Free thought is not synonymous with atheism

I"d like to start off by saying I am not one of Ken Ham"s followers, but I believe he made a good point, and that this logic can apply to both sides. Rebuttal to "Childhood Indoctrination" As my opponent has demonstrated, we both know that atheists practice free thought, but is it exclusive to atheism? Because that is what the main idea of the debate is about. I think "indoctrination" should be defined for everyone here: "Indoctrination noun the act of indoctrinating, or teaching or inculcating a doctrine, principle, or ideology, especially one with a specific point of view: religious indoctrination. "(1) So essentially, indoctrination in any form is necessary for our children, be it religious or not. It is up to the parents to teach or indoctrinate their children with the right morals and to strengthen their moral compass throughout their childhood until they are old enough to think for themselves. On a fundamental and absolute level, when you take all the devious out of the picture, this would be the idea behind religion, too. Most children, as they"re growing up, learn to question their faith when they get older. Whether or not they keep it is up to them. (2) To sum up my rebuttals here, indoctrination is necessary in the form or moral strength, whatever form it may come in; and that children will end up questioning it regardless and either stay or leave their faith. The same applies to all teaching and indoctrination as far as morality goes. Rebuttal to "The Desire Not to Disbelieve" Again, many believers (including me) are willing to question their beliefs and stand them up to the tests of human logic and understanding. And also, I would like to point out that almost anything can be abused to claim a monopoly on free thought; not just religion. But even if religion has been abused more than others, does not mean religion in itself claims a monopoly on enlightenment. Rebuttal to "Religion and the Impossible Claim" Admittedly, my opponent presents the most reasonable argument here as it is easy to believe religion claims to know all and many followers portray it that way. However, this is not so, depending on what realm you are talking about. (Physical and metaphysical) You will always find people who are closed minded and claim to know everything just because they have religion. Yes, I believe God was the metaphysical cause behind the universe, but what physical mechanism was used? Why not keep searching and further our knowledge and understanding of the universe? The Bible, for example, tells us that God created the universe, but it doesn"t tell us what physical mechanism He used. (e. g Big Bang) It"s up to us to find out. Essentially, I believe God caused it all, but I will readily admit I don"t what happened to bring the universe into existence. That's why we have science is to find out how. "One will hear it commonly said that atheists have not considered all their options, nor questioned their own belief, a misconception that I should briefly respond to before concluding. According to a study reported in Time Magazine and the LA Times, atheists and agnostics both know more than the religious about faith and the various holy books. (9). I would dissect this study myself, but the Times, quite a balanced resource, delivers a harsher criticism of religion on this point then I could. "The study concluded that those who reject faith often do so after growing up in a religious household, and studying and deliberating keeping the faith. Also, atheists and agnostics tend to be better educated in general. Why did Christians do so poorly? It may be because once someone accepts a faith, they stop examining it. "" I did mention in my opening argument that free thought would lead to either one, my argument centers on the assertion that free thought will not always lead to atheism. There are many atheists and religious people that go through long periods and journeys of questioning before reaching their destination. So with that in mind, I believe this is largely irrelevant unless my opponent can prove otherwise. I look forward to hearing my opponent"s rebuttals and wish him good luck in what"s turning out to be a good debate. (1). http://dictionary.reference.com... (2). http://www.thrivingfamily.com...