10 Commandments

Swiss/British philosopher and writer Alain de Botton has come up with a modern list of 10 Commandments for atheists to live by.  I often hear that because atheists do not believe in any higher power, they have no moral code.  That is not true.  Generally, atheists have very strong moral codes. These are the values that I want to instill in my children.  Separating the religion/lack of religion aspect out of this list, I think this guy has captured some decent values for just being a good person. Check them out.

1. Resilience: Keeping going even when things are looking dark.
2. Empathy: The capacity to connect imaginatively with the sufferings and unique experiences of another person.
3. Patience: We should grow calmer and more forgiving by being more realistic about how things actually happen.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Humor: Like anger, humor springs from disappointment, but it is disappointment optimally channelled.
7. 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.
8. Forgiveness: It’s recognizing that living with others is not possible without excusing errors.
9. Hope: Pessimism is not necessarily deep, nor optimism shallow.
10. 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.

The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins

Title: The God Delusion

Author: Richard Dawkins

Publisher: Mariner 2008

Genre: Nonfiction

Pages: 480

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Nerdy Nonfiction - Religion; ebook; 52 Books -- W27; Dusty Bookshelf

How I Got It: iPad read

A preeminent scientist -- and the world's most prominent atheist -- asserts the irrationality of belief in God and the grievous harm religion has inflicted on society, from the Crusades to 9/11.

With rigor and wit, Dawkins examines God in all his forms, from the sex-obsessed tyrant of the Old Testament to the more benign (but still illogical) Celestial Watchmaker favored by some Enlightenment thinkers. He eviscerates the major arguments for religion and demonstrates the supreme improbability of a supreme being. He shows how religion fuels war, foments bigotry, and abuses children, buttressing his points with historical and contemporary evidence. The God Delusion makes a compelling case that belief in God is not just wrong but potentially deadly. It also offers exhilarating insight into the advantages of atheism to the individual and society, not the least of which is a clearer, truer appreciation of the universe's wonders than any faith could ever muster.

I liked this Dawkins much more than The Selfish Gene.  And I think the reason stems from his writing style.  This book's style and language are much more accessible to the non-scientist.  Dawkins takes a nice easy logical approach to the topic of God and religion.  He leads us step by step through the various arguments for the existence of God and religion and shows us where they go wrong.  It was a nice change to read a piece so reasoned and clear.  Usually pro- and anti-religion arguments turn into ridiculous rants and name-calling.  Dawkins shies away from the rants and tries to lay out logical arguments.  I approve!  A very interesting book.

The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs

Title: The Year of Living Biblically

Author: A.J. Jacobs

Publisher: Simon and Schuster 2008

Genre: Nonfiction

Pages: 416

Rating:   3 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Dewey Decimal -- 200s; Mixing It Up -- Journalism and Humor; A to Z -- Y

How I Got It: Library Loan

Raised in a secular family but increasingly interested in the relevance of faith in our modern world, A.J. Jacobs decides to dive in headfirst and attempt to obey the Bible as literally as possible for one full year. He vows to follow the Ten Commandments. To be fruitful and multiply. To love his neighbor. But also to obey the hundreds of less publicized rules: to avoid wearing clothes made of mixed fibers; to play a ten-string harp; to stone adulterers.

The resulting spiritual journey is at once funny and profound, reverent and irreverent, personal and universal and will make you see history's most influential book with new eyes.

I read Jacob's first experiment The Know-It-All about him reading the Encyclopedia.  I laughed out loud through most of the book.  So I went into this book with high hopes.  A secular Jewish man living in NYC decides to follow the Biblical rules.  I thought I would laugh at his escapades; at least chuckle.

Unfortunately, I grew more and more angry as the book progressed.  Jacobs begins noticing things about life in his episodes.  I can appreciate these.  For example, he realizes that his life is bombarded with media.  Once he turns it all off, he enjoys more life.  I can get it.  But then he gets way too obsessive over these rules.  I just can't get behind these at all.  In discussing parenting, he comes to the conclusion that he must impart religion to his son otherwise he will end up an atheist criminal or a crazy fundamentalist.  This seems like a strong either-or conceptas opposed to a rational parenting choice.  Another point of contention is the whole creationism vs. evolution debate.  In discussing he comes to the conclusion:

"I believe that's a key motivation to creationsim: the need to feel less inconsequential.  I remember Mark Looy--the publicist for the Creation Museum--saying, 'Evolution says that we are the product of random processes.  That we evolved via pond scum.  When we say that, we're not applying much value to humanity.  If we say we're a product of accidents and random processes, how much purpose and hope does that give to our youth'" (page 107)

I have multiple issues with this: 1. Evolution is not 'accidents and random processes,' it's adaptation to the purpose for better chances of survival.  2. Why does evolution lead to not valuing humanity? It doesn't.  We  can value life for the sake of life.  3. Purpose and hope is a human concept.  One that we can consciously impart.  It's these types of discussions that I just had trouble getting through.

In the end, Jacobs ends up as a "reverent agnostic" but one who still plans on observing the Sabbath and praying to God (which God, I'm not sure).  At times, I agree with his observations about modern life.  I applaud his taking the time to examine his life.  I just have issues in some of his conclusions.  For these reasons, I gave the book 3 stars.  It's well-written... just not for me.