I can relate to it. Being challenged on a core belief is an uncomfortable feeling for me. I've learned that in order to be open minded I need to pause, listen, and take as much time reflecting as I need before I respond. Oftentimes that means I bow out of a debate with "That's interesting, I hadn't thought of that before, I really want to think about that". For me, it takes a lot of discipline to not give in to the fight-or-flight reaction, and really digest something that challenges me. And I'm not always perfect at it.

Ironically, I feel like online platforms should be a better venue for that type of thing, since it's asynchronous and you don't have people in front of you awaiting your response. Obviously it doesn't tend to work that way, though.