For those who think Christians are beginning to think, let me first state unequivocally that they are late in the day. Christians are historical thinkers. Many of the oldest and popular Universities in the West were started by the Church and theology is referred to as the mother of all sciences.
While we condemn the low culture of thinking in some Christians, a group of “Christians” have risen who I fear may be thinking their way to Hell. I have observed children born to Christian homes who perhaps were great Sunday school kids become caricatures of their faith. They don’t even know what they believe at the moment. I have seen a Lady Reverend metamorphose into a sorcerer after entertaining all kinds of false ideologies that confuse and argue against the Christian faith in the name of hosting a TV show. I can tell you how this works by the grace of God. Slowly, the sand is swept from beneath their feet and they drown into the sea of deception. It is for good reason that the Bible calls on those standing to take heed lest they fall (1 Corinthians 10:12). I will address the temptation those who embrace “critical thinking” face. Perhaps, such temptation is what those who refuse to think have avoided. They used to scare us from asking tough questions, maybe because of this. I do not say they are right though. I will address how wrong non-thinkers are and the dangers they pose to themselves and others in more detail separately.
Indeed, those who are scared of the tough questions are also not without temptations. They are tempted to believe in superstitions that go against God’s word. They would know if they asked better questions and dug into God’s word. They also fail to provide answers for people with questions, something God expects them to do (1 Peter 3:15). These are some of their issues too.
Either extreme of this thinking pendulum swings away from the truth of God. Those who don’t think miss out on God’s revelation and those who think to themselves miss it too when it is more about critical thinking (or the concept of it) than it is about God’s Word. I do not demonize critical thinking. Listen!
It is important to note that God cannot be known satisfactorily from our thinking. If you wanted to know more about a person and assess their suitability for marriage, you wouldn’t do that through baseless critical thinking. You would need to talk to him/her and observe their character from your engagements with them. Sitting in your room, crossing your legs, stirring at the walls and thinking will not give you accurate knowledge of this person. It does not matter how deep you think. You would need a context for your thinking which must be provided by the available information you have on this lady (or if you are a lady, the gentleman).
Similarly, baseless “critical” thinking can lead us away from God if it is not guided by the revealed Word of God. I write this for Christians so I assume that we know the authority of God’s Word. God reveals Himself in the Word (the Bible). To sit and think critically of God in a vacuum can be very dangerous for your faith. That is not to say that thinking is evil. That is not to say that God has things to hide. What it means is that your head is not enough to give you adequate knowledge of God and His ways; just as it is not enough to know many other things correctly.
Critical thinking will not make you know more about me. It won’t make you know more about God. Especially if you are a Christian, God did not leave you to your thinking of Him. He has spoken about Himself (Hebrews 1:1-3). You must know God from His Word more than from your head. You must know God from His Word with your head.
Also, Christian thinkers should be careful not to promote thinking above the Word of God. Thinking has led many to different conclusions. People think there is no God. People think there is no afterlife. People think there is no truth. People think the world was not created. People think every religion leads to God. People think a loving God should not punish sinners. Thinking leads to many interesting conclusions. What we are called to is thinking that is guided and contextualized by what God reveals about Himself. And though we can observe a lot about God from His creation and other places, His true revelation is mainly from the Holy Bible.
If we limit our search for truth to the length of our thoughts, then God says that His thoughts are far from ours as the heavens are from earth (Isaiah 55:7-9). Isaiah 55:7 says “Let the wicked man forsake his own way and the unrighteous man his own thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that He may have compassion, and to our God, for He will freely pardon.” Your own way and thoughts miss the mark! We do not know God enough through critical thinking. We know Him through His Word. We know Him through a relationship with Him. To be blunt, your head is not that good! So for those who cherish critical thinking, this is a temptation you must be cautious of.
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If your thoughts have led you away or nearly did, return to God and receive His loving pardon. Forsake your own thoughts and hear God’s thoughts in His word (the Bible). More importantly, embrace Jesus Christ who is the Word of God in Person. If you want to know God, see Jesus.
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Critical thinking without critical Bible studies will give you all those funny ideas and questions about God (and make you feel wise with your questions while the answers are accessible). It will make worldly “critical thinkers” appeal so dearly to you. Our faith must NOT be founded on the concept of critical thinking but on the Word of God. When we begin to love thinking more than we love God’s word, that idolatry will mislead us. In the matters of faith or religion, when we love to be known as critical thinkers more than we want to be seen as grounded Christians, we are becoming part of those described in 2 Timothy 3:7 – people “who are always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth.” (BSB) For such, learning is the goal, not truth or knowledge. Seeking truth is the goal, not finding it. Asking questions is the goal, not getting answers. Because there is a way that great questions make you feel and appear intelligent. There is a way that being seen as a learner (which seems humble) associates us with the “seekers” of our day, some researchers and professors who question the Bible and dis-intellectualize religion. They see believers as fools and welcome questioners. So we may gradually want to be in the middle. Christians’ inferiority complex can coerce them into accommodating pagan beliefs as a way of feeling better about themselves. Some Christians boast of appealing to both light and darkness and suggest it is a way of expressing the love of God, understanding others, “becoming like them” to save some etc. This is the path by which many backslide. We are warned!
When we love critical thinking over the Word of God, we are taking sides with those who consider our faith foolish. And it is dangerous. It is good that I repeat this. God is not known from critical thinking alone. Christians must think critically of God’s word with the help of the Holy Spirit to know God. That is the meditation that works. SUPPOSEDLY critical thinking can be very misleading. Christians must ask the tough questions and then trust God for answers from the Bible. We must be people with answers; answers found from God’s Word. We must know God from His mouth (His Word, the Holy Bible). Talk to God through prayerful study of His Word, the Bible.
You have closed your Bible as a Christian “critical thinker” and are belching basic questions answered there. You want us to applaud you as a critical-thinking Christian, not the typical “religious” one. You have rejected Christianity by saying you are not religious but spiritual. Whatever that means! You court affection for atheists, skeptics and all kinds of confused people for their “critical thinking” and loathe your brethren for their faith. You think anything that sounds strange is sensible and could be true. “Could be true”, “another perspective”, “good questions”, “oh interesting”, “unpopular”, and “wow”: that’s how you will fall if you don’t wake up. You are happier to be seen as more open-minded than a Bible-minded person. Your heart is dangerously inclined and your faith is gradually declining. This is the dangerous path of Christians who close their Bibles and seek to know God through critical thinking, Christians who feel inferior about their faith and want to fit into the family perceived to have common sense. Even though the Father calls these neighbors fools, such ‘Christians’ admire their rebellion secretly and may soon elope with them. They are fed up with the words of the Father. They won’t humble their ears to hear His wisdom. They are intrigued by strange doctrines and new voices, but first, they are deceived through good questions like the serpent’s approach with Eve. That’s not wise, my Christian brother/sister.
The Devil can mislead you with questions. God can direct you to the answers. Let us be warned.
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If your thoughts have led you away or nearly did, return to God and receive His loving pardon. Forsake your own thoughts and hear God’s thoughts in His word (the Bible). More importantly, embrace Jesus Christ who is the Word of God in Person. If you want to know God, see Jesus.
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Pious D. Serwonu
piousdserwonu@gmail.com
November 1, 2023.