Someone recently posted a challenge to come up with a secular rationalist alternative to the Ten Commandments. The name “Commandment” offended some people in the challenge, so I have called mine “Affirmations” that I will strive to live by (and teach my children to live by also)
- I am a human being. I acknowledge no higher power or authority than by free agreement with my fellows
- I will respect every person’s decision to pursue their own life-work and interests; and assert my own
- I will respect every person’s choice to hold differing opinions or beliefs; and assert my own
- I will respect every person’s freedom to change their opinion or belief, and to change their life-work or interests; and assert my own
- I will uphold human reason as a universal standard in human interactions
- I will uphold intellectual education as a universal good
- I will afford higher status to established facts and realities than to opinions, beliefs or theories
- I will work together within my every community to arrange a fair, safe, healthy and flexible social and physical environment in which to pursue our life-works and interests
- I will not take more than I give
- I will maintain an attitude of stewardship over the common goods of the social and physical environment, and render fair return to future generations
