Thursday 26 September 2013

Rational Thinking Can Help Us Get The Best Out Of Ourselves And Our Nation

A friend posted on Facebook on the issue of Rational Thinking and it got me thinking. I responded to the post and i decided to share my thoughts here too.

Her post is as below:

Olanike Adebayo
I make the move for a motion that RATIONAL THINKING be made a compulsory course in Nigerian secondary schools and universities. If you don't pass, you don't graduate out of secondary school and university.
The challenge will be how to implement considering the fact that most teachers and lecturers are not equipped with these skills.
Online mass training maybe.
How can people acquire qualifications and not be able to think simple ideas through.
# Seriously worried#.
 
Some commenters raised issue in response to her post which include slave masters and colonialism as well as using religion albeit Christianity as an instrument of oppression. You may want to read more on the issue by clicking the name above. However, I will reproduce my response to the subject matter here.

Gabriel Gabu Nmadu From my understanding, rational thinking is d ability of a person to subject any thot, message, statement, event, belief, practice etc to questioning in order to ascertain the rightness, correctness, authenticity or otherwise of d subject matter. Shd this ability be taught as a course in our schools? I am just wondering how d curriculum will look like.

I also want to comment of the forth and back btw Nd Okeke and Olanike. I think what Nd is doing is rational thinking -Subjecting a belief or practice to questioning using his own yardstick (afterall there is no standard way of thinking.) His conclusion might not be acceptable to all but at least he has exhibit rational thinking. I am a Christian and believe strongly in our Lord Jesus Christ but can we confidently say that whatever is happening today in churches is a representation of what God intended?

I agree that rational thinking shd be encouraged among Nigerians and I agree als that it has immense benefit to us as individuals and as a nation but what teaching it as a course is not yet clear to me.
 
Gabriel Gabu Nmadu I want to also address the issue of slave masters and colonialists raised by Nd Okeke. I think this blame game has lost ita lustre. Is there a law that says when u fall down u must not rise up. The continual blaming of slave masters and colonialists has kept us looking back perpetually while we attempt to moveo forward and this will make us trip and fall.

The coming of d westerners to Africa is not all doom in fact we hav a lot of landmark to point to including those listed by Adesoji. They left their beliefs and systems with us but nothing stops us from promoting ours if we feel they are superior. As long as we keep throwing blames we shall not make any reasonable progress. Slavery and colonialism hav passed, we are in today as free human beings in a sovereign state, what are we doing to make today and the future better?
 
Gabriel Gabu Nmadu @Nd Okeke You have raised salient issues as regards your view of Christianity as practiced. However, as inferred in my earlier post the people may be practicing it cannot pass the test when compared with what God intended. This does not negate the rightful place of the Christian faith. I will like to take the position of my Bishop, The Bsihop of Kaduna diocese who says he prefers to call followers of Christ as Christ-like rather than Christian. This way we can really define if a person is actually a true believer or not.

I agree that many people have used the instrument of religion for self-serving purposes and I say to them that they shall give account when they meet the Lord. If your focus is on the Lord Jesus and His Word, you will see less of these abusers of the Christian faith.
 
Just my simple thoughts to the subject matter. However, in another post i will discuss the issue of the effect of slave trade and colonialism on our development and what we should do to make our lives better and our nation a better place .
 
#PoliticalGabriel
 
#2015OnMyMind 

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