Earth A Lujah!

I've been thinking... We need a new religion.

The ones we have now aren't working. I suppose we shouldn't expect all that much from current religions when the Big Three all have the same Eden myth. You know, the one where Adam and Eve get kicked out of paradise for getting smart and becoming aware of their genitals because they were talked into eating a magic apple by a talking snake. How do you learn to think when our current religions want us to believe that  knowledge is the root of all evils and understanding is the greatest of all heresies.  From that common beginning each of the big three spirals off into dysfunctional unreality in its own way but with the apparent purpose of providing most of the benefit to the top of the food chain. The acolytes wind up worshiping the ideology while ignoring the resulting misery it brings to the boots on the ground. Can we have a "Hey, wait a minute" moment here? I say we form a committee to rewrite religion based on taking care of sheep and wolves and grass all at the same time with fairness and justice to all. Nobody wins big, nobody loses big and the goal will be rebuilding Eden and getting back inside.

So let's start a new religion that benefits the 99%.  All religions have commandments so let's start with a few. We can pick and choose and rewrite from the commandments that are already out there as a way to get going. Moses, Paul, Jesus, Mohammed, Joseph Smith, and L. Ron Hubbard did it so why can't we? Let's see...

Let's change the one about having no other gods before me to, "You shall tolerate no ideology that brings not the greatest good to the greatest number of people." I realize this will not sit well with the right wing but if properly applied there won't be a right wing.

We can keep "Thy shalt not bear false witness". It's probably the most violated of all the current commandments but I believe it's a worthy goal. It hasn't worked well standing alone, however, so let's make it stronger by adding another one:

"Thou shall cast out falsehood, adhere to the scientific method, critical thinking, and seek facts and truths." Our current religions tend to execute heretics rather than honor truth. The church may have accepted Galileo but they are still attacking Charles Darwin and Al Gore. That has to stop.

Let's change "Thou shalt not kill" to: "You must have near unanimous agreement to commit murder." or something of the sort. Nobody really believes in the absolute of "not killing" but a just society should tolerate it only in extreme circumstances. War and capital punishment should be very very difficult to enact.

How about, "Care for your planet at all costs." It dies, we die. Why is this so hard? I have trouble articulating into a commandment this corollary: "Actions that affect others must be carefully considered and may not be justified because someone makes money."  Help me work on this will you?

We're just getting started here so remember this is a work in progress. The inevitable religious war can come later, as long as later is fairly soon. I'm pretty flexible and open on all this except for the bottom line of maximum happiness benefit for maximum people and generating a fact based society. One more thing I think is absolutely necessary is something many other religions outlaw at great peril to happiness...The last commandment:

"You shall sing and dance as often as you can, with as many people as you can." Someone beat me to it but we can call it "Joining the Earthalujah Chorus."

Can I get an Amen?

Steve

ps: I plan to work on this and hope everyone will contribute. Check back often.