OUTCRY-It's often said that to sum up morality, human beings need not look further than the Bible's Ten Commandments. I'm not sure about everyone else, but I feel that, number one, we can derive our morals without a "holy book" telling us not to slaughter one another, and, number two, does the Sabbath really have anything to do with the way we live today? That is, unless of course, you are Jewish. (Sorry) So what I stumbled upon, in my new search for the basis of what our morality stands for in this age, is the "New Ten Commandments." Actual ideas and thoughts that resonate throughout this era in which we live today, not several thousand years ago. What I found is that I had to look no further than the Atheist website ebonmusings.org. (Ironic, you might be tempted or "programmed" to think.) For the many people that mistakenly believe that we have to derive our morality from a certain bronzed-age book, or even a religion in general, this list proves otherwise.
(As a sidenote to number one, I would like to add that Confucius coined the silver rule which predated Jesus' golden rule by some 500 years. Jesus just reversed the meaning, thus using it in a positive application instead of negatively. Jesus said, "do unto others" instead of the original "do not do to others" as was originally invented by Confucius.)
And now, without further ado: "The New Ten Commandments"
1. Do not do to others what you would not want them to do to you.
2. In all things, strive to cause no harm.
3. Treat your fellow human beings, your fellow living things, and the world in general with love, honesty, faithfulness and respect.
4. Do not overlook evil or shrink from administering justice, but always be ready to forgive wrongdoing freely admitted and honestly regretted.
5. Live life with a sense of joy and wonder.
6. Always seek to be learning something new.
7. Test all things; always check your ideas against the facts, and be ready to discard even a cherished belief if it does not conform to them.
8. Never seek to censor or cut yourself off from dissent; always respect the right of others to disagree with you.
9. Form independent opinions on the basis of your own reason and experience; do not allow yourself to be led blindly by others.
10. Question everything.
Beside the obvious number one silver rule, number ten is undoubtedly my favorite, but let me ask you this: why could God have not just provided us with this list and save us all of the ritualistic nonsense? How many lives could have been spared if the Jewish, Old Testament God (which happens to be the same God that incarnated Jesus' body) would have just provided humanity with a list like this? No "jealous god" babble. No "remember the Sabbath" sacrament, and especially no animal (or child) sacrifices or burnt offerings absurdity that was a mainstay in the Old Testament? Just plain, simple, unambiguous rules to lead a good life. The Bible made things complicated, which, in turn, led to the thousands of branches of beliefs we have today that do horrible things to one another. This list doesn't. This list doesn't have its own agenda to fulfill that included satisfying God's unquenchable thirst for your attention, time, and worship. This list doesn't "promote by example" war, genocide, women oppression, slavery, and the incarnation of God Himself to kill Himself (as the Son) just to forgive us "unworthy humans" of our sins. Why not just forgive us and save us from the formality? Do we need to see the most gruesome act of child sacrifice ever committed in history upon a Roman cross to believe in You? However sad every fiber of my body may be to say this, I simply cannot believe in a God such as this, and Jesus Christ was my last option.
Sources:
http://www.leaderu.com/orgs/probe/docs/confucius.html
http://www.ebonmusings.org/atheism/new10c.html
14 comments:
Yeah, I was actually just talking to someone about the ten commandments. I'd ask them what they thought was a sin and they said anything that goes against the ten commandments. So many things wrong with this.
Obvious #1, there is no real ten commandments in the bible. Different sects have chosen different ones to follow but all of them leave certain ones out. There are two commandments about following particular feasts that nobody gives a shit about. Then there's a commandment saying to slaughter your first ox and sheep for god. No one has that as one of their ten commandments either.
So for one, they're not even following the ten commandments, whatever that is. There's kindof eight listed as the commandments in the bible.
But let's say the ones a particular sect of christianity follows ARE the ten commandments from the bible. Those are some absolutely crap commandments.
