Critical Thinking as Spiritual Discipline

On the recommendation of a seminary professor of mine, I have begun reading through several works by Dr. Stephen D. Brookfield. Brookfield has written at length concerning the development of critical thinking. For Brookfield, “[C]ritical thinking is a lived activity, not an abstract academic pastime … It involves calling into question the assumptions underlying our customary, habitual ways of thinking and acting and then being ready to think and act differently on the basis of this critical questioning” (Brookfield, Developing Critical Thinkers, 14, 1). As a practice, critical thinking: identifies and challenges cultural and ideological assumptions; accounts for the context in which ideas and practices take their shape; imaginatively explores alternatives to those dominant ideas and practices; and produces a “reflective skepticism” in those practitioners of critical thought (7-9). Additionally, critical thinking manifests emancipatory learning (building an awareness of the forces that brought you to your present and cultivating an intent to shape them), dialectical thinking (engaging understanding and resolving contradictions), and reflective learning (practicing internal reflection, which leads to a changed conceptual perspective) as constituent ingredients.

Speaking as one immersed in theological education and Christian commitment, I believe critical thinking has the makings of a fruitful spiritual discipline. I see critical thinking as a fortified, vitalized form of meditation (see Richard J. Foster, Celebration of Discipline, ch. 2 for a helpful summary and guide to Christian meditation). The priorities of critical thinking echo portions of Jesus’ message. First, Jesus called into question nearly every social, religious, and cultural assumption he confronted. He did not assume that the poor were treated as they should be, or that the most religious fully understood the message of God. Second, Jesus urged his followers to imagine the redeemed world God initiated and is bringing to fruition. He claimed that the Kingdom of God was present in the midst of his followers. Finally, Jesus called those followers to take action resonant with God’s new agenda. He impelled his disciples to turn the other cheek, go the extra mile, and give one’s cloak and tunic when asked. I believe Jesus, in a way far greater than I understand, was the ultimate critical thinker. I hope that my own local church, and local bodies of believers everywhere, will question the assumptions produced by their contexts, imagine the world that God is bringing together, and act in ways that hasten the coming of that renewed world.