- Jul 5, 2017
- 1,487
- 909
- Country
- United States
- Faith
- Christian
- Marital Status
- Married
- Politics
- US-Others
I am constantly bumping up against what I think is a new and sad conception of who a real friend is these days. It seems like people today think that a real friend is one who validates, agrees with, supports, or "likes" whatever you say/think regardless of its validity, correctness, or truthfulness. They just want validation, not qualification toward universal, cultural, religious, scientific, and other truths.
I try to be the best friend that I can be by examining what they have said in the light of God's Word, science, cultural, and other T/truths and render the most objective response I can. My response, many times, I think comes across as "unfriendly" to them because it doesn't simply and quickly validate whatever they have just said but rather toward helping them see the widest perspective I can or see things which they appear to be blind; hopefully aiding them to arrive at what I understand as the various T/truths of our universe, primarily, God's Word, but certainly not exclusive of that.
This could be the curse of being a "critical thinker" but I think that is only part of the situation. By the way, a critical thinker is NOT the same thing as a critic:
"Critical thinking means making reasoned judgments that are logical and well-thought out. It is a way of thinking in which you don't simply accept all arguments and conclusions you are exposed to but rather have an attitude involving questioning such arguments and conclusions. It requires wanting to see what evidence is involved to support a particular argument or conclusion. People who use critical thinking are the ones who say things such as, 'How do you know that? Is this conclusion based on evidence or gut feelings?' and 'Are there alternative possibilities when given new pieces of information?'" Pasted from: What is Critical Thinking? - Definition, Skills & Meaning - Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com
So, what do you all think about what a REAL friend is regarding how they respond to what you say? Do you think that they should just validate what you have said or examine it against all of the truths/facts they know and maybe give you a response which may be difficult to deal with? I add after the first response, I am not talking about feelings. Certainly, we should validate feelings and I will make a note of that again, but I am discussing content and reasoning, such as if one were asking for advise, sharing an idea or conclusion, or a conflict that they had with another.
I try to be the best friend that I can be by examining what they have said in the light of God's Word, science, cultural, and other T/truths and render the most objective response I can. My response, many times, I think comes across as "unfriendly" to them because it doesn't simply and quickly validate whatever they have just said but rather toward helping them see the widest perspective I can or see things which they appear to be blind; hopefully aiding them to arrive at what I understand as the various T/truths of our universe, primarily, God's Word, but certainly not exclusive of that.
This could be the curse of being a "critical thinker" but I think that is only part of the situation. By the way, a critical thinker is NOT the same thing as a critic:
"Critical thinking means making reasoned judgments that are logical and well-thought out. It is a way of thinking in which you don't simply accept all arguments and conclusions you are exposed to but rather have an attitude involving questioning such arguments and conclusions. It requires wanting to see what evidence is involved to support a particular argument or conclusion. People who use critical thinking are the ones who say things such as, 'How do you know that? Is this conclusion based on evidence or gut feelings?' and 'Are there alternative possibilities when given new pieces of information?'" Pasted from: What is Critical Thinking? - Definition, Skills & Meaning - Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com
So, what do you all think about what a REAL friend is regarding how they respond to what you say? Do you think that they should just validate what you have said or examine it against all of the truths/facts they know and maybe give you a response which may be difficult to deal with? I add after the first response, I am not talking about feelings. Certainly, we should validate feelings and I will make a note of that again, but I am discussing content and reasoning, such as if one were asking for advise, sharing an idea or conclusion, or a conflict that they had with another.
Last edited: