Faith & Critical Thinking

You may have seen the title of this article and thought, “Faith and Critical Thinking! Those are opposites!” While that is kind of true, the two do not have to be mutually exclusive. 

 In my day job I am a toddler teacher. Part of the curriculum I teach to my 18 month olds is critical thinking skills. The school system starts them early. Most of my teaching on critical thinking is things like, “Is this rock wet or dry?” and “Is this tower short or tall?” But this lays the foundation for asking questions about the things they observe and are taught for the rest of their lives. Often when children come to church and use the critical thinking skills that they are taught in school, they are met with shame and derision. 

If we answer childrens’ questions about the Bible with “just take it on faith” or “The Bible says it, that settles it” You invalidate the critical thinking skills they are taught to bring to every other situation in life. This creates unnecessary doubt and puts children on a path to walk away from the faith as they get older. 

While it is true that there are some things we do have to “take on faith”. There are many things we can explain, either from Biblical or extrabiblical sources. When we take the time to answer the questions children have, we build up a trust both in the church as an institution and in God himself. So that when they come across a concept that the human mind cannot understand this side of heaven, their faith is not shaken. Their critical thinking skills will kick in and say, “I know that God and his Word have proven to be trustworthy, so my lack of understanding on this topic is not a deal breaker.” 

 Trust me, if you open yourself up to answering questions about hard things to the children in your ministry, you will never have a shortage of hard questions to ponder. I have to be careful not to give the students in my Bible class too many hypothetical questions, becuase they will ask endless clarifying questions back to me until the point I am trying to make is lost forever. All in all, I don’t mind. If poking holes in my illustrations keeps them thinking critically and asking questions, I’m all for it. 

 Allowing children to engage their brains at church keeps them interested and strengthens their faith. Critical Thinking and Faith can go hand in hand to create knowledgeable believers who aren’t afraid to ask questions.