Is religion a mind virus?

Question

Those who believe seem to lose all sense of logic and reason and go with what "feels" right. It feels right that humans just appeared out of thin air, fully grown. Instead of humans, and all other life, evolving though natural selection.

Will we ever grow past our current adolesence? It seems that religion is forever stuck in the past. If you believe in religion, then you are seeing the world through the eyes of those who lived long ago. When their knowledge of the world was extremely limited.

Gary B: do you even know what I am talking about? You are under the influence of the virus and don't even know it. I'm sorry.

Bender: go back to science class and you will understand what evolution is.

Answer 1

If religion is what was "long ago", is it not what built up society into what it is today, into what is now growing? While people can, and have indeed made religion into something far more negative than it is, while in their eyes making it better - not everyone does this. Hopefully people can balance all aspects of life with their beliefs, whether that be religion or not.

Answer 2

Come on! Christians (well at least me and my family) believe that the bible is told in a way that people back then can understand it. God jump started evolution, the world, and all that crap. God still created man and the world, but through something that we can understand. We have found some evidence that a huge flood has taken place in the Middle East... so think about that. We are finding so many things that can prove Christianity right and maybe even some other religions. It is NOT a mind virus and I have taken (and still am) CCD (I forgot the real name now) and we learned that the New Testament was written by the people who saw Jesus and wanted to write everything down, and thus the New Testament comes forth. Religion is based on what we believe, and that's in God. Not just what THEY believed, but us.

Answer 3

No, ignorance is a mind virus. Even believing in logic is believing in an idea that has been taught and shared with others. Same as believing in Christ or Mohammad..etc. Same as some who go around preaching how their way is better and enlightened despite the fact they fail to give any better example than the next.
So go ahead move out of the past on to the next excuse, ( logic and reason ) to keep doing the same things.

Answer 4

actually the "feels right" scenario leads people into fornication.
and adultery. and drug abuse and mind control.
I disagree with you that people live in the past, not all people are stuck on old proverbs, but they are stuck on old traditions.
however there was a prophet that declared the "ancient" ways are more desirable than the changing ways of every generation.

Religion is mostly false and an abomination to God. or i should say false religion is an abomination. If the entire planet believed in the true religion of the universal truths of the gospel, men would become PERFECT in faith and ordinances. in fact mankind would know who God is and know without doubt or confusion what the correct truths are!
the knowledge of the gospel of Jesus was Known more perfectly by those that lived aeons ago in history MORE than ALl religion combined today.

Answer 5

Not only do you have an extremely poor grasp of ancient history, and know absolutely nothing about Christianity as held by adults, but you are all too mesmerized by 19th century philosophy. You are, in other words, seeing the world through the eyes of Germans and others who lived over 100 years ago.

In fact, I have seen far more anti-Christians going with what "feels" right - such as being against God's sovereignty, not because there is any logical reason for it, but simply because of the exasperated (albeit a bit whiny) question: "But how could a loving God allow all this evil?"

That may be a question that shows the questioner has a lot of heart, but his brain has not yet caught up.

Answer 6

Not a virus in the biological sense, of course, but in the manner of a mass delusion. The DSM-IV defines delusional disorder, but excludes "beliefs shared by a large number of people", in other words, religion is rather carefully excluded from the definition. I, however, believe that it does apply, and that there is a reason why all Christians exhibit similar thought processes and behaviors. Perhaps there is a genetic predispostion as discussed in "God gene" theory, or perhaps environment plays more of a role than we thought. Whatever it is, it is absolutely astounding that so many people could share such irrational, unfounded beliefs.

Answer 7

Richard Dawkins, come on down!

Read his stuff. He actually has a piece called "The Virus of Faith." He said that if you were to take someone from the 1500s and show them modern life, nearly every aspect of their experience will be wholly different... except for one. Their faith will seem almost totally unchanged.

We do need to move past this era. I'm not suggesting we create a new religion from science; far from it. What we need to do is understand that religion is no longer necessary. Human life, now, is more complicated than what can be explained by these thousands of years old texts. Adolescence, it is. It is time to grow up.

*xors

Answer 8

If religion is in fact a virus, it is one that has been caught by all of humanity since the dawn of time.

Answer 9

So, all suggestions (alongside with the only which you in simple terms reported on your question) are "strategies viruses"? an theory isn't a virulent disease. there's no credible psychiatrist who believes in "memes" Richard Dawkins is an authority in biology; he isn't an authority on human psychology.

Answer 10

Not a virus exactly, but a meme complex. For more info on memes:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme