Do you attend people or actions?

[sibelian]

Do you think what people ARE is what matters when you judge them or what they DO?

If a football player hangs around the field and achieves nothing, do you say criticism of him is out of bounds because you support his team?

If a priest tells you to be a good Christian and then you find him kiddy-fiddling, do you continue to accept his judgement of you?

[Laelth]

1. What people DO means more to me.

I have no idea what people ARE. Ontology is a sticky subject.

-Laelth

[pacalo]

2. That's a good point, but I wish both sides would respect each other's point of view.

Your OP is respectful, so thanks.

[GreenEyedLefty]

3. I make judgments based on actions.

Actions tell me more about what people are than anything I can glean from merely observing them.

[djean111]

4. I judge people by what they do, which, to me, is what they are.

The kiddy-fiddling priest - although I am an atheist, I think that if I was a Christian, the priest's behavior and my feelings about that would have nothing to do with a belief in Christianity, it would have everything to do with the priest himself. I could care less about his judgement of me, that would be pointless, but I might start to have a doubt about the organization he represents. I guess I am naive or simplistic about religion, but it seems to me that if someone believes in a god, then the actions of men are, in a way, irrelevant. Something exists, or it does not. Belief in a god doesn't seem subjective to me. I don't believe, but I don't care if others do, as long as they don't affect my life with their belief. Big old world out there, room for everyone as long as they play nice.

Sports analogy? As a former Magic fan, part of supporting the team used to be bitching about the players who didn't contribute. Why couldn't Shaq make a free throw!!!!!!
Hard to cheer on an individual player who either did not contribute or actually hindered. That was a part of the whole deal - and the players themselves got traded or let go if they didn't measure up.

The ongoing enthusiasm was for the TEAM, not the individual players.
Unless one was a fan of a particular player, and then it didn't matter what team the player was on, the player could do no wrong, it was the coach or the other players.