Atheist Commandments

I am a Buddhist. Buddhism is pretty nifty because there is no official stance on a higher being, so there are agnostic Buddhists, atheist Buddhist, monotheistic Buddhists, polytheistic Buddhists, Hindu Buddhists, Jewish Buddhists, etc, etc.

I don't consider myself an atheist, by definition I am more agnostic. I prefer the term humanist because I like focusing on the well-being and advancement of the human race.

However, while playing with Stumble Upon yesterday, I found a website listing "The Ten Commandments (Of the Ethical Atheist).

I like them. You don't even need to be an atheist to follow them. Even a Christian could follow these and still be a good Christian.

Anyways, here they are:

1. Thou SHALT NOT believe all thou art told.

2. Thou SHALT seek knowledge and truth constantly.

3. Thou SHALT educate thy fellow man in the Laws of Science.

4. Thou SHALT NOT forget the atrocities committed in the name of god.

5. Thou SHALT leave valuable contributions for future generations.

6. Thou SHALT live in peace with thy fellow man.

7. Thou SHALT live this one life thou hast to its fullest.

8. Thou SHALT follow a Personal Code of Ethics.

9. Thou SHALT maintain a strict separation between Church and State.

10. Thou SHALT support those who follow these commandments.

I like most of them. #10 feels like kind of a cop-out, like they couldn't think of anything else. But the list is pretty good. I particularly like #3