Ghandhi once said that I like their Christ but I don’t like the Christian. They act nothing like their Christ.
When I was a part of the Church, instead of looking in the mirror to see what Ghandhi was talking about, I was really offended.
Once I separated myself from that body, I realized what Ghandhi saw. It is what the rest of the world sees—Christians are perceived as judgmental.
It’s puzzling, because the crusaders of the gospel are supposed to represent Christ, and he did not display a judgmental attitude toward the people of the world. In fact, Jesus taught against it.
The mystery of this dichotomy can be solved by examining the full meaning of the word judgmental and its root, judge.
According to Oxnard, the word, judgmental, is defined as having or displaying an excessively critical point of view.
It is true that the Christian doctrine is very rigid in its point of view Therefore, it is logical to see how those who recite it, could be viewed as judgmental.
However, it goes deeper than that, and in order to discover the source it is necessary to examine the definition of the word, judge, in the biblical languages of Hebrew and Greek.
The Hebrew word for judge is shofet. It depicts a ruler, such as a military leader who delivers others from defeat.
As a child, I remember singing in Sunday school, “onward Christian soldiers, marching as to war, with the cross of Jesus going on before.”
I was taught to be militant. It was drilled into us that Christians were the privileged ones, because we believed the “Christian gospel,” and that it was our job to take the message to the less educated people of the world in order to save them from the defeat of eternal damnation.
Their doctrine is spot on with the Hebrew definition. It sets up people to judge or rule over inferior subjects that need to be saved.
I remember when I was in the church, meeting beautiful, gentle people with amazing spiritual fruits who were non-believers, and being told by militant Christians that none of that mattered, because if they didn’t accept Jesus, they were going to Hell—end of subject.
On the other hand, there were many kind and loving Christians who unknowingly had tarnished reputations, because of their hateful peers.
Kind or not kind, they all had been sucked up into a mechanism that is defined by the English and Hebrew definitions of judge/judgmental as: one who displays an excessively critical point of view and sets himself up as a ruler over lesser subjects with the goal of delivering them from defeat. And, the Greek translation defines it even further.
The word, judge, in the Greek means critic, referee, or umpire. It is close to the English verbal phrase, “to judge,” which means to form an opinion or conclusion about something.
In John, chapter 8, Christ was talking to the Pharisees and he said, “you judge after the flesh, but I judge no man. And, if I did judge my judgement is true.
Christ was saying that the Pharisees were judging others by using their human reasoning, which was taught to them by their religion.
Whereas, Christ said that he did not do that.
Then, Christ added that if he did judge, his judgement is true.
Why is that?
Because, Christ viewed the world through the spiritual eyes of God, the only righteous judge.
Christ was making a point that religious people judge by how the flesh or humans have taught them to judge, but Christ was not taught by man or religion. He was spiritually taught by God not to judge.
Christ showed the difference between religion and spirituality. Religion judges, whereas, Spirituality does not judge.
It is the spirit of religion that displays a judgmental attitude.
A full picture is formed when the definitions from all three languages are combined.
Therefore, those who judge portray an excessively critical point of view, they set themselves up as rulers of knowledge over others, and serve as umpires in determining who is “righteous” and who is a “sinner.”
Being judgmental and being religious go hand in hand.
Jesus did not judge the people of the world, and he taught his disciples not to judge when he spoke to them upon the Sermon on the Mount.
Matthew 7:1 records that Christ told his disciples, judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgement you judge, you shall be judged in return.
Jesus not only taught it, he lived it.
Christ displayed one of the most beautiful examples of his non-judgmental nature in John chapter 8, when he rescued the woman who was being sentenced to die by the religious leaders.
John records that while Jesus was teaching in the temple, the scribes and Pharisees brought him a woman who they accused of committing adultery, and forced her to the ground in front of him.
They said, “Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.”
They continued, “Now, Moses in the law commands us that she should be stoned, but what do you say?”
The religious leaders were correct. It was clearly written in the laws of Moses that the woman was supposed to be taken out of the city and stoned to death.
Jesus was silent and he stooped down and started writing on the ground with his finger as if he didn’t hear them.
The religious leaders continued to press him for an answer, and after a considerable amount of time, Jesus calmly stood up and replied, “He that is without sin among you, go ahead and cast the first stone.”
Then, Jesus stooped down and continued writing while completely ignoring them.
Tears streamed down the woman’s cheeks as she bowed her head and breathed a silent prayer.
Slowly, the scribes and Pharisees filed out of the temple, each being convicted by the words of Christ.
When they were all gone, Jesus looked up and asked the woman, “where are your accusers?” “Has no man condemned you?”
The woman answered, “no man, Lord.”
Christ replied, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and sin no more.”
What a truly beautiful story of Christ’s wisdom, compassion, and non-judgmental grace.
So, it is because of their religion that Christians have acquired the reputation of being judgmental just like the Pharisees did. It is religion that teaches humans to judge other humans.
Christ was not judgmental and even taught against it.
However, the world may never know that, because Christians represent the only version of Jesus that the world sees.