THINKING IT THROUGH
Getting Answers to Life's Biggest Issues
By Martin Salter
10 Publishing. 128 pages. £3.99
ISBN 978 1 910 587 973
I was impressed almost from the first page.
The starting point of this book is the observation that, in today’s world, it seems as if people are taught what to think, but are not taught how to think. Fast-moving information technology bombards us with what often amounts to a stream of propaganda, with scarcely a moment given to recipients for reflection and rational analysis. In writing very usefully for both non-Christians and Christians, Martin Salter encourages us to be logical and to use our brains. He is swimming against the cultural tide, but in the right direction. ‘I don’t want so much to tell you what to think as open up a discussion on how to think.’ With ‘post-truth’ and suspicion of ‘experts’ being widely discussed, I think this is bang on and will strike a chord with many people.
Six questions
Readers are taken back to the discipline of asking six basic things about any question they face: Who? Why? How? What? Where? When? i.e. Who is the authority on the question? Why are they the best person to speak to the question? How do they come to their conclusions? What exactly is the question being considered? Where culturally is the discussion located? When historically are we thinking about the question? This approach calls us to be both rational and self-aware.
Six authorities
We all tend to rely for our thinking on a combined series of authorities: Tradition; Reason; Intuition; Books (religious or otherwise); Experience; Society’s View. The author gets us to think through the reliability of these various authorities and why we might, for reasons other than the purely rational, lean towards the ones we do. This opens the door for a look at some classic fallacies in thinking, which are far more common than they should be. This is all explained clearly and simply and anyone (especially sixth-formers and students) can benefit.
Worked examples
Having cleared the ground, as it were, by this illuminating exercise, the author then goes on to explain why he trusts the claims of the risen Lord Jesus Christ and therefore takes a Christian approach to life. Using the original six questions he then gives a few ‘worked examples’ of clear thought by looking at our approach to other religions, abortion and euthanasia, and then same sex marriage, explaining carefully and winsomely why Bible Christians take the stances they do with regard to these sensitive matters.
In a culture (and church?) increasingly dominated by emotion and even emotional blackmail this book is a wonderful breath of fresh air.
