A Jester in the King's Court

Topic: Being judgmental

I have a problem. Actually, I have a litany of them. One of them though is blinding rage. Yes, blinding rage. You know you have a big problem when the problem you have sounds like they might be an 80’s rock band…this is the reason I’ve always attempted never to have a problem with my Airsupply or a Flock of Seagulls.

Now, this “rage” of mine doesn’t come out at normal times. I get cut off…I’ll probably have a snide comment. A person starts yelling at me, I’ll probably have a cocky grin. Someone does something illogical…there’s a greater than 76% chance I will turned into a green skinned monstrosity and yell “Sam smash puny idea!”….this clearly has plaid havoc with my wardrobe.

Recently I was having a conversation with an unsaved lady that I had come across in my various lunching adventures (as my youth group likes to point out…I meet the oddest people). During the course of our dialogue, she mentioned that pre-marital sex was a great thing…to which I said “You’re wrong”. This clearly led to her putting up shields that would make Darth Vader’s Super Star Destroyer the Executioner shield generators look weak. She looked at me and said that I needed to stop judging her….here is the convo:

Female: You need to stop judging me
Me: I’m not judging you, I just said you’re wrong
F: See! Such judgment!
M: Ok…if that’s judging…why is it bad to judge?
F: Because you are telling me I’m wrong
M: Do you think I’m wrong?
F: Yes
M: Ok…there ya go…you’re judging me then too
F: No I’m not…I would never say that you were wrong. I could never do that to anyone.
M: But you just…
F: I said that I think you are wrong. Not that you are wrong.
M: Same thing
F: Wow, you are close-minded.
M: No, I’m just saying, when I say “You’re wrong” clearly it means “I think you are wrong” and when I say, “I think you’re wrong” clearly I’m under the impression that you are wrong
F: No, “you’re wrong” means you think that you have the right to say if something is wrong for someone else or not, as opposed to just saying if it is wrong in your perspective. You’re just so judgmental and arrogant

Ok, now……this cause blinding rage. Her calling me judgmental? No big. Her calling me arrogant? That’s like a Where’s Waldo book where every page is nothing but a close up picture of Waldo’s face…not that impressive lady. But the mental gymnastics she was performing to hold to her failed worldview…..fury!

So, let’s just lay it out there. There is no problem with judging each other. The Bible says judge not lest you be judged, and then says not to throw pearls to swine. So obviously reading the former as precluding making any judgment calls at all is inadequate, or else Christ never would have expected us to adjudicate who the swine are. Everyday people make judgments as to what is right or wrong, good or bad….Pepsi or Coke. When I go to Best Buy, I buy 1 lap top, and not all of them. Why? I’ve judged one superior than the others. It might be price…it might be features….it might be memory…but for some reason last June I judged that my iBook was a better call than an HP with a processor on it that says “Will crash 4 times in the next year or your money back”

The fact is, this lady’s understanding of judgment comes from the Enlightenment thinker David Hume and his emotivist ethics…she’s inherited her worldview from the feminist ethic as well. But all of that to say….its patently idiotic. If I run across a guy beating a 5 y/o child with a chain, I’m not going to say, “I think what you are doing is wrong and you should stop!” and when he gets brought to trial I won’t say, “Now now jury…I think what he did was very wrong….but who am I to judge…and you with the black robe on…you better have an open mind about this one”

Wrong is wrong. Let’s debate what is wrong, but let’s not pretend that opinions are binding. Or that in debating opinions we some how escape the fact that we are debating truth. When I claim something to be wrong, I am not merely saying that I think its wrong, I’m saying that I think what I do based upon a founded belief about the ethical situation in and of itself. So you better do the same. Don’t pretend that you think the holocaust was only wrong in your opinion. That isn’t a heightened form of wisdom, its lunacy and goes against the innate ideas that make humans humans.

And again…anger!!!!

I probably should do a post on the Abolition of Man some time….