Personally, I'd consider a free thinker to be an open-minded person on all subjects, not necessarily limited to religious matters. That said, an agnostics forum?? I though you were an atheist, Lon...? Appears that you still may be seeking some answers. Theist: "God exists." *prays* Atheist: "God does not exist." *sips grande cappuccino* Agnostic: "We can't know." *continues living*
It kinda says it in the header, @Lon Tanner Agnostic means they don't know, but Atheists KNOW...there is a contradiction. Free thinkers and Skeptics are included. I seems to be a diverse group with no defined direction and using terms that don't match.
What serms odd to me..... That so many people between 55ish and older, who were raised in a faith based religion in youth.. no longer hold to that belief as they were taught. This includes myself. Why is that you think ? What happened in our lives that changed us so? I lost respect and desire for organized religion 40 years ago, but that does not make me an atheist. Why did many of our grandparents seem so strong in faith yet We seem almost indifferent ? This is my profound wonder of the day. Am sure there are many opinions..let it begin.
@Gloria Mitchell It is your personal imponderable. The more you ponder it, the more unanswerable it will become. Imponderable, then. Something I've been afflicted with in great amount, all my life! Frank
I think that year by year as we age we are subjected to more ideas, thoughts & experiences that make continuing religious belief difficult, if not impossible. or simply put, we become more knowledgeable.
OR People can become more religious, or believe more as they age, knowing the Grim Reaper is looming and start getting cold feet so hedge their bets. The people I know seem to behave generally as they always did.
I sort of walked away from it for a few years, and am not of the same flavor of Christianity that I grew up with, but I am still a Christian.
I think religious perception is shaped by your experience as you go through life. I considered starting a thread on this topic, but never got around to it. My thought was shaped by debates with Atheists in college over 50 years ago.
My idea of a free-thinker is very similar to what @Beth Gallagher wrote, I also believe that it is someone who is open-minded on all subjects. Personally, I can’t see Lon’s description of “I just don’t think about that” as showing an open minded attitude about that topic. To, me, that symbolizes a very closed mind, who totally refuses to examine something before coming to a decision about it. That doesn’t mean that we should blindly accept everything that we see, hear, or read, either. Someone (in another thread) likened being open-minded about something to totally agreeing about whatever they had been told. To me, being open-minded about something means that we do not make a decision about something until we have studied all of the pros and cons, and then we come to a conclusion, based on those facts. If later, we learn more facts that change our opinion about something, then we should evaluate those as well, and not just reject them outright because we have already formed an opinion previously.
I tried joining one on a probationary basis...the first seven years were free, but I was charged $18.75 per month afterward so I dropped out. Harold
Aren't the Free Thinkers just about the same as Humanists organization. I had a bf years ago who turned my head around and he took me to some Humanists meetings. Yes, he was atheist and bright man and an important person in my life. I look at him every day as I have a memorial card on my desk with his picture ...