The thing I find strange about religious debate is that everybody scrambles to pretend they're the most objective and open minded. We act like it's a bad thing to have made up your mind. Like somehow, even if you sincerely believe you have the truth, there is some nobility behind being willing to accept the most absurd, and even abominable claims.
My friends, there is nothing wrong with being closed minded. It's only a problem when the truth is on the wrong side of the door. There are many things we are all closed minded about. I'm very closed minded when it comes to allowing drunk pilots to fly. You can sit me in a lecture hall, you can yell colorful insults at me, you can threaten me with arrest, I am very firm in my belief that a pilot must be sober before he is allowed to fly a plane. Aren't you?
The earth is round. You can show me "where is the curve" memes (and I'll probably be able to find the curve if the shot is zoomed out far enough), you can call me a "globetard", you can even throw a punch, I'm very closed minded when it comes to the shape of the earth. I believe the Earth is a sphere orbiting the sun. Don't you?
I am unshakeable in my view that rape is evil. You can justify it with your religion/lack thereof, you can try to make me sympathise with rapists, you can hold a gun to my head, I will never open my mind to the possibility that rapists do not deserve the most severe punishment available by law. Please, please, please, dear reader, agree with me that rape is never morally justified.
So you see there are things to be closed minded about. But here's a thing: It's even ok to shut out reasonable claims. For example, most people don't need a DNA test to believe their parents really are who they say they are. I do not remember the day of my birth. My earliest memory is from when I was about 3, and it's so vague, it proves nothing. Nevertheless, I firmly believe my mother is my biological mother, as opposed to the idea that she adopted me as a baby. She didn't adopt me as a toddler, either. The woman who calls herself my mother is the woman who carried me in her womb. And I am very closed minded to alternatives.
But am I really closed minded? In my experience, accusations of closed mindedness usually come either immediately (i.e. "you stated a view different from mine, therefore you are closed minded), or after a long debate (i.e. "you are able to defend your views against mine, therefore you are closed minded"). In other words, the irony is that accusations of closed mindedness usually come from those who are actually closed minded.
In truth, discernment often appears to be closed mindedness. I like to say "I'm not closed minded, I just have a half decent doorman". I'm open to changing my mind on things, even things I have previously been closed minded about. I've done it before, and if necessary, I can do it again. As a rational thinker, I reserve the right to change my mind, but I also reserve the right not to.
I am very closed minded when it comes to Christianity. I don't pretend I'm open to changing my mind with regard to it. I am not open to becoming Catholic. I am done flirting with atheism. I didn't abandon Evolution just to pick it up again. Mormonism is blasphemous, Muhammad was a false prophet, and the Watchtower Organisation has as much authority over my faith as the spider that made a web over my cactus. And I can say all of this not because I am "closed minded" and can't accept the truth, but because if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything. And with all the evidence Christianity has, especially compared to every other worldview I've ever studied, I feel more confident standing on this rock than the sand the world is sinking into.
And you can too. As I said, Christianity is an evidence based faith. What I said in the header image is true. You will find it easier to convince me that my mother adopted me than that Jesus didn't. Jesus rose from the grave! No mere mortal can do that. Only one empowered by God could truly conquer death. Jesus did. Therefore, it is fair to accept His claims that He can do it for us, too. All you have to do is believe.