Coexist is the creed of the feeble-minded. Advocating for the good of every religion is to be enslaved to the Spirit of the Age.
"Merely having an open mind is nothing. The object of opening the mind, as of opening the mouth, is to shut it again on something solid." — G.K. Chesterton
Open-mindedness is empty-headedness. There is no virtue in being open to anything. It is good to open your mind in order to wrap it around something tangible, but it is no good to leave your mind, like your mouth, wide open. You never know what nasty things might get in and you never really have anything good that makes its way in there as it can just as easily fall back out. Additionally, anything solid that finds its way in is more likely to be a choking hazard. Instead of being nourished by good things, you either starve to death or suffocate.
"Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions." ― G.K. Chesterton
The one who lets too much in gives too much up. He is not free. He is at the mercy of whatever comes along. He does not possess the high and generous quality of patience because he does not, strictly speaking, possess anything. He is at one moment open to this and at another open to that. His a door not a wall and as such, cannot be trusted to guard anything. (cf. Song of Solomon 8:9-10)
"If we are not all trying to convince the world of the truth of our convictions, what in the world are we doing; or why in the world do we call them our convictions at all?" ― G.K. Chesterton
Conviction is costly. It requires decisiveness. A decision cuts off other options. It says, "Yes," to one thing in order to say, "No," to another. You cannot have something unless you cut yourself off from something else. Every "yes" to one thing is a "no" to something else. Every "no" to something is a "yes" to something else. You cannot be convinced of something without being unconvinced of that which comes against it. And in this world of antithesis, nothing of value will be tolerated by the wicked. Good will not go unchallenged. So, we will have to decide. You cannot hold an opinion without refusing to hold others. You cannot grasp something without letting some other things go.
“The modern habit of saying 'This is my opinion, but I may be wrong' is entirely irrational. If I say that it may be wrong, I say that is not my opinion. The modern habit of saying 'Every man has a different philosophy; this is my philosophy and it suits me' – the habit of saying this is mere weak-mindedness. A cosmic philosophy is not constructed to fit a man; a cosmic philosophy is constructed to fit a cosmos. A man can no more possess a private religion than he can possess a private sun and moon.” ― G.K. Chesterton
A man can, no doubt, possess a religion, but not a private one. He can possess the sun and the moon, but only the way any man can, by inheriting them from his Creator. In order to have an opinion, it must have you. An open mind is not free to be closed. In fact, "being open for business" is the one thing it will fight tooth and nail over. It may be open to all kinds of nonsense, but it is decidedly closed to sense.
Free thinking is done on the cheap. It costs nothing, knows nothing, and is worth just as much.
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