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  • Writer's pictureBible Brian

Why it's good to close your mind


It's a shame Hitler lost World War 2. He had a fantastic regime going, and if the Nazis won, the world would be a better place.


If you're shocked to hear me say that, good! Of course, I don't actually believe that. To me, the only sad thing about the Nazis losing the war is that the Nazis were ever able to gain power at all. But the shock you felt at hearing me say that is evidence of something. Specifically, that you have a closed mind. And that, my friends, is a very good thing.


We live in a world where "closed minded" is an insult. But I contend "open minded" should be just as insulting. Just as we shouldn't be so closed minded that the rotten corpse of error stinks the place out, we also shouldn't be so open minded that our brains fall out. There is a sensible balance, and as I like to say, what we really need is a well-trained door man.


The ultimate irony is that those who so often throw around the term "closed minded" are actually the most closed minded of all. There is a hidden assumption in their beliefs and statements: "I am the absolute pinnacle of human knowledge. If I don't know something, neither does anyone else, and it is my life's mission to obstruct anyone who claims to know something I don't know."


Often, such people do not have a problem with you having beliefs, but if you attempt to proselytize, or even if you simply act in accordance with them in such a way that prevents "neutral" parties having full control over your public behavior, that's a problem to them.


The obvious example at this point in time is the cake controversy. Should a Christian baker be forced to cater to a gay "wedding"? The obvious answer is no. First, for sake of consistency. If you're going to claim to be tolerant, you must accept that a Christian does not believe in gay "marriage", and therefore has the right to refuse to bake the cake. Otherwise, it is in fact you who are forcing your beliefs on others.


But second, not only do Christians have the right to refuse, but we are right to refuse. There is no such thing as gay "marriage", and there is a God who will judge us according to our conformity to His will. If you want to pretend two men or two women are married to each other, that's your business, but Christians want no part of it, and we will call you to repentance.


"But you can't say that! It's closed minded!" Well, actually, it's just a statement of fact. But here's the thing: even if you don’t believe it’s a statement of fact, it is nevertheless a statement of what I believe is fact. Telling me not to state it as fact is to say that your belief that it is not fact is more valid than my belief that it is. Therefore, you lose the right to claim neutrality, to claim lack of bias, even to claim tolerance, since you so elevate your beliefs above mine that you claim I ought to conform the way I express my views to your contrary view.


Thus, first of all, you're a hypocrite. It is consistent for me to state my views as fact because I believe it is a statement of fact. Therefore, even if I am wrong, I am at the very least consistent. But second, you're not even claiming I'm wrong. You're claiming I might be. In other words, because your confidence is low, you're trying to control me, whose confidence is significantly higher, for no other reason than that you have low confidence. You're not giving evidence, like I can. You're not giving compelling reasons to reject the evidence I can give, unlike me, who can more often than not refute arguments against the Christian faith, or for other views. Your only argument is "you're closed minded".


And that's how people die.


Physically, people can die from open mindedness, either personally by making obviously bad choices, or as a community by electing dangerous people into power, who then proceed to kill many people with their obviously bad choices.


But in this life, death is inevitable anyway. There is danger around every corner, our bodies are frail, and even if we manage to survive to a ripe old age, we will inevitably pass away. As Scripture says, "...it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment," (Hebrews 9:27). I can guarantee this: Even if you managed to live a thousand years, you will die, and remain dead, for a lot longer.


So what do we do about this inevitability? From the perspective of someone who doesn't know the truth, the answer is to seek it. From there, you will know what to do, and you should do so regardless of who demands you follow them into oblivion instead.


But if you keep an open mind, I can spare you the time. Scripture says that God's invisible attributes, namely His eternal power and Godhead, are made known by the creation. Look to the stars, look to the seas, look even at your own hand. Tell me, how sane do you think a man is if he says no one designed such a fantastic machine? You have a Creator, and even the greatest of our inventions pale in comparison to that which He made.


But we tried to overthrow Him. On a regular basis, every one of us disobeys Him, both His will, and His explicit commands. The consequences for rebelling against the Author of life, predictably, are the loss of that life. We instead deserve to suffer His eternal wrath in what Scripture calls the "second death", i.e. Hell.


But this is not something we desire, nor is it something He desires. Therefore, God sent His only Son, Jesus, to live as a man. He lived a perfect life, yet He died the brutal death of a sinner. Scripture says "...He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Corinthians 5:21). Therefore, in order to inherit eternal life in the new creation, all we need to do is repent, and confess Jesus as Lord, believing in our hearts God raised Him from the dead. Do not close your mind to this. When Jesus comes knocking, answer.

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