Closed,open, or somewhere between the two?

This is actually part of an answer elsewhere, but I felt the concept was worthy of airing elsewhere, so I here it is.

A mind should be like a door with entry controls. Often shut, but never locked, and only admiting that which is worth admitting.

A mind which is too open can, as is often demonstrated in these pages, be too easily blown about by worthless theories and teachings of men, and as God's word says, any man who allows himself to be led like that is "an indecisive man, unsteady in all his ways."

(James 1:5-8) "So, if any one of YOU is lacking in wisdom, let him keep on asking God, for he gives generously to all and without reproaching; and it will be given him. 6 But let him keep on asking in faith, not doubting at all, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven by the wind and blown about. 7 In fact, let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from Jehovah; 8 he is an indecisive man, unsteady in all his ways."

Indecisive?

Yes, because such a one is failing to make up his mind which is truth and which not. Therefore he is blown abut by all sorts of worthless teachings.

Not only that but he is not relying on God for guidance, most likely because he is rejecting God's word in favour of that of man's.

This is of course also a demonstration of a lack of faith, not trusting that God would leave us a simple way of recognising His truth, and believing that he would promote confusion by using too many paths. That is Satan's way, not God's. God has only ever used one path at any given time, be it a family, a nation, or a "faith group", and has no reason to change that, ever. As Jesus made very clear.

Sometimes a closed mind is the best kind to have, as long as it is open to truth but closed to all else.

Having an open mind, and a closed mind is a contradiction. Pretty much like the book you often quote. You either have one or you don't IMO.

Well you are welcome to your opinion, but if you have no control of what you accept or don't then you have a big problem, because that would mean that you believe everything regardless of how contradictory it may be.

That is why a mind should have some sort of entry control, so that only that which is worthy of being allowed in, is allowed in after due consideration.

I have demonstrated many times on these pages that there are no real contradictions in the bible, only thing which are either reporting differences or, in most cases, things which people are not understanding correctly, because correct understanding removes the apparent contradiction.

I am still happy to explain why any apparent contradiction you care to point out is not in fact a contradiction at all, just your inability to understand what it truly says.

After all, relatively few do understand what the bible really says and have closed their minds to any explaination of it.

A closed minded person has his mind made up before he hears all the facts. There is an unwillingness to listen or understand something contrary to their beliefs. They also tend to be prejudiced and judgemental in most cases.

An open minded person doesn't decide if something is wrong or inferior just because it is different or a new idea. That person also understands that a situation can be looked at from different perspectives and that people will interpret knowledge depended on their own experiences.

You on the otherhand find it extremely difficult to accept reality or even contemplate that you could be wrong about everything.

i acknowledge the one unquestionable truth ..and my mind is closed to other spurious theories .... and the one unquestionable truth is.... we're born , we exist , we expire ...and that's all i need to know ...i don't give a stuff if there is or isn't any reason behind it .

I have been wrong in the past, very wrong indeed, but I have no doubt that whatever anyone else believes, the one who cannot be wrong is God, and therefore I accept anything that can be demonstrated to be what He has said.

I have no doubt about the rightness of God's word because I have tested it and found it to be so. As to whether I am right or wrong, I have been both at varying times of my life. My current beliefs were formed simply by studying and getting to understand scripture, getting to know what the words mean, not just what they are.

There was a time when, as a determined atheist, my mind was closed to anything different, but eventually I had to acknowledge the basic truth, and have since devoted my life to finding out more and more about it.

I, unlike you, have no problem with reality. It is the only thing I am interested in. I've been through most of the other things in the past and reality is a much preferable option, and is after all is said and done, the only one you can rely on.

One day all will know the inarguable truth, and when that day happens all will also remember that they have been told it before and those who refused to listen will doubtless regret that.

The only thing I know for sure about being right or wrong is that the only way to ensure that you are right is to accept God's word for things. That way you cannot be wrong.

I don't doubt you will care when the time comes, lol. everyone will care then.

Just as a further question for you about the above..

You have described two states, how about the one who has looked at all the evidence, examined it carefully and then has chosen which to accept and which to reject?

How do you describe that mind. It was at one point open to the consideration of all ideas, has learned which are worthy of retention and now only accepts those that fit in with what fits what has been proven beyond reasonable doubt to be true.

