"Only God Can Judge Me"

In December of 2007 I lost my younger brother, and in an effort to immortalize him, I had the Hebrew meaning of his first and middle names tattooed on my body in Sanskrit, as he was very interested in Buddhism. His first name across my lower back, below my bikini line so it is not visible, and his middle name down my spine, starting at the nape of my neck and going upwards towards my hairline. The one of my neck is visible if I happen to be wearing my hair up, but it is hidden otherwise, or if I am wearing a turtleneck or collared shirt.

The Hebrew meaning of his first and middle names, respectively, are "healer" and "God is my judge." In the past few years, I've had several people ask me what the Sanskrit letters mean, particularly the ones on my neck, as they are more visible.

When I tell them that it says "God is my judge," most people ask if I'm religious. Clearly, I'm not, but I can still appreciate the message.

Religious people often talk about "letting He without sin cast the first stone." This assumes that judgment should be left to God/Jesus, as He is the only one who is free from sin. Christians believe that God sent Jesus to die FOR our sins, to relieve us of them and to offer us salvation. If this is true, then Christians should leave the judgment to God/Jesus.

Unfortunately, the truth is that the religious do most of the judging themselves, and perhaps the worst part about it is that they judge what they cannot understand. I suppose we are all guilty of this to some degree, even the non-religious among us, but the major difference I see is that most agnostics and atheists that I've come into contact with at least TRY to understand that which they judge.

I wish that any religious group that preaches the ideas behind "only God can judge me" and "let He without sin cast the first stone", took its own advice.