Questions and Answers

Various questions asked by people will be answered here.
If you have a question you'd like answered here, please go ask it.

When did LSF form?
Bill van Druten founded LSF in April, 1997.

What is a Freethinker?
Freeethinkers seek a better life for all through education, democracy, free speech, reason and science, without reliance on arbitrary dogmas, revelations and faiths.

What are your meetings like?
We meet on the first Sunday of every month. From nine to ten in the morning we have coffee and socialize. At ten, there is an optional brunch, and we have discussion or a guest speaker until noon.

Is this some sort of religion?
No. A belief in the supernatural is an integral part of the definition of religion. While some of the positive aspects of our group coincide with the positive aspects of a handful of religions - such as community, altruism, and activism - we share none of the vices of religion.

What's wrong with religion?
Among other things, religion demands the suspension of logic and belief in supernatural events without any evidence. Many religions encourage or mandate that everything said by clergy be accepted as fact. Many also demand that those who don't share their beliefs should respect them no matter how absurd or immoral they may be by leveling charges of heresy or blasphemy. Beliefs based on authority can become very dangerous. Consider 9-11, al Qaeda, the Provisional IRA, the Ku Klux Klan, Jim Jones, and Heaven’s Gate, which are modern examples.

Why do you associate religion with superstition?
Oxford defines superstition as "excessively credulous belief in the supernatural," or a "widely held but irrational belief in supernatural influences." Supernatural is defined as "attributed to some force beyond scientific understanding or the laws of nature." Thus religion is superstition.

Do you meet in hell, or is that just one continuous meeting?
Indeed we do, although not the imaginary hell with which countless children have been terrified. Rather we meet in the hell of the German language; hell means luminous, clarity, brilliance. We strive to use our best, clearest thinking in all matters. We know we can't understand everything about the cosmos and about humanity and we are not afraid to be wrong or change our views as evidence dictates. Of course that is not the case with religion which stubbornly adheres to ancient misunderstandings.