A recent documentary on North Korea gave me an interesting insight on the thinking of the people towards the leaders of that country. It was like looking at a sculpture of someone from various angles, as three people interviewed gave quite different descriptions of their attitude to the leadership, but all remained true to their commitment to their leaders. In a private conversation, one young lady spoke very intelligently about her 'philosophy' of the leadership but was very reluctant to hear another point of view, and that started me thinking.
Is my style of thinking any different to hers? I could see the confines of her thinking because of what she had been taught but was my thinking about God and his values also limiting my ability to see other points of view? Do people who don't live by Christian values, have more freedom? Am I missing out on some/many things because they don't fit my values or taste?
I realise a lot of my thinking and evaluating situations is governed by my Christian ethics and that can lead to insecurity in a secular world. I have mentioned many times before about the need for Christians to get out of their comfort zone of Christian activities and be relevant to and feel comfortable in secular society but this does not mean changing Christian values or attitudes. Jesus certainly lived his life amongst ordinary people and related so well to them - he loved them for who they were.
In one respect, my style of thinking is no different to that of the young lady mentioned above, as I have chosen to see things from a Christian perspective. She may not have had the opportunity to question her values, but I certainly have and am very happy to accept the values as presented in the Bible. I have not wanted to stray from these and am now at an age where I can look back at my life and can say that these values have stood the test of time.
Critical thinking is very important, especially Christian teaching where there can be so many 'add-ons' to what the Bible is really saying. By discarding various people's 'add-ons' I have learned new and wonderful truths about God and his unconditional love.
Keep thinking!
Is my style of thinking any different to hers? I could see the confines of her thinking because of what she had been taught but was my thinking about God and his values also limiting my ability to see other points of view? Do people who don't live by Christian values, have more freedom? Am I missing out on some/many things because they don't fit my values or taste?
I realise a lot of my thinking and evaluating situations is governed by my Christian ethics and that can lead to insecurity in a secular world. I have mentioned many times before about the need for Christians to get out of their comfort zone of Christian activities and be relevant to and feel comfortable in secular society but this does not mean changing Christian values or attitudes. Jesus certainly lived his life amongst ordinary people and related so well to them - he loved them for who they were.
In one respect, my style of thinking is no different to that of the young lady mentioned above, as I have chosen to see things from a Christian perspective. She may not have had the opportunity to question her values, but I certainly have and am very happy to accept the values as presented in the Bible. I have not wanted to stray from these and am now at an age where I can look back at my life and can say that these values have stood the test of time.
Critical thinking is very important, especially Christian teaching where there can be so many 'add-ons' to what the Bible is really saying. By discarding various people's 'add-ons' I have learned new and wonderful truths about God and his unconditional love.
Keep thinking!
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