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So a nurse from my work is quitting to become a full time youth pastor. We debate religion and philosophy regularly, and I will say that the answers he gives, while still not at all convincing, are some of the best responses I've ever heard. No doubt he will be successful in his endeavors, which unfortunately will be brainwashing young and impressionable minds.
One day we were discussing the Ten Commandments, and I was pointing out how it makes no sense to think they were written by an omniscient being because any Joe off the street would likely be able to improve on them with very effort. He posed a challenge: provide one such improvement that he couldn't cover with the existing list given by god.
So, have at it folks! I'll post up his responses to the best few we come up with.

ChestRockfield 8 Nov 10
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18 comments

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1

Most Americans are comfortable with Cecil B DeMille's version of the Decalogues.
#11: Thou Shalt go see the Movie

twill Level 7 Nov 11, 2021
1
  1. Worship not, not defame, another mans' wisdom, for the truth is hidden from all.
  2. Observe above all else this Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
  3. Stay temperate in word and deed.
  4. Be not arrogant or prideful; rather, grateful for family, friends, and good fortune.
  5. Respect and honor benefactors, who have nurtured growth in the knowledge and understanding.of all.
  6. Do not kill the body, or spirit, of another human being.
  7. Men, be respectful of women; women, of men.
  8. Be free of criminal behavior; in all its forms, it is theft.
  9. In matters of behavior, morality, and reputation, be truthful, lest you, in your own eyes, lose honor..

10, Jealousy and greed betray ignorance; give and receive in equal measure, that all may prosper.

1

It is an old game, and you will find hundreds of examples with just a short search on line.
But Richard Dawkins picked this one out, so I will go with it, for no other reason that I do not really have time to play.

.Do not do to others what you would not want them to do to you.
• In all things, strive to cause no harm.
• Treat your fellow human beings, your fellow living things, and the world in general with love, honesty, faithfulness and respect.
• Do not overlook evil or shrink from administering justice, but always be ready to forgive wrongdoing freely admitted and honestly regretted.
• Live life with a sense of joy and wonder.
• Always seek to be learning something new.
• 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.
• Never seek to censor or cut yourself off from dissent; always respect the right of others to disagree with you.
• Form independent opinions on the basis of your own reason and experience; do not allow yourself to be led blindly by others.
• Question everything.”

0

Besides that. You could point out the contradiction that their own prophet Jesus already did it, when he said that there was only one commandment. And that contradicts his own statement that he, came to complete the law, not abolish it.

The reason for the contradiction is that the gospels were written by (unknown) authors with conflicting, competing interests (not followers of Jesus who probably didn’t exist anyway).

0

Not "Commandments" but good qualities to have is this
"List for Life" created by Alain de Botton

  1. Resilience
  2. Empathy
  3. Patience
  4. Sacrifice
  5. Politeness
  6. Humour
  7. Self-awareness
  8. Forgiveness
  9. Hope
  10. Confidence

Years ago, I created a list of 12 qualities I feel are important to reflect:

  1. Respect
  2. Commitment
  3. Purpose
  4. Honesty
  5. Consciousness
  6. Courage
  7. Equality
  8. Compassion
  9. Responsibility
  10. Integrity
  11. Conscience
  12. Vision

These are the qualities I used to teach my children how to be good humans.

2

One shall not subscribe to dogmatic bullshit.

0

Is this person independently wealthy? The pay disparity would be Staggering!

Rich in the spirit. Can’t put a price on that.

1

Thou shalt not exist unless you first obtain written understanding that you are requesting to exist in this existence that no one asked for in the first place.

Word Level 8 Nov 10, 2021
1

Here’s a fun exercise you can do with your co-worker if he’s game: Have him write out the 10 C’s as they appear in Exodus 20:2-17. While he’s doing that you write the 10 C’s as they are listed in Exodus 34. (The 1st list is brought down from the mountain by Moses who proceeds to obliterate them upon finding the Israelites engaged in full frontal idolatry with the golden calf. So he gets a replacement set from God who will “write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest.” Then compare the two lists. They should be the same. (In fact, God says they are the same). But they’re not. They’re actually quite different?!?!?!?!? Ask him to explain that to you! (The most common answer give by scholars to account for this is that one set belonged to the northern kingdom of Israel (which eventually got wiped off the map by the Assyrians) and the other set belonged to the southern kingdom of Judah (Judea). ) I posted about this back on March 20th, with a link to “Why Christians Get the 10 Commandments Wrong” by Valerie Tarico in a Salon article from 2014. In fact, I would just print that article and give it to your friend. It’s pretty damn funny, apart from being very informative.

Aren't there four (or 6??) "official" versions of the Decalogues (10 commandments) ?

