Open-minded? Closed-minded? Brainwashed? Smart? Stupid?

Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory Forever!

So often I read or hear people say that us religious folks are closed-minded. We're closed minded because we believe in a book "made by man," therefore giving it no credibility. We believe in a god who doesn't exist, and we have rules to live by (us Christians call them 'commandments'). Religious people are also closed-minded because we have a clear distinction between right and wrong, and might not always have solid evidence as to why we believe the way we do. This 'right & wrong/anti-anything goes' way of thinking also means we're judgmental. In the end, any religious person would say it all comes down to having Faith.

But is this really the case? I mean, is it really the religious people who are closed-minded? Or is it the individuals who dismiss religion who are closed-minded? Well, I'm sure the open-minded/closed-minded thing goes both ways depending on the issue at hand. For todays post, I'm going to stick to "religion vs non-religion." And this is strictly from my personal point of view. Again, I do not represent or speak on behalf of the Holy Orthodox Church. 

In terms of religion, Orthodoxy specifically, I'm on a battlefield for discussion and debate. While I realize everybody is human and that nobody is perfect, I look at the world today and have a legitimate fear for where we'll be in ten years (and this has nothing to do with politics). Throughout history there have always been wars and violence. There have always been natural disasters and plagues. But none of these have led to the downfall of the world, yet. However, what I believe will lead to the downfall is when the murder of humans become acceptable, when stealing becomes okay, and when lying is considered harmless. The downfall of the world will happen when anything and everything is acceptable, and there's no room to stand up for what's right, because it doesn't matter... as long as people are happy. 

Sorry to get all dramatic... 

Anyway, so this open/closed-minded business.... what's it all about? 

So here I am, an Orthodox Christian. I struggle everyday with temptation, fear, anxiety, passions of the flesh, and much more. I struggle to pray, I struggle to fast, I struggle to be silent (inner silence as well). I struggle not to gossip, to judge, to condemn and to condone (what to support vs what not to support). I struggle everyday to be half the Christian I should be. Part of my struggle is dealing with all these self-proclaimed "open-minded" secularists telling me::: The bible is fake, Jesus wasn't real, God isn't real, the bible is a fairy tale, Christians are closed-minded, Christians are judgmental.... etc. etc. It's not an easy thing to deal with.

**Side note - Now, I don't consider myself to be fully open-minded. Then again, I don't proclaim myself as being either open or closed-minded. I am however, open to many things. But not only am I open, but I'm also willing. There's a difference between being open to new ideas/beliefs and being willing to consider/pursue them. 

So, I could be open to the concept of abortion... and either reject or accept it. But unless I'm willing to give the issue some serious thought and consideration, then I'm making decisions and taking stances out of mere ignorance. 

I would also say there's a point where, regardless of if one is open or closed-minded, that there's a point where there's a right and wrong thing to do/believe...etc. There's a line of acceptability, tolerance and intolerance.  This can labeled as ethics, moral code or even "common sense." Everybody seems to be on a different page, depending on the topic at hand. 

For this post specifically, I'm specifically referring to the religion aspect, based on experiences I've had with friends, family and people I've met at school. Again, simply opinions, thoughts and observations from my point of view.

And now back to your scheduled programming....

So, in response to the negative things posted above, how can someone who's a self proclaimed open-minded person say the bible is fake? Clearly one is not open-minded enough to investigate scripture for him/herself. Listen, I understand not all people are raised going to church or knowing the bible. But not knowing what the "Good Book" says is no excuse to say it's fake. And to go as far to say Jesus wasn't real, that would be like me saying Christopher Columbus wasn't real. Alright, so there's no pictures of Jesus healing the sick or raising Lazarus from the dead -- doesn't mean it didn't happen. I could argue the same for a secular thing. Just because there's no pictures or video of Columbus doesn't mean he isn't real and that his story isn't true. With all due respect, what's the difference in documentation between the story of Christ and the story of an American settler? (Other than the Son of God thing). It can go both ways. Secular people can say the bible is a fairy tale and Christians could say history books are fairy tales. Then again, if we really look at the bible, it's nothing more than a history book. For Christians, it just happens to be extremely important.

**Side note -- I realize there are many people who grow up going to church and end up falling away and doing their own thing. I also realize there are people who genuinely investigate religion and simply don't believe it's meant for them. That's fine. By no means am I suggesting non-Christians aren't good people or that they can't be good people. My thoughts and questions are simply from personal experiences and my interpretation.

And now, back to your scheduled programming...

This might be a silly comparison, but think about it. A closed-minded person would look at religion and say they don't buy into it, regardless of if they know anything about it or not. The logic is, the bible was written by man so therefore is not true. An open-minded person would look at religion (Christianity specifically) and probably react a little differently. I'm sure an open-minded person would investigate, learn and familiarize themselves with the writings, traditions and beliefs... regardless if they buy into them at first. And some might go as far as to test it out and see if religion works for them. An open-minded person wouldn't shoot down religion, or the idea of God and Jesus Christ. Even if they make the choice not to believe or practice the Christian faith, an open-minded person would not dismiss the possibility of an existing God or the person of Jesus Christ.

**Side note -- Mind you, the Christian church is around 2000 years old. Beliefs and Traditions have survived and thrived. The Old Testament is far older than Christianity. I think 2000+ years of historical documenting, beliefs, tradition and ideology (which went relatively unchanged until the Protestant Reformation) have a pretty descent amount of credibility. 

Again, back to your scheduled programming...

