Do not Judge others, or do we Judge others? I hear so much about "Do not judge others, lest you be judged." I know that there's more scripture out there that gives us a better insight into our responsibilities.

Can you please answer this question. Are we allowed to judge others? Are we called to Judge others? Are there certain groups of people that we can and cannot judge? Are there prerequisites to judging others?

Please start off with a simple Yes or No to the title question and then follow up by explaining the ins and outs of this confusing topic.
Yes, you can judge others... once you're perfect. There's more to that passage than just that.


  Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. -- Matthew 7:1-2


The idea here is that we're going to be held accountable to keep the same standard as we measure others against. When you think about being judged by the standard you hold for others, it makes you want to put that standard very, very low, just in case you mess up for a while.

The rest of the passage goes on:


  And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye. -- Matthew 7:3-5


Meaning that before you even begin to look at someone else's life, you need to make sure you're ALREADY measuring up to the standard you're holding for others. Since we can never attain perfection here on earth, I think it's pretty safe to say that we won't ever be able to say, "I've taken care of everything in my life now, and so I'm ready to start pointing out the flaws in yours."