Atheist Morality and the Ten Commandments?
 

Are They Really Different From What We think?

by Lloyd Harrison Whitling

When we write about the Ten Commandments, which version should we choose? Which is more relevant, meaningful, accredited? If we choose one, does that discredit the others? There's the Jewish version (of which, of course, there's a first edition followed by a second edition we haven't really read), the Catholic version, the one bandied about by some protestants, and (of course) a truncated version you see represented on Xian idols all over the land.

Should we choose the original and call that "God's Version"? Okay, if so, that leaves us with the two versions in the Xian Bible (or, should we look in the Talmud?) that God (they said) gave to Moses on the mountain, and the later one to replace that after Moses broke the first set in a fit of anger. Both are supposedly identical. (Does that make Moses the first ever to break the Ten Commandments? He set a poor example for us all, if so.)

So, there's God's version according translations of Exodus, and two unauthorized versions that, depending on affiliations, become officially Xian. Let's stick with the one in the popular KJV book and a bit of the story pertaining to the second set:

Exodus 20:3-17 —

Exodus 32:19

And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount.

Exodus 34:1-2

And the Lord said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest. [2] And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount.

Exodus 34:4

And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone.

Exodus 34:29

And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses' hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him.
 

So, yes, God had to do it over. God gave Moses a second set that (the book says) read the same as the first. God also gave more than 600 additional instructions that, since he did not see fit to bother, some poor scribe recounted for us so we would know how to trade asses, burn a sacrifice, treat our slaves, and punish our wives. Good stuff to know about. How appropriate are they, and would wise people follow them without a special promulgation?

We might approach them individually to decide that (and for now let's just stick to God's Ten):

[1] Thou shalt have no other gods before me. [Be a God-loving Jew]

Wouldn't Xians of all sects have a problem with that, if they'd bother to stop and ponder it through. Especially so, it would seem, for those who honor Mary in their rites, and Jesus as the son of God who is his own father, God in the eyes of his rowdy converts.

[2] Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: [5] Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: [No pictures, no photos, no flag, no statues, no monuments, no drawings, especially of people or things you admire or love.]

It looks like God really put his heart into this one. Too bad nobody (NO BODY!) obeys it. What a bad example all of these people are setting while they condemn we atheists for what they consider to be our amorality. I already know I would have to be a hypocrite to become a Xian or a Jew, but this cinches it.

[3] Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. [Don't call upon God to do your dirty work if you don't expect it to happen.]

This is the cussing commandment. Don't say, "Goddamn it" about anything, and saying "fuck it" or "piss on it" implies you are giving orders to God, who personally wrote down on slabs of rock that he doesn't like that much. In general, "fuck", "shit", "piss", "fart", "pussy". "cock", "dick", "cunt", and such are only cuss words because Mama doesn't like them and is scared you might know what they mean. Some say that makes them equal to God's actual written words, but I keep going back and looking at number one. Mama doesn't like that, either.

[4] Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. [Don't work on Saturday (see number one)]

I suppose that one was honored by the Jews but never by Xians ever since Constantine established that religion in Constantinople. "The Lord's Day", I have been often informed, was established to celebrate X having risen after three days in the grave. I feel certain enough of my own arithmetic to insist that should have been on Monday at the earliest. Besides, that does not give them a right to over-rule the "immutable mind of God" and start working on Saturdays to make up for it.

Also at work is a poorly considered hidden foible wrought by the way we entreat that extra ¼ day at the ending of every year (maybe God didn't know about this?) that causes the real seventh day to work its way through the week as the years progress. Go to http://www.atheistlloyd.com/calendar.html to learn more about that. You can see example calendars by following links you'll find there.

[5] Honour thy father and thy mother: [Sit down, shut-up and do what you're told when the old folks come around. No time limit given. Senility reigns. God put it in writing!]

Well, Kid, if you want to live, behave like Mama and (?) tells you. In modern times, Xian fathers are not all that apt to be around, nor even be a blood relative. Those who feel upset by that statement ought to start cleaning up their own ranks and not be focusing their attentions on the atheists, the apostates, the agnostics et al until their own disarray has been put into order. This must be very confusing to all those kids caught in the middle of households full of strangers telling them what to do and how to behave, while one of the parents is no longer present to defend them. What kind of example are you guys setting for all of us who, as statistics show, honor these commandments in far greater per capita numbers than those who profess to believe in them? If you demonstrate so much absence of belief, why not fess up with your own atheistic leanings? Oh, that's right, Xians are allowed to lie. Sorry, I forgot. Philippians 1:18

[6] Thou shalt not kill. [Ummmm, just people?]

