What’s with all this judgment stuff?

Modern readers of religious writings — espe-

cially apocalyptic writings — often express

shock and even revulsion at the subject of judg-

ment. Typically, modern readers think that judg-

ment was a crude way to scare people into

being good and that some modern people talk

too much about judgment and not nearly

enough about love. Sometimes talk about pun-

ishment and judgment comes off as so, well . . .

judgmental! That’s what we think, but what did

they think — the writers and readers of apoca-

lyptic literature? Were these people just angry

or something?

Consider this: Judgment is usually only bad if

you feel that you are the one being judged —

especially if you consider the judgment to be

unfair! There are other situations in which you

actually expect people to be judgmental. For

example, you expect judges in court to say to

guilty people, “Shame on you!” People applaud

that kind of judgment when they feel that justice

is served.

So, the next time you read ancient writings that

talk about judgment, ask yourself, “Who wrote

this? Why are they talking about judgment so

much?” For an ancient people like the Jews,

who were often harassed, often conquered,

sometimes horribly treated, life didn’t feel very

fair at all. The early Christians, too, often faced

persecution and suffering, especially in the first

300 years of Christianity. It’s clear that they

sometimes wondered, “Where is our God?” And

that is where judgment comes in.

For these ancient people feeling oppressed and

abused, judgment was something that sounded

good! It gave them the sense that the abuse

was going to stop soon and that right would be

right and wrong would be wrong. The next time

you think about how judgmental these ancient

writings are, ask yourself why you watch Law

and Order, Boston Legal, or Judge Judy. . . .

Truth be told, we have our own judgment litera-

ture, too!