Solon was born, we believe, around 638 B.C.E., and lived until approximately 558, but the date in his life of greatest importance to us is the year he was elected to create a constitution for Athens, 594 B.C.E.

Ten Commandments of Solon (Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, 1.60), which run as follows:
1. Trust good character more than promises.
2. Do not speak falsely.
3. Do good things.
4. Do not be hasty in making friends, but do not abandon them once made.
5. Learn to obey before you command.
6. When giving advice, do not recommend what is most pleasing, but what is most useful.
7. Make reason your supreme commander.
8. Do not associate with people who do bad things.
9. Honor the gods.
10. Have regard for your parents.

I'd only keep the parts about not stealing and killing, though it wouldn't be absolute as stealing is justifiable if the choice was that or going hungry, and killing is justified in self-defense in my opinion. With the exception of honoring your parents and baring false witness everything else is pretty much crap that has no place out of the bronze age.

1. Don't kill
2. Don't steal
3. Don't rape
4. Don't abuse people (esp children)
5. Don't start wars
6. Feed the hungry
7. Shelter the homeless
8. Clothe the naked
9. Heal the sick
10. Treat others with dignity and respect

Considering that the 10 commandments were the only commandments that an all knowing and all powerful god wrote in stone, they are pretty crappy.

So here is my attempt at something better;

1: Do not force your morality on others in the name of God or because that is what you think God wants.

2: Do not follow those that ask you to force a version of morality on others in the name of God or because they say it is what God wants.

3: Do not murder

4: Do not cause harm, emotional or physical, to others

5: Do not take what does not belong to you without permission

6: Be good and charitable to others

7. Be good to yourself

8: Respect that others are human and deserve a certain level of respect just by being human

9: Respect the environment around you.

10: Do not hide priests that molest children.(thanks Sam Harris for that one)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/03/2011 01:37PM by MJ.

If I am underwater for too long, I would want someone to pull me out of the water...

I do not think a fish would want the same thing.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/03/2011 02:06PM by MJ.

1 1. Love. Love all; God, friends, family, enemies, strangers, plants, animals, the Earth, and including yourself. If you love others, you will do only to them that which you would prefer them do to you. You will seek to understand them, you will do all that is in your power for their benefit and you will harm none of them. For all people are children of our supreme creator.
2 Be Always honest. No lying, no stealing, no cheating. Your word alone should be as good as an oath. Therefore, swear no oaths instead when you say yes, really mean yes and when you say simply no mean no.
3 Do not desire anything others have. Do not lust for their riding lawnmower and their boat and their huge state-of-the-art house and their sports car and their beautiful or handsome partner or their animals or livestock or their land or anything they have. Covet not fame, money, sex, or political power. In all that you do seek not to be glorified and seek not to be paid. Instead, desire to do good. Seek learning seek to develop good attributes seek to raise a good family.
4 Obey. Obey your parents and your boss and the laws of the land and obey God. God has authority over the president and the president over your boss. So when, there are any conflicts in laws obey the law from the higher authority. However, when there is no conflict you should obey the law as though God himself given the law.
5 Have dominion over the Earth and over everything on the Earth. Does this mean we can do as we please? No. All flesh we destroy we shall have to make an account of to God. Therefore, “Destroy not life save it be to preserve your own.” To have dominion over the earth after the manner God wants is to exercise a loving responsibility over the whole earth. Not to dominate not to do as we please and not to be wasteful.
6 no contention To be contentious is to follow the evil one. To give cause to someone to be angry is to follow the evil one. Even if, one person is right contention can only drive people apart which only furthers the evil ones work in BOTH of them.
7 Keep sacred that which is sacred. Do sacred things on the Sabbath day and give no cause for others to honor not their sacred days or any other thing they consider sacred. Talk about the Godhead in clean holy language only.
8Always forgive. Everyone makes mistakes therefore when someone harms or offends you in any way and you forgive them not would you likewise not deserve forgiveness? Even if what they did was rape and murder and all you ever did is call someone fat? They may not deserve or want forgiveness nevertheless harboring such feelings well only and can only harm you.
9 Always repent. You can never be perfect but you should always push yourself to be better. That is always repenting. If you wronged someone make restitution. Even if someone will not forgive you apologize and improve. To repent you must recognize you done wrong and confess to yourself and to God and to those you offended you done wrong, and you must forsake the deed and make restitution. When you make restitution remember eye for an eye tooth for a tooth for this is the true purpose of that ancient law. Things you've done in the past well always be hard to forsake pray to have strength.
10 Pray Always. Do you like to talk to your close friends and family? Therefore, God who loves you more than they all, wants to likewise hear from you. How should you pray? Honor the being(s) you are directing your prayer. Examples; Loving and kind Eternal Parents; Hallowed be thy names, etc. Pray that their desires be accomplish there will be done, give thanks for all have all your blessings, pray for your needs, pray for the needs of others, ask forgiveness for sins and strength to do better.









