Human Nature

[Thumpalumpacus]

I suppose this question falls under the heading of psychology: What do other atheists think about human nature in general?

I think we're compulsively decent in general.  Might not be for an accurate reason or even a good reason...consider the effort and risk involved (or wrongly believed to be involved) in being evil, but I do think it would be difficult to explain why we're not consistently doing our worst if bad or even amoral acts were something like behavioral gravity.   

I don't have any time for christian views on mans nature, mostly because those views invariably serve christian theology rather than accuracy or morality.  There are far more positive and, I think, accurate views of human nature in theism than anything christianity has or even could offer. Insomuch as they may also be wrong, they are at least aspirational in the way that a worldview is meant to be - as a function.  Many of them open to atheists,  though they coexist in a theistic belief set the existence of given gods is not a prerequisite for their truth in the way that a specifically christian view of mans nature cannot be separated from christ.

Man is fallen, and the only solution is to kill the better man vs man is good..and if he isn't..he ought to try harder.

I think the four Gospels is aspirational Christianity, mostly -- y'know, aside from that whole, "I'm bringing the sword" stuff. But yeah, "do unto others", "love your brother" stuff -- something to aim for even as they honor it in the breach.

What was that Gandhi-ism? "I like your Christ, but I don't like your Christians"?

Before anyone goes off half-cocked, I don't care much for his hypocrisy either.