The Critical Thinking Christian Voter

A couple of decades ago historian Mark Noll began his book, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind, by saying “The scandal … is that there is not much of an evangelical mind. . . American evangelicals are not exemplary in their thinking.” It’s a shame, really, since God gave us a brain to steward for his glory and the good of people.

“Brothers and sisters, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults.” (1 Corinthians 14:20)

“This, calls for a mind with wisdom.” (Revelation 17:9)

I hate to say it, but a lot of us don’t seem to think for ourselves. We’re lazy thinkers. Is it because we know we were made for another world so we don’t invest sufficient effort into this one? Or could we be afraid to think too deeply about the world we live in lest we lose our faith? As though God and his Word can’t stand up to honest examination!

But in reference to voting, as critical thinking Christians we have to think through (the lens of) Scripture and use our God-given discernment. These days we have to keep our “discern-o-meter” on all the time, especially when on social media or watching the news!  

Critical thinkers don’t rush to judgment, but take time to listen to what others are saying.

They don’t succumb to “Twitter (now X)-sized thinking,” as in shallow, bite-sized clichés and pithy memes. Do we actually believe that complex social issues can be reduced to a cool sounding one-sentence platitude? 

Lazy thinkers tend to only repost the opinions of others on social media and form no opinions of their own. Critical thinkers think for themselves and don’t let their party or their favorite talk show host think for them.

Someone said, “The lazy mind is fertile soil for bogus ideas to take root.” Fear-mongering and conspiracy theories fill the media like sewage, and undiscerning people, unfortunately Christians in particular, swallow it whole.

Tolstoy said, “People have a tendency to stop thinking when it becomes difficult, but it is at that point that thinking becomes fruitful.”

These days in particular we need to be media savvy so we can tell the difference between the real and the made up. That’s especially true now that the internet is full of AI deepfakes. So, pick a few news sources from different perspectives, choose intelligent ones, be discerning, and check the facts so you’re not duped by bad actors with an agenda.

One of the problems is the amount of information to wade through. We kind of scan someone’s argument before rushing to rebuttal. The old saying is, “My theory was attacked by a gang of ugly facts.”

I suggest that if you don’t have enough time to do a thorough read or hear someone out so that you can formulate a relatively informed argument, then the best thing to do is to reserve judgment. It’s ok to say, “I don’t have an opinion on that. I’d have to think about it before weighing in on it.”

• Do you see someone who speaks in haste? There is more hope for a fool than for them. Proverbs 29:20
• To answer before listening—that is folly and shame. Proverbs 18:13

Another problem is the glut of misinformation and disinformation in our faces today. Sometimes people send me some of the least credible and most outlandish news stories, memes, videos, and blog posts.

People treat truth these days as though everyone just gets to make up their own version of it.

Did you know that the Oxford Dictionary declared “post-truth” as the 2016 word of the year? The epitaph on this season of U.S. history might well be: “Tellin’ It Like It Isn’t”!

Speaking of conspiracy theories… Here are a few for your listening pleasure:

• Climate change is a communist plot invented by China
• The world is run by a satanic cabal of elites and pedophiles led by Hillary Clinton
• President Biden is dying or is already dead
• Haitian migrants in Ohio are eating dogs and cats
• The Super Bowl was fixed to give Taylor Swift a platform to endorse Joe Biden
• The noise from windmills causes cancer
• The Democrats created the hurricanes on the Florida coast

Sadly, it’s not just pundits and politicians but preachers who spew disinformation … One Megachurch pastor, a regular font of fables, claims that the CIA trains ISIS fighters in the United States and that vaccines are part of a secret plot to sterilize people. He also promoted wild theories about the coronavirus, its origin, its danger and its cure that was kept secret by the government.

Sometimes I wonder how much of their own conspiracies that they actually believe themselves. Either way, they certainly do put the “con” in conspiracy!

“The discerning heart seeks knowledge, but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly.” (Proverbs 15:14)

Brothers and sisters, I urge us all to be more literate in both cultural and spiritual realities. In order to be better equipped to tell the difference between the real and the made up, let’s consume the news discerningly and study our Bibles deeply.

And above all previous years, let’s bring that critical thought to bear in our voting this year. Thanks for hearing me out. God be with you as you go to vote.