The problem with being open minded about what one can seek and find is that it allows any concept, no matter how illogical, to be accepted as real.
Seek an invisible red dragon, as a child would an imaginary friend, and with an open mind it shall be found. Of course, rational people know...
It's not. Religious people do love their apologetic arguments, don't they.
Religions want to maintain as much a stronghold on people with their ideals without sacrificing too much for the sake of progress during changing and evolving times. Unfortunately, if the religion continues to insist...
Then there is no reason to believe in god. ;)
If one is not going to believe in the existence of Odin based on the lack of evidence, the christian god should be held to the same logical standard.
Cherry picking:
selectively choose (the most beneficial items) from what is available.
It's considered bad in terms of religious debate, because religious people will pick and choose which biblical laws they personally want to follow instead of being a true christian who follows all the laws.
Incorrect. "Personal evidence", upon which the religious rely, is false evidence for it merely satisfies a subjective comfort rather than exemplifies a scientific truth.
Certainly, there is a spectrum. There is the "live and let live" type of religious person (my personal favorite), and then there is the absolute scary hellfire and brimstone fundamentalist who makes monsters under the bed seem tame in comparison.
If adhering to a religious belief is supposed...
If there's no evidence of something, why even believe in it via fallible Faith? It literally and rationally makes no sense that someone would place himself in such a position of ill-logic merely for the sake of false comfort.