"keep an open mind"...what does that really mean?

[waitasec]

I think they were, yeah.

I think they were expecting something miraculous and supernatural.

isn't that what they were told would happen?
from my personal experience, when dedicated my life for the upteeth time as a teenager, i thought when they say, god will reveal himself to you if you keep an open heart to him...well, i believed i was doing that i was opened but i never ever felt anything different when i was alone praying on my hands and knees... which is where, i would think, is when god would reveal himself to someone...

Their attitude seems to have been something like, "Oh look - let's see what these crazies think. God doesn't exist. Prove me wrong.", as if they expected God to descend on a cloud from the sky, wearing shades and a Hawaiian shirt and say "Hey Ross and Carrie, s'up? Do you believe in me now?"

i don't know there personal background, if they were once beleivers or whatever...but i guess i'm speaking from my own experience that i can see how ross and carrie where saying what my inner thoughts where..."i want to believe but i first need to have my skepticism satisfied".
does that make sense?

Doesn't work like that, though, lol. Not everyone thinks God is an old man on a cloud.

i would like to know what a believer means when they say "god will reveal himself to you, all you need to do is ask him to"
what do they mean by reveal?

 

[waitasec]

Yep.

Good to know your own biases though that way you won't fool yourself for 40 years like I did.

i agree, it is good to know why you have the POV you have

 

[waitasec]

To me, open minded means you actually listen and consider different points of views.

An open minded person tries to put themselves in other people's shoes and imagine what it is like to walk a mile in them.

People who think they know everything rarely do. A smart person realises that the more they learn, the less they actually know.

i agree but i like to know more about what you think it means to consider different points of views
meaning if you are considering something, the default position is skeptical from what i understand.

 

[krsnaraja]

You have reason to be skeptical if you have not experienced it yourself & if proven by you that it works then that`s the time you can keep it with an open mind. How many of you here have seen a miracle? The blind seeing, the lame walking, the mute speaking & the deaf hearing. You will never believe in miracles (skepticism) until you experienced it yourself. But if you have seen it, you keep an open on anything related to miracles.

 

[waitasec]

You have reason to be skeptical if you have not experienced it yourself & if proven by you that it works then that`s the time you can keep it with an open mind.

would you say skepticism is the default position of anyone who questions naturally?
and would you say skepticism is a learned trait from those who don't think to question naturally but have learned to?

 

[sojourner]

can one be open minded while being skeptical?

I have my doubts...
:run:

 

[sojourner]

Not only the soul can do two things at the same time but it can also do what machines can`t do-reading a good book while having sex!

I like to watch sports on TV and eat pastrami. it is the most sensual of all the salted, cured meats...

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

When asked about god and religion, I spent the early part of my life answering "Yes." Then, for many decades, the answer was a resounding "No!" Now I find myself most comfortable with admitting ... "not yet."

 

[Breathe]

isn't that what they were told would happen?

I think they misunderstood what 'reveal' usually entails.

but i guess i'm speaking from my own experience that i can see how ross and carrie where saying what my inner thoughts where..."i want to believe but i first need to have my skepticism satisfied".
does that make sense?

Yeah, I can fully understand that. We all have scepticism, which is why we believe or disbelieve in certain things. What does it take for one's scepticism to be satisfied, however? It can be from something as small as it speaking to one's heart, to just making sense and speaking to the person, or to as strict as God coming down and giving someone a slap in the face.

i would like to know what a believer means when they say "god will reveal himself to you, all you need to do is ask him to"
what do they mean by reveal?

Depends on the person's religious belief, I guess?

Generally, people don't mean reveal as in God will suddenly appear in front of someone in a physical way. It's not like a burning bush going "Moses!". It's something a lot more subtle than that.

I guess it usually boils down to "You will feel God", or "You will experience Godliness".

 

[Walkntune]

You have reason to be skeptical if you have not experienced it yourself & if proven by you that it works then that`s the time you can keep it with an open mind. How many of you here have seen a miracle? The blind seeing, the lame walking, the mute speaking & the deaf hearing. You will never believe in miracles (skepticism) until you experienced it yourself. But if you have seen it, you keep an open on anything related to miracles.

