why is it so hard to find openminded christians these days?

Question

like, if a pagan for example, and a christian are trying to have a "level based and open minded conversation" as soon as the pagan mentions any deity or a holiday that later became a christian holiday like ohh say..christmas,
or an atheist discusses his views on how god is merely (to him or her) in the mind of the christian and NOT in the asctal sky or something

Were called liars and preached on how to get saved.

Does christianity close the minds eye to the world? does it keep you so narrowminded?

Answer 1

Because if they had an open mind it would take no time at all to realize the flaws of the religion

Answer 2

Well, a lot of christians don't research our own bible. They take what they hear on Sunday morning as the absolute truth without doing the research themselves.

If they heard some preacher say Coke was of God and Pepsi was of the devil those types would cause Coke's profits to soar.

So, you get a lot of closed mindedness because they really don't know about where they stand and other points of view will threaten that weak stance.

The only christians you could have an open minded discussion with are those who do the work and study scripture and history. This is because they are strong in their faith and confident in the knowledge God gave them.

If you are going to argue with a atheist, then you better understand their viewpoint. If you are going to argue with a Muslim, you had better know the Koran.

More importantly, you better understand your own beliefs otherwise you'll be torn to pieces.

With that, you won't be so closed minded. You could offer thoughtful answers and ask mind stretching questions.

It is OK to disagree but you can't cast a judgement on a person. You have to present your point of view and consider theirs. You are not going to force someone to believe otherwise. Jesus did not force his point of view. He taught and that was it. Those who believed, well, believed. Those who didn't were free to go their way.

Pharisees did the same thing to Jesus. They were closed minded too.

Oh and yeah, there is no proof Jesus was born on Dec. 25.

I too know that it is a winter solstice.

I know the fir tree means something else entirely.

Easter is the pagan holiday for the worship of the fertility goddess... why else do you see so many eggs and bunnies?

The old dogmatic church tried to christianize many pagan things in order to make it more appealing to them. Now it is crazy.

Heck, every day of the week is dedicated to a god right?

I think wedding rings were an egyptian tradition.

Answer 3

They are trained to not think outside the box. Therefore, when things are discovered, is scares them. That is when they go into the self denial mode. But not all christians are narrow minded. The bible says there will come a time when peoples minds will not be able to change, I think we are getting close to that point now. I think most of the athiests that are pissing around on here, don't even look at the answers they get, they are passing boring time at work. And I think a lot are under the age of twenty, because they sound so immature.

Answer 4

Drew, you sound frustrated. I'm sorry you've been called a liar and preached to. I think herein may lie the problem or perhaps the solution to your phenomena. A person who is truly a Christian, not in "name" only, perceives by the conversation and actions of non Christians that they are, as just said, non Christian. Being zealous that, that one, pass from being a non Christian, the zealot focuses on your knowing the way of salvation. This may be done because of a great care for the well being of your soul though it may be perceived to be thoughtless and narrow minded.

Answer 5

Some Christian churches preach against learning and seeking the truth when the Bible itself tells us: "seek and ye shall find" and in proverbs that a fool despises knowledge and instruction.

Mostly it is a control issue... keeping the "flock" in line. Sometimes it is a preacher with little education who fears that if his congregation becomes more educated than he, they will stop listening to him. Sometimes, it is just a complete lack of understanding of the spirit of Christ. They live on rhetoric and don't examine the scriptures and facts for themselves.

Love, Hope, Peace, & Christ Be With You,

Cal-el & Black Canary

Answer 6

I don't know all about the examples you gave but I'll tell you this...
Truth by nature is exclusive.
You can not hold to any semblance of truth and be "Open Minded'
That's like saying "I know 2+2=4 but if you believe that it's really 387 then that's ok for you.
Besides being dumb, it does the other person a disservice to continue letting them live a lie.
Again, you can not say you believe in Truth and then claim to be "open minded". If you do, you deceive yourself.

Hope this helps.

Answer 7

I am an openminded Christian.

Those "Christians" that you see spouting thier hatred and judgement are this off shoot of the real basis of the religion.. Jesus taught tolerance and love. Its just like Judging Islam based on these radical offshoot of Muslims that took the Qu'ran and turned into a weapon.. These Christians take the bible and turn it into a weapon of hate against Gays,women, science you name it.

Its not my job as a Christian to convert anyone. Its my job to live a good life in a good way and answer when asked what is the secret to my success. It also is not my job to judge anyone. Thats God job and the bible states that clearly. I was raised in the church and always taught by the members of my church to respect people who are not like me and treat them the way I want to be treated, that is the Christian way.

We are out there, just drowned out by the noise of the hatemongers disguising themselves as Christians..

Answer 8

Christians might be closed minded but as an atheist I prefer them to pagans - especially from what I read about their views on here and the web.

They're so open minded their brains have fallen out.

Answer 9

Why do we have to be open-minded?

No, please bare with me before you stop reading.

I was not raised in a Christian home. I choose Jesus. Until I choose Him I was open-minded. But my faith in Jesus is my final decision. I will not change.

I am very interested in what other people believe but there is a vast difference between recognizng someone's right to choose their faith and saying it's okay to believe it. My faith says it's not.

By saying it's okay for you to believe what you believe is asking me to water down my own faith and what it teaches. How is this fair? I have friends of many beliefs and religion is my favorite topic. We discuss it all the time and have wonderful, lively, passionate talks....because it is interesting to me.

But don't expect me to say your faith is okay when my faith says it isn't. If you don't like this, then don't discuss faith with us.
If someone is trying to witness to you just be polite and say, "Thank you, but I've made a decision."

Answer 10

By your definition, open-mindedness must mean "open to error". I'm not calling you a liar, nor will I preach to you.

Christians believe in spirits and there is the Spirit of truth and its opposite. We are called to try everything by the truth (God's Word). If what you're telling me is an error, then as a Christian I am in a sense, required to tell you the truth in love (not to thump you over the head w/the Bible). Whether you accept it, that is your choice.

For me, the relevant verse is "You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is beneficial." (1 Cor. 10:23). To apply the verse to your statement: "You say, “I am allowed to (believe, discuss) anything”—but not everything is good for you. You say, “I am allowed to (believe, discuss) anything”—but not everything is beneficial."

God bless you.

Answer 11

don't generalize Christians i acknowledge Christmas as being originally a pagan holiday. winter solstice. commercialization has turned it into neither so it really doesn't matter. however the hope of longer days and the hope of life in Christ should be able to coinside perfectly.