Three of them just about worshipping god. And the punishments for breaking them are ludicrous. Stoning your own children to death if they disobey you. Even the best of the commandments don't make sense because they go against a basic truth. Actions are not good or bad, it's the results.
I can do the exact same action twice and it could lead to good results one time and bad results another. So commandments like don't lie really don't make any sense.
Most of us have probably heard the moral question "Your hiding Jews in your attic during WWII and a Nazi comes and asks whether you're hiding Jews in your attic." Obviously you should lie, and in this case lying is the RIGHT thing to do. Every action is like that.
And lastly, funny that you mentioned the golden rule because I'd told this person that that was the best part of the bible, but that it had been recorded in religions well before Christianity and that it had been understood by humans likely well before that. But even the golden rule I have a minor edit to. Instead of treating people how you would treat yourself, try your best to understand what makes them different from yourself and then treat them accordingly. Don't give your friend a star trek dvd for his birthday just because you're a huge trekkie. Maybe he's not into that.
Good blog!
@ubergossen. Good post. I would definitely agree about your adaptation to the golden rule. Never really thought of it like that. I think we can use the golden rule, like you mentioned, as well as the silver rule and not worship Jesus or Confuciuc just because it is a great principle, and many Christians have told me that Jesus' teachings were the reason that they chose this religion over the others.
Almost forgot, thanks for posting ubergossen and hope to see you again.
This list of "New Commandments" you have is pretty good. Having found this on an "atheist" website, I find it fair and decisive. Before I get started on what I have to say, Let us review what Jesus said......."Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments" (Matthew 22:36-40). Not that the others are important to mankind as well. Let's start a more in-depth look at the "original" commandments.
1.) 'You shall have no other gods before Me.' What other God is there a possibility for? Than the one that is the designer and creator of the Universe.
2.) 'You shall not make for yourself a carved image--any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.' To me, this means that since we can never, as humans, comprehend what God truly is. His actual name is ineffable to humans. So, we shouldn't worship a "false image" or a "fallible" symbol, due to us being "Less than God". If we can't fully comprehend what God is, then why would we want to worship something that doesn't truly represent God?
3.) ou shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.'
This just means to me not to use the name of that which has given us the gift of life and enlightenment, to blame other people, or "forces" for our problems.
4.) Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.' This is just to remind us, to keep in our hearts and minds to appreciate all the gifts that God has built for us over the millenia....It HAS been MANY millenia too!
5.) 'Honor your father and your mother.' This one may be harder for many people to understand. I as a father, DO understand it though. ALL people, including your parents, make mistakes. Having said that, it is very likely that your mother or father has at least 18 to 20 years of life experience on you. It is this "Life Experience" that you should remember. Maybe they are still struggling with many mistakes that they have made over the years. they may or may not confide in their children about their mistakes, but they still live with them. Everyone will encounter their own problems in life, but usually, our lives our pretty relatable to one another. There is a pretty fine line that separates a good decision from a bad one. Does that necessarily make a parent a "Bad person" because they have made a few bad decisions? Also, remember this: When a human woman gives birth, they travel into the valley of the shadow of death, to bring your life into existence. Anyone who has witnessed live child birth knows this. Mothers on that note, alone, are worthy of honor. Right?
This list of "New Commandments" you have is pretty good. Having found this on an "atheist" website, I find it fair and decisive. Before I get started on what I have to say, Let us review what Jesus said......."Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments" (Matthew 22:36-40). Not that the others are important to mankind as well. Let's start a more in-depth look at the "original" commandments.
1.) 'You shall have no other gods before Me.' What other God is there a possibility for? Than the one that is the designer and creator of the Universe.
2.) 'You shall not make for yourself a carved image--any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.' To me, this means that since we can never, as humans, comprehend what God truly is. His actual name is ineffable to humans. So, we shouldn't worship a "false image" or a "fallible" symbol, due to us being "Less than God". If we can't fully comprehend what God is, then why would we want to worship something that doesn't truly represent God?
3.) ou shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.'
