Certain groups of atheists have decided they need their own “gathering day” to celebrate and be with “other like-minded individuals”. One person said “it gets people together focused on something bigger than the individual”. Ironically, that’s what God is…but I’ll continue. They also call this day they want to “celebrate” their “Sunday assembly”. The hypocrisy of their movement is clearly seen in their “ten non-commandments“. I’ll list them below and illustrate with my comments in blue…
1. Be open-minded and be willing to alter your beliefs with new evidence.
Mountains of evidence, old and new, bear out the story of God. But their minds are certainly not open to that.
2. Strive to understand what is most likely to be true, not to believe what you wish to be true.
And they’re betting their eternal existence that’s true. But why does truth even play into the equation. Doesn’t each one of them make their own?
3. The scientific method is the most reliable way of understanding the natural world.
This is an absolute statement. Once you say any method is “THE” most reliable, you’ve just stated your religion. And the natural world includes thoughts and emotions. How does science explain those?
4. Every person has the right to control of their body.
Grammatical error notwithstanding, this is basically true. But I’m sure this is a feeble attempt at defending abortion. However, it fails to even remotely consider that a baby has its own body…even while it’s inside the mother. I’m sure that’s just a minor technicality they can gloss over. By the way, this “non-commandment” violates numbers 1, 2, 6, 7, and 10.
5. God is not necessary to be a good person or to live a full and meaningful life.
Irony in full bloom again. Without a sovereign, loving, and just God, who determines what is a “good person”? Good simply becomes an arbitrary concept and therefore gets increasingly corrupted. When everyone is doing whatever is right in his or her own mind, we quickly see moral anarchy. So this “non-commandment” violates number 1.
6. Be mindful of the consequences of all your actions and recognize that you must take responsibility for them.
If you’re doing what’s right in your own mind, what’s “right for you”, what does it matter how others are affected? Maybe they just haven’t reached your level of enlightenment yet and the consequences of your actions might further open their eyes to what is “most likely to be true”.
7. Treat others as you would want them to treat you, and can reasonably expect them to want to be treated. Think about their perspective.
Unless “new evidence” shows this isn’t necessary or it proves to be something you only “wish to be true”.
8. We have the responsibility to consider others, including future generations.
The hypocrisy of this “non-commandment” is clearly seen in number 4. After all, future generations start inside the bodies of current generations. Or is it that we only need to “consider others”, then it’s OK to stop their hearts?
9. There is no one right way to live.
It depends on how long you wish to live. Eternal life has a requirement of only one Way. Of course, that information isn’t new to atheists. They’ve been ignoring it for millennia. And I suppose it doesn’t matter that the design in creation pointing to a Designer is “most likely to be true”.
10. Leave the world a better place than you found it.
Again with the abstract concepts. Who gets to determine what’s a “better place”? And if you don’t leave it better, so what! Who cares? What does it matter when everyone is fatalistically heading toward blackness?
And here is the fullness of the hypocrisy. These are called “non-commandments”. Why even write ’em down? I mean…you don’t have to pay any attention to them at all if you don’t want to…because…well…they’re NON-commandments.
Do you get that? Talk about a muddy worldview. And I suspect there is no real joy in Mudville.*
Stay tuned…
Tony
*Borrowed a snippet from the poem “Casey At The Bat”
by Ernest Lawrence Thayer