I'm closed minded because I....think?

It's a common claim every atheist who has ever spoken out about religion must eventually receive. I think it's actually in the theist hand book or something:

"You are closed minded!"

The real annoying part about this claim is the blatant hypocrisy of it.

I considered the claims of religion and have found the relevant claims either unlikely, impossible, or unsupported. That is not being closed minded. That is being the very definition of open minded!

I believe my beliefs are correct because if I did not, I wouldn't hold those beliefs, I would hold some other set of beliefs. I know my beliefs have been incorrect in the past, this means I could also be incorrect about my current beliefs.

Any other position is intellectual dishonesty.

But to change my beliefs you must provide evidence before I will accept it. Since I can be fooled I require real evidence before I will change my stance from the default of 'I do not believe the claim pending further evidence.' to 'I believe the claim pending further evidence.'


This is what it means to be open minded.

It doesn't mean you simply accept a claim without evidence, it means you consider it in light of the evidence.

The god claim is possible, but not probable.

captain! captain! the ship is sinking!

OK, i didn't actually sink, but the effect has been amazingly similar. School, software development (both personal and work related), as well as moving both myself and family members, has lead to a long hiatus (and right after i started!).

I will return, and I will be writing some more as soon as i get back. i plan to post out snippets from a recent debate with a theist (it was 10 pages long!) and point out some of the logical fallacies found within.

before i begin in earnest i wish to make a pledge to the reader:

no comments will be edited for disagreement but instead only for advertisements and legality. free discourse will not be hindered on the basis of disagreement from my own ideas and personal beliefs except in the realm of legalities of the place of where I live.

What do I mean by this? a discussion on the relative merits of a subject will not be hindered. a discussion linking to illegal content will be.

Discussing the ramifications of copy write law is encouraged, linking to a pirate site is not. even then I will only blank out the link, not the actual comment itself.