Are you willing to be wrong?

Been a while. Now that that's out of the way...

Are you willing to be wrong?

I ask this in the context of your belief set, and though it could apply to any type of belief, I mean it as a reflection of your faith, or the lack thereof.

If two people of an opposing view sit down to a casual debate (or even a rigorous one), what good is it if both have already made up their mind? They could go on for hours, but if both approach the other with a pre-conceived, immovable philosophy, they are utterly wasting their breath. I've found all sides of the faith debate guilty of this; more of a school yard scrap than an honest inquiry of the other's opinions. I of course don't speak against argument itself, but rather argument lost on one unable to listen. I also wouldn't propose a weak resolve; one must surely stand firm in what they believe. However, once the firmness of one's standing leads him to nail his feet to the ground, he's forfeited his honesty for bigotry.

I say this as one tired of wasting my own words on those absent of reason. If I refute one's argument, I don't expect their mind to be blown, but I also grow tired of the "shoulder shrug," as if to say, "well you say that, but I still don't believe it." I don't need you to believe it, I just need you to think about it rather than brush it away; an honor I give in return to arguments of mine that fall.

If you "refuse" to believe something, you may as well not bother talking to me. If reason and logic give way to emotion driven thinking, offense, or anger, you may as well not bother talking to me. If you don't care what I think, but rather just want me to hear what you think, you may as well not bother talking to me. To the Atheist bigot, the Christian bigot, and the vast collection of other bigots, let me know what you are before I waste my time.