Memetic Rootkits

[Atheist-Lite]

Do you find yourself coming out with xian or other irrational mind-farts even after becoming a atheist? Perhaps there is a xian memetic rootkit lodged deep in your subconcsious? - inside the basic machinary of your thinking way beyond your natural everyday awareness the beast of your former irrationality still lingers? This thread is to discuss ways and means of detection for deep down mind viruses along with possible means for their iradication.

[Rum]

A good point! In the UK and much of old Protestant Europe Christianity is very much part of the fabric of our society and culture and remains so in my view, even for secular people. The King James bible in particular in the UK, arguably, has influenced everything from law to science, to philosophy, art and drama and the very way we think about the world. I'm not in any hurry to ditch all of that frankly as it is part of what one might loosely term my 'heritage'. I think it is perfectly possible to be an atheist and to take advantage of the aesthetic of some of the culture which Christianity brings with it.

Having said that I do find myself slipping lazily into some old thinking now and again. The main one is probably the sense that all that is happening is somehow being recorded and that things like justice will win in the end and that all will be right with the world. When I examine those things of course - it is phoney religion type thinking and at a conscious level I don';t fool myself with it.

[FBM]

I think I may still sometimes get all bleeding-hearted about the existence of suffering in the world and talk about it in terms of justice in an absolute way, like, "The world shouldn't be like this" or "That's just not right", etc etc. Seems to be a gut reaction, a conditioned emotional response based on the way I was raised, which, in turn, was based on ancient, theology-based ethics.

So I should stop doing that. It's just not right.

But most of the time, when I think about suffering and so forth, I look to nature for an explanation. I learn a lot more and I don't have to experience myself exhibiting self-righteous indignation. I hate when I see myself doing that.

[Svartalf]

xianity is a basic foundation of the last 2000 years of our culture, of course your basic westerner will still mechanically say "god" and think in xian influenced terms... not doing so would be a thought purge worthy of imposing newspeak on yourself.

[Atheist-Lite]

xianity is a basic foundation of the last 2000 years of our culture, of course your basic westerner will still mechanically say "god" and think in xian influenced terms... not doing so would be a thought purge worthy of imposing newspeak on yourself.

My nihilism app hardly takes up any space at all and comes with a free mindware rootkit removal routine, compared with xianity which is all bloatware and slows thinking down to a crawl.

[odysseus]

I think that in Britain the Xian detritus lies mainly in our use of language rather than anything else.

What pisses me off is when you get Xians who automatically assume that their morals come straight from God or their faith. Many of them seem to think that reciprocal altruism didn't exist before Christianity while completely ignoring the notion that in-group morality and out-group hostility are alive and well in Christianity as a whole and between its denominations.

[Pappa]

I think that in Britain the Xian detritus lies mainly in our use of language rather than anything else.

What pisses me off is when you get Xians who automatically assume that their morals come straight from God or their faith. Many of them seem to think that reciprocal altruism didn't exist before Christianity while completely ignoring the notion that in-group morality and out-group hostility are alive and well in Christianity as a whole and between its denominations.

I wonder why most religions felt the need to codify ethical values that almost all humans seem to hold naturally anyway. The core moralities are the same accross almost all cultures throughout history: it wrong to murder, steal, attack, etc.. I suppose it does give a sense of moral superiority to a person who believes they are only good because they are pious.

[Atheist-Lite]

I think that in Britain the Xian detritus lies mainly in our use of language rather than anything else.

What pisses me off is when you get Xians who automatically assume that their morals come straight from God or their faith. Many of them seem to think that reciprocal altruism didn't exist before Christianity while completely ignoring the notion that in-group morality and out-group hostility are alive and well in Christianity as a whole and between its denominations.

I wonder why most religions felt the need to codify ethical values that almost all humans seem to hold naturally anyway. The core moralities are the same accross almost all cultures throughout history: it wrong to murder, steal, attack, etc.. I suppose it does give a sense of moral superiority to a person who believes they are only good because they are pious.

If you own the rule book then you own the game.

[Svartalf]

It's not just a religious urge, it's also part of lawmaking, just so bullies, nasties, and other bad apples who might otherwise manage to find a place because nobody will dare make a strong stand will find themselves collectively put upon by the values tying the people together. In a time when "justice" mainly meant a choice between private vengeance and mob justice, it would be a way to make sure when the mob would assemble.

And that roast is fit for Jehovah.

[Audley Strange]

Do you find yourself coming out with xian or other irrational mind-farts even after becoming a atheist? Perhaps there is a xian memetic rootkit lodged deep in your subconcsious? - inside the basic machinary of your thinking way beyond your natural everyday awareness the beast of your former irrationality still lingers? This thread is to discuss ways and means of detection for deep down mind viruses along with possible means for their iradication.

God knows.