Is it possible to be religious and have an open mind?

Question

Or do you have to shut the door on any other possibilities?

Answer 1

I am a Catholic and deeply religious in my own way. Yet, I believe that God and Mother Nature are the same, that Dinosaurs did roam the earth millions of years ago, that there is a life hereafter, that Atheists have a right to non-belief, that other religions have a God given right to exist, that Noah's Ark was a localised flooding and he did not have two of each animal on board - the thought is ridiculous, that the Earth was not created in six days. I am allowed by my religion to have these thoughts and not to accept even the Bible as, if you pardon the pun, the Gospel truth. I believe that Jesus was the Son of God and is, as part of the Trinity, one God. I choose to believe what I choose and hope my God will forgive me my trespasses as I am only human. I try to be good and do good to my fellow human beings and animals. I am faithful to my wife, family and friends. I am honest and truthful but I still retain an open mind. Take care and God bless....................

Answer 2

Let's see what the bible says about that...

If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed.--2 John 10

Do not allow others to worship a different god. Conquer them and destroy their religious property. Exodus 23:24

Whoever works, or even kindles a fire, on the Sabbath "shall be put to death." Exodus 35:2-3

If a man has sex with another man, kill them both. Leviticus 20:13

Handicapped people cannot approach the altar of God. They would "profane" it. Leviticus 21:16-23

A man curses and blasphemes while disputing with another man. Moses asks God what to do about it. God says that the whole community must stone him to death. "And the children of Israel did as the Lord and Moses commanded." Leviticus 24:10-23

Christians can judge everything and everybody, but no non-Christian can judge them. Corinthians 2:15

sounds like an open minded loving religion so far

Answer 3

I am spiritual, maybe religious, and I have a very open mind...do you?

For me, I had just left an abusive relationship and my
life was on the line. My husband had a gun out and was
going to shoot me. I ran...and got on a plane to San
Fran. On the plane I was shaking uncontrollably and
looked out the window...we were above the clouds...the
beauty of what I was looking at just flooded me until
nothing else was there...peace filled me. I heard
myself say, "God, if you're really there...I put my
life in Your hands. I've failed miserably at
everything...I can't do it anymore." And then I
finally started crying. The sobs came from deep inside
me, all the repressed fear, hurt, pain came flooding
out. And then I heard a gentle whisper in my
head..."I've always had you...you've never been out of
my sight...I even saw you when you tied your first
shoelace." And then it was like a liquid warmth filled
me. I thought I would melt into oblivion. It was like
I had given Him my mess, and He would give me His
help. And He did.

When I got off the plane it was as though everyone
went out of their way to help me. I found a place to
live, a job, and found that I was right across the
street from a christian community. After I got settled
I heard the gentle voice again. He said, "I want you
to meet My Son." So I went into a meeting at the
christian center and heard about Jesus. I learned
about the Gift God offers through Him. And having
experienced God first hand I had no trouble receiving
what His Son had to Give, and what He had to Say. So,
it didn't begin with a Book for me, it began with an
encounter. The Book came later.

Answer 4

Of course we SHOULD have an open mind and be religeous. Whether we're talking about creation, the ressurection of Christ, or the 2004 presidential election, it's impossible to prove somethings. We really deal in probabilities. For example, in talking about the resuurection of Christ, we know that NOBODY was there when it happened. So we cannot prove it conclusively (this is where faith comes in). HOWEVER, all evidence considered, all possibilities weighed, it is MOST LIKELY true that Christ did in fact raise from the dead. That is the approach we should take to other questions as well. Some questions are obvious (example: Do I exist? Well, the fact that I'm writing at this moment, and the fact that I can think about my own existance PROVES that I exist---there's no probability involved. In that case, you'll forgive me if I'm closed minded!)

Answer 5

Let me put it this way, religion has nothing to do with a person being a true follower of the Lord. There are a lot of religious people that will not make it to Heaven. Jesus is the only way. To answer the second part of your question, No! a true follower of the LOrd would not even want to have an open mind, if it goes against the will of our Father.(being gay,adultery,stealing,lying,murder and so on) A true follower of the Lord cannot walk both lines and expect to spend eternity with Jesus. Jesus loves you.

Answer 6

being religious means you are open minded about the truth about life. It means you look at life from a different perspective than your average person. you only shut other possibilities when you recognize that they are waste of time and make you accomplish nothing. As a religious person, you analyze your priorities and see that the possibilities you do choose, get you further in life and make u feel acomplished more than you would have before.

Answer 7

I'd say it is possible to be spiritual (not religious) and have an open mind. That's how I am. I don't follow any particular religion, I accept all of them to be true, I know all religions have been misunderstood resulting in religious intolerance.

It's a nice exercise to analyze the common thread in all religions. It takes some doing, but its worth it.

Answer 8

I don't know about being religious and having an open mind... because religion is about rules and regulations...

As a Christian, I do have an open mind, and can listen to all sides of any discussion or debate (except of course stories about disembowlment because I have a weak stomach).

The Bible tells Christians to "Study to show yourself approved unto God as a worker who doesn't have to be ashamed, but is able to rightly expound upon the Word of Truth". I can't very well study veru effectively if I don't open my mind to an entire universe of possibilities, now can I?

Answer 9

That depends on what you mean by open mind. I'm founded solidly in my belief yet keep an open mind enough to listen and study others beliefs to the point to try to understand where they are coming from. Paul stated he became like them to share with them. If you know the Bible, Paul knew all about the different religions of the area he lived in. one was about the many statues and one marked to the unknown god. I don't know if this is totally an open minded view or not.

Answer 10

Open minded means that you are ready to listen and accept new or different ideas.

It is the recognition that what you think you know is always a limitation. We can believe anything we want but we must be open to any possibility and capible of adjusting as new things are learned.

If we have closed minds we can't adjust our beliefs if something we had previously believed turns out not to be true.

Open mindedness facillitates growth. Closed mindedness is stagnation.