A recent post by the Friendly Atheist attempted to demonstrate that conservative pastors believe that open-mindedness is the enemy of the faith. First let me deal with the post. It is impossible to catch the overall view of Evangelicalism with just a handful of quotes. In this case, the Friendly Atheist sought out those pastors who were close-minded. I could easily write another article with just as many evangelical pastors talking about being open-minded and willing to ask questions. In fact, I could write another article about atheists who are close-minded. I once talked to an atheist who confessed that even if God physically appeared right in front of him, he would not believe, as he was fully committed to atheism.
Having questioned the accuracy of the Friendly Atheist’s conclusions, it remains that he found some conservative pastors who rejected questions and being open minded. I know that there are such Christians out there, even though it is far from where I or most of my friends are at.
Should evangelical Christians be afraid to ask questions? Should Christians be close-minded? I believe strongly that all truth is God’s truth and we should never be afraid to seek the truth. That quest requires us to ask questions. I remember the first time I read the Qur’an. I began to question why I believe in the Trinity. I did not lose my faith, but I allowed the questions to rise. This just meant that I had to take the time to understand why I believe what I believe.
The Friendly Atheist’s post mentions the Clergy Project, something I am planning on blogging about. This is a reference to pastors who leave the ministry and the faith. I do not believe that it is questioning that leads to this but rather fear of questioning. When people are afraid to question, they hold it in and hold it in until the only thing that is left is to give up everything. I believe questioning can lead to a fuller and richer faith as long as we are willing to follow the questions to the answers that are out there.
- Close-Minded
- Friendly Atheist
- Opened-Minded
- Questions
- Skepticism
