Is religion a computer virus for the human mind?

I think an important question to ask would be:

Do we believe that a spiritual component is a fact of the human being, or simply a biproduct of culture?

Anyone who has done enough research can tell you that despite different interpretations, almost every religion, in essence is talking about the same thing.

If it is to be believed that consciousness and spirituality go hand in hand, then we must offer forgiveness to those who felt the need to bastardize religion and spirituality into their own selfish desires.

I for one believe that the three components to a complete and conscious human would be Spirit, Body, and Mind.

A balance of the three is required, and an over abundance in any one category can lead to undesirable results.

Indeed, the emptiness that so many feel these days, the pit that can never be filled through sex, drugs, addiction, is generally a result of an under developed spiritual side.

I am not here to advocate one religion or belief over another, however the liberation of the soul (If we are to believe such a thing exists) requires deep and thorough reflection of the self.

If any one school of thought can begin to help somebody reach this sort of reflection, than I say good work.

However, we must be reminded of the balance of all things. Moderation is key, and it is always good to do your research, and follow your intuition.

It's not all butterflies and rainbows, you got to wade through the trash and muck, before any kind of truth will begin to present itself.

As to the question posed in the OP.

Religion is only as much of a parasite/virus as any one individual allows it to be. It is easy to take any one thing or belief to extremes, and social pressures surely do not help or make things easier.

But we must remember that buried deep within all religions and schools of thought, reside some kind of universal truth.

The question is, who is willing to truly dig?

"Open up your funky mind and you can fly"

a reply to: AllSeeingEye2025

I need to admit that my study along the lines of the science you have referenced is sorely lacking however I concur with your questioning of common wisdom. I do lean in the direction of the universe being a living consciousness though living in a physical sense would only be one phase of this consciousness.

You have admit, there's a bit of strange loop at the edge of where meaning meets physical reality in regards to the fact we are made of the very stuff it is that we are experiencing.

3
I agree here as well. It makes and interesting conundrum. We can investigate any of our reality from objective or subjective avenues but doing so from either position is futile if you ask me. it takes both together. We cannot find that spot apart from reality to objectively view it because we are of it, are it, so it takes the subjective experience as well. I like the way you call this a strange loop.

I can make no argument for a computer model or a radio model as both are useful for the development of abstract thought. To me ,this capacity for abstract thought is paramount to human development. That ability would reside within that 2% vrs 100% I mentioned earlier. Exercising this capacity might possibly make it 3% vrs 97% while not exercising it could let it slip back to 1% vrs 99% or even 0% vrs 100..I don't really know about any of that, it's mostly just me conjecturing while trying to exercise my abstract potential.

spam

originally posted by: MidMessFar
-snip-

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̶O̶r̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶s̶o̶m̶e̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶m̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶S̶a̶t̶i̶r̶e̶?̶

Guess that answers that.

originally posted by: Machshev
I mean no disrespect for your faith or any concept of a higher being or God. I am suggesting that the way a religion infects a mind and spreads to others maps out in a way reminiscent of a computer virus. Has anyone acknowledged this?

Not that I know of but it the idea has traction.

a reply to: Machshev

The Bible writer Paul at 2 Timothy 2:17 when speaking about the false religious teachings of certain religious figures, saying that "their word will spread like gangrene".

At Acts 20:30 he speaks about those who will rise up from the congregation of Christians and "speak twisted things to draw away the disciples after themselves." (i.e. start their own false religions and sects while abandoning Christian teachings in favor of their own, such as the teaching that Jesus is God incarnate, not a Christian teaching, or that the soul is immortal and that the wicked will burn in hell when they die and experience pain)

One Myth Leads to Another

“LOOK out,” wrote the apostle Paul to Christians living in the latter half of the first century C.E. What was he warning against? “Perhaps there may be someone who will carry you off as his prey through the philosophy and empty deception according to the tradition of men.”​—Colossians 2:8.

Despite Paul’s warning, from the middle of the second century C.E., some Christians began using concepts borrowed from ancient philosophers in order to explain their beliefs. Why? They wanted to be accepted by the educated people of the Roman Empire and thus make more converts.

Justin Martyr, one of the most famous of these Christians, believed that God’s Spokesman had manifested himself to Greek philosophers long before the arrival of Jesus. According to Justin and like-minded teachers, the contribution of philosophy and mythology to Christianity made this form of religion truly universal.

Justin Martyr’s form of Christianity became very successful in gaining converts. However, the adoption of one myth led to the creation of others and produced what is now commonly believed to be Christian doctrine. To expose these myths, compare what the following reference works say with what the Bible actually teaches.

Myth 1: The Soul Is Immortal
Myth 2: The Wicked Suffer in Hell
Myth 3: All Good People Go to Heaven
Myth 4: God Is a Trinity
Myth 5: Mary Is the Mother of God
Myth 6: God Approves of the Use of Images and Icons in Worship

Just a small sample of some of the gangrene present in Christendom (the many religions and denominations that claim to be Christian, but have abandoned Christian teachings for the doctrines of men, most of these teachings have their roots in pagan religious philosophy, just like many of the festivals they celebrate have their roots in paganism, such as Christmas and Easter; all part of the figurative gangrene Paul was talking about).

