Many students may feel intimidated by a prompt that asks them to engage critically with a scholarly source. 
"I'm a first-year seminary student! Who am I to criticize a published expert in their field?"

Here's the key:

Academic criticism is not the same as criticizing.

When we approach a source critically, it does not mean we are searching for flaws. It means we are approaching it analytically so we understand its parts. It means we are reading it in the context of other writers so we understand how it fits into larger conversations. It means we are seeking to identify how and why the author chose the particular perspectives or emphases they chose.

To respond critically means to offer a next step in the conversation. In other words, it is constructive criticism. A critical reader may ask, "based on this author's conclusion to this question, what is a next question that should be asked?" Or, "how could this conversation be expanded if this perspective or emphasis was added?"