Critical Thinking
Traditional critical thinking and action sees its role as questioning everything. An important part it is opposing the status quo and what has historically occurred. Problems with this:
- Such critical thinking and action has no basis. It can only define itself by what it wants to oppose. It is like trying to push something when you don't have solid ground on which to stand. All you can do is push your feet against the thing itself.
- The current situation is diverse, but what is opposed in it is merely one or two aspects of it. Such critical thinking and action becomes blind to other aspects, and ends up suppressing them.
- So the new ways often have little meaning except by reference to one aspect of what it opposes, and becomes irrelevant otherwise - leading to a supposed need to 'reeducate' the population to see things in that narrow way.
- It is often undertaken with an attitude of arrogance or enmity, rather than an attitude of critical love.
However there is something more even in this. New View can perhaps enrich and revivify it by setting it on a firmer foundation.
- It has a wider basis in the cosmic plan of God.
- This allows all we do to be seen against a wider backdrop, which itself is diverse.
- It finds its meaning and goodness by reference to what we know of God.
- It provides a criticality based on self-giving love and humility.
But our understanding of may itself be validly criticised.
This page, URL= "http://abxn.org/nv/enrich.world.html",
is part of the on-going work in developing a 'New View' in theology and practice that is appropriate to the days that are coming upon us. Comments, queries welcome by emailing
Compiled by Andrew Basden as part of his reflections from a Christian perspective. Copyright (c) Andrew Basden to latest date below, but you may use this material for almost any purpose, but subject to certain conditions.
Written on the Amiga with Protext in the style of classic HTML.
Created: 26 July 2009.
Last updated: 13 December 2024 canon,bgc, .end,.nav.