BS: The 10 Commandments for atheists

Subject: RE: BS: The 10 Commandments for atheists
From: GUEST,Musket sans cookie
Date: 05 Feb 13 - 05:17 PM

Not saying they aren't good sense.

But I trust myself to live a fairly moral life without a subjective comfort blanket to use for audit purpose.

The concept of commandments for atheists is a way of saying there is a need for religion after all.   And frankly I find that insulting. .

Subject: RE: BS: The 10 Commandments for atheists
From: Little Hawk
Date: 05 Feb 13 - 05:08 PM

Whether they are "commandments" or suggestions or just "good advice" (advisements), it's an excellent list of recommendations for any sensible person to follow, whether or not they are atheistic or religious or mystical or anything else along that line. It's a good set of ideas to live by.

Subject: RE: BS: The 10 Commandments for atheists
From: GUEST,CS
Date: 05 Feb 13 - 04:53 PM

"What is moral or ethical is a chosen course not a commanded one."

Well put.

Subject: RE: BS: The 10 Commandments for atheists
From: GUEST,Futwick
Date: 05 Feb 13 - 04:39 PM

As an atheist, I reject the atheist commandments. What is moral or ethical is a chosen course not a commanded one.

Subject: RE: BS: The 10 Commandments for atheists
From: Don Firth
Date: 05 Feb 13 - 04:11 PM

Carl Sandburg said that they forgot to include the Eleventh Commandment. If they had, there would be no need for the preceding ten, because the Eleventh Commandment covered them all:

Thou shalt not commit nincompoopery.

Don Firth

Subject: RE: BS: The 10 Commandments for atheists
From: Donuel
Date: 05 Feb 13 - 03:41 PM

please not another god said she said thread.

Subject: RE: BS: The 10 Commandments for atheists
From: mayomick
Date: 05 Feb 13 - 03:32 PM

Maybe they could read the ten atheist commandments at the atheist church opened recently in London .

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/03/atheist-church-sunday-assembly-islington

Subject: RE: BS: The 10 Commandments for atheists
From: Don(Wyziwyg)T
Date: 05 Feb 13 - 03:32 PM

""Call me thick,(my kids do) but whilst the term atheist is a subjective one, surely the idea of atheism is that you don't need nor want a Creed or set of rules?""

The polite answer is that an Atheist doesn't believe in a Deity, or in the religions which support such beliefs.

It does not mean that he is devoid of need for a set of behaviour imperatives by which he can live a decent and respectable life.

Whether you call them rules, or commandments, is immaterial. The point is that they are self generated or inspired by respected others and accepted, then form the framework within which he lives his life.

Don T.

Subject: RE: BS: The 10 Commandments for atheists
From: jacqui.c
Date: 05 Feb 13 - 03:32 PM

Good guides to live by. Not always easy to follow, but worth a try.

Subject: RE: BS: The 10 Commandments for atheists
From: Bill D
Date: 05 Feb 13 - 03:24 PM

In the article. the author says: " de Botton has done a marvellous job of summing up what it is to be a nice human being."

So I wonder why 'atheist' and 'non-believer' have to be equated and named in order to just provide a nice list of virtues?

I never wrote out a list like that, but I have always tried to act in such a way that such a list might describe me. Now, if 'believers' would all do the same, those apocryphal stone tablets might not be needed.

Subject: RE: BS: The 10 Commandments for atheists
From: Ron Davies
Date: 05 Feb 13 - 03:19 PM

"tolerance"   Now there's a concept.    Unfortunately seems to be a real deal-breaker for a number of Mudcat atheists.    It was a nice thought, though. Better luck next time.

Subject: RE: BS: The 10 Commandments for atheists
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 05 Feb 13 - 03:12 PM

Not only that, but an atheist is not a "non-believer." I'm an atheist but I do not not believe in God. I don't deal in belief or non-belief in this particular sphere. God is someone else's notion. All I can do is assess whatever evidence there is for and against the notion. I'm an atheist because I've concluded that the evidence against God's claimed existence so far outweighs the evidence in favour (not difficult) that the probability of his existing is vanishingly small. Belief don't enter into it.

Subject: RE: BS: The 10 Commandments for atheists
From: Ebbie
Date: 05 Feb 13 - 01:50 PM

Not only that but - 'commanded' by Whom? :)

Subject: RE: BS: The 10 Commandments for atheists
From: GUEST,Musket sans cookie
Date: 05 Feb 13 - 01:35 PM

Call me thick,(my kids do) but whilst the term atheist is a subjective one, surely the idea of atheism is that you don't need nor want a Creed or set of rules?

Subject: RE: BS: The 10 Commandments for athiests
From: Donuel
Date: 05 Feb 13 - 10:50 AM

George Carlin whittled the 10 commandments down to one.

Subject: RE: BS: The 10 Commandments for athiests
From: freda underhill
Date: 05 Feb 13 - 08:23 AM

Alain de Botton's 'list for life'

Resilience: Keeping going even when things are looking dark.

Empathy: The capacity to connect imaginatively with the sufferings and unique experiences of another person.

Patience: We should grow calmer and more forgiving by being more realistic about how things actually happen.

Sacrifice: We won't ever manage to raise a family, love someone else or save the planet if we don't keep up with the art of sacrifice.

Politeness: Politeness is closely linked to tolerance, -the capacity to live alongside people whom one will never agree with, but at the same time, cannot avoid.

Humour: Like anger, humour springs from disappointment, but it is disappointment optimally channelled.

Self-awareness: To know oneself is to try not to blame others for one's troubles and moods; to have a sense of what's going on inside oneself, and what actually belongs to the world.

Forgiveness: It's recognising that living with others is not possible without excusing errors.

Hope: Pessimism is not necessarily deep, nor optimism shallow.

Confidence: Confidence is not arrogance - rather, it is based on a constant awareness of how short life is and how little we will ultimately lose from risking everything.

Subject: RE: BS: The 10 Commandments for athiests
From: freda underhill
Date: 05 Feb 13 - 07:57 AM

Yes, I thought so too, Guest. I have an "inspiration" folder that I save things in (articles, music, health tips) and this one is going in there too.

:-D

Subject: RE: BS: The 10 Commandments for athiests
From: GUEST
Date: 05 Feb 13 - 07:53 AM

They're brilliant.
Thanks for taking the time to share them, Freda.

Subject: BS: The 10 Commandments for athiests
From: freda underhill
Date: 05 Feb 13 - 07:44 AM

I just came across these (see end of article) - and I think they're a pretty useful set of tips for anyone, whether a person who has some sort of faith or spiritual practise, or someone who doesn't.

Alain de Botton's 10 commandments for non-believers