"I refuse to change my mind"

[brewer]

There are many religious people who absolutely refuse to change their mind, some of them even call others who dont believe in their god and who claim to be open to being convinced a god exist closed minded.

So tell me, if I said, as an Atheist, that I refuse to change my mind, am I closed minded? If a religious person who agreed with you said they wouldn't change their mind, are they closed minded? What about religious people who disagree with you, are they closed minded?
The question is more aimed torwards religious people as you can probably tell.

If you think all the others who disagree with you are closed minded then what seperates your case from theirs?
Why in the first place would you refuse to change your mind about anything? That doesnt seem like an effective way to find truth, just clinging on to an answer and refusing to be convinced otherwise regardless of what we discover or see.

But how can you tell who is closed minded and who is not?

Your query depends on the circumstances and context in which an argument, be it theistic or atheistic, is being put forward and on the argument itself. It's unclear in what sense you're claiming many theists as close-minded. Can you please give solid examples first about what exactly it is that they are changing their mind, before I can assess and provide my responses? Otherwise, this comes across as vague, unsubstantiated and over-generalised.

Gosh, chatting with you is fun and informative.

[Simon Moon]

There are many religious people who absolutely refuse to change their mind, some of them even call others who dont believe in their god and who claim to be open to being convinced a god exist closed minded.

So tell me, if I said, as an Atheist, that I refuse to change my mind, am I closed minded? If a religious person who agreed with you said they wouldn't change their mind, are they closed minded? What about religious people who disagree with you, are they closed minded?
The question is more aimed torwards religious people as you can probably tell.

If you think all the others who disagree with you are closed minded then what seperates your case from theirs?
Why in the first place would you refuse to change your mind about anything? That doesnt seem like an effective way to find truth, just clinging on to an answer and refusing to be convinced otherwise regardless of what we discover or see.

But how can you tell who is closed minded and who is not?

If someone says they will never change their mind, they ARE closed minded by definition. Whether they are an atheist or theist.

To not be closed minded, one must be able to change their views if presented with demonstrable evidence and reasoned argument. In other words, to base ones beliefs on the evidence.

As David Hume said, "a wise person proportions their belief to the evidence"

I have met very few atheists that say they will never change their mind. Most atheists that I know, are atheists due to insufficient demonstrable evidence and reasoned argument to justify belief in a god.

For me, atheism is a natural result of scepticism when applied to the god claim.

[paulpablo]

I think there's a thin line between being open minded and being a gullible person/conspiracy theorist.

Also a thin line between being shewd and decisive vs being close minded.

I think it's fair to say there are types of religious people who are close minded.

I once saw a video of a Muslim claiming the Quran encourages people to be open minded and question the Quran.

To be fair the Quran does ask the reader to ponder upon their existence but it also says either believe the Quran or have your flesh roasted to a crisp, recreated around your body and roasted again repeatedly.

You can't really claim to be open minded while saying there's something that is definitely right no matter what.

That mentality is definitely not restricted to religious people though.

Also there might be some usefulness in close mindedness to an extent, regarding what's right and wrong.

[Huggy Bear]

There are many religious people who absolutely refuse to change their mind, some of them even call others who dont believe in their god and who claim to be open to being convinced a god exist closed minded.

So tell me, if I said, as an Atheist, that I refuse to change my mind, am I closed minded? If a religious person who agreed with you said they wouldn't change their mind, are they closed minded? What about religious people who disagree with you, are they closed minded?
The question is more aimed torwards religious people as you can probably tell.

If you think all the others who disagree with you are closed minded then what seperates your case from theirs?
Why in the first place would you refuse to change your mind about anything? That doesnt seem like an effective way to find truth, just clinging on to an answer and refusing to be convinced otherwise regardless of what we discover or see.

But how can you tell who is closed minded and who is not?

I like how you guys always discount the fact that maybe said religious person has seen sufficient evidence to justify their beliefs personally. Just because YOU haven't seen evidence doesn't mean none exists. Furthermore, how do you propose to change ones mind from a position of ignorance?

[Minimalist]

Just because YOU haven't seen evidence doesn't mean none exists.

Feel free to present it whenever you're ready.

Meanwhile, most of you clowns remind me of Ken Ham.

[Huggy Bear]

You act as if I haven't already. I've presented evidence on multiple occasions and it gets quiet as a church mouse up in here.

[Minimalist]

What you consider "evidence" is little more than your own brain farts.

In that you are not alone.  Your fellow jesus freaks have done no better.

[Crunchy]

There are many religious people who absolutely refuse to change their mind, some of them even call others who dont believe in their god and who claim to be open to being convinced a god exist closed minded.

So tell me, if I said, as an Atheist, that I refuse to change my mind, am I closed minded? If a religious person who agreed with you said they wouldn't change their mind, are they closed minded? What about religious people who disagree with you, are they closed minded?
The question is more aimed torwards religious people as you can probably tell.

If you think all the others who disagree with you are closed minded then what seperates your case from theirs?
Why in the first place would you refuse to change your mind about anything? That doesnt seem like an effective way to find truth, just clinging on to an answer and refusing to be convinced otherwise regardless of what we discover or see.

But how can you tell who is closed minded and who is not?

Everyone claims to be open minded. Everyone! And yet very few people are willing to change their minds on any subject. (including atheists). 
The problem of being closed minded is a human problem that does not appear to be tied to an ideology but rather to peoples psychological needs such as defending their ego. It’s threatening to admit that you’re wrong so people engage in all sorts of behaviors to avoid this and it leads directly to closed mindedness and behavior such as confirmation bias. It also feels good to “know” that you’re right.
From this story:
http://archive.boston.com/bostonglobe/id..._backfire/

“In a series of studies in 2005 and 2006, researchers at the University of Michigan found that when misinformed people, particularly political partisans, were exposed to corrected facts in news stories, they rarely changed their minds. In fact, they often became even more strongly set in their beliefs. Facts, they found, were not curing misinformation. Like an underpowered antibiotic, facts could actually make misinformation even stronger.”

They call this phenomenon “backfire”. This story is about political partisanship but it applies to all areas of disagreement and shows that closed mindedness is a defense mechanism. 
Since this a problem that can affect humans of every political or philosophical stripe, the question is what to do about it? Well, the first step to solving any problem is admitting there is a problem. So as painful as it might be, you have to realize that it probably affects you as well at some times. I find a good way to avoid this is to play devils advocate against myself. Take your own belief and try (as honestly as you can) to defeat the idea. Be tough on your beliefs. Use google to search for ideas that disconfirm your belief instead of falling into the confirmation bias trap. 
The only person who can change your mind is yourself so don’t be afraid to challenge your own beliefs because arguing the point with someone else very rarely leads anywhere as the research shows.

[Huggy Bear]

What you consider "evidence" is little more than your own brain farts.

In that you are not alone. Your fellow jesus freaks have done no better.

First of all you have no idea what I'm referring to.

Secondly, what kind of evidence do you expect to get on an Internet forum...

Thirdly I plan on making a comprehensive post showcasing evidence.

[Simon Moon]

You act as if I haven't already.  I've presented evidence on multiple occasions and it gets quiet as a church mouse up in here.

When?

I follow your posts pretty closely, and all I ever see is flawed philosophical arguments.

What do you mean 'quiet as a church mouse'? I've seen almost everyone here respond to your nonsense many times.

---

Thirdly I plan on making a comprehensive post showcasing evidence.

I look forward to this.

All the failed arguments in one place. That will make it convenient.