This just means to me not to use the name of that which has given us the gift of life and enlightenment, to blame other people, or "forces" for our problems.
4.) Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.' This is just to remind us, to keep in our hearts and minds to appreciate all the gifts that God has built for us over the millenia....It HAS been MANY millenia too!
5.) 'Honor your father and your mother.' This one may be harder for many people to understand. I as a father, DO understand it though. ALL people, including your parents, make mistakes. Having said that, it is very likely that your mother or father has at least 18 to 20 years of life experience on you. It is this "Life Experience" that you should remember. Maybe they are still struggling with many mistakes that they have made over the years. they may or may not confide in their children about their mistakes, but they still live with them. Everyone will encounter their own problems in life, but usually, our lives our pretty relatable to one another. There is a pretty fine line that separates a good decision from a bad one. Does that necessarily make a parent a "Bad person" because they have made a few bad decisions? Also, remember this: When a human woman gives birth, they travel into the valley of the shadow of death, to bring your life into existence. Anyone who has witnessed live child birth knows this. Mothers on that note, alone, are worthy of honor. Right?
This list of "New Commandments" you have is pretty good. Having found this on an "atheist" website, I find it fair and decisive. Before I get started on what I have to say, Let us review what Jesus said......."Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments" (Matthew 22:36-40). Not that the others are important to mankind as well. Let's start a more in-depth look at the "original" commandments.
1.) 'You shall have no other gods before Me.' What other God is there a possibility for? Than the one that is the designer and creator of the Universe.
2.) 'You shall not make for yourself a carved image--any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.' To me, this means that since we can never, as humans, comprehend what God truly is. His actual name is ineffable to humans. So, we shouldn't worship a "false image" or a "fallible" symbol, due to us being "Less than God". If we can't fully comprehend what God is, then why would we want to worship something that doesn't truly represent God?
3.) ou shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.'
This just means to me not to use the name of that which has given us the gift of life and enlightenment, to blame other people, or "forces" for our problems.
4.) Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.' This is just to remind us, to keep in our hearts and minds to appreciate all the gifts that God has built for us over the millenia....It HAS been MANY millenia too!
.) 'Honor your father and your mother.' This one may be harder for many people to understand. I as a father, DO understand it though. ALL people, including your parents, make mistakes. Having said that, it is very likely that your mother or father has at least 18 to 20 years of life experience on you. It is this "Life Experience" that you should remember. Maybe they are still struggling with many mistakes that they have made over the years. they may or may not confide in their children about their mistakes, but they still live with them. Everyone will encounter their own problems in life, but usually, our lives our pretty relatable to one another. There is a pretty fine line that separates a good decision from a bad one. Does that necessarily make a parent a "Bad person" because they have made a few bad decisions? Also, remember this: When a human woman gives birth, they travel into the valley of the shadow of death, to bring your life into existence. Anyone who has witnessed live child birth knows this. Mothers on that note, alone, are worthy of honor. Right?
6.) 'You shall not murder.' It is not any man's right to end another man's life, which will disrupt God's plan for a person's life. If you decide to take another man's life, as a human, we will never know what could've been for that person. This applies to suicide as well. We don't have the right, being given the gift of life, to end it without God's consent.
7.) 'You shall not commit adultery.' Adultery does nothing but breed thoughts of betrayal, revenge, jealousy, among others, which propels mankind headlong into a downward spiral of "negative emotions" which, in turn breeds more lying, murders, revenge and cheating. Look at the state of marriage nowadays. Who you marry, effects the bloodlines of future generations to the point of infinity. Jesus came from the bloodline of David. Had those ancient people not stayed true to their marriages, then the prophecy of Jesus, that came true 200 years later, might have never happened. Not to mention, the whole debacle that is still in effect, and highly visible to this day, which is the whole illegitimate offspring of Abraham. Who's descendants are the Muslims. It has a worldwide, timeless effect. Where would we be in history right now, if Abraham would've obeyed this one commandment?