That pretty well describes my mind, which over the years has become more and more closed to the obviously false, like evolution etc. despite having gone through a stage of believing, or wanting to believe, them.

They say there is nothing worse than a convert. Why? because they have already been wrong and have turned back from that way. Having been there and done that they are more convinced than any of the truth of their path.

Sounds exactly like what any religion would say: "There is no truth, except for the 'truth' I tell you to believe".

Ahh, nothing like controlling the masses.

That is an open mind. Rejecting something that has already entered your open mind doesn't make your mind less open.

It does, in a very real sense, that is the point. I accept that my mind has become more and more closed as I have got closer and closer to the truth. After all once you know something is true, where else is there to go?

That too is a lesson I learned from the disciple's reaction to Jesus when his speech shocked his listeners so much that many refused to follow him any longer. When asked by Jesus if they wanted to go also Peter replied "Where would we go to Lord, you have sayings of everlasting life,and we have come to know and believe that you are the holy one of God."

The faithful disciples knew that whether they understood it or not, everything Jesus told them was truth and would lead to his Father's blessing. They needed nothing more any longer.

No, I don;t have all the truth as yet, no-one does, but I have learned over the decades that I am closer too it than many, and getting slowly closer, because I have learned not only what information to reject, but also what sources to ignore.

That is why people like me are so often called closed minded, not because we have never considered other things, but because in the past we have considered, in some cases possibly even believed, and eventually learned to reject them.

People with very open minds are so often tossed all over the place in confusion by false ideas.

The truth is always evolving and we have to adapt as well. No one can know everything that is true, but you should never stop asking questions and searching for better ways in which to live your life. We are designed to do that.

If God wanted sheep to follow blindly his will, we wouldn't need our highly evolved brains and bodies.
There must be an alternate plan.

No there is no alternate plan, why would there be, His original plan was perfect, it was Satan, and Adam and Eve that weren't. It is still planned that we return to the original.

And no, truth doesn't change. What is true now was true at the founding of the world. The fact that we have only recently discovered some of it doesn't mean it wasn't always true.

I have found the best way there is of living life, and will not give that up. The fact that mankind has been moving ever further away from it for the last 6,000 years doesn't change the fact that the original is still the best, even though circumstances have changed for the worst.

Yes, they have changed for the worse. What could be better than eternal life in perfect health in a paradise environment. That is what Adam and Eve threw away, and what we will soon be returned to.

You are right that we will never know all the truth, there is no need for us to know it all. Everything we need to know is there for us in the bible, anything else is interesting but not necessary, and in some cases harmful.

Our bodies are not evolved, if anything they are devolved since we have not been perfect physical specimens since Adam and Eve threw our perfection away and introduced sickness and death to the human race.

As for our minds, yes they are created very advanced for a reason, but all we do is misuse them, and even our mental capacity has decreased over the millennia, in some ways, and especially our ability to use it wisely. After all, God confused the languages at Babel because he knew that if mankind continued to be able to communicate that fully there would, as He said to His son alongside Him, there would be nothing they could jot achieve, and with Satan guiding them they would destroy themselves before He was ready to put it all right again.

If we were half as smart as we like to think we are there would be no Atheists and only one religion, because we would all recognise the truth for what it is. as it is , those of us who do can only do so with God's help, not on lour own. If it wasn't for the help of God's Holy Spirit I would not be able to think as clearly as I can, and even with that help I can only think straight when considering scripture, nothing else. However that is enough for me in this system of things. For anything else I can wait until the return to perfection.

The mind can be poisoned in the same way that the body can be poisoned and it is as important to be as carful about what is put into the mind as it is important to be carful about what is put into the body.


A leaf in the wind:

I would opt for somewhere between. [like a wave of the sea driven by the wind and blown about]

I see indecisiveness as a virtue. Once we decide we have stopped thinking. Belief is based on available information and is, as such, tentative. As new information becomes available belief is confirmed, adapted, or abandoned. There are those of us who cling to our beliefs even when the evidence contradicts them. I do not see dogged adherence to unsubstantiated beliefs as a virtue.

That is what I was attempting to explain to MCB. You said it better than I ever could.