Seven Tenets of One Religion v. the Ten Commandments

I found this incredibly interesting, and it will probably infuriate some.  There is a religious group that doesn't use a version of the 10 Commandments, but instead have these 7 things they call their Seven Fundamental Tenets.  Talk a look:

• One should strive to act with compassion and empathy towards all creatures in accordance with reason.
• The struggle for justice is an ongoing and necessary pursuit that should prevail over laws and institutions.
• One’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone.
• The freedoms of others should be respected, including the freedom to offend. To willfully and unjustly encroach upon the freedoms of another is to forgo your own.
• Beliefs should conform to our best scientific understanding of the world. We should take care never to distort scientific facts to fit our beliefs.
• People are fallible. If we make a mistake, we should do our best to rectify it and resolve any harm that may have been caused.
• Every tenet is a guiding principle designed to inspire nobility in action and thought. The spirit of compassion, wisdom, and justice should always prevail over the written or spoken word

I have had issues with the 10 Commandments.  For example the list is different is separate books of the Bible and the first couple usually deal with the deity and things like murder are much further down the list.  But these tenets look much more reasonable.

Obviously these would never pass muster in a Christian church.  I mean Respecting other people's freedoms, Conform beliefs to our best scientific understanding, acting with compassion . . . these things seem more an anathema to Christians than anything else.  I mean can you imagine an Evangelical Christian suggesting "One’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone." while telling women at the same time their body isn't their own!

So whose tenets are they?  Take a look: 7 Fundamental Tenets.  See, I told you it would piss some people off.  Of course Christians would dismiss it out of hand if they knew the source before looking at the tenets themselves.  I like this list, regardless of source.  In some ways it reminds me of Asimov's Three laws of Robotics:

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.

I would reword them slightly, but I think they could easily be better guiding principles than the 10 Commandments.  Think about it:

1. Don't hurt other people or, through inaction, allow others to be hurt.
2. Obey the Law except where obeying the Law would cause others to be hurt.
3. Protect yourself, however not to the point where you have to disobey the law or hurt other people.

You know, even those few 10 Commandments I agree with could easily fit within these three Laws, or those 7 Tenets -- all without invoking the need to project a deity into the process.

Certainly bears thinking, doesn't it?

So You Want to Know What's Wrong with Religion? (5)

So, how many children have to die because of their parents, or caregivers, religious beliefs?  I know what the answer should be -- Zero!  But apparently there are still all to many parents who refuse medical treatment for their children because of their religious beliefs.

"'God ... makes no mistakes': Warned baby could die, couple rejected treatment, police say"

They just happen to live in a state that doesn't offer them a 'get-out-of-jail' card for those beliefs.  The parents are being charged with involuntary manslaughter.  Personally, I am not sure of the 'involuntary' part, I think the charge should be murder.

I am no lawyer, but Involuntary Manslaughter means that there was no malice or forethought about the death.  I disagree!  That child suffered for several days before dying and at nearly any point prior to death, one trip to the Emergency Room could have saved that baby.  Each and every day they made a conscious decision to not provide medical care for their child.  This to me is forethought.  Of course, the longer you wait, the more uphill the battle is, but still have the opportunity to give that child a chance.  With these parent, that child had no chance!  That lack of care should make this at least Second-degree Murder because there is nothing 'involuntary about it.

Don't even bother to tell me that parents suffered enough with the loss of a child.  The child was lost due to their own actions!  I do not and will never sympathize with parents who allowed their child to die from something treatable.  This wasn't some serious disease that struck without warning.  This was jaundice, a fairly common post-birth condition and one treated often.  These parents can't even say they didn't know because they were warned by their mid-wife.

The responsibility for this death lies on their shoulders and I hope Detroit, and the rest of Michigan, hold them accountable!

These parents claim that "God makes no mistakes", well you know my feelings about a deity.  I consider myself an 'Apathist' more than anything else.  But if I do lose Pascal's Wager, the first thing I am going to discuss is the mistake made letting these people become parents!