A few words on skepticism...
When is skepticism appropriate? Is skepticism ever unhealthy, or incorrect? Does being skeptical mean that you have a closed mind, or an open one? What follows is what I think, and you are free to disagree, as long as you think it through!
Let's say you're in a shopping mall and the fire alarm activates, and people begin to evacuate. That is not the right time to decide to ask about the sources of information. You just calmly evacuate with everyone else, right? Common sense. But many times things are not so crystal clear. We live in a time now in which many things are very cloudy, despite the fact that we have more information at our disposal than people did at any other time in history. Because some people are motivated by an 'end justifies the means' type of ideology, they will try to 'put a spin' on facts to support their agenda. It is naive in the extreme to believe that everyone wants everyone else to hear and know what is really happening. So in this very complex age in which you are required to know car mechanics to understand whether your mechanic is taking you to the cleaners, in which you need to know a certain amount of law to keep from being sued, in which you need to become your own investment expert to guard your retirement, etc. (it seems ad infinitum), we need to become skeptical (our own judge, if you will) of the statements presented to us as facts. Will we always be correct? No, but at least we can make an effort to use the brains given to us.
As a child I was told that dinosaur bones were just fabricated from plaster, and that if there were any real bones they were collected from a wide area, and that what was presented to us as dinosaur skeletons in a museum was actually bones from several different species of regular, contemporary animals like giraffe, elephant, zebra, whatever. This was explained to me with a straight face, and I'm sure, earnestly and fervently held as a core belief by the teller. Why? Because in the mind of the teller, if dinosaurs were indeed real, then that somehow meant that evolution must be real, and that somehow meant that God was not real. What a small and powerless god they must have that has to run from science! Back to the topic of skepticism- People who believe this, that God and dinosaurs are mutually exclusive, or that God and evolution are polar opposites, are skeptical of any evidence to the contrary. These people have a closed mind to any new information, short of hearing it directly from God's lips. This is unhealthy skepticism. On the other hand, I was skeptical of what I was being told, which encouraged me to research and find out for myself what the truth really is. In other words, my skepticism was borne of an open mind that was in search of the truth. This is healthy.
There should be no fear. If your beliefs are nothing but pure rubbish, get rid of them! But if your beliefs actually have credence, if they are worth anything at all, then you should not fear any new information, should you?
We human beings are very good at analyzing data, and coming to logical conclusions. The trouble is that we get lazy and that laziness causes all manner of problems. We compartmentalize and separate by placing labels on people so that we can save time by making snap judgements. Racial predjudice is but one hugely glaring example of this. Partisan (exclusionary) Republican vs. Democrat (USA) thinking is another example. Is it productive?
So, healthy skepticism is that which encourages new data, new discovery.
I have intentionally avoided the word criticism, because I view that word as almost entirely negative. Does criticism ever encourage new thought, or is it merely meant to chastise and correct? I think it's more the latter. Negativity, always being critical, is a disease of not being at ease. Nothing is good. The grass is greener on the other side... etc.
To sum this up- Don't fear new information. Don't fear new thought, or discussing philosophy with someone new, unless you secretly think that your philosophy stinks. Whatever the real truth is, it must be pure and strong, and it can sustain any attack. Don't label or pre-judge people, and don't try to put God in a box (ie- say that God can't do this or that. If He's really God, by definition, He can). By all means, people, use your head. Think! It won't hurt, much!