Is YourMind Open or Closed?

By Rev. Bruce Scarbeary

Is your mind open or closed? Are you pig-headed, stubborn, immovable, inflexible, right-winged, and headstrong? Should I ask your friends? What about your parents? Sometimes labels are spoken in jest. Sometimes they come with a cutting edge. Ouch!

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a parent or child, an independent college student or a newborn teenager. Being labeled hurts us, especially when the label shows us our sin. What a blessing we have in Holy Absolution to hear Jesus say, “Your sins are forgiven you.” It’s great to hear Jesus get personal this way and label you as His own.

What’s not so great, however, is when people wrongly get personal. For example, Christians are often labeled “close-minded,” especially in matters of a scientific nature. There may be some truth to that from time to time: sometimes Christians have objected to good scientific discoveries for no good reason. When that’s the case, we need to ask for forgiveness and expand our horizons. Sometimes, however, the label “close-minded” is affixed to Christians simply to make their point-of-view seem out of date and out of touch.

I still remember the first time this happened to me. The setting was high school biology class, and the topic was genetic character traits. Talk of X and Y chromosomes abounded. The topic was also filled with talk of evolution that occurred millions and millions of years ago and so on. Somewhere along the line, the teacher said something that struck a nerve. My head began to wag back and forth as I thought, “No!” As I frowned at the teacher, she looked me in the eye and said, “Mr. Scarbeary, you need to be more open-minded.” “Humph!” I thought to myself. “You’re the one presenting this like it’s the only choice in the world.”

As a naïve teen, I was a bit shocked that the teacher singled me out in class. I can be stubborn, inflexible, and immovable—just ask my kids. Yet, I never really considered myself completely close-minded. I am willing to learn and biology is a rather fascinating topic (especially dissecting). It’s captivating to gain knowledge about the other stuff inside us—we are fearfully and wonderfully made. But suddenly in that class, I was accused of being close-minded.

What gives? Is this true of Christians? Is our way of looking at the world as God’s creation old-fashioned and obsolete? Have Christians nothing to offer in the area of scientific studies?

Hardly. History clearly shows that modern medicine, science, and technology all have deep roots in a biblical worldview. In fact, Western thought has deep roots in Christianity and a biblical worldview. In other words, Christianity is not some outdated belief that’s been replaced by science and modern thought. Christianity and technology aren’t opposed. Rather, Christian doctrine and practice have led to a lot of scientific advancement—without compromising the Christian faith. And that’s the key: as Christians, we’re openminded unless we’re called upon to deny God’s Word. Then we need to take a stand.

So what do you think? Is the Christian mind open or closed? Does disagreeing with the secular worldview make you pigheaded, stubborn, immovable, inflexible and headstrong? Have you been labeled “close-minded” because your worldview is different from the secular world you live in? Let’s throw in a couple more questions: if Christians reject what is wrong, does it only mean that they’re close-minded or ...does it mean that they are right? If “open-minded” means “believes errors to be true,” that’s hardly a good thing. Furthermore, which is more closed-minded: to believe in a Savior and eternal life, or to emphatically deny even the possibility?

If you’ve been labeled “close-minded,” that shouldn’t be too big of a surprise. After all, “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:1), and the world is so dark that it labeled Jesus “close-minded” for rejecting sin and works-righteousness, and for claiming to be the only Savior. Fear not: the world’s opinion of you may be harsh, but Jesus has labeled you with His name through water and Word, “In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19).

Rev. Bruce Scarbeary is pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Roanoke, Illinois.