{"id":14926,"date":"2017-11-02T10:29:43","date_gmt":"2017-11-02T17:29:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=14926"},"modified":"2017-11-02T10:36:51","modified_gmt":"2017-11-02T17:36:51","slug":"critical-thinking-and-the-need-for-christ","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/critical-thinking-and-the-need-for-christ\/","title":{"rendered":"Critical Thinking and the Need for Christ"},"content":{"rendered":"

Who would\u2019ve thought that a book on critical thinking could arouse feelings of longing and theological reflection? While I know it was meant to be a practical handbook, The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking Concepts and Tools<\/em> hit me at a heart and soul level\u2014like combination romance novel\/theological inquiry. Alas, in the day of Tweets and Facebook Posts, where image and perception take precedence over reason, evidence, or logic, critical thinking seems to have vanished from public discourse. How I wish that \u201cExcellence in thought\u201d was not only \u201csystematically cultivated\u201d in our media, but also celebrated.[1]<\/a> Instead we cater to the lowest common denominator, where egocentrism is encouraged and personal biases are held up as absolute truths.<\/p>\n

The idealistic world of critical thinking, as Paul and Elder present it, does require a dose of faith. Indeed, I\u2019m not sure that humans have the capacity to \u201covercome our native egocentrism and sociocentrism\u201d apart from having found our identity in the all-sufficiency of Christ.[2]<\/a> They almost get to preaching when they say, \u201cIntellectual humility depends on recognizing that one should not claim more than one actually knows.\u201d[3]<\/a> To this I say a hearty, \u201cAmen!\u201d But what about those poor souls who have not yet found the means to overcome the egoism and sociocentrism that plague them? For them, some of these critical thinking concepts will go beyond the realm of romance to science fiction.<\/p>\n

I remember being confronted with my own sociocentrism when I first moved to France. (If I\u2019m honest, it still smacks me in the face from time to time). One year, we woke up at 2 am to watch our beloved Seahawks play in the Super Bowl. Of course, we were watching on French TV, so we didn\u2019t get the American commercials. To make the experience complete, we went online to view the commercials the following day, only to find that a particular Coca-Cola ad had caused quite an uproar. Have a look at it here:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/youtu.be\/xYVu7tRXuoM<\/a><\/p>\n

America the Beautiful<\/em> was sung in multiple different languages by people from a variety of different ethnic backgrounds, and this, to some, was offensive. It brought out what Time magazine called \u201cAmerica the Ugly,\u201d as evidenced by a number of tweets with an \u201c\u2019English or GTFO\u2019 sentiment.\u201d[4]<\/a> I remember also having a negative reaction to the commercial, but for a totally different reason! I couldn\u2019t believe Americans could be so sociocentric to believe that people from all of over the world, of every tongue and tribe, would be inclined to sing the praises of their country. To me, it was the equivalent of watching a commercial where uniformed Burger King, Chick-fil-A, and Taco Bell employees sing a McDonald\u2019s jingle! It\u2019s not Mc Donald\u2019s fans who should be offended\u2014it\u2019s all the other guys.<\/p>\n

Sociocentrism is at odds with critical thinking as much as it is at odds with Kingdom values. Paul and Elder write, \u201cMost people do not understand the degree to which they have uncritically internalized the dominant prejudices of their society or culture.\u201d[5]<\/a> The USAmerican bias towards English as not only a national language, but an international language, made it challenging for certain citizens to hear a beloved hymn in foreign tongues. To them it was a form of blasphemy. A core quality of sociocentrism is the tendency to take on a groups\u2019 norms and identities \u201cwithout the least sense that what we are doing might reasonably be questioned.\u201d[6]<\/a>\u00a0USAmericans are known worldwide for being monolingual, and many wear this like a badge of honor. But what is so great about only speaking English? What is our resistance to other languages? Can we reasonably question this value? I\u2019ve long wondered why USAmericans are adverse to the idea of becoming a bilingual country. Wouldn\u2019t making Spanish a second national language enrich our culture and honor our heritage? Critical thinking allows us to ask these questions, demands that we ask these questions. But they tend to hit a nerve, an emotional, gut level nerve that short circuits critical thinking.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the answer? Paul and Elder say that sociocentric thinking can only be diminished \u201cwhen replaced by cross-cultural, fairminded thinking.\u201d[7]<\/a>But they offer no insights or advice on how one might go about developing cross-cultural, fairminded thinking. The humanist might suggest world travel. The pragmatist in me says, \u201cWell you could watch BBC instead of Fox News, for starters!\u201d But the flaw is in such thinking is revealed in Paul and Elder\u2019s earlier claim that our egocentrism and sociocentrism are \u201cnative\u201d to us. \u00a0Indeed, they are part of our sin nature. The solution isn\u2019t found creating \u201ccritical societies,\u201d it\u2019s found in surrender to Christ.<\/p>\n

This is why the picture painted by Revelation 7:9 is so amazing, for only in Christ can we be set from our egocentrism and sociocentrism, and long to be part of a multitude \u201cfrom every nation, tribe, people and language,\u00a0standing before the throne\u00a0and before the Lamb.\u201d[8]<\/a><\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Richard Paul and Linda Elder, Thinker\u2019s Guide Library<\/em> (Dillon Beach, CA: Foundation for Critical Thinking, 2006). Loc 37<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Paul and Elder. Loc 48<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Paul and Elder. Loc 184<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> James Poniewozik, \u201cCoca-Cola\u2019s \u2018It\u2019s Beautiful\u2019 Super Bowl Ad Brings Out Some Ugly Americans,\u201d Time<\/em>, February 2, 2014, http:\/\/time.com\/3773\/coca-colas-its-beautiful-super-bowl-ad-brings-out-some-ugly-americans\/.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Paul and Elder, Thinker\u2019s Guide Library<\/em>. Loc 279<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Paul and Elder. Loc 279<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Paul and Elder. Loc 288<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> \u201cBible Gateway Passage: Revelation 7:9 – New International Version,\u201d Bible Gateway, accessed November 2, 2017, https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Revelation+7%3A9&version=NIV.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Who would\u2019ve thought that a book on critical thinking could arouse feelings of longing and theological reflection? While I know it was meant to be a practical handbook, The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking Concepts and Tools hit me at a heart and soul level\u2014like combination romance novel\/theological inquiry. Alas, in the day of Tweets […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":106,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[924],"class_list":["post-14926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-paul-and-elder","cohort-lgp8"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14926","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/106"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14926"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14926\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14930,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14926\/revisions\/14930"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14926"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}