What does being "openminded" mean? The Dictionary.com definition is "Having or showing receptiveness to new and different ideas or the opinions of others." I think that's pretty close. I'd say that openmindedness involves:

1. Receptively considering other people's ideas
2. Evaluating new ideas to determine if they are true or false
3. Acknowledging that I might be wrong

The first point seems to be the most obvious and most intuitively understood. The second point is equally important. Like the old saying goes, "Don't be so open minded that your brains fall out." Hearing other people's ideas is great. Being tolerant of the opinions of others is important. But it's also important to weigh others' opinions and come to a reasonable conclusion about the validity of their claims. Even when we disagree with someone, it can lead to deeper understanding of the reasons we believe as we do.

The third point is critical, and often overlooked: Acknowledging that I (you) might be wrong. For example, I am now a Christian. Before, I was not. It's important to note that if I had not been openminded I wouldn't be Christian today. I am now a firm believer in Christianity; but I know that I could be wrong. Does that mean I lack faith? No! It only means that I remain openminded, and if sufficient evidence were to convince me that Christianity were not true, then I would not (could not) continue to believe. It seems very unlikely that such a thing would happen, given that I have spent a lot of time evaluating both "sides", but I can't deny the possibility exists.

Sometimes Christians are accused of being "closedminded". Some are. But the same criticism applies to everyone, because no one is without bias. If anyone (atheists and skeptics included) claims to be openminded on one hand but on the other hand precludes the possibility that they could be wrong, in what sense are they openminded?