Good day folks. Interesting thread you have here Sky. I was blessed by the scriptures you shared. The Bible is a wonderful teacher. I will take the risk of chiming in on this discussion because I believe it is everyone's intention to want to grow and learn from one another. That is my intention.

What I would like to contribute is to consider the role of judging, passing judgment and declaring a consequence of any particular judgment found. In both the secular and non-secular world there are people appointed to the role of judge. S/he is trained and if learned then s/he is ordained for the role. That suggests it requires intense knowledge and skill to carry the responsibility of judging the actions of another. They are not free to judge according to their opinion but they are governed by laws. Laws made by God or laws made by people -- 'inspired' by God's Laws. Either way the judge is confined to law and can only offer judgments that are supported by law.

Non-ordained laypersons will, can and do offer opinions and sometimes they are loosely referred to as judgments but without any legal authority they can not impose a consequence of judgment. Therefore they have no effect other than to express a point of view.... share an opinion.

Like that of a lawyer who argues an opinion before a judge. The lawyer can not impose a consequence based on their opinion. Rather they argue their opinion with one who holds an opposing view before a judge. They argue within the law. Referencing the law. Testing the law. Siting examples of previous applications of the law. Or consider a police officer who arrests a person for violating the law. They cannot impose a punishment for what they witnessed or learned of a violation of a law. Rather they can only present the offender to a judge. They are bound by the law to acting according to the law and to present offenders to one who has greater authority.

When we look at the Bible which includes God's Laws as well as examples of God's Laws being applied to our world, the world He created for us then we have to do so understanding our own limited authorities. As Christian we have been given specific tasks and responsibilities. Some greater responsibility than others. We have all been instructed to adhere to the laws of the land. We have all been instructed to adhere to the ten commandments which some might say are basically a summary of all the laws sited throughout the Bible.

Some of us who study long and work hard may attain specific knowledge that qualifies us to be ordained as priests, ministers, pastors etc. We are tasked to lead and to teach and to even judge the actions of our followers within the context of the role and within the authority of the law that governs that role.

Being a parent may be the only role that has 'judgment authority' without training and ordination. As parents we have authority to impose judgment upon our children. We are bound by the laws of the land and if religious, then we are bound by the laws of our faith. Within those laws we as parent can pass judgment because we have the parental authority to impose a consequence. It is still bound by law but it requires no training to gain the authority. Is it any wonder it is also the most volatile and easily abused role in our civilized structures? But I digress.

My point in all of this is to remind us all that judgment is only judgment if it includes a consequence. Otherwise it is an opinion. Only one appointed to judge can judge with authority. The rest of the folks are confined to offering opinions, stating arguments based on interpretations of laws and presenting those arguments before a judge if they wish judgment to be found.

My second point is to remember that the Bible was not written in English. To take a word like 'judge' and examine it or apply it one needs to know its meaning from its language of origin. In the case of the Bible that would be Greek. I don't know what the Greek work is that has been interpreted to English as 'judge' but that would be an interesting study for one who might pick it up. The lesson for me is to always be careful about arguing 'word interpretations' and taking any one word too literally and then taking that literal interpretation too far.

In reading the scriptures that Sky offered here for our examination they spoke to me about the authorities that govern our world as determined by God. It reminded me that their are those who have the authority to judge and those that have the responsibility to bring offenders before a 'judge'. To assume we are all anointed/appointed with the authority to pass judgment, to impose consequences would be to insight chaos. We need order and we need to respect authorities in order to function in an orderly manner. We all have a responsibility to uphold the law and to report violations. We don't have the authority to take the law into our own hands and impose judgments.

In the context of the lesson of Sky's sharing of scripture I support the idea that we all have a responsibility to discern and offer opinions. How else can we grow? If my actions are never questioned by another, how will I know when I act inappropriately or unkindly? I would hope that my actions would never require the attention of a 'judge' but I would expect they will always require the attention of another's opinion.

Thank you Sky for the thread. Thank you for encouraging people to speak their minds. I understand the audience you were seeking to reach. It is a gift you have brought to them that seeks to empower and strengthen. Good on you for that. We all need encouragement to be brave when we are feeling shy.

Thanks to everyone else for sharing your opinions. I've learned from all of you equally. From what you say and in how you've each stated your views. It's been enlightening. Emotions have an interesting way of affecting how we hear others. Objectivity is hard to achieve when emotions have been stirred up.

I wish you all a loving and harmonious day. Jesus said, 'Love one another as I have love you." That's a loaded statement with endless interpretations. At the end of the day it tells me to 'treat others as you have them treat you.... with love, kindness, tolerance and acceptance that we might all walk in harmony and......

Peace.....