Two authors have recently submitted an entry to an atheist publishing contest by coming up with their own version of the ten commandments. The Christian Post listed these in their blog – Atheists Publish Secular ’10 Commandments’ list in Book Following Global Contest.
Surprisingly, there are many similarities with their commandments and the commandments given to Moses by God – they simply remove God from the equation. What follows is a list of these commandments with a brief light-hearted, but honest response from us:
We agree with this – many people are led to Christ when they discover the firm and reliable evidence that supports the accounts of Jesus Christ and the undeniable evidence of fulfilled Bible prophecy.
Again, we completely agree with this one – we think it is ‘most likely’ that Jesus Christ rose from the dead and was who He claimed to be as there is compelling evidence that supports this – we suggest you need more faith NOT to believe in a Creator God than to believe in Him!
This is also true which is why we believe the observable, testable and repeatable evidence strongly supports the creation account as outlined in Genesis.
We partially agree with this one. We can all do whatever we wish with our bodies – we can use our bodies for good and loving actions, or bad and hateful ones. However, as Christians, we willingly choose to submit ourselves to God in order to be used for His glory. We suspect the issue of abortion is behind this ‘commandment’ – we wonder if the baby growing inside the womb of its mother also has this right?
This depends on how you define ‘good’ and who gets to be the judge? If the judge is man and we are judged by man’s standard, we totally agree with this commandment – if the judge is God and we are judged by God’s standards, everyone fails and can only be saved through Jesus Christ. We believe that God, as Creator, is more likely to prove to be the ultimate judge than anything He created. If the Creator is removed, morality becomes a private matter for anyone as they see fit.
Great advice – we wholeheartedly agree. However, atheism is predicated on Darwinian evolution and we cannot see how this commandment fits with the inherently selfish ‘survival of the fittest’ legacy of the theory of evolution. The fact that Christians believe Jesus Christ will be the ultimate and final judge makes them very mindful about the consequences of their actions. There can be no greater motivation for this commandment than recognising there are eternal consequences for actions and that we will each be held personally responsible for them.
We agree with this – we imagine most people want to know the truth, which is why Christians should lovingly and respectfully tell others about the salvation available through Jesus Christ.
Again, great advice, but there is a contradiction here between this commandment and Darwinian evolution? Being considerate to others and ‘survival of the fittest’ are in complete contrast with each other and non-compatible.
Based on this commandment, we can ignore all the other commandments that are listed here!
A noble aspiration but has anyone managed to do this? The world seems to be getting worse…
The ten commandments above contain great advice and many wise pointers – on the most part, there can be few objections to this list. However, they leave many questions for the atheist. The ten commandments given by God to Moses have survived intact for over 3,500 years – we are not sure why they would need updating now? It seems a little arrogant to suggest that a set of rules that have stood the test of time so well for thousands of years should need to be changed at this point on mankind’s journey. Should we all be permitted to create our own set of commandments that we should be allowed to follow – what happens where there are contradictions between two sets of rules? Who gets to make the final call? Who becomes the ultimate arbiter of morality and the barometer of ethics? Why should one person or group be allowed to enforce their commandments over someone else’s – doesn’t seem very tolerant and fair? Surely the ONLY person with the right to enforce a set of commandments over us should be God? Of course, this all hinges on the existence of God but we believe it’s perfectly reasonable to accept the existence of God.
We remain totally confident that our Creator God knows how to best instruct humanity for its own benefit and harmony – if He is the designer, it makes sense to follow the designer’s instruction manual!
The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him. (Nahum 1:7)
To finish on a personal note, we hope you have enjoyed our blogs over the year – we are determined that the content on this site exists only to give glory to Christ and enrich your relationship with Him. We both wish you a blessed Christmas period and pray that this would be a special time as you draw closer to the Saviour Jesus Christ during this time.
He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. (Revelation 22:20-21)
Come quickly, Lord Jesus!
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