Judgment : Isn’t Judging Others Healthy? (Jeff Cook)

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 9:54 pm by Scot McKnight

Judgment : Isn’t Judging Others Healthy? (Jeff Cook) 2015-03-13T21:54:04-05:00 Scot McKnight

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

A Youtube video shows Jesus in an old movie. Someone has removed the volume, added a new monologue, and as he goes about selecting disciples the voice of Jesus now says, “Alright. Now it’s time for me to tell you what you’ve done wrong since last time I saw you. Don’t try and hide because I’m Jesus. I will find you. Let’s start with you Peter. You lied to your mother the other day. Andrew you hit your finger with a hammer and said a naughty word. James you laughed at him when he hit his finger. Moving right along. John, you drank too much wine the other night. Not too much, just enough to make me angry. Thomas you know what you did, but I can’t repeat it because I’m Jesus …” And so on.

Many of us will laugh at this video because we recognize that Jesus looks nothing like this. Yet the way Christians often behave, our culture at large might rightly think we embrace this Jesus, wish to follow this Jesus, wish to become more and more like this Jesus because church folk often seem to obsess over the failures of others.

Judgment is an amazingly complicated topic, one I hope to post on a few times in the month to come. On one hand, understanding what the moral life looks like and encouraging others to embrace it can be a great good. On the other hand, Jesus made clear that judging others has no place in the life of his Kingdom (Mt 7). What then is the proper role of analyzing and assessing what is healthy and what is wicked?

Let me address a common misstep.

Fascinating to me is that Jesus’ favorite titles for the devil—both Diabolos and Satanas—mean “the accuser” or “the slanderer”. The Accuser, said Jesus, is the one who has come to steal, kill and destroy. But how? Apparently it is through accusations, through picking out faults and flaws and weaknesses. That is, demonic influence and identity at its most destructive materializes through moral criticism.

Yet how often has the Church decided that judging others was our job? That picking out the ethical failures of those around us was the best way to rescue them? We might ask if that church is actually the body of Christ at all. By such actions, words and fruit, it seems to be following a different master.

More foundational still, the Bible begins with the creation of a world and a garden, with the fashioning of humanity and two trees. One tree in the garden is strangely named the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Not “the tree of sin,” not “the tree of self-destruction”—the Bible writer gives us a lengthier, more descriptive picture of why the tree is poisonous.

Apparently, by eating from the forbidden tree one is given the power to assess, to look at others and to look at one’s self, and measure according to a standard—“the knowledge of good and evil.” The fruit of this ancient tree empowers human beings to see what is praiseworthy and despicable in one another. The tree provides a satanic power; those who receive from it can now accuse.

Of course God says, “Don’t eat from this tree.” That is, do not try and judge as only I can judge. On the day you do, “you will surely die.” We know this empirically. Our judgmentalism won’t always tear another person down, but judging others will always turn our own mind and soul to dust (Gen 3.19).

Does this mean ethics isn’t important? Of course not. How we ought to behave, what it means to reflect Jesus, what the best possible life looks like are each vital topics. (Topics we will address in later posts.) Yet many seem to think if we do not expose others’ sins, we are failing our calling. This deadly assumption insists that the world is transformed, not through the power of love, sacrifice, and prayer—but through the power of critique: through the methods of the Accuser and not the methods of the cross.

Isn’t it time to for us to ruthlessly cut out judgment of one another from our sermons, conversations and mindsets? Isn’t it time for us to address personal and social change with long suffering love and when that doesn’t work—doesn’t transform ourselves and those we ought to care for—shouldn’t we try long-suffering love again?

JEFF COOK lectures on philosophy at the University of Northern Colorado. He is the author of Everything New: Reimagining Heaven and Hell (Subversive 2015). He pastors Atlas Church in Greeley, Colorado. You can connect with him at www.everythingnew.org and @jeffvcook.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

February 9, 2015

Sameness Not Needed for Connection

Next Post

February 10, 2015 A Community of Contrast! (RJS)

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Acts of the Apostles Adam Advent Anabaptism Angels Anglican Apologetics Atonement Baptism BCP Prayers Bible Biblical Studies Birds Blogging Bloglossary Bonhoeffer Books Calvinism Christianity Church Church History Coffee Colossians Commentary Recs Conversion Creation Creeds Culture Death Ecclesiastes Economics Education Embracing Grace Emergent Emerging Movement Eschatology Essays Ethics Eucharist Evangelicalism Family Fasting Fathers Fellowship of Differents Footsteps Tour Fun and Whimsical Gospel Grace Happiness Heaven Hell Holy Spirit Irenaeus James Jesus Jesus Creed Job Justification Kingdom of God Law Lectures Lent Liberalism Love and Marriage Mabanteneni Manhood Mary Miracles Missio Alliance MissioLife Missional Missional Jesus Movies and Film New Perspective Northern Seminary OneLife Origins Project Orthodox Parables Pastor's Spouse Pastoring and Leading Pastoring and Preaching Patristics Paul Paul-John Tour Pharisees Pietism Political Theology Prayer and Formation Preaching Problems for Faith Psalm 119 Psalms Public Issues Purgatory Religions Resurrection Revelation Romans Rule of JCreed Science and Faith Sermon on the Mount Sports Ten Commandments Theology Third Way Top Ten Lists Translations Uncategorized Universalism University Ministry Way Out Weekly Meanderings Wisdom Women and Ministry Work Worship Writing & Blogging Youth Ministry

Select a Month July 2021 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 0000

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

How many Beatitudes are in the Sermon on the Mount?

Select your answer to see how you score.

7 12 10 8