11 Be humble. Every person is your superior in at least some way and if you are not humble you well not be able to learn from them. When you boost about yourselves before others are they not more likely to criticize you? When you talk bad about yourselves before others are they not more likely to praise you? Therefore, be humble.

12 Seek learning. Seek learning out of books from people and the way this world works. Pray and experiment to learn whether what you learn is true.

13 Have a positive attitude. When you have negative thoughts about yourself and the things that happen to you, does that not cause negative things to be attracted to you? All your thoughts, words and deeds well be rewarded after their natures. Therefore, only think say and do good, always.

14 Serve. Serve one another without expecting any reward. When, we serve others we are only servace of God. Always desire to serve you just might be the answer to someones pray and God sent you to answer it. So you are only in the service of God. In addition every person has their own gifts powers abilities. In this manner EVERY person is rich and every person is poor. So how do we serve on another? By using your talents that you have in abundance in service to those who have not.

15Wholesome foods. Eat the healthiest foods you enjoy eating. You can feel the influence of the spirit easiest when your body is healthy and your mind is more capable of comprehending the information.

16 Clean language. It is not that which comes into someone that pollutes their spirit and mind instead it is that which comes out for it comes from your heart and as a result corrupts your mind and heart.

Love is patient, is kind, love does not envy, does not boast, is not prideful, is not rude, is not selfish, is not easily provoked, keeps no record of being wronged, rejoices not in evil, but rejoices in the truth, bears all things, always trusts, always hopes, and endures all things. Love is the greatest of all and never fails. Love is not a desire for anything material or physical but instead it is the desire and action of doing to others what you prefer others to do to you. I repeat love is treating others the way you want to be treated. No law is greater and no law comes from a higher authority.

The Golden Rule is also in the Bible. And in most other religions' scriptures, incidentally.

I don't think I could improve upon George Carlin's example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1ahhebUoRg

Thou shalt not think that being a member of a religion makes you a good person.

Reduce it down to one:
Don't be an asshole.

If you need a commandment, then this is one is hard to beat. If I could will it into universal law, I would.

Better yet is simply do good for goodness sake.

Wow, good job reviving this four-year-old thread. I'm not sure how you even found it! :)

Excellent video thanks.

I would abolish them. They are a lame justification for thinking the Bible is relevant.

Replace them with Bertrand Russell's Ten Commandments and Kant's Categorical Imperative

Russell's Ten:

1. Do not feel absolutely certain of anything.

2. Do not think it worthwhile to produce belief by concealing evidence, for the evidence is sure to come to light.

3. Never try to discourage thinking, for you are sure to succeed.

4. When you meet with opposition, even if it is from your family, endeavour to overcome it with argument and not by authority, for a victory dependent upon authority is unreal and illusory.

5. Have no respect for the authority of others, for there are always contrary authorities to be found.

6. Do not use power to suppress opinions you think pernicious, for if you do, the opinions will suppress you.

7. Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric.

8. Find more pleasure in intelligent dissent than in passive agreement, for if you value intelligence as you should, the former implies a deeper agreement than the latter.

9. Be scrupulously truthful even if the truth is inconvenient, for it is more inconvenient when you try to conceal it.

10. Do not feel envious of the happiness of those who live in a fool's paradise, for only a fool will think that is happiness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kant's CI:

“Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law.

