Critical Thinking Notes
Session 1: “The Virtue of a Disciplined Mind”
What is truth?
Truth is reality as perceived by God. God is the ultimate reality. He is before all things and in him all things consist (Col. 1). How can we know what is true? Logic and reason, careful, biblically informed thinking.
Objective truth vs. Subjective truth
Subjective truth is dependent on the subject. “Pistachio ice cream is delicious” is a subjective truth claim. Tastes and likes are subjective truths. Objective truths are true apart from the subject. “Jesus died and rose from the dead,” is an objective truth claim. It is true or false regardless of how we feel about it.
Is there objective truth that can be known? To deny the existence of objective truth is to affirm its existence. We have to know an objective truth to make the claim the truth can’t be objectively known.
Reason vs. Rationalism
Rationalism is a philosophy that claims reason alone is sufficient, denies revelation and makes a god of the human mind. Rationalism is not right thinking because it turns a blind eye to the data of revelation and refuses to submit to the God who undergirds and gives meaning to our reason. Apart from the existence of an all-good, absolute personal mind, objective truth becomes meaningless.
Why should we care about the truth?
An all-good, all-wise, all-loving God is at the center of reality and reality is created by Him. We were created by Him for reality. God has given us minds and the gift of reason to discover reality. Along with this truth is the fact that we are accountable to God to live and act in certain ways that accord with reality. However, humans have an ability to create or believe in a counterfeit reality, to have false ideas about the way things are and how we should act.
Truth and error are before us. It is so challenging sometimes to be able to tell them apart. Why should we care? God has revealed to us that HE is the author of truth, that he is kind and loving and desires what is best for us. The author of lies and deception is a malevolent creature who hates us and wants to see us ruined. Whenever we start to believe a lie, we are moving into a cruel and harsh “world” created by one who wants to torture us. Any lie or false idea will ultimately lead us to ruin and despair. On the other hand, truth is created by a loving God. When we embrace and accept the truth, we move closer to reality, and closer to God Himself. For these reasons, truth should always be chosen over a lie, even if it seems more painful in the short term.
Biblical reasons to pursue clear thinking
“Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 1:13 NKJV
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:1-2 NKJV
“Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.” 1 Thess 5:21-22 NKJV
“…Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5NKJV
“Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’” Matt 22:37
“ Learn to do good; seek justice, rebuke the oppressor; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow. ‘Come now, and let us reason together,’ says the LORD, ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.’” Isaiah 1:17-18
“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” Phil 2:5 NKJV
“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” Phil 4:8 NKJV
“But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. “ 2 Peter 1:5-8
Head vs. Heart?
The Bible never makes this distinction. Often when the Scriptures use the term heart it is in reference to the whole person – the mind, will, and emotions.
The Bible warns about being hearers only and not doers of the Word (James 1). It is possible to only have “head” knowledge: to know and not obey. But it is not possible to obey without first knowing. James’ point was not to avoid knowing!
Does knowledge always puff up?
“Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. But the man who loves God is known by God.” 1 Cor 8:1
This verse does not seem to be a warning against more learning or adding knowledge (a quick read through proverbs will shatter that interpretation!). Instead, this verse seems to be a warning against pride and an incorrect and over-inflated view of our knowledge, an attitude that would prevent us from desiring the further seeking of knowledge that is commanded elsewhere in scripture.
Are you saying to become a cold logician who has no use for emotions or mystery?
I am advocating a kind of thinking that is open to and embraces all of God’s creation. Correct thinking will acknowledge that reason has limits and that emotions play a big role in our life. Thinking Christian-ly will allow mystery and delight. I am against any thinking that turns a blind eye towards data or information that God wants us to have.
Isn’t God above logic? Shouldn’t we let the Holy Spirit move free and not constrict him with logic?
Logic is rooted in God’s character and in the fact that God cannot lie. God cannot be “illogical” any more than He could deny himself. The doctrines of the Trinity may be beyond our comprehension but they are not “illogical.” The Trinity is not one person and three persons; that would be illogical. Rather it is one God (being or substance) and three persons – one What, three Who’s.
Doesn’t Paul warn us against being wise or a scholar?
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate."Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.” 1 Corinthians 1:18-25
Paul is not demeaning wisdom or knowledge in general but showing how foolish and futile our thinking and knowledge is when we leave God out of it. God’s “foolishness” is wiser then man’s wisdom. His “weakness” is far stronger than our greatest strength. But just because the world may wrongly see God’s wisdom as folly, it does not mean that we should embrace folly or become simpletons. Our goal should be to pursue real wisdom and real knowledge, the kind that begins with the fear of the Lord (Proverbs 1). That is the only knowledge that is worth having. We should be willing to be seen as simpletons and foolish by the world, as long as God does not see us that way!
