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Quote said to me: 'You are a freethinker'
Preface
A good Christian friend of mine, that is a teacher and intellectual, stated to me: 'You are a freethinker'.
This was said to me in the context of contrasting my views with that of the politically correct in British Columbia and Canada.
I think I understood his point, although my thoughts when he stated 'freethinker' were the definition of one that rejects religious dogma for supposedly 'free' thinking apart from religion.
A Definition
Neither my Cambridge nor Oxford philosophy dictionaries provide a definition for 'freethinker', but I found an accurate definition from a different Oxford source.
THE CONCISE OXFORD DICTIONARY (1995) ‘Freethinker’, Della Thompson (ed.), Oxford, Clarendon Press.
'freethinker' (539)
'a person who rejects dogma or authority, esp. in religious belief.' Listed as a noun. (539). 'freethinking' is listed as a noun and adjective. (539).
Intellectual considerations
I do not reject Christian dogma, I hold to Christian, biblical dogma within the Reformed tradition and present and review other dogma and philosophies from other worldviews. I do not reject authority. I attempt to reasonably submit to relevant authority, especially, governments (Romans 13, 1 Peter 2). I attempt to submit to my church leadership (1 Timothy 3, Titus). I attempt to submit to what is reasonable and true within academic disciplines, including academic disciplines for which I have expertise, and within academic disciplines where I do not have expertise. I attempt to submit to practical truth and common sense.
I do believe in reasoning out, by God's guidance, premises, leading to a proposition/conclusion within an argument, and whether or not an argument is sound, with all correct premises. If an argument is not sound, how true or false are particular premises? If just a proposition is provided, how true or false is it?
It appears my initial reasoning on the definition of 'freethinker' was correct. I am not stating that my learned friend was incorrect with his definition. His definition is broader. I am definitely not a 'freethinker' as is commonly defined, today.
In an unorthodox sense, as my intellectual conclusions and worldview will not agree with some politically correct thought, I am a freethinker, I suppose. I also would be a non-conformist, but not anti-establishment in regards to significant cultural, political and religious thought.