—Immanuel Kant, Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals

Only one commandment: honor thy Lord Raptor, whereever the heck he happens to be today (snorkeling?).

The golden rule is probably better. It's just one rule.
Although I am sure someone will find a loop hole.

Thou shalt not have a book for a heart.

I'm not going to comment on improvements, but just comment on the fact that there are only 10.

That's right q15 old effers, there is only 10. I love the fact that there are only 10. I love that there is nothing about what you consume, what you pay.

If Jesus didn't say it, I don't do it. Modern so-called prophets can't usurp the authority of Jesus.

The Golden Rule and extend Casual Fridays to every day of the week.

We only need one:

"Learn why it's smart to treat people well, and not cause them harm."

Do that, and no other "commandments" are needed.

I like what Bill and Ted said,

"Be excellent to each other."

:)

1. Do not give opinions or advice unless you are asked.

2. Do not tell your troubles to others unless you are sure they want to hear them.

3. When in another’s lair, show him respect or else do not go there.

4. If a guest in your lair annoys you, treat him cruelly and without mercy.

5. Do not make sexual advances unless you are given the mating signal.

6. Do not take that which does not belong to you unless it is a burden to the other person and he cries out to be relieved.

7. Acknowledge the power of magic if you have employed it successfully to obtain your desires. If you deny the power of magic after having called upon it with success, you will lose all you have obtained.

8. Do not complain about anything to which you need not subject yourself.

9. Do not harm little children.

10. Do not kill non-human animals unless you are attacked or for your food.

11. When walking in open territory, bother no one. If someone bothers you, ask him to stop. If he does not stop, destroy him.




http://www.churchofsatan.com/eleven-rules-of-earth.php






( I'm still trying to figure out what the mating signal is )



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/01/2015 09:50PM by Dave the Atheist.

Do unto others as you would have done by you.

Full stop.

Wow, it feels weird replying on a four-year-old thread, but, how would I improve on the 10 commandments? I guess I'd legalize weed.

that's right.
The thread police are coming !

I don't post here often so I'm probably not aware of all the rules, but thread police? You mean because it's an old thread (I'm not the one who revived it!) or because I mentioned weed? I didn't see anything in the posting guidelines that would apply to my post.

the thread police hate old threads.

Don't be a goober.

Several years ago, my late great StalkerDog™ had something to say about it...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Ten Commandments PLUS

But seriously, I always wondered...
Posted by: The StalkerDog™
Date: December 21, 2011 12:46PM

How come there wasn't nuthin' in them commandments about getting along with each other? Did they leave em out or what? Being nice to each other, not treating each other like poop, you know, the important stuff?

So I thought-a some StalkerDog™ additions...
----------------------------------------------------
11. Thou really art NO better than anyone else, so thou shalt not behave as if thou art. Thou art not the boss, okay? I AM.

12. Thou shalt not hurt each other, especially creatures that are weaker, smaller, or more vulnerable than thou.

13. Thou shalt not hate others for stupid reasons like skin color, religion, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, or anything else.

14. Thou shalt not use thy lousy childhood or bad experiences in the past as an excuse to be a dirtbag or as a bludgeon to hit people over the head. Thou are to use thy bad experiences as a tool to understand and help other people who are in the same boat!

15. Thou shalt not make a smelly awful disgusting mess of this planet that I have given thee for thy use. Thou shalt clean up thy messes.

16. Thou shalt not use thy religion as a weapon, a bludgeon, a whip, or as a license to be a pain in the @$$. Does thou really think all thy fancy rituals and pretty wording are anything but a big old yawnfest to Me?

17. Thou shalt be nice to each other. Nice as in kind. Help each other out already!

And finally...

18. See how annoying all this thee and thou talk is? KNOCK IT OFF, okay?

Whaddaya think?

I am new here so I think it is kind of fun to see these old posts popping up.

When I was an investigator (wow, that word bothered me!), my missionaries - the little girls - had me count all the commandments in the OT and NT. I came up with 19 - AARGGHH! I should have had a clue what I was in for.

Stupid me!

Do you really have thread police? chuckle!

There are 613 recorded commandments in the OT---I don't know about the NT.

The 613 are a traditional number, but every one is founded on the relevant OT texts.