At the same token, you will never see them until you believe.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

I guess it usually boils down to "You will feel God", or "You will experience Godliness".

Which, of course, are not necessarily the same thing.

 

[Breathe]

Which, of course, are not necessarily the same thing.

Of course.

 

[waitasec]

When asked about god and religion, I spent the early part of my life answering "Yes." Then, for many decades, the answer was a resounding "No!" Now I find myself most comfortable with admitting ... "not yet."

doesn't that mean "eventually" though...?
meaning your skepticism has already been satisfied

 

[Willamena]

Being open-minded is fundamental to skepticism.

Of course, when people tell other people to be open-minded, it's actually generally a passive-aggressive attempt to tell them that what they think is wrong. True open-mindedness is essentially being consistently honest and aware.

This.

. . . but without the passive agressive attempt to tell other people what they are.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

This.

. . . but without the passive agressive attempt to tell other people what they are.

Ah, the irony never ends.

 

[waitasec]

I think they misunderstood what 'reveal' usually entails.


Yeah, I can fully understand that. We all have scepticism, which is why we believe or disbelieve in certain things. What does it take for one's scepticism to be satisfied, however? It can be from something as small as it speaking to one's heart, to just making sense and speaking to the person, or to as strict as God coming down and giving someone a slap in the face.

i would suppose it boils down to a persons understanding of it...if something clicks and it just makes sense...but again i would also say that it also depends on the criteria people set for themselves in order for it to make sense...does that make sense?

Depends on the person's religious belief, I guess?

Generally, people don't mean reveal as in God will suddenly appear in front of someone in a physical way. It's not like a burning bush going "Moses!". It's something a lot more subtle than that.

I guess it usually boils down to "You will feel God", or "You will experience Godliness".

i think then, reveal means god all of a sudden makes sense which was contingent on the criteria one sets for themselves in order for their skepticism to be satisfied

 

[Breathe]

i would suppose it boils down to a persons understanding of it...if something clicks and it just makes sense...but again i would also say that if also depends on the criteria people set for themselves in order for it to make sense...does that make sense?

It does.

i think then, reveal means if god all of a sudden makes sense depending on the criteria one sets for themselves in order for their skepticism to be satisfied

Probably that, yeah.

 

[krsnaraja]

would you say skepticism is the default position of anyone who questions naturally?
and would you say skepticism is a learned trait from those who don't think to question naturally but have learned to?

Questions are natural say " Osama Bin Laden is dead?" by asking the source, President Barack Obama, how he died. But you become skeptical unless the US Navy Seals can produce Osama Bin Laden`s dead body. So how can you learn naturally what a person tells you if you have not seen what the person is telling you? For example I say, " I have in my wallet 5000 dollars & I`ll give you half of it if you buy me a bottle of ice cold beer." You learn to become a skeptic naturally if you have encountered such proposals time &time again since you were a kid!

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

doesn't that mean "eventually" though...?
meaning your skepticism has already been satisfied

No, not really. For me it means that I'm open to theism but that the question is as yet unresolved.

 

[waitasec]

Questions are natural say " Osama Bin Laden is dead?" by asking the source, President Barack Obama, how he died. But you become skeptical unless the US Navy Seals can produce Osama Bin Laden`s dead body. So how can you learn naturally what a person tells you if you have not seen what the person is telling you? For example I say, " I have in my wallet 5000 dollars & I`ll give you half of it if you buy me a bottle of ice cold beer." You learn to become a skeptic naturally if you have encountered such proposals time &time again since you were a kid!

i agree with line of thinking absolutely, in fact try to apply this line of think as often as i can. but i don't think everyone thinks the same as i do. for example, their are people who just took obama's word for it and believed it without requiring any evidence other than trusting that he is speaking the truth.
but those very same people can, and probably do, require evidence to be presented when they consider the car they are going to buy....that it is a reliable one