So, starve! I see very few slender Xians of any sect. If it's just about people and not about food, doesn't supporting all these wars kinda require complicity in all that killing? How can they call us 'immoral' out of one cheek while they call us unpatriotic out the other when we don't go along with all their pogroms? It all begins when God ordered his faves to go out and slay whole communities of people, their women and children and, in some cases, their animals and pets. "Thou shalt not kill unless I (or my stand-ins) order you to."

[7] Thou shalt not commit adultery. [Don't cheat on your spouse.]

This can be extrapolated into being about contracts and ethical law, but in an almost useless and naive form. Ethics is about fair trade, not just in matrimony, but all through human endeavors, and can be more easily and correctly applied from natural principles (which, we must acknowledge, were not well known in those days, by anyone including God (according to other biblical stories)). In modern times, this law seems to be applied more to the food supply than to sexual mores, but both get ongoing violations anyways, as though the only time this is meaningful is when there are atheists around that need slandered.

[8] Thou shalt not steal. [Don't steal. Period!]

This one, too, works better when derived from natural principles, and so is a common-sense rule of ethics. It works wherever hard-working people get tired of supporting their lazy brothers and sisters, and have advanced in their own cultures to a point where ethical understanding has taken root. Even among very young children, "I won't steal your stuff if you leave mine alone" gets thwarted by parents who insist they should be willing to share. Once more, God gets trumped by Mom.

 [9] Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. [Don't gossip. If you do, don't lie.]

Okay, so sometimes you're not allowed to lie…. You can lie about causes for God but not about your neighbor. Well, that's better than nothing. Go full circle with that, stop lying altogether, and you might become as honorable as your average atheist. Or, go all the way and run for president on the Republican ticket…. (Yeah, I know, Clinton lied, but nobody died as a result.)

[10] Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's. [Don't be a good, productive American; or, at least, don't pay attention to the ads.]

Alright, sure, but if you follow these stories you'll learn that folks in other towns are fair game for violations of all these commandments by direct order of God (or his self-appointed representatives), an attitude that Xians uphold until this day at their own convenience, of course.

Okay, let's acknowledge that maybe 10% (well, maybe 15%) of Xians are good folks. I feel convinced that those are people who would be good folks no matter what religion they'd attach themselves to, and use the religion mainly as an excuse for doing good, or as a place to put their goodness instincts into practice. I know a few Xians who are like that, and act as though displays of inherent goodness would be a sign of some sort of weakness. The atheist community would welcome them with open arms and train them that goodness impulses are signs of personal strength, but for the other 85 or 90% of them who are out to get us and so we have had to mainly keep ourselves hidden.

Lately, though, we have been found out and our statistics are showing Xianity up as being the fraud it has always been. The feces-slinging fans are starting up (I can hear the rushing winds now) and we will soon face a choice: either we learn to defend our honor and rectitude, or prepare ourselves for another few centuries of Dark Ages style inundation. If you want to know how atheism really works, send your name, address and a check or M.O. for $10 to:

Colligion

P. O. Box 5

Dickson, TN 37056

You will receive a little book, How to be an Atheist in a plain envelope in immediate response. Do NOT send cash: Stuff gets lost in the mail, or misdirected.
_______________________________________________

References: http://www.positiveatheism.org/crt/whichcom.htm

                      http://www.positiveatheism.org/mail/eml9594.htm

                      http://www.secweb.org/asset.asp?AssetID=2

                      http://www.lloydwhitling.com/freestuff/10comControversy.html

[ Return to TOP ]

"To deny a right to the experience of pleasure is immoral unless that denial can be justified by a valid presentation of how pain will result from that experience in an amount that would render the expected pleasure regrettable; or, if it can be shown that pain will be induced in others innocent of any involvement. The role of science in moral issues should be to test that, predict that, and find harmless ways to demonstrate that."

— L. H. Whitling in the eBook, Secular Morality —