About FFi

It's About Life... This Life

The most important thing to remember is We have an affinity for life and we recognize how tenuous and fragile it is, and as emergency workers we have chosen a profession that allows us to actually do something (with our own hands) that really can make a difference in the future quality of life people may have after suffering a traumatic or medical emergency. We recognize that it is through the work of people that lives are literally "saved," and not as the result of wishful thinking, prayer, or adhering to some doctrine of dogmatic belief. We adhere to the position that life - this life - is what matters, and we stand against ideologies and actions that threaten that, be they through religious proselytizing, crusades, holy wars and terrorism; corporate greed; political malfeasance; or illegal "preventive wars" and wars for resources in the name of "humanitarian intervention."

There is nothing noble or "righteous" about death and suffering. There is nothing romantic about war and killing and torturing people because they view the world or religion differently than you. There is nothing "divine" about the death of a child, and there is certainly nothing to suggest that the mother and father of that dead child will be somehow "stronger" or of "improved character" or more "spiritually enlightened" as a result of that death. Moreover, there is no "message" to be "interpreted" from it.

What it Means to be a Freethinker

There really isn't one concise definition of a "freethinker," even among freethinkers. Freethinkers can and do encompass people of many belief structures, including people professing to religious beliefs. For example, Thomas Jefferson, Mahatma Gandhi, and the Dalai Lama, each expressed some form of belief in a "god" of sorts (although most Jews, Muslims and Christians would not identify with their definition of that term), but their views toward humanity, religious tolerance, informed study, and their ability to rise above demands of conformity to ancient dogmas make (made) them freethinkers.

Being a Freethinker, however, does demand the use of logic, reason and verifiable evidence to evaluate the credibility of a claim or statement; especially when that claim or statement pertains to the supernatural or "gods" that are alleged to have powers to perform cause-and-effect changes in the temporal world, or to favor a particular individual or group of people as "chosen" above others. A freethinker utilizes the scientific method and depends on the quality and verifiability of evidence to reach an informed conclusion and is not intimidated or influenced by religious dogma or authority. A freethinker is not constrained by tradition and is unafraid to challenge unsubstantiated and unverifiable testimony, regardless of its emotional appeal.

Freethinker is not a synonymous term with atheism, even though most (but not all) atheists are freethinkers. When religionists attempt to classify "us" as some all-encompassing group that is at once "un-American" (or, internationally, "un-western"), "anti-family" and "morally decrepit heathens" who propel ourselves on a "hateful agenda" to "destroy God" (their god, the only god, of course) and religion (their religion, the only true religion, of course - remember, it is the self-proclaimed "true" religions in the world that have sought to destroy one another), they are playing upon emotional stigmas and innuendo rather than informed study and evidence.

Are Freethinkers "Anti-Religion"

No. We are not here to harass, attack or demean anyone for their personal religious beliefs. You will not find us standing at the door of your churches, mosques and synagogues engaging people as they enter and exit. We are strong believers that what people choose to believe is their own business, and so long as it remains a private matter for them and they do not inflict harm (physical, emotional or psychological) upon others, then each should be free to hold and explore those beliefs whether others adhere to those views or not.

That said, however, the moment one feels they have been adorned with some "God-given right" to impose their religious views upon others - or worse, at the expense of others' religious or nonreligious beliefs - it is then that they have overstepped the line and, as Gandhi correctly observed, committed an act of "violence" that is both intolerable and harmful. And it is in the confines of this arena that you will see the proselytizers being challenged on their own turf.

It's important to note that it is not to us the evangelists are speaking when they attack the freethinker - it is their congregations they are trying to convince! By projecting the freethinker in a negative, hateful, evil, light, they seek to tap into the emotional receptors of their congregations in order to implant a distasteful image of contempt in their minds, and consequently to have them avoid us outright. Truly, the greatest assets the church has in maintaining its numbers are ignorance, fear and intolerance. Conversely, its greatest enemies are education, critical examination and competition.

Is Freethought Firefighters International (FFi) only for firefighters?

Freethought Firefighters was originally created by an atheist firefighter as a thought experiment to challenge the Christian proselytizing ("Have you found Jesus yet?") bulletin boards that a group of Colorado Springs firefighters - all members of the Fellowship of Christian Firefighters (FCF) - had, for many years, been posting on bulletin boards in every city fire station and numerous other city facilities (see Dousing a Religious Flap).

But FFi has evolved significantly over the years. We are not only a support group for other nonreligious firefighters, but we recognize that there are nonreligious people working in other dangerous, taxpayer-funded, public safety professions (e.g., military, police, EMS); people whose bravery and self-sacrifice are always a favorite for religious leaders to commandeer and claim as "beacons of light through whom Jesus performs his miraculous works.

3000 people died in the tragic events of 9/11, over 400 of whom were New York City firefighters, police officers and EMS workers. Statistically speaking (see American Religious Identification Survey, 2001), of the 343 New York City firefighters that died, between 8-14 percent of them were atheists, agnostics, humanists and freethinkers—that’s 30-48 firefighters, among just those firefighters who died (many hundreds more worked feverishly at ground zero searching for fallen firefighters and other victims under continuing personal risk, and survived)! But where is the media voice for them? In the weeks following 9/11 religious eulogies saturated the media in which the "fallen heroes" were all resoundingly converted to "belief" regardless of what they may or may not have believed in life, be it Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, atheism or anything else - they all became "God's children" who "died while doing 'good' through the Lord." This follows suit with a time-honored practice among evangelists to manufacture "conversion testimonies" of famous figures or notable dissenters after they are dead and unable to defend themselves (for more on this see my essay, The Altar of Heroism).

It is always the voice of the nonbelievers - the atheists in foxholes - that are invariably squelched, ignored and ridiculed. FFi is here for all of them!

We are also here as a learning resource and debate forum for all people, regardless of your religious views. You do not need to be a firefighter, police officer, EMS worker or member of the military, to contribute to FFi and participate in topical discussions.

Our content is not exclusive to religion and church-state issues, but a litany of categories ranging from public policy, civil liberties and critical thinking, to urban legend & scam debunking, satire and fabulous firehouse recipes.

See you at the firehouse...