Quotes About Open-mindedness

1. When trying to understand another religion, you should ask the adherents of the religion and not its enemies. 2. Don't compare your best to their worst. 3. Leave room for holy envy. (Krister Stendahl's rules of religious understanding)

One of the quietest revolutions in Religion 101 follows a student's recognition that he or she has a worldview, a particular way of viewing reality that it is not the only way. A worldview is a wave, but not the entire ocean.

Once, at the end of a field trip to the Atlanta Masjid of Al-Islam, the imam ended his meeting with students by saying, 'Our deepest desire is not that you become Muslim, but that you become the best Christian, the best Jew, the best person you can be. In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Thank you for coming.' Then he was gone, leaving me with a fresh case of holy envy.

Here is a law as reliable as gravity: The degree to which we believe our faith is makes us human is the same degree with which we will question the humanity of those who do not share our faith.

As tired as I get of grading their papers, I never tire of them - of trying to find better ways to expand their thinking without blowing their minds; of exposing the lies they have been told about people of other faiths without causing them to distrust their own families of faith; of preparing them for the criticism they will almost surely face if they are vocal about finding anything they admire in faiths other than their own.

The problem was that I could not teach other people's religions without loving them as I loved my own, or at least giving it my best shot.

When students first encounter the reality of multiple religious worldviews, they often race to the lowest common denominator: your truth is true for you and mine is true for me. This is their peace offering, their way of living with religious difference without fighting, but it also prevents them from exploring the differences in any meaningful way. Holy envy gives those students another way forward, especially those who are inclined toward religious absolutes.

Be reckless. What's the worst that can happen? We're hoping to be surprised by some unrestrained part of ourselves that can't be expressed in our ordinary lives. The discoveries we're after can only surprise us when we're ready to accept whatever we uncover.

We are a party of innovation. We do not reject our traditions, but we are willing to adapt to changing circumstances, when change we must. We are willing to suffer the discomfort of change in order to achieve a better future.

One thing is clear to me: we, as human beings, must be willing to accept people who are different from ourselves.

The problem is that most of us have limited our imagination to what we have been told is possible—and usually we've been told by people without much experience.

Scanners can't choose one direction. It's like telling a parent to choose one child to feed. It's just not possible. A parent knows she has to feed all her children. And a Scanner must find a way to follow every path that interests her.

When meeting criticism, he would regard it not as something to resent but as a thing to be examined, like an interesting beetle. "That's a curious view, not uninteresting.

Try not to forget that, no matter how certain, you might be wrong.

I hope we will not so characterize religious people as being so narrow and so biased towards people not of their own religion that they cannot even work with them in this common cause to which you say they are committed.

to disagree one doesnt have to be disagreeable

Don't judge people before you know them. Their story might surprise you!

Dismissing without further investigation something that conflicts with what is already known is the very heart of rationality.

Be not astonished at new ideas; for it is well known to you that a thing does not therefore cease to be true because it is not accepted by many.

Survival requires us to leave our prejudices at home. It's about doing whatever it takes - and ultimately those with the biggest heart will win.

One thing I am sure of is that I won't judge a dance reality show.

I never tried to pigeonhole myself. I've been willing to take risks and try doing things like reality TV with 'The Bachelor' or Food Network or 'Good Morning America.'

You meet people, and you realize that you can never judge a book by its cover.

I grew up on the Beatles; I love Linkin Park and Green Day. I heard hip-hop for the first time at 11 and realized what I was missing.