At what point does "opinion" become "judgement"

[steve_b]

Understood…But what I’m trying to get at - (and I’m totally clear on it myself) - is this…

Suppose I were to say that which you say I shouldn’t - namely - “they are going to end up in hell” - but then I follow this with, -]“Of course that is just my opinion.”/-]
Have I still judged and thus sinned???

Seems to me the issue is with adding to a statement, what is crossed out.

When Paul said the following

• 1 Corinthians 6: 9 - 10 no sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor male prostitutes, nor homosexual offenders 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.

What if Paul didn’t end the sentence with God, and instead added after God…IMO?

It would have destroyed the impact of the statement, by reducing “scripture” to personal opinion, which it is NOT. One could ask, is Paul in that warning…judging? No. Since Paul was inspired by the HS to write that, it was the HS and in extension Jesus [John 16:12-15 (Douay-Rheims Bible, John Chapter 16) who is telling us through Paul how Jesus will judge those people’s sins if they die in them.

That’s why If we repeat the same warning [1 Cor 6:9-10] to a person who we know is committing one of those sins, we are not judging them, but merely passing on information they need to know, from a credable resource, should they happen to be either

• ignorant of the seriousness of those sins,
• or indifferent to the sins thinking consequences are no big deal.

 

[saveusfromhell]

.

I read the account of the woman in your signature although I have encountered her story before it always is a stark reminder of our faults. thank you for providing the link

 

[thistle]

Father Hardon’s Modern Catholic Dictionary:

OPINION. Assent of the mind to a probable position, without certainly excluding its contradictory as untrue. Also a conclusion that rests on probable but not certain proof. (Etym. Latin opinio, from opinari, to think.)

JUDGMENT. In general, an act of the mind affirming or denying something. Philosophically, judgment is the mental act of combining two ideas in affirming their agreement, e.g., God is good, or separating them in denying their agreement, e.g., God is not evil. In ethics, judgment is a right decision about what is just or proper or prudent. It is also the decision of a superior in a natural society (such as the State) or a supernatural society (such as the Church), prescribing what should be done or administering justice.

 

[bigmo]

We can judge the action but not the person. We don’t know the soul of a person only God know this but when we are aware of a sinful action then we can judge the action. When a criminal commits a crime(robs a bank) then the courts judges his action but they haven’t the right to say that he’s an evil person because they can’t see his soul.

 

[Rete]

I think you can point out that you suspect a person’s act represents a mortal sin. Certain acts are obviously evil. Abortion, homosexual sex, etc. If a person engages in those activities, you are not “judging” him by pointing out what he does is evil and could result in eternal punishment.

I think the point where you reach a problem is when you say a person deserves eternal punishment for what they have done. For that matter, if you decide a person deserves a temporal punishment, then you are still judging them. That’s what judges and juries in criminal courts must do.

Just identifying an immoral act as indeed immoral is not “judging somebody”.