Thinking critically is the objective analysis of facts to form a judgement. Many doctrines in scripture are complex, and require rational, unbiased analysis and evaluation of ALL facts. And let’s not forget the work of the Holy Spirit working with us, that is, if you are willing to put in the time and pray for understanding.

Most Christian’s have become parrots for their denomination, locking critical thinking outside their doors. Robots spewing out words that have been programed into them, words without understanding.

Many doctrines in Forming correct judgements with weighty doctrines require a person to reason out each and every issue, to solve hard to understand verses; then communicate and reason out their findings effectively with others. Critical thinking serves as a powerful analytical lens into God’s world, helping to clarify rather than merely having stashed away in your heads files of accumulated information gathering dust.

And how are we to think of God’s word, and its application to the people of the world? Most Christians simply absorb Biblical information but never learn to evaluate it, to integrate it and transform it into knowledge and understanding.

The Hebrew and Greek of Scripture is translated for us into English, and if we take and add critical thinking to the English translation, it becomes a process that will correctly give us a proper insight to the writers true meaning in the original language, the time and people it was written to.

This bonding of languages with proper thinking now becomes a field of study having its own theoretical framework; its own operating concepts, its own methods of investigation, and will help to distinguish justified truths from opinions.

We all have our own life’s experiences, and have all constructed certain knowledge around those experiences, then developed a philosophy of life around these. But becoming a critical thinker changes qualitatively the way an individual may view the world, how they process information, and how they eventually make decisions. We can learn to solve challenging verses and prophesies, analyzing them by understanding God’s clear goals, His design, and His plan of action to attain these goals.

We may then critically evaluate the logic, relevance and validity of the information and through words communicate with others your findings.

Thinking abilities do not operate in isolation, but rather act in complex interactions, one with another. Thinking is a dynamic process that cannot be factored into secondary skills, repeated and practiced over and over, then reassembled in some Humpty-Dumpty-like style, yet never explicitly being described as such.  

As Christians, we should all be challenged to explore, analyze and then evaluate opinions and judgments, then you will enter God’s world of self-discovery.

Often, Christians have a certain fear of God and His word. They consider themselves weak, therefore they grab onto a particular teacher’s understanding, or a denomination’s teaching and use it as one would use a security blanket. And in their psyched-out state will often simply shut out even the smallest of attempts to analyze what they know and understand. We see this in the cults, and in generations of people whose father, mothers, grandparents etc. had some particular religion teachings poured into them, then having it firmly set in their heart’s as is  concrete poured out to make a slab.  

You need to cast away the dogma’s, with their long-established opinions that have been put forth as facts, these, will destroy a person’s soul. 

Set up in your home or church, and establish a particular course of study as the centerpiece. Also make explicit the core of concepts which are to be brought in, taught, then reinforced. Work jointly with others, and use these things as a benchmark for both individual or group evaluation.

Points to study by:

1.   Mark clearly what is being said:

2.   Mark who is speaking and who they are speaking to:

3.   Mark with what words are they speaking:

4.   What time frame they are living in, and to what age are their words framed.

5.   Where are they are speaking from:

6.   What is God’s intent:

7.   What are the circumstances:

8.   Consider what had gone before:

9.   Consider what is to come.

Phillip LaSpino  www.seekfirstwisdom.com