And what if we rewrote the Ten commandments?
No offense intended
The Ten Commandments are the code of conduct Catholics are required to follow to lead a pious life. Like many ancient documents, they contain the fundamental wisdom upon which we developed ethics and morality. Upon closer examination of the Ten Commandments, we realize that the first five are, shall we say, slightly egocentric. The first makes it quite clear who is boss and the following four make sure we remember who is boss. The last five, we can all agree upon. However, it remains that 50% of the ten commandments are all about me, myself and I; the holy trinity. Is God that insecure? Now if your goal is blind allegiance and the suppression of critical thinking, that is the way to go. However, in this day and age as we become increasingly bombarded with an unprecedented deluge of information, critical thinking is precisely what we need more of. And therein lies the rub, as Shakespeare would say.
My goal here is not to make light of the good that can come out of practicing a religion but I do believe that most ancient documents (i.e the Canadian or American Constitution) could use a lookover to reflect modern times. It is in this spirit that I humbly propose:
My 10 commandments
Treat others as you would want to be treated (Matthew 7:12)
Know thyself (attributed to a number of ancient Greek scholars including Plato)
Know that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself (Franklin Delano Roosevelt)
Know that perfection is something we should strive for but will never achieve.
Live in harmony with the Earth
Give more than you take
Use anger wisely
Believe that in any situation, you always have the power of choice.
Strive for contentment, not happiness.
Know that certainty does not exist
In my opinion, following these guidelines not only prevents us from falling into the pitfalls of the actual Ten Commandments but also confers more responsibility to the individual. If humankind is to thrive in the foreseeable future, self-empowerment guided by critical thinking will be essential. Unfortunately, in reading the Ten Commandments, I detect the opposite; that is, self-effacement (or self-actualization only by following God’s word) and deference. This may partly explain the “fear of other” and sectarianism that has existed and continues to exist in many religions and the resulting wrongs that have been perpetuated in their names. Either the faithful have trouble understanding the message or it has not been explained properly.
The difference between spirituality and organized religion
We all seek understanding or spirituality. The fundamental message of all schools of thought is love and harmony while providing a possible explanation for the human condition. The difference as I see it between the big three religions (Catholicism, Judaism, Islam) and other schools of thought such as Buddhism, Daoism or even Existentialism is the very definition of God. In the big three, our lives are guided by the respective God whereas in the other schools of thought, our lives are led guided by certain principles.
The question is: Could we have figured this all out on our own (without a God telling us what is right or wrong or how to act) through evolutionary biology? The future may provide the answer to this only if mankind does not betray his nature or God and blow everything up!
I have provided my 10 Commandments. What would be yours?
I leave you with a recommendation of a book that has had profound significance for me as I hope it can for you.
Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor E. Frankl
Spiritually yours.
