Free Thinker?

I saw a debate between a Christian and someone I assume identifies as something other than Christian this morning regarding what it means to be a “free-thinker”. The non-Christian asserted basically that people who believe in Christ are not free thinkers. Perhaps others on my timeline will find my response of some value:

My unrequested two cents in reading your discourse here:

it occurs to me there is value in further defining the term “free-thinker”. It appears somewhat implied to be binary, meaning that one is either a free thinker or they are not. In this case we instantly find ourselves in the unfortunately familiar land of us vs them. It can limit sharing of ideas. In reality what I think is at play is that we find ourselves on a sliding gradient scale of “willingness and interest to consider information and a willingness and interest to act both in agreement with others and/or in conflict with others”. Perhaps it is possible somewhere along this scale you could assign a dividing line called free thinker. More likely though is that we are all just doing our best to survive and thrive in our environments based on the factors present. Are we at war? Is there food and water present? How do I use what I have at my disposal today to create access to more tools and greater opportunities for myself and those I love tomorrow? Unfortunately it’s not simply just one foot in front of the other, a daily discovery process in the true scientific method ie this food good this food bad because we are at the mercy of deception. This is where division occurs. We all have some degree of interest in gaining wisdom and walking powerfully making decisions which are beneficial to our lives and our experience here. We start out as babies, not understanding who we truly are or the world around us. We develop language and begin sharing ideas, hopefully in love with the interest of helping our young ones to avoid painful mistakes, improve efficiencies, and allow at the least the hope and possibility that successive generations will gain improved experiences. It should be so.

Unfortunately we have a brilliant enemy, Satan, who hates us and commits his talent to our demise. He is a master of deception. He hides in the shadows and is able to subtlety influence our decision making process to produce death rather than life. We hear, “yes this fruit is good to eat”, and suffer the consequences when we ingest poison, even though we believe the fruit to be nutritious. This is where relativism fails us. It’s true that some decisions can be inconsequential and up to personal interpretation. Which tastes better, chocolate or vanilla? But eventually we find ourselves confronted with truth. It’s true that if I jump off this cliff I will not fly and I will indeed come tumbling down and there will be some consequence ie broken leg or death depending on the severity of the improper or unwise decision.

We and those before us all the way back to the very first people have been continuously lied to. It’s to the point now that we literally don’t know which way is up and which way is down. Through trial and error we do eventually see through some of the lies. We begin to recognize that institutions such as the Vatican do indeed limit “free-thinking” or the pursuit of understanding truth by literally controlling information. It’s like Satan to use one deception however to further another. So as we become aware of one of his tools of manipulation, control, and deceit, and become enraged and commit ourselves to its undoing, he is actually quite persistent and still speaking lies in the shadows. Then as we begin to identify evil at work in broken institutions like government and most organized religions, he slips in there another deception and says, “see, since those claiming to represent Christ are deceivers, then the whole thing is a lie”. Controlled opposition.

I would like to believe that we would all eventually find ourselves out from under the influence of false information and that we would all eventually come to understand and operate in what is really true. But the reality is no matter how much information one processes, he can remain confused and in bondage if a core few lies are believed. If the foundation of a building is compromised then it doesn’t matter how sound the engineering is above, eventually you will suffer decay. If you believe that a cow can sprout wings and fly, then you could articulate with the language of math and physics how that would be so if true. Entire schools and industries are formed dedicated to the study and theory of “cow-flight”. Brilliant talent is consumed with futile effort and diverted from the worthwhile. That is where we find ourselves currently. This house of cards has been built quite high and is ready to come down. The game is nearly over. Satan isn’t one to gather his toys and go home quietly however. The brat will kick and scream and burn down as much as he can on his way. He knows his unfortunate destination and wants to take as many with him as he can.

So in the off-chance this is read by a true “free-thinker”, someone who truly desires to build their house on a firm foundation I will leave you with this:

Jesus Christ is real.

Jesus Christ is all powerful.

Jesus Christ is love.

Jesus Christ gives us free-will and the ability to serve Him or to reject Him.

Jesus Christ is the only one powerful enough to give you victory over our great enemy Satan and the hoards of demons and possessed individuals in his army.

Jesus Christ is Holy.

Jesus Christ is mighty to save.

Jesus Christ is coming back and will cleanse this world of unrighteousness and all lies.

None of us are truly “free” to think. We are all oppressed. I pray that you come to know and trust the one who came to set the captives free.

His name is Jesus Christ of Nazareth and He will reveal Himself and truth to you, if you sincerely ask Him.

He is the way, the truth, and the life.

I pray to bind all evil, unclean and deceptive spirits who would prevent you from hearing this. In Jesus name, Amen.