The Confusion of Openess and Elitism

Something I've been pondering of late is the place of "open-mindedness" in conversation, and within society in general.

It has puzzled me no end how it is something that is praised within our society, and is sought after, yet I have still to find more than a handful of people who are *actually* open-minded. My thoughts were most recently sparked by a discussion I was having in a comment thread...

It started on the topic of religion and certainty, I asked a particular gentleman how he could be so sure about what his stance was - from whence came his grounding. His response started with how he was grateful to find somebody who appeared to have some level of intelligence, and was willing to actually engage in issues in an open-minded fashion. 

... it had all the makings of an open discussion...

On Dawkins...

I, for many years, have followed the writings of many "atheistic" or, as Dawkins terms them, "nontheist" authors who, of particular note, were very anti-theist. This is not because I am one myself, but because, as an educated Christian, it has spurred me to understand Christianity better (ironic that!), and also, to be confident in answering the objections that a person might bring to me in regards to the authenticity of Christianity.

Curiously, I found myself today looking through some quotes from Dawkins, here is one:

"People sometimes try to score debating points by saying, "Evolution is only a theory." That is correct, but it's important to understand what that means. It is also only a theory that the world goes round the Sun -- it's just a theory for which there is an immense amount of evidence.
     There are many scientific theories that are in doubt. Even within evolution, there is some room for controversy. But that we are cousins of apes and jackals and starfish, let's say, that is a fact in the ordinary sense of the word."
-- Richard Dawkins, "Nick Pollard interviews Richard Dawkins" (Damars: 1999)

Whilst eloquent, Dawkins has actually made a fundamental mistake in his logic, at the end of this blog, I hope you will understand why.