By Todd Strandberg

How can a person know he or she is not in error? Because we are the ones judging our own thoughts, it's not easy to determine if we are up to the task. Surely, there are other folks who consider some of your views to be void of sound reasoning. So the question remains, who is correct?

After many years of contemplation, I've come to realize that magical thinking is one of the most common causes of erroneous beliefs. It is the ability to draw conclusions that are based on a person's desire for what reality should be, not necessarily upon what reality actually is. People simply believe things that have no connection to logical thinking. Here are some examples:

Relics of saints can transfer spiritual energy. The pet psychic who claims she can read your dog's mind by looking at a photo of the dog. Doing an Indian rain dance will cause precipitation to fall from the sky. Wearing your favorite lucky shirt will improve your bowling score. The Bible contains hidden teachings that only certain groups can understand.

It's very appealing to believe one is able to create whatever reality one so desires. Someone who uses magical thinking will have the satisfaction of always being correct. However, with the ability to create your own evidence for your beliefs, there is nothing to prevent error from creeping into your consciousness.

The imagination is a wonderful tool for innovation, but without guidelines to govern this creative energy, we will eventually get off track. Our brains should come with the warning: "Danger, the lack of a factual foundation may cause a sudden shift from reality."

God Does Not Use Magical Thinking

God just makes a wish and things magically happen? The process may appear to be that simple from our vantage point, but that can't be how things work. For every complex cause, there needs to be an intelligent force acting behind it. God does not have a personal fairy godmother to grant His wishes. When the Almighty desires to perform what we would call a supernatural act, He has to fulfill it himself.

Magical Thinking's inability to bridge the gap between the natural and supernatural world has provided an opportunity for some people to rationalize many biblical miracles. The parting of the Red Sea is frequently explained as being the result of a wind blowing away the water. Some folks go into pure heresy by claiming that Jesus didn't die on the cross; they say He simply fainted and later recovered.

Faith is not a special power unto itself. It is simply an asterisk that says, "I don't know how God did it."

Critical Thinking

William Graham Sumner offers one of the best summary of critical thinking: "Critical thinking is the examination and test of propositions of any kind which are offered for acceptance, in order to find out whether they correspond to reality or not. The critical faculty is a product of education and training. It is a mental habit and power. It is a prime condition of human welfare that men and women should be trained in it. It is our only guarantee against delusion, deception, superstition, and misapprehension of ourselves and our earthly circumstances."

Critical thinking is what keeps us out of trouble. Whenever we encounter a situation that could be hazardous to our mental, physical or financial well-being, we need to pull out the litmus paper of skepticism.

The usage of critical thinking does not require us to be cynical of all things. If you drive down the interstate and come upon a bridge, you don't ask yourself whether the will collapse as you cross it. You know that any bridge in a heavily trafficked area will be well maintained. Critical thinking would serve you well if you encounter a rickety bridge on an old country road.

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