Formation of Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is the teenager's ability to analyze received information, checking its reliability, detecting errors and drawing conclusions. This quality of soul helps a young person not become a victim of deception, not fall under others' manipulations, distinguish truth from lies and think rationally. Such thinking teaches to check and test everything before agreeing with it, look at a problem from different sides without being guided by emotions and feelings, learn something new, accept what corresponds to truth.

Parents can begin to educate such thinking in their child from an early age in the form of games with guiding questions that teach thinking in a given direction.

Since our world is full of all kinds of dangers and deceptions, the development of critical thinking will preserve the child from many troubles and teach him to see the world without naive trust. Though childhood is beautiful in its sincerity and naivety, but while sin exists in it, the enemy of souls will use childish trust in his interests.

Children, as a rule, are very curious, and they have thousands of questions to which they want to know your answers. Do not prevent them from asking you about everything; in your answers they receive confirmation in many things with which they will have to live further. Answer wisely and seriously. Though giving a correct answer is good, learn to answer a question with a question: "And what do you think?" or "How do you see this?" Such a question forces the child to seek answers to all his "whys" himself and share with you those conclusions that came to his mind.

Ask the child to describe this or that situation from his position and with correct questions lead him to the right solution or formulation. Such dialogues form in consciousness the ability to analyze and search for additional information. Do not forget to praise your young researcher for efforts and wise answers.

When you conduct such communication with a teenager, the principle of approach remains the same, only the level of questions touches more important life aspects.

You can take news or advertising as a topic for discussion and begin to discuss this from "for" and "against" positions. It is important to teach the teenager to describe his opinion from these two positions so that he learns to find something positive and see negative sides, and then, comparing these facts, draw conclusions.

If you have never practiced such communication in your family, then at first you may not be understood and they may be surprised by such a new approach, but be wise and constant in this teaching, and you will see interesting results.

Without a solid foundation of truth, all your arguments and facts can be shaky and incorrect, but when God's law, principles of mercy and justice, faith in God, spirit of friendliness and service to others lie at the foundation of everything, then very good things can be built on such a foundation.

Faith in God, which the Lord wishes to see in all His children, consists in forming personal trust in relationships with Jesus and faith in and expectation that God will certainly fulfill everything He promised. It is precisely knowledge of God's promises that lies at the foundation of any faith.

How does this phrase sound: "I believe that God will think of something to somehow solve my questions"? No certainty. And if you say this: "God promised to be with me wherever I go, and I believe that it will be so," then God's promise comes into force, and God's Word begins to fulfill what He promised.

Little children believe in God, and they should not be prevented from coming to Jesus. But a teenager may have questions and doubts, as there are not yet strong relationships with the Creator, and he needs help to have his personal experience and acquire correct understanding of God's role in his life.

God, in one place in all the Bible, calls us to test Him; we read in Mal. 3:10: "Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it." Suggest the teenager test God in this question, but explain that the blessings spoken of here imply not only material goods but also spiritual values and protection in all spheres of life. It is always easier to learn something when there are wise instructors. Allow the teenager to gain this experience.

Confidence in the power and immutability of God's word and its authority lays a solid foundation in human consciousness, and the formation of doubt and critical thinking in relation to the world will develop in the right direction and preserve the teenager's soul from many evils.

When I myself was a teenager, I chose a bad community for myself that corrupted my meager good morals. But I also noticed that not all my peers were drawn to us, and many classmates consciously avoided our company and did not wish to have anything in common with us. So your teenager will choose for himself not everything indiscriminately, but what will be to his heart and what will not contradict his personal attitudes. Critical thinking will preserve him in this choice from many mistakes.

Teach the teenager to defend his point of view and position if he understands that it does not contradict God's principles. Conduct training of such discussions with him and suggest what spirit is necessary to have in order to remain a winner.

I know a case when in one church a pastor organized an agreed meeting of his youth with representatives of other denominations and religions. The purpose of the gathering included a certain topic, and the guest was given the right to express his position, and the teenagers had to present their arguments in defense of their views. Such events have a share of risk that inexperienced or unestablished young people will believe in some delusion and leave the church, but with a wise approach they, as a rule, became even more firmly established in truth and rejoiced in another victory of God's word. Their opponents' difficult questions forced them to seek needed answers, needed verses and remember what was found for next time. It happened that representatives of other religions cornered inexperienced teenagers with their arguments and left as "winners," but the wise pastor afterwards showed the young people those places in Scripture that broke all presented arguments and established the teenagers in truth.

When I mold a vessel from clay and let the sun fire it, I know that ahead this object awaits a fiery furnace that it cannot avoid in order to become suitable for worthy use. So too in teenagers' lives there will be a fiery trial that will help them pass through this heat and become even stronger and purer and be prepared for more serious trials.

Teach the teenager to identify manipulations, understand the spirit of other people, foresee the consequences of this or that event. Discuss what will happen if one acts this way or that. Discuss what was read or viewed. Teach to see good in people and notice hidden talents and peculiarities. Though this teaching may be perceived by the teenager superficially, in due time it will bring needed fruit.

1. Please read Acts 17:10-11; Eph. 5:15-16; Eccl. 7:5; 1Thess. 5:21; Matt. 7:24-25; 1Cor. 2:14; Prov. 8:11; 13:20; 15:4; James 3:13; Isa. 1:18; 55:8-9, in light of this lesson.

2. What other verses from the Bible came to your mind?

3. What was revealed to you in this chapter?

4. What is critical thinking?

5. Why is it important to check the reliability of all information?

6. How can a teenager's emotions influence decision making?

7. Why is it necessary to teach a teenager to consider a problem from different sides?

8. What games can be used to develop critical thinking in children and teenagers?

9. Why is it important to instill critical thinking from an early age?

10. What questions help form critical thinking in teenagers?

11. How does faith in God influence the development of critical thinking?

12. Why is it important to see not only bad but also good in people?

13. How can we develop in a teenager the ability to foresee the consequences of his decisions?

14. How can one distinguish the influence of friends and society from one's own point of view?