8.) 'You shall not steal.' This one. You have to look no further than your own heart. How does it feel when something that you have worked for for many years to achieve. Perhaps a car, or some other prized possession, gets ripped from you. I know I want to destroy the person that did it. Imagine if everyone were to steal from each other. All the feelings of revenge and "payback" would be rampant......Oh wait. They ARE!! What if it came down to survival. What if someone took your meal that you needed to survive? This is why we shouldn't steal.
9.) 'You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.' This basically means not to lie about what your neighbor is up to. Especially if you don't really know what your neighbor is up to. Don't assume that your neighbor, or friend, or just someone you see out and about is up to no good.........Looks can be deceiving. What one person interprets, may be totally different than what is actually happening. Don't assume!
.) 'Honor your father and your mother.' This one may be harder for many people to understand. I as a father, DO understand it though. ALL people, including your parents, make mistakes. Having said that, it is very likely that your mother or father has at least 18 to 20 years of life experience on you. It is this "Life Experience" that you should remember. Maybe they are still struggling with many mistakes that they have made over the years. they may or may not confide in their children about their mistakes, but they still live with them. Everyone will encounter their own problems in life, but usually, our lives our pretty relatable to one another. There is a pretty fine line that separates a good decision from a bad one. Does that necessarily make a parent a "Bad person" because they have made a few bad decisions? Also, remember this: When a human woman gives birth, they travel into the valley of the shadow of death, to bring your life into existence. Anyone who has witnessed live child birth knows this. Mothers on that note, alone, are worthy of honor. Right?
6.) 'You shall not murder.' It is not any man's right to end another man's life, which will disrupt God's plan for a person's life. If you decide to take another man's life, as a human, we will never know what could've been for that person. This applies to suicide as well. We don't have the right, being given the gift of life, to end it without God's consent.
7.) 'You shall not commit adultery.' Adultery does nothing but breed thoughts of betrayal, revenge, jealousy, among others, which propels mankind headlong into a downward spiral of "negative emotions" which, in turn breeds more lying, murders, revenge and cheating. Look at the state of marriage nowadays. Who you marry, effects the bloodlines of future generations to the point of infinity. Jesus came from the bloodline of David. Had those ancient people not stayed true to their marriages, then the prophecy of Jesus, that came true 200 years later, might have never happened. Not to mention, the whole debacle that is still in effect, and highly visible to this day, which is the whole illegitimate offspring of Abraham. Who's descendants are the Muslims. It has a worldwide, timeless effect. Where would we be in history right now, if Abraham would've obeyed this one commandment?
.) 'Honor your father and your mother.' This one may be harder for many people to understand. I as a father, DO understand it though. ALL people, including your parents, make mistakes. Having said that, it is very likely that your mother or father has at least 18 to 20 years of life experience on you. It is this "Life Experience" that you should remember. Maybe they are still struggling with many mistakes that they have made over the years. they may or may not confide in their children about their mistakes, but they still live with them. Everyone will encounter their own problems in life, but usually, our lives our pretty relatable to one another. There is a pretty fine line that separates a good decision from a bad one. Does that necessarily make a parent a "Bad person" because they have made a few bad decisions? Also, remember this: When a human woman gives birth, they travel into the valley of the shadow of death, to bring your life into existence. Anyone who has witnessed live child birth knows this. Mothers on that note, alone, are worthy of honor. Right?
6.) 'You shall not murder.' It is not any man's right to end another man's life, which will disrupt God's plan for a person's life. If you decide to take another man's life, as a human, we will never know what could've been for that person. This applies to suicide as well. We don't have the right, being given the gift of life, to end it without God's consent.
7.) 'You shall not commit adultery.' Adultery does nothing but breed thoughts of betrayal, revenge, jealousy, among others, which propels mankind headlong into a downward spiral of "negative emotions" which, in turn breeds more lying, murders, revenge and cheating. Look at the state of marriage nowadays. Who you marry, effects the bloodlines of future generations to the point of infinity. Jesus came from the bloodline of David. Had those ancient people not stayed true to their marriages, then the prophecy of Jesus, that came true 200 years later, might have never happened. Not to mention, the whole debacle that is still in effect, and highly visible to this day, which is the whole illegitimate offspring of Abraham. Who's descendants are the Muslims. It has a worldwide, timeless effect. Where would we be in history right now, if Abraham would've obeyed this one commandment?