Who is doing your thinking?
Right thinking will not happen automatically, as much as we would hope so. It takes work. The book of Proverbs continually exhorts us to diligently pursue wisdom and knowledge. If we don’t do the work of thinking correctly, someone else will do the thinking for us.
The ultimate goal in our thinking should be to think like Jesus. We will have to stand before God and give an account for how we lived and what we believed. There is a right way to live and a wrong way to live. There are true ideas that are beneficial and there are false ideas that are harmful. God has given us the tools of reason and logic to help us discern the difference.
Right thinking cannot be achieved alone or in our own strength; we need to humbly admit our need of others and God. We need his strength to overcome the deceptive power of the evil one.
“When pride comes, then comes shame; But with the humble is wisdom.” Proverbs 11:2
Some Christians are afraid to admit that they could be wrong; they think it shows a lack of faith or a lack of confidence in God. But if our faith is in God and not in our powers of reason, we can admit we could be wrong. Jesus said that those who seek will find (Matthew 7:7). When we have confidence in that promise, we can have assurance that it is okay to question and be open to new ideas, because if we really do want to know the truth and seek it in sincerity, God promises to guide us to it. If your attitude is “I have all the truth I need - I know I am right! My version of Christianity is the only right one, my interpretation is the only right one, and nothing is going to change my mind”, then you are in a dangerous position. This attitude is a very common one; we all think we are right! But when you look at the vast variety of beliefs, and combine that with the fact that there can only be one correct view of reality, logically then, most people are wrong! A strong belief that you are right does not make you right.
I am not arguing for skepticism; I do believe that we can know the truth. What I am calling for is a humble awareness that we could be wrong. Without this attitude we may find ourselves with a death-grip on false ideas. Admitting that we could be wrong is not an admission that we don’t know the truth, but rather that the truth is bigger than us and greater than we can comprehend, and we want to be open to new ideas, because we don’t want to miss out on the truth. Some of you may feel like I am painting a picture of a man with the top of his head opened up and new ideas continually pouring in. Ideas just keep going in and overflowing. The mind never holds onto any certain ideas and says, “this is true.” That is not what I’m saying. If someone is really seeking the truth, some things become obvious. There is clearly a God. Jesus is clearly God in the flesh. The Bible is clearly God’s Word. Even though these things are clear, it is still healthy to have the attitude, “I could be wrong, but it is going to take a lot of evidence to convince me otherwise, and I firmly believe that evidence doesn’t exist.” After all, we believe that Mormons and Muslims are in error and we would want them to admit that they could be wrong. If a Mormon tells you, “I have faith, and there is no way I could be wrong,” your discussion with him is over.
There are two extremes to avoid. The first says, “I have the truth and no one is going to change me.” The other is to be so questioning of everything that you have no hope of actually ever knowing the truth. Both extremes are deadly because both lead to the same result: you stop seeking the truth. Paul tells us to question or test everything, but also tell us to hold fast what is good. Truth will pass the test.
Should we despair of ever actually knowing the truth? No, because thankfully truth is not just cold, brute facts; truth is a Person. A wonderful Person who created us, who is seeking us, and wants to be found by us. We can admit that we could be wrong because we have faith that God will never be wrong, and that as long as we are seeking Him, we will be found by Him. We are constantly tempted to settle for a false view of God, to develop an idol that replaces the living God. Saying, “I could be wrong” is an admission of dependence that will keep us on our knees. Never stop seeking Him. “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13
He has revealed Himself and his requirements for us in creation, the Bible, and the incarnation. If we look and around and carefully use the mind God has given us, He will lead us into all truth and His eternal reward.
Notes:
Sessions 2 & 3: “Formal Logic” (It’s not as scary as it sounds…)
What is logic?
Logic is the study of right reason and valid inferences and the attending fallacies. In other words, logic helps us know the difference between a valid and invalid implication. (I.e. Can we correctly assume this conclusion to be true based on the offered evidence?) Logic also helps us be aware of the common mistakes people make in their thinking and arguments.
Logic is based on some first principles, which are self-attesting. We know they are true, because to deny them is to affirm them.
The law of non-contradiction
Two contradictory sentences cannot be true in the same way. (“There is a God” and “there is no God” cannot both be true in the same sense. I am here and I am not here.)