2011.08.16
He tells entertaining stories. When it comes to philosophy, you have to take it with a grain of salt... he's a big believer in using the "fallacy of the excluded middle"... he figures if you would be unwilling to kill your kid if you thought God told you to (ala Isaac and Abraham) then you're pretty much an atheist, because your faith isn't total.
Still, he comes up with his own version of the 10 Commandments, or "One Atheist's Suggestions", printed here along side the Biblical ones (a lot of people don't realize that you do have to specify which version of the 10 Commandments you're referring to... there's some disagreements between faiths and even as it's printed in any given copy of the Bible.)
| 1. | |
| Thou shalt have no other gods before me. | The highest ideals are human intelligence, creativity, and love. Respect these above all. |
| 2. | |
| Thou shalt not make for thyself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate Me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love Me and keep My Commandments. | Do not put things or even ideas above other human beings. (Let's scream at each other about Kindle versus iPad, solar versus nuclear, Republican versus Libertarian, Garth Brooks versus Sun Ra- but when your house is on fire, I'll be there to help.) |
| 3. | |
| Thou shalt not take the name of the lord thy god in vain, for the lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. | Say what you mean, even when talking to yourself. (What used to be an oath to god is now quite simply respecting yourself.) |
| 4. | |
| Thou shalt not take the name of the lord thy god in vain, for the lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. | Put aside some time to rest and think. (If you're religious, that might be the Sabbath; if you're a Vegas magician, that'll be the day with the lowest grosses.) |
| 5. | |
| Honory thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the lord thy god has given thee. | Be there for your family. Love your parents, your partner, and your children. (Love is deeper than honor, and parents matter, but so do spouse and children.) |
| 6. | |
| Thou shalt not kill. | Respect and protect all human life. (Many believe that 'Thou shalt not kill' only refers to people in the same tribe. I say it's all human life.) |
| 7. | |
| Thou shalt not commit adultery. | Keep your promises. (If you can't be sexually exclusive to your spouse, don't make that deal.) |
| 8. | |
| Thou shalt not steal. | Don't steal. (This includes magic tricks and jokes'you know who you are!) |
| 9. | |
| Thou shalt not lie. | Don't lie. (You know, unless you're doing magic tricks and it's part of your job. Does that make it okay for politicians too?) |
| 10. | |
| Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house; thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to thy neighbor. | Don't waste too much time wishing, hoping, and being envious; it'll make you bugnutty. (Man oh man, that MILF at my child's school sure looks hot, but I have work to do.) |
Do you think Arcade Fire's "We Used to Wait" is a post-apocalyptic scenario?
I don't practice what I preach because I'm not the kind of person I'm preaching to.