That's not true, even infants show semblances of morality before they can even talk. Morality is more genetic than it is cultural, as we have evolved to be a tribal species. In addition, most Christian morality actually came from the religions that came before it. Do you believe in the ten commandments? Well, that's Jewish philosophy. Do you subscribe to the moral lesson behind the flood myth? Well, that's Sumerian philosophy. You guys really have no idea where the core ideas of your religion come from; they predate history itself.
Did you just read the Epic of Gilgamesh for the first time and have decided you know everything there is to know?
Morality is not genetic. Morality is passed down by culture. A culture that you are brought into day one. Each time you step out of line as a small child, an adult corrects your behavior. Each time you do good, an adult affirms your behavior. You were not born with morality, you were not born pure, you were born and molded into what you are.
There is a codified book that has been used for roughly 1,900 - 2,000 years about what the beliefs of Christianity are. This includes philosophy and morality. It's pretty obvious if you read that book, what the influences are.
I'm going to assume that you would like next go on about how the Catholic church rebranded demigods as saints and took over the holidays. At that point I would point at the Orthodox church and ask, what about them? Or then I would point at the Mormons and say, what about them?
It's pretty stupid that you would assume that in this day and age people have not studied ancient Babylon or Egypt.
No, actually I studied neuroscience in college and understand that behavior, including morality, is genetic in nature. Now sure, culture can push things in a certain direction, but culture is a reflection of the population's genetics, not some arbitrary overlay on it. This is why African countries are shit holes (both culturally and economically) and other countries are not. You're falling into the civic nationalist/neocon trope that dirt is magic, and you can change people by changing their upbringing or culture. That is not true, and in fact it's the reverse. Christianity took off because it aligned with the genetic predisposition of Western nations, not the other way around.
Those aspects lead to morality. Morality is relative, whether you like to think so or not. However, the big things like not stealing and not killing stem from the intrinsic empathy of a population. When empathy is low, crime becomes high, because criminals don't care about the harm they cause. Other things, like sexual behavior, are not intrinsically moral or immoral. However, they were lumped in with morality because it was a convenient and effective way to prevent those behaviors from becoming toxic. In modern times we have come to understand that sex isn't immoral, BUT, we're just starting to rediscover that hyper sexuality is psychologically unhealthy. Religious folks like to conflate things like crime and sex in order to impose their will on a population under the auspices of morality, but really it's about control and authoritarianism.
That's not true, even infants show semblances of morality before they can even talk. Morality is more genetic than it is cultural, as we have evolved to be a tribal species. In addition, most Christian morality actually came from the religions that came before it. Do you believe in the ten commandments? Well, that's Jewish philosophy. Do you subscribe to the moral lesson behind the flood myth? Well, that's Sumerian philosophy. You guys really have no idea where the core ideas of your religion come from; they predate history itself.
Did you just read the Epic of Gilgamesh for the first time and have decided you know everything there is to know?
Morality is not genetic. Morality is passed down by culture. A culture that you are brought into day one. Each time you step out of line as a small child, an adult corrects your behavior. Each time you do good, an adult affirms your behavior. You were not born with morality, you were not born pure, you were born and molded into what you are.
There is a codified book that has been used for roughly 1,900 - 2,000 years about what the beliefs of Christianity are. This includes philosophy and morality. It's pretty obvious if you read that book, what the influences are.
I'm going to assume that you would like next go on about how the Catholic church rebranded demigods as saints and took over the holidays. At that point I would point at the Orthodox church and ask, what about them? Or then I would point at the Mormons and say, what about them?
It's pretty stupid that you would assume that in this day and age people have not studied ancient Babylon or Egypt.
No, actually I studied neuroscience in college and understand that behavior, including morality, is genetic in nature. Now sure, culture can push things in a certain direction, but culture is a reflection of the population's genetics, not some arbitrary overlay on it. This is why African countries are shit holes (both culturally and economically) and other countries are not. You're falling into the civic nationalist/neocon trope that dirt is magic, and you can change people by changing their upbringing or culture. That is not true, and in fact it's the reverse. Christianity took off because it aligned with the genetic predisposition of Western nations, not the other way around.
That doesn't really seem like you're talking about morality, but instead maybe empathy and intelligence.
Those aspects lead to morality. Morality is relative, whether you like to think so or not. However, the big things like not stealing and not killing stem from the intrinsic empathy of a population. When empathy is low, crime becomes high, because criminals don't care about the harm they cause. Other things, like sexual behavior, are not intrinsically moral or immoral. However, they were lumped in with morality because it was a convenient and effective way to prevent those behaviors from becoming toxic. In modern times we have come to understand that sex isn't immoral, BUT, we're just starting to rediscover that hyper sexuality is psychologically unhealthy. Religious folks like to conflate things like crime and sex in order to impose their will on a population under the auspices of morality, but really it's about control and authoritarianism.