you be judged"?
The whole passage puts a different slant on it. matthew 7:1-6
Jesus was very clear about what he thought about the pharisees. matthew 23

 

[Bungle_Bear]

I would say that an opinion leaves open the possibility of being wrong. A judgement is more definite and implies a firm belief.

 

[Grannie Annie]

yes joey, that's exactly what I was thinking of....judge not, lest ye be judged. And there are secular issues about gay marriage, abortion, and various other topics and people have put me down and said......how dare you judge me...or that person...or that organisation etc. etc....so I started to wonder about the line between judgement and opinion. Thanks for your thoughts

 

[joey_downunder]

I'll give you a worldly definition if you want :

OPINION- when you say something that I agree with or at least am comfortable with

JUDGING- when you disagree with me, prove me wrong or even worse make me realise that I am/they are/we are sinning

 

[Grannie Annie]

I like that Joey, and that's basically the way it is too I think.

 

[MissIndigo]

What I think is that an opinion is that "I like or dislike" something because of X reasoning but do not assume to think it is "right or wrong" - hence making a judgement.

A judgement is deciding something is absolute or right or wrong based on opinion, etc. Example, "I think that woman must be loose or a bad Christian because she is not covering herself modestly."

A more opinionated response would be "I think that woman isn't dressed appropriately because she is wearing too little."

 

[Grannie Annie]

Yes, I find the interpretation very interesting.

 

[Douvie]

Opinion and judgement can be the same.

And the idea is to judge the sin - not the person.

let me throw another word in the mix: discernment.
how close is that to judgement and opinion?

 

[Born to Watch]

We have a responsibility to judge people, as do policemen, should Christians not be policemen. Any one on the security industry has to be a judge.

As a parent I judge my kids friends and decide who is acceptable and is not acceptable. I judge my kids actions, those of my pagan friends and even my own for that matter , I decide who I should associate with and who I am better of without.
I judge churches and have left some that are not good enough.
The list is endless.

I dont condemn anyone.
While I believe the bible is the inerrant word of God I dont believe there are no translation issues with in it, that would be dumb. Short of learning Greek (no thanks) I will use my common sense.
I will judge, I have to.

 

[Grannie Annie]

Indeed you both have good points...one really must judge and discernment is also important.....interesting....!!!

 

[Douvie]

We have a responsibility to judge people, as do policemen, should Christians not be policemen. Any one on the security industry has to be a judge.

As a parent I judge my kids friends and decide who is acceptable and is not acceptable. I judge my kids actions, those of my pagan friends and even my own for that matter , I decide who I should associate with and who I am better of without.
I judge churches and have left some that are not good enough.
The list is endless.

I dont condemn anyone.
While I believe the bible is the inerrant word of God I dont believe there are no translation issues with in it, that would be dumb. Short of learning Greek (no thanks) I will use my common sense.
I will judge, I have to.

Why not study some Greek and Hebrew, it will give you the a wide understanding on the special treasures found deep within the WORD OF GOD.

You're right of course - we must judge. But discernment is the order of things and wisdom is greater than knowledge. Therefore I would include wisdom, along with judgement, discernment and a word that has been unfortunately hijack by the activist mind - discriminate (not meant to be used as it is today) which means "rightly dividing" as used in "rightly dividing the Word". Even a transistor radio (or any communication device) has a part of the circuitry called a discriminator.

Interesting how words can twisted to mean something else other than what they are meant to.

In the Saviour's service,

 

[Grannie Annie]

Study Greek and Hebrew....who me ??? ummm, I don't think so... I'm too old and too lazy it's as simple as that...and too heavy for my simple little mind. I'm lucky if I can understand English !!!