on "judging"
I think I've hit on what bugs me so much when people say "Don't judge". I've definitely said it at least facetiously myself (eg "I sing 'Red Red Wine' in the shower, DON'T JUDGE ME"), but it still bothered me.
I think it's because the whole expression has its roots in the Bible, Matthew 7:1 (people often make this explicit when scolding Christians), but the meaning of the expression as commonly given rarely corresponds to the meaning of Our Lord's original words.
In general people seem to mean one, two, or all three of these:
1. Don't jump to conclusions; or, you don't know the circumstances, there may be mitigating factors.
2. The act itself isn't that bad, or it isn't bad at all (in the speaker's opinion), and in either case it should be at worst ignored.
3. Mind your own business.
But when Our Lord said "do not judge", he meant something quite different:
4. If you condemn this person, be aware that you will be held to the same standard of condemnation for your own actions--so be merciful instead, and examine your own conscience. "For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you." Matthew 7:2
That's why I think that people should just SAY #1, #2, or #3, or more than one, rather than using "don't judge", which in my experience, in serious matters, is used only to shout people down and shame them.
I can't think of a single time that I've ever heard someone actually use "don't judge" to mean #4. And that's kind of sad.
(Even worse is the way that people use the flip side of this and say things like "I saw a woman smoking who was pregnant, I was judging her so hard." to mean "I was relishing in my moral superiority". A dangerous practice indeed.)
---
I had a semi-productive morning; I'm doing laundry, and I cooked up 2 kg of ground beef, half of it for the freezer in meal-sized batches, and half of it for a huge batch of meat sauce, which is bubbling away in the slow cooker and will provide dinner tonight and several dinners in the future, one hopes.
This is my first time making slow cooker pasta sauce and I'm a bit concerned about it. I was rather harried as I was making it because Pip was being fussy. I forgot the drain the diced tomatoes, so I hope that's alright.
I put in:
1 kg ground beef (cooked and drained)
2 large cans crushed tomatoes
2 small cans diced tomatoes (forgot to drain)
2 shredded carrots
a lot of garlic
seasoning (basil, oregano, pepper, bay leaf)
Well it's a good thing I wrote that out because I just realized I forgot to add a can of tomato paste. Just went and put it in now. Phew.
I think it's because the whole expression has its roots in the Bible, Matthew 7:1 (people often make this explicit when scolding Christians), but the meaning of the expression as commonly given rarely corresponds to the meaning of Our Lord's original words.
In general people seem to mean one, two, or all three of these:
1. Don't jump to conclusions; or, you don't know the circumstances, there may be mitigating factors.
2. The act itself isn't that bad, or it isn't bad at all (in the speaker's opinion), and in either case it should be at worst ignored.
3. Mind your own business.
But when Our Lord said "do not judge", he meant something quite different:
4. If you condemn this person, be aware that you will be held to the same standard of condemnation for your own actions--so be merciful instead, and examine your own conscience. "For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you." Matthew 7:2
That's why I think that people should just SAY #1, #2, or #3, or more than one, rather than using "don't judge", which in my experience, in serious matters, is used only to shout people down and shame them.
I can't think of a single time that I've ever heard someone actually use "don't judge" to mean #4. And that's kind of sad.
(Even worse is the way that people use the flip side of this and say things like "I saw a woman smoking who was pregnant, I was judging her so hard." to mean "I was relishing in my moral superiority". A dangerous practice indeed.)
---
I had a semi-productive morning; I'm doing laundry, and I cooked up 2 kg of ground beef, half of it for the freezer in meal-sized batches, and half of it for a huge batch of meat sauce, which is bubbling away in the slow cooker and will provide dinner tonight and several dinners in the future, one hopes.
This is my first time making slow cooker pasta sauce and I'm a bit concerned about it. I was rather harried as I was making it because Pip was being fussy. I forgot the drain the diced tomatoes, so I hope that's alright.
I put in:
1 kg ground beef (cooked and drained)
2 large cans crushed tomatoes
2 small cans diced tomatoes (forgot to drain)
2 shredded carrots
a lot of garlic
seasoning (basil, oregano, pepper, bay leaf)
Well it's a good thing I wrote that out because I just realized I forgot to add a can of tomato paste. Just went and put it in now. Phew.