Critical Thinking
We are either taught to memorize or we are taught to question.
Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” They answered him, “We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, ‘You will be made free’?” Jesus answered them, “Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are descendants of Abraham; yet you look for an opportunity to kill me, because there is no place in you for my word. I declare what I have seen in the Father’s presence; as for you, you should do what you have heard from the Father.” They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing what Abraham did, but now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. You are indeed doing what your father does.” They said to him, “We are not illegitimate children; we have one father, God himself.” Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now I am here. I did not come on my own, but he sent me.” - John 8:31–42
The Socratic Method, developed and promoted by the Greeks, is a system of learning that is based on probing questions and dialogue.
It is the way Socrates taught his pupils, gathering them together and challenging them.
Jesus used the same basic approach when he taught. He presented a situation, either directly with questions, or in parable form, and he started a dialogue about them.
In today's reading, Jesus points out that the teaching of the children of Abraham lacked this critical thinking component.
Abraham is a great example of being open to new thinking. He questioned what he saw and was questioned and challenged by it as well.
How could this people claim to be children of Abraham and not be open to discovery like he was?
Abraham was called by a god he did not know and became a believer.
They are confronted with the Messiah and find it hard to accept that is who Jesus is.
It makes me wonder. What could we be brushing off as false, or ignoring completely because it doesn't fit our expectations, our teaching, the paradigm of our beliefs?
Maybe we should be more like Abraham.
More to come...