@twill Not sure where you’re getting that from, because within the Bible the 10 Commandments are listed 3 times: Exodus 20, Exodus 34, and Deutoronomy 5:6-21. The list of 10 that is regularly cited is from Exodus 20, which appears a second time in Deutoronomy. The “rogue” listing is Exodus 34 as described above.

@NostraDumbass I'm not sure either. Hence the question marks

4

And there's this:

11 Strong Suggestions
by James Underdown (CFI-West)

  1. Leave a place as good or better than when you got there.
  2. Be nice.
  3. Suck it up and quit bitching.
  4. Live within your means.
  5. Take responsibility for what you do.
  6. Stop watching so much TV and live a little.
  7. Try to see the other person’s point of view.
  8. Don’t believe everything you hear. (Assign a truth percent to everything and move on).
  9. Keep your brain and body active.
  10. Say KMA (kiss my ass) when the time is right. (???(Say ‘No’ when you should))
  11. Take a moment every day to be grateful (to whom? (Delete this one)).

And some more…
12. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
13. Do not do unto others as you would not have others do unto you.
14. Develop your toolbox and use it.
a. Have a plan.
b. Consider moderation second.
c. Consider the opportunity cost.
d. Consider the law of unintended consequences.
e. Understand other dimensions of being, as much as possible.
f. Seek to understand yourself and identify what changes to make.
g. Understand and respect your own limits and the limits of others.
h. Cultivate your creativity.
i. Chance favors the prepared mind (so get to it).
j. Cultivate your own efficiency; recognize inefficient behaviors.
k. Cultivate fond memories.
l. Understand when to kick yourself and how soon to stop.
m. Understand how to avoid wasting time.
15. Behave as if a god was watching.
16. Behave as if your time is limited.
17. Accept that all information and experience are fallible.
18. Determine if people are open to change before trying to do so.
a. If a person is open-minded, continue that process.
b. If the person is not open to change, move on; don’t waste your time.

So, the 33 Commandments.

3

Thou shalt not have slaves.
Thou shalt not rape.
Thou shalt not seek sexual congress with children.
Thou shalt exile the overly-wealthy, ungenerous, the cruel, and the depraved, etc.
Thou shalt seek to ennoble others.
Thou shalt seek to be a positive example to others.
Thou shalt seek to live in harmony with the environment and each other
Thou shalt seek to know oneself and the Universe.
Thou shalt be moderate in all things.
Thou shalt be kind.

2

Thou shalt not waste time on pointless exercises.

2

Thou shalt protect the planet

twill Level 7 Nov 10, 2021
1
  1. This above all shall ye take as my first command: Thou shalt treat living beings as they want to be treated. And the 2nd commandment is like unto it:

  2. In as much as be possible, thou shalt avoid afflicting pain and sorrow, which shall be unto thee my signs of ill and evil.

  3. Thou shalt honor and protect all of creation, for I the lord have created it that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

  4. Thou shalt have sexual relations with neither human nor beast who chooseth not freely what pleasures thou mayest offer.

  5. Thou shalt not beat the child, but by admonition and instruction with kindness shall thou teach both wisdom and skill.

  6. Thou shalt do unto members of other religions and tribes as thou dost unto thine own.

  7. I, the Lord your God, forbid thee to own other persons be they woman, man, or child; neither shall ye subject any gender or race one to another, but shall honor my image in all.

  8. Thou shalt not destroy the lands of thine enemies, nor poison their well, nor salt their earth; neither shalt thy cut their shade tree nor burn their vineyard, nor wantonly slaughter the beast of their field.

  9. Thou shalt wash thy hands before eating and shalt boil the drinking water that has been defiled by man or beast.

  10. Thou shalt ask the questions that can show thee wrong, so that through the toil of many, from generation unto generation, ye may come to discover the great I AM.

5

Honor thy mother and father is not possible when they are terrible, toxic people.
Too many of us have suffered at the hands of bad parents.

Very good point, but it's not about coming up with how the 10 fail, it's about coming up with one that isn't covered.

@JeffMurray Okay, got it.
How about, "Thou shalt not abuse thy children, nor allow others to do so"???

0

You could not win him over. Looks like you are not going to heaven.

But faith aside, pastors make a much better living than nurses do.

A few do. I doubt he will. This is a fairly small church. Not a mega-church or an online church.

3

Five or 6 of the commandments have nothing to do with morality. It seems pretty redundant for an omniscient being to toss in his pet peeves with a list of things people should do to be a good person. Now that I think about it, it fits right in with all the bs that is religion. Number 11. Treat others as you wish to be treated.

Tejas Level 8 Nov 10, 2021

It'll be hard to sneak The Golden Rule past him as a secular commandment...
Anyway, The Golden Rule has too many logical problems to posit as an improvement to the original ten...

5

George Carlin summed up the 10 commandments best. First throw out all the praise and honor god shit, then combine the rest.

The challenge isn't to show how redundant the 10 are, it's to come up with one that isn't covered.

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