Re: Extropianism & Theology

Aaron Davidson (ajd@gpu.srv.ualberta.ca)
Thu, 25 Feb 1999 21:35:34 -0700

>> What is the utility served by theology in an extropian context?
>
>As much as I hate to admit it, humans seem to have an instinctive
>tendency to worship something. That is not to say that all humans
>have this, but many do, and I must admit I myself feel the pull. I
>have decided all religion is false and therefore to to overpower my
>own worship instinct, as some homosexuals decide to overpower
>their natural instincts. Even now, I feel a vacuum in my life that
>extropianism does not fill (as intellectually fulfilling as it is). I do
>not intend to return to religion, ever, but we must recognize that
>we are (currently) humans and we still have human natures. dammit. }8-[

Since myself and many others do not seem to feel this instinct, I think it must be more of a conditioned factor. There is certainly a human instinct most prevalent in childhood to unquestioningly accept what you are told by your parents as the gospel truth. I was exposed to some religious memes as a child, but not heavily. Luckily my parents were very keen on exposing me to critical thinking techniques. Growing up, I felt small amounts of guilt when making logical choices not to believe in religions like my parents did. That feeling of guilt or of some sort of spiritual lacking has almost completely dissipated by now.
I don't feel a need to worship anything or anyone. I do admire and respect certain people, and ideals, but I feel no instinctual urges to worship.

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|  Aaron Davidson          |  <ajd@gpu.srv.ualberta.ca>                 |
| Silicon Creek Software | <http://ugweb.cs.ualberta.ca/~davidson/> |
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