All this relates to the apostasy the Bible speaks of. In the Christian Greek Scriptures, the noun “apostasy” (Gr., a·po·sta·siʹa) has the sense of “desertion, abandonment or rebellion.” (Acts 21:21) There it primarily has reference to religious defection; a withdrawal from or abandonment of true worship.

Apostasy, however, did not creep into the congregation unannounced. As Head of the congregation, Christ saw to it that his followers were warned in advance.—Col. 1:18.

“Be on the watch,” cautioned Jesus, “for the false prophets that come to you in sheep’s covering.” (Matt. 7:15) Jesus knew that Satan would try to divide and corrupt His followers. So from early in his ministry, he warned them about false teachers.

From where would these false teachers come? “From among you yourselves,” said the apostle Paul about 56 C.E., when speaking to overseers of Ephesus. Yes, from within the congregation, men would “rise and speak twisted things to draw away the disciples after themselves.” (Acts 20:29, 30) Such self-seeking apostates would not be content to make their own disciples; they would endeavor “to draw away the disciples,” that is, Christ’s disciples.

The apostle Peter (about 64 C.E.) also foretold internal corruption and even described the way such apostates would operate: “There will . . . be false teachers among you. These very ones will quietly bring in destructive sects . . . With covetousness they will exploit you with counterfeit words.” (2 Pet. 2:1, 3) Like spies or traitors in an enemy’s camp, the false teachers, though arising from within the congregation, would infiltrate their corrupting views in a secret or camouflaged way.

These warnings of Jesus and his apostles were not in vain. Internal opposition had small beginnings, but it surfaced early in the Christian congregation.

Less than 20 years after Jesus’ death, the apostle Paul indicated that efforts of Satan to cause division and turn men away from the true faith were “already at work.” (2 Thess. 2:7) As early as about 49 C.E., in a letter sent out to the congregations, the governing body noted: “We have heard that some from among us have caused you trouble with speeches, trying to subvert your souls, although we did not give them any instructions.” (Acts 15:24) So some within the congregation were vocal about their opposing viewpoint—in this case evidently over the issue of whether Gentile Christians needed to get circumcised and observe the Mosaic Law.—Acts 15:1, 5.

As the first century progressed, divisive thinking spread like gangrene. (Compare 2 Timothy 2:17.) By about 51 C.E., some in Thessalonica were wrongly predicting that “the presence” of the Lord Jesus was imminent. (2 Thess. 2:1, 2) By about 55 C.E., some in Corinth had rejected the clear Christian teaching regarding the resurrection of the dead. (1 Cor. 15:12) About 65 C.E., others said that the resurrection had already taken place, it being of a symbolic kind that living Christians experience.—2 Tim. 2:16-18.

There are no inspired records as to what took place within the Christian congregation during the next 30 years. But by the time the apostle John wrote his letters (about 98 C.E.), there were “many antichrists”—persons who denied that “Jesus is the Christ” and that Jesus is the Son of God who came “in the flesh.”—1 John 2:18, 22; 4:2, 3.

For over 60 years, the apostles had ‘acted as a restraint,’ endeavoring to hold back the tide of apostasy. (2 Thess. 2:7; compare 2 John 9, 10.) But as the Christian congregation was about to enter the second century, the last surviving apostle, John, died, about 100 C.E. The apostasy that had slowly begun to creep into the congregation was now ready to burst forth unrestrained, with devastating organizational and doctrinal repercussions.

Christ’s pure teachings are a matter of record—they are preserved in the Holy Scriptures. For example, Jesus clearly taught that Jehovah is “the only true God” and that the human soul is mortal. (John 17:3; Matt. 10:28) Yet, with the death of the apostles and the weakening of the organizational structure, such clear teachings were corrupted as pagan doctrines infiltrated Christianity. How could such a thing happen?

A key factor was the subtle influence of Greek philosophy. Explains The New Encyclopædia Britannica: “From the middle of the 2nd century AD Christians who had some training in Greek philosophy began to feel the need to express their faith in its terms, both for their own intellectual satisfaction and in order to convert educated pagans.” Once philosophically minded persons became Christians, it did not take long for Greek philosophy and “Christianity” to become inseparably linked.

As a result of this union, pagan doctrines such as the Trinity and the immortality of the soul seeped into tainted Christianity. These teachings, however, go back much farther than the Greek philosophers. The Greeks actually acquired them from older cultures, for there is evidence of such teachings in ancient Egyptian and Babylonian religions.

As pagan doctrines continued to infiltrate Christianity, other Scriptural teachings were also distorted or abandoned.

originally posted by: Machshev
I mean no disrespect for your faith or any concept of a higher being or God. I am suggesting that the way a religion infects a mind and spreads to others maps out in a way reminiscent of a computer virus. Has anyone acknowledged this?

Sick minds are sick minds. That's all.