Cautions about being judgmental

Filed in Thoughts on March 08, 2009



I happened to catch a cooking demonstration today that was given by a celebrity chef that specializes in raw, vegan food.  She was a very charming and attractive Japanese woman but she kept making statements that made me uncomfortable.  She apparently believes it is just wrong (immoral) to eat meat.  In fact, she thinks it is wrong to eat animal byproducts such as milk.  She thinks it is wrong to eat products that are not grown locally (because it is a waste of the planet’s energy resources).  She thinks you should only eat organic foods too but at least she did not say it was wrong not too. 

Don’t feel sorry for her though.  Rather, feel sorry for her dog because she apparently believes it should eat only raw and vegan as well. 

I will say this for her though: the food she prepared tasted wonderful.  But about the time she was condemning everyone that went through fast food drive-thrus, I was thinking about how incredibly judgmental she was.  I am also under the belief that she is also just wrong on some of her beliefs no matter how dogmatically she spouts them off.

But then I started thinking about myself.  There is a lesson there for all of us.  We as Christians tend to be dogmatic and judgmental about beliefs that are nothing more than our opinions (which are sometimes right and often wrong).  And those of us with opinions about Christian music are some of the worst offenders. 

My music is on the conservative side and I play the music I do because it is what I like.  But I hope I am not judgmental about musical styles that I may not like or even agree with.  Neither I nor anyone else has the corner on what all so-called God-honoring music is supposed to sound like.  In fact, I am afraid that the term “God-honoring” music is often just code for “my personal preferences.”  And thinking that all music has to sound like my subculture and preferences is arrogant, judgmental, and wrong.



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Paul Sewell
3/9/2009 3:49:36 PM

Aren't you just offering a dogmatic statement about what you consider to be "God-honoring" music? You also seem to be creating a "straw-man" version of other views that can be easily dismissed.

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Greg Howlett
3/9/2009 4:38:38 PM

Paul, can you elaborate on your first question? I suppose I am dogmatic in saying that people should be less dogmatic about Christian music. Is that what you meant?

Also, are you saying that comparing some of the debate in Christian music to the rhetoric of the vegan chef is creating a straw-man? I happen to think it is a fair comparison.

That being the case, I have no intention of turning this blog into a place for the same old music debates. I am not trying to defend any position here but am rather just throwing out food for thought.

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Paul Sewell
3/10/2009 4:34:09 PM

My basic point was that you were labeling the conservative side of the debate as "judgmental" and then being rather judgmental yourself (calling them "wrong" and "arrogant"). You also were characterizing their view as being based on personal preferences rather than dealing with their actual arguments and explaining how you differ. I like your music and hope it stays on the "conservative side". That is a personal preference for you. I am persuaded there are more substantial reasons why Christian music should be conservative. I'm not looking for a debate. I was trying to defend the motives of the conservative side of the argument which you seemed to be impugning.

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Doug C
3/11/2009 8:09:08 PM

Having a conservative background, I can never remember a time when the conversation about music with another conservative minded individual did not turn judgmental. At least from my experience, so many people have been motivated by pride with this issue.

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Paul Sewell
3/12/2009 6:41:55 PM

Wouldn't it be better to simply state your reasons for disagreeing with a position without making a judgment of the character and motivation of the person holding the position? I think there can be honest disagreement about this issue without resorting to name-calling.

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Greg Howlett
3/16/2009 5:37:59 PM

Paul, I would love to dialogue with you on this. Email me if you want. I just do not want to chum the waters here and start a debate that will draw a lot of heat and negativity. I really want this blog to be a positive place that is productive, not a place for unproductive worship wars.

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Tony
4/30/2009 1:04:30 PM

Paul, I don't think you understood Greg's original post. I do not understand how you can ask if Greg was "offering a dogmatic statement" when his post said the exact opposite. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you understanding brother. Also, I once heard Pastor Greg Laurie (Harverst Christian Fellowship in Riverside Ca)say in one of his sermons: "Never criticize or throw stones at someone who is doing more for God than you are." Do you have an axe to grind brother?

In His great love---

Tony

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Paul
5/8/2009 8:58:14 PM

Tony, I understood Greg's original post to be labeling people on the conservative side of the music issue as judgmental. I pointed out that in doing so he was being judgmental himself and suggested that rather than hurling accusations of judgmentalism, pride, and things of that sort it would be better to simply argue the merits of one's position and not attack the person himself. I'm not attacking Greg, or debating whether he's right or wrong. Because I don't agree with you or him, now I'm being accused of having a spiritual problem. This just doesn't seem to be a very productive way of dealing with these issues. I apologize for this follow-up, but since I was addressed personally, I thought I would defend myself. I'm just looking for tips for piano playing, but there doesn't seem to be much of that offered anymore, so I should probably look elsewhere.

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