Close minded (continued)?

Question

Ok I've revised my last question.

Most people are close minded, and I am trying to figure out why. I am not just talking about people that won't listen to the other side of the argument. I am talking also about, for example, anyone who knows as fact either that God exists or that he doesn't (unless they have personally seen him.)

Is it because they believe that their system of logic is better than those who do not agree with them, or that they know more about the subject? There are both the intelligent and stupid, the knowledgable and the ignorant, on both sides of any major disagreement such as the existence of God, so this doesn't make sense.

So if you "know" either that God exists or that he doesn't, think about this: why are there millions of people, many of whom are smarter than you, that "know" that you are wrong? Kind of makes your opinion worthless, does it not?

And yet somehow people have the nerve to call stupid those that have a different belief about an unprovable topic

I'm not sure if all that makes sense, but I am tired and don't want to go over it.

Standing still is better than going in different directions and then having wars about your beliefs

Yes I know God has no gender, I just don't know how else to refer to "him."

Some of you are choosing which part of my argument to respond to, and missing the rest. I am not saying that God exists or vice versa, I'm saying that you can't be so sure either way so don't get so wrapped up in what you happen to believe.

And there is no reason to believe that George Washington didn't exist, which is why there aren't millions (or any) people that don't believe he existed. He was a regular human being, and there is tons of evidence that he existed. Even so, you can't be 100% sure that he did exist. Frankly, I don't care if he existed or not so there is no point in going there.

indescript, thanks for being a perfect example of what I am talking about.

I am not talking about any specific description of God, because I am just trying to make a point and so wanted to make it as simple as possible.

Nesh: ok, most people that I have talked to have a strong belief about this topic.
Also, I agree that arguing is extremely important. I love to argue, and I could argue against the existence of God for hours or against the validity of evolution for hours.

Answer 1

I try not to be closed minded. I believe there is no god, because of the evidence. I do not claim to KNOW there is no god, and like everyone, I do have doubts and wonder if I'm really right. If new evidence comes to light which makes something else look more likely I will change my beliefs. Even respected scientists can find some new data and suddenly some 'fact' or other will look unlikely.

I try and gather my information from all sides (my latest book order from amazon includes a copy of the koran, the satanic bible, some buddhist wisdom, darwins origin of species and the gnostic gospels) because it irks me when people have a belief and won't read anything that may contradict it.

T Time: Saying god is all things is just a different view of god, thus no more open minded than believing in a christian god or an islamic god. I don't think beliefs in themselves are open or closed minded. Open-mindedness is how willing you are to let your beliefs be changed when new evidence comes to light, or if you wear blinders once you've made a decision.

Answer 2

Generalising most ppl to be close minded shows how close minded you are...sorry u r contradicting urself...
Besides, we need ppl of 2 different sides, we cant sit on a fence, ppl HAVE to believe SOMETHING and not EVERYTHING becuz thats INSANE, especially when try to believe 2 totally OPPOSING issues...you have to make a decision based on ur own experience and opinions, and you cant call them smart or stupid over that matter...Humans tend to take decision, we are not robots who accept everything...
Anyway, the bright side of ppl always argue against someone's theory, is that it enlightens the other person over some contradiction. Only if there is an arguement, the problem can be addressed and so a solution can be made. Thx. Nesh

Answer 3

It's really very simple if you think about it. God wants us to believe in Him through faith. If He reveled Himself to the world what would be in question? God created us all and it's all explained in His Bible. Either you believe at some point before you die or you don't. The choice is yours to make. Using the old adage that someone is smarter than you about something like this is absolutely fruitless. There are many very smart people on both sides of the road. That's the wonderful thing about faith, you don't have to be a genius to have it. As a matter of fact, there are many people in this world who think they are so smart that they have to have everything seen or proved before they believe it. They are so smart, they don't realize their stupidity in the actual understanding of faith. Everyone has a certain amount of faith. You must have faith in order to go to an area that may be dangerous such as a certain area in a large city. You have faith that you will survive. Or you can stay in your little area for the rest of your life and feel secure. You can not believe in God because no one has ever proved that He exist and end up in the lake of fire because you didn't understand faith even though you thought you were so very smart.

Answer 4

Understanding the nature of God is impossible. When you lived in your mother's womb you had little notion of what the world was like. You might have perceived light or sounds. Perhaps you even recognised voices or experienced music. You, no doubt perceived many hints of the world outside the womb.

I find that this life is like that as well. We have only hints of the divine and the power of God. God's true nature and the true nature of His creation is as unknowable to us as the world is to an unborn child. And yet....we know He's there. We can trace His fingerprints in nature and see Him through the beauty of creation. I find the the more I know about the miracle of life and the universe the more I perceive God.

Answer 5

I know for a fact that gods don't exist. This is because I know enough evidence of gods being man-made and enough evidence of human nature's tendency to create them that I can say, as a fact, that gods don't exist. There is plenty of evidence in the area of religious history and human psychology to be very certain that gods are wholly man-made.

I also know the extreme bias of people towards emotional arguments and childhood indoctrination. Humans have been emotional animals far longer than rational ones. So, it's not surprising that most people believe that some god or another exists.

This doesn't make me close minded. It just makes me very convinced of my position. As I said in your earlier post, if I was close-minded, I would still be a Christian. It was through looking at the evidence, talking with people, researching religions and human psychology that I came to my current certainty.

I also don't believe we have absolute knowledge of anything. We can't be 100% sure that anything we experience is true. So, any claims of certainty have the caveat of "to the extent that I know anything". Religious people love to claim that atheists are really agnostics (using the popular use of the term) because we can't know their god doesn't exist in an absolute sense. That's really a standard they don't hold themselves to, since nothing can be known absolutely. Still, they can be 100% convinced that what they think it true (given the usual caveat that all humanity inherently has).

Answer 6

It doesn't matter to me if people say I'm stupid because I believe in God. God has changed my life and my faith is strong. I think people are too thin skinned. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. One day we will all know who was right, whether we want to or not.

May God Bless you.

Answer 7

So do you believe that the god of Abraham, may or may not exist ?
Is this the god you are referring to?
If not what is your concept of the god that may or may not exist ?


If you are talking about the Christian, Mulism, and Jewish god ( the god of Abraham):
I have read the bible and I have made up my mind.
Perhaps it is fear that holds you back.
It's okay, hell dosen't exist, your not going to burn.


Religion is a terrible thing, it is made up & used for controlling ppl.
Ppl get brainwashed and go/sound nuts.
--That's my problem with it.

Answer 8

I believe in God, but the thing I question is.....did George Washington REALLY exist?....I've never seen him. Oh, I know they write about him in books and all, and he was suppose to be the first president and all, but I heard that he was made up and someone else was the first president....How can I believe there really WAS a Washington? I think it was all made up.

Answer 9

You refer to God as a "he".
God is not within a gender, and to limit the idea of God to that is why lots of poeple are confused about the existence of a higher being. God is all things.
You cannot get any more open-minded than that.

Answer 10

Well I agree, i think there are most people who are like that. But in my opinion, people who do believe in God whould respect those and NOT force them to believe their opinion and vice versa. Even if you think or know your opinions are correct than the other party, if you respect their opinions, they will respect u and yours.
I think this is something the world needs improvement on