The Post Modern 10 Commandments

The Bible tells Christians not to love the things of the world.  Many people rightfully acknowledge that this includes the material items that are rampant in our country: cars, clothes, houses, etc.  But just as important (maybe even more important) is that we do not love the world's systems, the world's philopsophies (Romans 12:2, 1 John 2:15-17, 1 John 5:1-5).

There are many philosophies that are popular in our world today.  But the dominant one in our country is post-modernism.  And while followers of Post Modern philosophy say to ignore the "oppressive" commands of the Bible, they lay out their own oppressive commands.  These rules stand in direct opposition to God, whose commands are actually freeing, not enslaving.

To help you identify and flee from these worldly values, I have compiled a list of the 10 Post Modern Commandments

© 2010 John Taylor, Flickr | CC-BY | via Wylio

1. Thou shalt not judge.  You may not tell other people what to do or judge them for what they are doing, no matter what.  There are a few exceptions though.  One is if they are doing something that goes against your personal pet issues, like not recycling, not breastfeeding, driving a big car, having too many kids or not eating organic food.  Then you can judge them.

Another exception if they fall into a class of people whom you look down upon (usually, someone less educated).  For example, you may condemn and judge the sexual perversions of the red neck who loves his sister, but you will adamantly stand by the "right" of the educated upper middle class man tempted by homosexuality to "choose whom he loves".

2. Thou shalt tolerate thy neighbor.  You need not love your neighbor, because loving your neighbor sometimes involves sacrifice or having hard conversations if they are doing something to destroy their life.  You should let them live their own life and do whatever they want without comment from yourself.  In other words, thou shalt ignore thy neighbor, but that doesn't sound as nice as tolerate.

3.  Thou shalt not take responsibility.  Don't worry about it, someone else will take care of it.  Sign up for $100,000 of college loans and then blame every one else for your debt (clearly it was unavoidable and you were making a wise decision to do so).  And then if you don't feel like facing the music, sign up for grad school and complain about how much that costs too.  If you conceive a child at an inconvenient time, just kill the baby or abandon the mother, but don't take responsibility for the life you created if it doesn't fit into your plan for your life at the moment.  If you lose your job, it is because your boss hated you, not because you were a poor worker.  If you fail your class, its because of your professor's funny accent, not because you didn't do the reading.

4.  Thou shalt be a victim.  The world is out to get you.  Make sure everyone knows how hard your life is and how you've been victimized by sexism, racism, classism, poverty, riches, your parents, your boss, your significant other, "the system", your genetic make up, etc.  Its much easier to evade responsibility if you can pinpoint all of the ways that other people have caused your life to be hard, therefore making it impossible to succeed.

5.  Thou shalt not obey authority.  Everyone in a position of authority is corrupt.  Their aim is to victimize you.  You have a much better idea of how to run your life.

6. Thou shalt feel entitled. The world owes you something, if not everything.  You do not need to work hard or provide for yourself, or take responsibility.  The world needs to pay back the debt of your victimhood, so sit around and complain until they pay up.

7.  Thou shalt not believe in truth.  There is no one real truth, so follow your feelings.  Feelings will never cease to guide you to the right path for your life. If someone breaks the first commandment and dares to challenge you on something in your life, then talk about your feelings and how hard everything is.

8. Thou shalt do what seems right in thine own eyes.  The world would be a much smoother and well run place if everyone did their own thing.  Clearly, each person is the best judge of what is right for their own life, and need not even bend an inch to live up to some higher standard.  So go ahead, plow forth in your own direction, heeding not those you trample on in your way.

9. Thou shalt not feel conviction for sin.  Don't feel bad for what you did.  You were doing the best you could at that time.  Ignore or stuff down any feelings of guilt.  Remember that you make the rules for your own life.  Everything will feel better if you just don't think about your wrongdoings.  Kinda.

10.  Thou shalt honor thy educated people (of choice).  It is clear that educated people are without sin, so you should honor and heed all that they say (if it fits in line with what you already feel on a certain subject).  If you are a university professor, you must be right.  Educated people never have underlying motives, never seek to justify their preconceived notions in their research, never have any selfishness. If the educated individual is a woman or minority, s/he is even more right.  They are seeking the greater good of the world and should always be honored as such.