8.) 'You shall not steal.' This one. You have to look no further than your own heart. How does it feel when something that you have worked for for many years to achieve. Perhaps a car, or some other prized possession, gets ripped from you. I know I want to destroy the person that did it. Imagine if everyone were to steal from each other. All the feelings of revenge and "payback" would be rampant......Oh wait. They ARE!! What if it came down to survival. What if someone took your meal that you needed to survive? This is why we shouldn't steal.
9.) 'You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.' This basically means not to lie about what your neighbor is up to. Especially if you don't really know what your neighbor is up to. Don't assume that your neighbor, or friend, or just someone you see out and about is up to no good.........Looks can be deceiving. What one person interprets, may be totally different than what is actually happening. Don't assume!
10.) 'You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's.' This means. Don't be jealous, and crave what your neighbor has. If your neighbor has more than you, it may be because he has worked harder than you, or was just blessed, and fell into good fortune. That is not for you to be jealous of, but to be happy about. and work to receive your own good fortune
Those other commandments are good too, but I really don't see that much wrong with the original ones either. They don't seem that hard to follow. If all mankind had lived by these throughout history, we might not be in too bad of shape. Kinda worth thinking about if you ask me. It's good to see a different point of view. I think it's just human nature to question everything. Some people accept things the way they are, and some feel the need to verify. What about the ones that are ok with just accepting the way things are? Is that faith? If so, how do we separate the different kinds of personalities? It seems kinda hard to do with the "new commandments" God's sound pretty simple to me. The thing with the Bible is, it's kinda like life to me. "Don't sweat the small stuff" Mankind has, for the most part, lost touch with our spiritual side. I for one like to believe that there is a bigger purpose for me. I wonder about things like "The Tree of Life", "The 7 Chakras" "The resonant frequency" of the earth and the Universe. How certain musical scales can equal the same equations as certain well known theorems. How, out of the possible 64 combinations of elements in our DNA, only 20 are active at any one time in Humans. It seems to me that we're only operating on about 1/3 of our full potential as sentioned beings. Why the Earth's resonant frequency has been steadily increasing since 1988, for the first time in known history. These questions I have are bigger than most of the questions that people struggle with. Questions that our scientists can't even answer. Religion may be flawed, but so is everything else that mankind has ever come up with. Just name something. Nothing man has created works perfectly. It never will. That's human nature. So therefore, I have to believe that something much greater than us, gave us the gift of enlightenment. To be able to ask these questions. To be able to figure out how to take flight like the birds. To be able to figure out how to travel faster than a cheetah. How to cultivate and grow more food for our families, and not just grab what's available in the forest as a means of merely just surviving.
Why us? Out of all the species that have existed before us, why were we graced with this ability? If Chimps share 99% of our DNA, which I KNOW it is a proven fact that they do. Why don't they have a "New Chimp City" with climate controlled environments, and machines to assist them in flying around the world to achieve a greater knowledge? It is strictly HUMANS that were given this gift. What gives? There are too many questions in my mind, regarding issues such as these, to rule out the possibility of a higher power. Whether you want to equate it to "The Force", like in Star Wars, or whatever. We have a purpose. I don't have a problem thinking that there are Universal laws that all intelligent life should abide by in the name of peace and happiness, even if we human's aren't able to fully comprehend "Why?" Let's keep asking why. Eventually it will be made clear to us. Which is essentially what the good book of ancient knowledge is trying to tell us........In so many words.
I apologize about the way that these got posted. It kept telling me it was too large. I had to paste it in word, and separate it out. Something didn't work quite right. Sorry. Just follow the numbers. :-)
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