As I finished reading one of my latest books, I couldn't help but think back over the topic. I fundamentally disagreed with the author's thesis, yet agreed with a good number of his arguments. In our society, though, we are surrounded by people who seem to feel they must embrace all of a person's argument, or none of it.

I believe this is one of the biggest obstacles to building a strong sense of community. As I've mentioned before, I am fairly certain that I could find an area of disagreement with every individual I know. That's just the way I am. But those disagreements don't mean that I should throw out the areas that we hold in common.

A recent discussion came up in church about working with other congregations that don't believe as the particular congregation does. Specifically, about engaging in service projects, such as Habitat for Humanity, with churches of other congregations, or of other faiths. The implication was clear: that there was a substantial percentage of individuals who were willing to discard all of the potential good that could come of such a project simply because of doctrinal differences.

Through many years of homeschool conferences (and of teaching in those conferences), I learned to issue a standard disclaimer: these ideas are my own and not those of the organization, and I encourage you to take the ideas that you feel are useful and discard the rest. I apply that concept to every book or article I read, and every television show I watch.

It's called critical thinking and it's as simple as separating the various ideas presented by the author. Some might be good, and some might be bad, but usually there's something that can be gleaned from just about everything that's written, if you know how to pick and choose. The lack of critical thinking ability, has, however, divided politicians, divided churches, and caused more wars than just about anything else. I think these skills are among the most important skills we can teach our children, yet sadly, they seem to be lacking.