Godless: How an Evangelical Preacher Became One of America's Leading Atheists

by Dan Barker

Would it be immoral to steal bread from a wealthy person to feed your starving child?

Ninth Commandment: “Thou shalt not bear false witness” is also a generally good principle, but there is no universal law in America against telling lies. We have adequate laws against perjury and false advertising. But we all know that it is sometimes necessary to tell a lie in order to protect someone from harm.

Tenth Commandment: “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house… wife… manservant… maidservant… ox… ass… nor any thing that is thy neighbor’s.”

This is a plainly silly commandment. How can you command someone not to covet? And why would you?

(Some claim that “covet” in this verse more properly means “to cast an evil eye” or spell upon something, and this should be viewed as a prohibition of sorcery. But the Hebrew word châmad, according to Strong’s Concordance, means “to delight in: beauty, greatly beloved, covet, delectable thing, delight, desire, goodly, lust, pleasant, precious thing.”)

It is quite revealing to read Exodus 34: “And the Lord said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest. And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai…”

Here is the list Moses got the third time around, the final authorized, edited and proofed version of the Ten Commandments:

1. Thou shalt worship no other god. (The same as Exodus 20; so far so good.)

2. Thou shalt make thee no molten gods. (So, graven ima...

3. The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep. (My fami...

4. Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt re...

5. Thou shalt observe the feast of weeks. (What is th...

6. Thrice in the year shall all your menchildren appear before the Lord God. (Boys only? And how, exactly, do they...

7. Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice wit...

8. Neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the passover be left until the morning. (Because th...

9. The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring unto the house of the Lord thy God. (This applies to farmers...

10. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk. (No problem. Tha...

Notice that these are not additional commandments: they are “the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest.”

The Ten Precepts of Buddhism (at least 500 B.C.E.) include 1) abstinence from destroying life, 2) abstinence from stealing, 3) abstinence from impurity, 4) abstinence from lying, 5) abstinence from strong drinks and intoxicating liquor, and five more rules for monks only.

THE GOLDEN RULE

Jesus was actually reported to have said is this: “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 7:12)

The author of Luke relates it this way: “And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.” (Luke 6:31)

In Hinduism (Brahmanism), around 300 B.C.E.: “This is the sum of duty: Do naught unto others which would cause you pain if done to you.” (Mahabharata, 5, 1517. The Vedic period of Hinduism goes back to 1500 B.C.E.)

In Buddhism we read: “Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.” (Udana-Varga, 5, 18)

In Confucianism, which started around 500 B.C.E.: “Surely it is the maxim of loving-kindness: Do not unto others that you would not have...

In Taoism we have, “Regard your neighbor’s gain as your own gain, and your neighbor’s loss as your own loss.” (T’ai Shang Kan Ying P’ien. The date of this writing is uncertain, but it was probably between 900-1200 C.E....

Zoroastrianism: “That nature alone is good which refrains from doing unto another whatsoever is not good for itself.” (Dadistan-i-dinik, 94, 5. This particular quote came after Christianit...

LOVE THY NEIGHBOR

If God had known that “love thy neighbor” was to be one of the biggies, why did he not include it in his Big Ten? Couldn’t the rule about boiling a goat in its mother’s milk be moved somewhere else to make space for it?

While we all agree that love is good, this rule is not specific. It does not give any advice about how to treat others. What about people who do not love themselves—how can they love others “as themselves?” What if you were raised in a dysfunctional and abusive family and have a very low self-image? What if you are suicidal?

As with most other biblical rules, Jesus makes “love thy neighbor” a condition for reward: “For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans do the same? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:46-48. The biblical god didn’t love everyone, so he isn’t perfect either.)

THE BEATITUDES

The Beatitudes describe the first eight sayings of the “Sermon on the Mount” (also a phrase absent from the bible) spoken by Jesus in the fifth chapter of Matthew, all beginning with “Blessed are…”

A true ethical code might mention the benefits (“Blessed are”) of certain actions, but should stress the inherent value of the behavior on its own merits before detailing the gain or loss for the individual.

The eight Beatitudes are:

(1) “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the k...

What does “poor in spirit” mean?

Verses such as these have been cited to keep slaves and women in their place with promises of “pie in the sky.”

(2) “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.”

Instead, why not encourage people to comfort those who are in mourning?

(3) “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.”

Incidentally, meekness is one attribute that is rarely seen in Christian history, current or past. How meek is the popular hymn “Onward, Christian Soldiers”? How much meekness is found in televangelists? How meek is the pope? Are the faces of the anti-abortionists filled with gentleness as they scream threats and physically block access to clinics, all in the name of God? How meek was Jesus when he cursed the fig tree, drove out the money changers, murdered a herd of swine or looked at his disciples with anger? How meek are the Christians who shout insulting and threatening messages on the answering machine at the Freedom From Religion Foundation?

(4) “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”

If “righteousness” is interpreted politically, then this is a dangerous verse. Righteousness breeds censorship, segregation, persecution, civil inequality and intolerance.

(5) “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.”

This beatitude is actually a threat, implying that God will not be merciful to those who are not merciful.

A better moral principle might say, “Blessed are the cautious, because no human being has the right to go overboard in defending against the harm of another.”

(6) “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.”

The Apostle Paul talked about having a “pure conscience” and this might be considered an admirable attitude in certain groups, but if there is no elaboration about how this affects conduct, then it is useless as a moral guide. Besides all that, how in the world can a person be “pure in heart” if we are all born sinners?

(7) “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.”