Me and one of my oldest friends were debating this. We're both non-theists, by the way. I don't want to bias the results... so I won't say what side I'm on.
What do you think, can you be both a freethinker and a Christian?
You can't follow a religion which relies on faith and consider yourself a freethinker. Unless you think a freethinker thinks so freely that anything is possible, which in that case you're still not a Christian because there are no other possibilities than the "word of God"...
I'd have to see actual evidence of such a thing. Until then, I'll classify that like a UFO.
@TomasMcCartney Your god is not real to me, neither is anyone else's. Knock yourself out though. LLAP
@TomasMcCartney Okay, first off, I never called you a 'fool', or anything else.
I told you that I do not believe your god is real. As to the UFO story, I do not care.
I'm not interested in your testimony, or your beliefs. Enjoy your day.
Can, but it certainly seems more the exception than the rule.
Depends on who and where you are on what opinions are accepted...but I think so. You can just believe in God and not really follow a lot of the stuff, not really believe the bullshit aspects of it I guess. Or you could follow it pretty much to the letter; thats definitely not very accepted lol. And you can certainly still base truths on logic and evidence and all that and still believe in a god.
I think that one can be a freethinker and think that some sort of god may exist; but, once one buys into a religious belief, no matter what it is, how can they be a freethinker? A freethinker is "a person who rejects accepted opinions, especially those concerning religious belief." Or, as this site defines freethinker, it is one who believes truth comes from logic, reason, and empiricism, rather than religion
I think that christian is easier to say "i believe in God but not the religion surrounding him" or something to that effect. Atleast i am assuming this is the case.
How are you defining freethinker?
@silvereyes I'm not sure my definition helps in the debate with your friend but, honestly, I think of "freethinker" as sort of a self-aggrandizing term that doesn't really need to exist. I think it's often used as a synonym for various atheistic views, or similarly to "skeptic." I suppose if I have to nail it down, and not fall back to one of those exact definitions, I'd say it's a lack of dogmatic belief and behavior, an openness to new ideas and ways of thinking, and a strong measure of critical reasoning in how one approaches the complexities of life.