HE TWO ELDERLY WOMEN sitting behind me chatted while the middle-aged man up front did his best to remind us of our obligation to be actively engaged in sharing our faith. It was personal ministries time on the Sabbath morning's schedule of activities, and I should have been listening forward instead of backward, but somehow my ears were more attuned to what was being said behind me.

"They have money," one of the women was saying-the "they" being the family of the man up front-"but they have no class." Well, how perceptive! God has given to some the spirit of discernment, and I was hearing it being applied right there in the pew behind me.

Then there was the time I enthusiastically told a fellow school administrator what one of our teachers had told me about her experience at the recent advanced placement conference she had attended. She was excited about what she had learned and was eager to share the new ideas with her colleagues and put them into practice in her own classroom. I was extremely pleased. The investment in time away from her teaching duties had paid off in renewed zest for teaching.

"Where has she been all this time?" asked my colleague imperiously. "Hasn't she taught the course before?" The question, laced with negativism, seemed designed to squelch any attempt at sharing in the teacher's enthusiasm.

The two speakers in these scenes above would be the first to say that they meant no harm. They were simply making what appeared to them to be valid observations, but what kind of attitude did they convey in the process? Did they come across as critical thinkers, or merely critical persons?

We all admire a good mind at work, whether in the classroom, in a major public forum, in a committee meeting, or even in general conversation. A good thinker analyzes ideas, separating facts from fallacies. This kind of thinking can be very impressive. But it is very dismaying to see a good mind given over to mere criticism and faultfinding.

We think of Judas, who was endowed with an uncommon intellect. He was always interested in seeing the big picture and drawing conclusions before anyone else did, but as Ellen White points out, "he cultivated a disposition to criticize" (The Desire of Ages, p. 717). He used his critical-thinking gift to be merely critical, even of the Son of God. As he watched Mary do homage to Jesus at Simon's house, he questioned: "How can Jesus allow Mary to break such an expensive bottle of perfume on His feet? Doesn't He realize that perfume donated to the cause would fetch a good price and provide a cushion for our meager resources?" Such reasoning often parades as thoughtful critical analysis, but in reality is mere criticism, motivated by limited vision.

Those of us who are adults should have long ago acquired our critical-thinking skills. The question is whether we use our critical-thinking ability appropriately or settle for being merely critical. Do we find fault with everyone and everything, not examining issues and ideas? Do we make sound judgments based on facts rather than personal opinion?

One researcher has observed that critical-thinking ability is not widespread. This conclusion might make some despair of ever being able to think critically, but the good news is that the research has also revealed that the ability to think critically can be improved with practice. Christians, who must always be interested in knowing the truth and discriminating between truth and error, ought to be keenly interested in developing their critical-thinking skills.

To think critically, we must have knowledge. We cannot think about nothing, but that is exactly what we do when we try to pass judgment or draw conclusions about matters on which we do not have the facts. Mere hearsay will not do. Sound judgments cannot be made based on what someone heard that someone said or did at the General Conference or in a union meeting. We cannot run off to report an unsupported generalization that is made in a tract or a newsletter about some inconsistency involving the higher-ups in the church. We need facts if we are going to communicate accurately and precisely, which is a skill called for by critical thinking.

To think critically, we must be aware of the context in which situations occur. Time, place, and surrounding circumstances play an important role in the interpretation of events. The critical thinker does not lift an event out of its context and use it or retell it, as though it had no bearing on previous circumstances, simply because it suits his or her purpose to do so. When we quote the pastor or Brother James on what was said in the church board meeting, we must give the essential context, which includes the surrounding circumstances, in order to convey the basis for clear, unbiased thinking on the matter and to draw an accurate conclusion.

To think critically, we must ask the right questions. Our questions must not emanate from our personal biases, nor should they center on personality. They must focus instead on concepts. Most of the time, however, we ask the wrong questions. Questions should be designed to give us useful and important information, not to reinforce our preconceived ideas or to make us feel superior.

The disciples, like the people of their day, were given to asking the wrong questions. Although they had in their midst the greatest thinker the world has ever known, they had not yet learned to think critically. On a Sabbath excursion with Jesus they came upon a blind man who had been born that way. Right away they had a question for Jesus: "Master, who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" (John 9:2). Of course, their question had an implied answer: We know somebody sinned-just tell us who. Isn't that just like us, posing questions that pass judgment, not ones that help us look critically for useful answers? These are the questions we ask the newly divorced, the student who is expelled from school, the person who loses his job, the young church member who becomes pregnant.

Further Study on the Topic of Criticism From Scripture and Ellen White Psalm 15:1-3, "Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary? . . . He whose walk is blameless and . . . who speaks the truth from his heart and has no slander on his tongue" (NIV). Proverbs 26:22, "The words of a talebearer are as wounds." Matthew 7:3, "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye?" (NIV). Matthew 18:15, "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault" (NIV). Romans 2:1, "For at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself" (NIV). Galatians 6:4, "Each one should test his own actions" (NIV). James 4:11, "Brothers, do not slander one another" (NIV). "Notes of Travel," Review and Herald, Nov. 6, 1883. "The Light of the World," Signs of the Times, Mar. 9, 1882. Selected Messages, book 3, pp. 344, 345. Christ's Object Lessons, pp. 190, 341. The Desire of Ages, p. 441. -Bonita Joyner Shields

The Bible record doesn't say how the disciples felt when Jesus answered them, but His response showed that they were wrong on both counts: "Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents" (verse 3). Then Jesus proceeded to give them the facts, the basis for sound judgment. There is no sin involved here, Jesus explained. "I have a work to do in the world. My Father brought Me into today's circumstance so that His power can be displayed. As long as I am in the world I am the light of the world. This man's darkness had to encounter My light in order for it to be dispelled. The circumstances of his birth have nothing to do with his blindness. The circumstance of My being here has everything to do with his being able to see. Do you get it?"

In the church pew on Sabbath morning we have ready-made opportunities for being merely critical: the program doesn't begin on time; the solo sounds a bit metallic; the young people won't come in from the parking lot; the choir doesn't sound as good as when so-and-so directed it; and the pastor's sermon . . . well! And, oh yes, there are a few people here with money but no class. In the midst of opportunities for passing judgment, we must remember that a critical thinker operates on the basis of knowledge and is sensitive to context. We consider the circumstances, analyze them, and formulate conclusions based on facts, not on personalities and preferences.

We ought to form the habit of exercising the power of critical thinking daily-in the home, in the workplace, in all our personal interactions. Knowing that critical thinking is not widespread, let's use every opportunity to improve our ability to think critically. In the words of a popular slogan, "a mind is a terrible thing to waste"-on being merely critical.

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Judith P. Nembhard is an educator and writer now living in Kingston, Jamaica.