Being honest, I know many Christians who are closed-minded and judgmental (sometimes myself included) -- but we're not supposed to be. Listen, I cannot speak on behalf of all Christians because it's not my place. But there is such a thing as being tolerant and intolerant. Being intolerant does not translate into being closed-minded; nor does it translate into being judgmental. What most people don't understand is the concept of Thought vs Action. What this concept does is illustrate the point of tolerance versus intolerance. For example, if I get irritated at "Joe Smith" and the thought of me strangling him pops into my mind, yes, it's an ill thought, but did I commit a crime (did I act on my thoughts) of hurting/assaulting someone?

Okay, so lets suppose I'm married, and I see a beautiful woman walking down the street, and decided I wanted to "hit that." And suppose I acted on my passions and was successful. Well, for starters, I'd be in a steaming pile of crap with God and my wife. Assuming the woman walking down the street was also married and I acted on my temptations with her, then I'm guilty of 1) committing adultery and 2) coveting my neighbors wife.

So what is the sin? Is experiencing temptations and passions a sin? Or is it acting on our temptations that's the sin?

Logic would tell us (regardless of if you're religious or not (specifically Christian)) that there's really no harm in a thought, or temptation. It's part of our human condition. (In fact, in scripture we read that Christ Himself suffered temptation). Which means, logic would also tell us that the action of something that isn't good is more dangerous and harmful. This being said, it's possible for us as Christians to look at a person who's making poor decisions and condemn their actions/lifestyle without actually condemning or judging them as individuals. As Christians, it is not our place to make judgment calls on people as individuals. As Christians we are called to be our brothers keeper. This doesn't mean we're to force our beliefs down everyones throat, but rather to live by example and to speak up when appropriate.

So when is it appropriate to speak up for what's right? When is it appropriate to condemn sinful actions (written, spoken, lived)? Is there a line of censorship when it comes to what's right and what isn't? Or have Christians fallen into the trap of political correctness? Have Christians fallen into the trap of accepting everyone and everything for who and what they are... because if not, it's hate and discrimination... or sexist or racist?

See, a closed-minded person sees race, sex, ethnicity, religion.... anything which can separate. Closed-minded people use words like::: sexist, racist, discriminate, because these terms are how they get things done. Closed-minded people cannot handle the truths of there being a right and wrong way. Closed-minded people don't want any other way except their way. Closed-minded people aren't capable of being submissive or obedient to anyone or anything except themselves, their agenda and their beliefs. Closed-minded people dismiss everything that goes against what they want. It's their way or no way at all.

On the flip side, open-minded people do not see race, sex or religion. Open-minded people don't worry about equality, because they treat everyone as equals. Open-minded people can handle not having things their way; they can be submissive to rules, ideas, beliefs & Gods. Open-minded people can differentiate and understand the concept of Thoughts & Actions. This Thoughts & Actions concept could also be translated into the famous,  Hate the sin, Love the sinner phrase. Open-minded people don't worry about hurting people feelings, because they understand the Truth can sometimes be ugly. Open-minded people don't worry about political correctness, because they understand that no matter your sex, race or religion, we all share this world, and that there's no reason why political correctness should get in the way of standing up for what's right and condemning what isn't.

Mind you, by no means am I saying humans should be inconsiderate. By no means am I saying be rude. By no means am I saying to force personal beliefs on people. These are my observations from my experiences of interacting with "open-minded" & "closed-minded" people. I'm not even saying open-minded people are supposed to be or should be religious. My suggestion is, that for all these "open-minded" people who support abortion, homosexuality, legalizing marijuana, stem cell research and cloning, I'm surprised that for as open minded as they are, that they don't think twice about opening their mind to religion.

For example, I was testing some ideas on facebook as inspiration to write this article. One person commented the following:::

"Because god obviously isn't real, the bible and any other religious text are absolute foolishness. People should love who they want and be equal under the law, be able to further intellectual progress, and do what they f*cking want, and no religious bullshit should restrict freedom, it's all a means of societal control." 

"I'm openminded toward new ideas but I've already considered stupid ideas like god and cast them aside as insane, because they are."

  
Does this sound open-minded to you? Does it really seem like this so called "open-minded" person is remotely open or interested in anything that he's already made up his mind about?

A response to both of these remarks comes from a friend of mine, Josh. He's very educated, very open-minded and very religious as well. Here was one of his responses::: 


"Isn't it a bit of a circular argument to say "The reason God is fake and I don't believe in him is because he obviously isn't real, foolish, and insane" Nothing about that is open minded, and it is equitable to someone saying "I believe in the bible (or insert holy book here) because the bible tells me to." To assume BILLIONS of people on the earth are insane, foolish, and restricted of their freedom is very closed-minded. Religious people are not "controlled" and "restricted of our freedom". We are free in an even better essence, and our encouraged to go beyond societies control; Take, for example, Ghandi, Mother Theresa, and the many many saints who fought for freedom, and social justice in a cruel world."

So there's this question of what does it mean to be open or to be closed? Does one need to be educated to be open or closed? Does being open mean you're smart or stupid? On the contrary, does being closed dictate being smart or stupid? Educated or uneducated?

Again, this article isn't intended to shove anything down anyones throat. It's not meant to criticize. I'm just making observations based on my personal experiences, and developing questions to ask. So that's about all I've got for today. Thanks for reading. Also, feel free to comment or post below with agreements, disagreements, neutral comments or experiences you've had. My only request is to keep it clean and appropriate.

God bless!

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