Do we really need replacements for such simple rules as “Thou shalt not kill” and “Thou shalt not steal”?

Dave Huber at The College Fix has the story:

Atheists come up with their own ‘ten commandments’

John Figdor, the humanist chaplain at Stanford University, and his colleague Lex Bayer of AirBNB, have written a book called Atheist Heart, Humanist Mind.

In the book you’ll find the atheist ten “non-commandments” which the authors solicited from the public via a contest. Participants were asked “to offer modern alternatives to the famous Decalogue.”

CNN.com reports:

The contest drew more than 2,800 submissions from 18 countries and 27 U.S. states, according to Bayer and Figdor. The proposed “non-commandments” ranged from the quizzical (“Don’t follow your nature”) to the quixotic (“Thriving in space is the ultimate goal”).

A team of 13 judges selected 10 of the more sober and serious submissions, and announced the winners Friday.

There’s nary a “thou shalt” among them — nothing specifically about murder, stealing or adultery, although there is a version of the Golden Rule, which presumably would cover those crimes.

Here are the first five of the winning ten:

1. Be open-minded and be willing to alter your beliefs with new evidence.

2. Strive to understand what is most likely to be true, not to believe what you wish to be true.

3. The scientific method is the most reliable way of understanding the natural world.

4. Every person has the right to control of their body.

5. God is not necessary to be a good person or to live a full and meaningful life.