Freethinkers recognize that there is much chaos, ugliness and pain in the universe for which any explanation of origins must also account.
Freethinkers are convinced that religious claims have not withstood the tests of reason.
Freethinkers see no pride in the blind maintenance of ancient superstitions or self-effacing prostration before divine tyrants known only through primitive "revelations." Freethought is respectable.
For although the word "freethinker" implies a person who thinks freely about any subject, many nontheists now define the word so that a person who believes in a god (even the god of Deism) is not "free" to be a freethinker.
Russell then stated a person is a freethinker if he holds beliefs "because, after careful thought, he finds a balance of evidence in their favor" (emphasis mine).
The time has come for freethinkers to think freely about their definition of freethought.[9] If our goal is to be taken seriously by theists--as it should be, since we are in the minority--it is time we stop playing games with words and admit that theists can be freethinkers, too.
Through the reading of popular scientific books I soon reached the conviction that much in the stories of the Bible could not be true.
The consequence was a positively fanatic orgy of freethinking coupled with the impression that youth is intentionally being deceived by the state through lies; it was a crushing impression.
Mistrust of every kind of authority grew out of this experience, a skeptical attitude toward the convictions that were alive in any specific social environment — an attitude that has never again left me, even though, later on, it has been tempered by a better insight into the causal connections.
Freethinkers recognize that there is much chaos, ugliness and pain in the universe for which any explanation of origins must also account.
Freethinkers are convinced that religious claims have not withstood the tests of reason.
Freethinkers see no pride in the blind maintenance of ancient superstitions or self-effacing prostration before divine tyrants known only through primitive "revelations." Freethought is respectable.
Freethinkers reach and hold to conclusions based on their own mental reasoning, even though all others around them may think otherwise.
A freethinker does not embrace what has been said in the past simply because it is "old" or "revered." Neither does he or she accept what is said merely because others do so or because authority "endorses" it.
One consequence of a freethinker espousing an independent outlook may be more diversity (less homogeneity of overall viewpoint) within whatever society he or she dwells.
On other levels, ‘The Freethinker’ is also working with the psychology of Strindberg, and its various filmic devices and processes thus reflect the constant search for alternative forms which engaged the author most of his life.
It may be that 'The Freethinker' is being deliberately avoided simply because it threatens those responsible for the mainly conservative strands of media education in Scandinavia, all of which continue to teach the Monoform and a totally non-critical utilization of the mass audiovisual media to the overwhelming majority of their students.
Fear and resistance on the part of many of the professionals in media education means that 'The Freethinker' remains unused, its potential for raising a critical debate among students completely untapped, and its achievement by a group of students shamefully unacknowledged.
Freethinker Discussion Groups are non-profit, non-religious and run in a relaxed open way, with volunteer facilitators - there is no guru or reference text used.
The purpose of the Freethinker Discussion Groups is to promote the pursuit of wisdom and happiness through freethinking and the fostering of goodwill between attendees.
Freethinking is about thinking freely - sharing, questioning your own and other peoples' views and experiences in a friendly way, in the pursuit of a broader and deeper understanding of the topic at hand.
While it is true that most freethinkers are non-religionists and that the vast majority are atheists, the fact remains that freethought is not exclusive to irreligion.
Freethinkers attach much more importance to the 'why' of belief than to the 'what.' Freethinkers believe in the sort of human understanding that naturally follows from a careful and rational consideration of the relevant factual evidence.
Freethinkers also acknowledge that there is an inner, private, subjective world of human experience.
He was the youngest son of the youngest son for five generations, and you can easily perceive with what precision was this man sent to defy the God of his day.
It happened that they produced on me an effect the opposite of what was intended by the writer; for the arguments of the Deists, which were cited in order to be refuted, appealed to me much more forcibly than the refutation itself.
A little more than a hundred years later, another band of Freethinkers were again to give to the world an invaluable contribution when it freed the mind of Abraham Lincoln from the superstitions of religion and stirred him to the needs and want of humanity.
With many ethical systems to choose from, the freethinker has options not available to the faithful, and in some cases those options will be the most moral.
It may be said that because the freethinker does not have the everpresent God looking over his shoulder while the believer does, the freethinker will hope to "get away with it" while the believer would not.
In addition, the freethinker is in the best possible position when a moral decision is required, having more choices available than the believer.
I use the term "freethinker" not as a universal noun or label but as a description of a person who freethinks at some time in their life.
Freethinkers utilize freethought while thinking (when else?) but at other times they may simply enjoy the sensations of life without thinking at all.
An evolutionary biologist, writer, humanist, and freethinker, Gould provides an exceptional example of a scientist and freethinker who had the ability to explain complex subjects and to correct the misconceptions of history.
The woman, who was not named, admitted under questioning that she had threatened Lars Vilks in telephone calls and e-mails, said Hakan Lund, a police spokesman in Helsingborg, southern Sweden.
The Freethinker was founded in 1881 by GW Foote, an outspoken critic of religion.
After the publication of irreligious cartoons in the 1882 Christmas edition, Foote was convicted of blasphemy and sentenced to 12 months hard labour.
Welcome to the webpage of the Michigan State University Freethinker Alliance!
For those with questions, please feel free to e-mail the MSUFA at the address located on the bottom of the menu to the right.
As of Fall 2007, the MSU Freethinker Alliance meets on the campus of Michigan State University in Room #119 (1st Floor) in the Psychology Building, every Wednesday evening at 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM.
A standard dictionary defines a freethinker as 'one that forms opinions on the...
this means is that to be a freethinker, a person has to be willing to consider...
Several people were believed still trapped in the rubble after the accident in Hyderabad, the capital of Andhra Pradesh state, local police chief Balwinder Singh told reporters.
Through the reading of popular scientific books I soon reached the conviction that much in the stories of the Bible could not be true.
The consequence was a positively fanatic orgy of freethinking coupled with the impression that youth is intentionally being deceived by the state through lies; it was a crushing impression.
Mistrust of every kind of authority grew out of this experience, a skeptical attitude toward the convictions that were alive in any specific social environment-an attitude that has never again left me, even though, later on, it has been tempered by a better insight into the causal connections.
