I've finished compiling a 'Manifesto,' a set of 10 rules/ideals to live by

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I’ve been working on this document on and off for the past year-and-a-half, editing it and refining it as my ideas on life and society have evolved. I finally have accomplished a “final draft” of sorts, and I was wondering what the Social Justice forum thought about it:
  1. To become cognizant of the transcendent beauty and universal truths held in common by all Religions and Creeds.
  2. To promote an end to war whilst emphasizing diplomatic conflict-resolution and the use of defensive measures in contrast with war-mongering ideologies.
  3. To strive towards the dissolution of religious fundamentalism in exchange for a Progressive worldview centered on the teachings of Jesus Christ.
  4. To foster increased respect and acceptance towards all the peoples of the Earth, regardless of race, religious creed, socio-economic status, gender-identity, or individual ability.
  5. To further the full integration of the marginalized into society whilst advocating for the extension of universal human rights, among which are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.
  6. To preserve the integrity of our Earth through ecological awareness and environmental stewardship.
  7. To respect the dignity and right-to-life of all members of the animal kingdom.
  8. To encourage the fullest expression of compassion and serenity amongst all members of the human race.
  9. To enable the continued intellectual and emotional growth of our species.
  10. To hold our neighbor to the same esteem that we hold ourselves.
I understand that it might sound a tad bit “rationalistic” and “humanistic” for CA’s tastes, but DO give me your opinion on it.

Personally, I do think that I can see Jesus Christ getting behind most of these.
 
That’s an interesting endeavour to undertake. I’ll comment on some things as they come to me but I wanted clarity on #7. Did you mean to foster vegetarianism as the human diet?
 
If we lived by the 10 “rules”, known as the Ten Commandments the world would be a much better place.

Rather than re-create the wheel, so to speak, we should commit to actually living out those commandments, rather than providing lip service.
 
Interesting indeed.
2 comments occur to me: along with LongingSoul, I wonder if you’re advocating vegetarianism. I actually eat very little meat and think we’d be better off eating less, but the Bible doesn’t say anything about the rights of animals, except the right to be free of unkind treatment. It explicitly says we may eat them.
Another thought: in #3 you mention a Progressive worldview centered on Jesus’ teachings. I’m not sure what that means. Progressives generally believe the world, or civilization, or humanity, is getting better with time. I think that idea has been disproved, since the previous century was the bloodiest in history. Human nature doesn’t seem to improve with time, each generation has to discover morality and the truths of the Bible on its own.
Really, it might be simpler just to stick with the ten commandments and the Golden Rule.
 
Zeldarocks2 said:
I’ve been working on this document on and off for the past year-and-a-half, editing it and refining it as my ideas on life and society have evolved. I finally have accomplished a “final draft” of sorts, and I was wondering what the Social Justice forum thought about it:
  1. To become cognizant of the transcendent beauty and universal truths held in common by all Religions and Creeds.
  2. To promote an end to war whilst emphasizing diplomatic conflict-resolution and the use of defensive measures in contrast with war-mongering ideologies.
  3. To strive towards the dissolution of religious fundamentalism in exchange for a Progressive worldview centered on the teachings of Jesus Christ.
  4. To foster increased respect and acceptance towards all the peoples of the Earth, regardless of race, religious creed, socio-economic status, gender-identity, or individual ability.
  5. To further the full integration of the marginalized into society whilst advocating for the extension of universal human rights, among which are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.
  6. To preserve the integrity of our Earth through ecological awareness and environmental stewardship.
  7. To respect the dignity and right-to-life of all members of the animal kingdom.
  8. To encourage the fullest expression of compassion and serenity amongst all members of the human race.
  9. To enable the continued intellectual and emotional growth of our species.
  10. To hold our neighbor to the same esteem that we hold ourselves.
I understand that it might sound a tad bit “rationalistic” and “humanistic” for CA’s tastes, but DO give me your opinion on it.

Personally, I do think that I can see Jesus Christ getting behind most of these.
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As to your list having anything to do with Jesus and His teachings:

I think you ought to actually read the Gospels sometime. Jesus said the greatest commandment was “to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt 22:37). This falls in line with the first (and most important) commandment from God’s “final draft” “I am the Lord your God… you shall have no other gods before me” (Ex 20:2-3). Such would seem to be at the heart of “religious fundamentalism” which you’ve placed in opposition to the teachings of Jesus.

As to the merits of your list:

Honestly, it is nothing more than a rehashing of general “liberal / progressive” principals. I’m not sure why you’d spend years creating a list which any left wing college kid could knock up in 30 minutes. Nothing special here.
 
coachdennis said:
If we lived by the 10 “rules”, known as the Ten Commandments the world would be a much better place.

Rather than re-create the wheel, so to speak, we should commit to actually living out those commandments, rather than providing lip service.
Click to expand...
That’s what I was going to say. God already gave us a set of ten rules to live by about 3300 years ago. No need to reinvent the wheel. 😛

As for the list, most of it sounds all well and good enough. I think there’s a bit of a problem with #7, though. What exactly is that going to look like? Are we going to throw lions in jail for eating antelope? Are those who step on ants (even by accident) going to be charged with murder?
 
Zeldarocks2 said:
I’ve been working on this document on and off for the past year-and-a-half, editing it and refining it as my ideas on life and society have evolved. I finally have accomplished a “final draft” of sorts, and I was wondering what the Social Justice forum thought about it:
  1. To become cognizant of the transcendent beauty and universal truths held in common by all Religions and Creeds.
  2. To promote an end to war whilst emphasizing diplomatic conflict-resolution and the use of defensive measures in contrast with war-mongering ideologies.
  3. To strive towards the dissolution of religious fundamentalism in exchange for a Progressive worldview centered on the teachings of Jesus Christ.
  4. To foster increased respect and acceptance towards all the peoples of the Earth, regardless of race, religious creed, socio-economic status, gender-identity, or individual ability.
  5. To further the full integration of the marginalized into society whilst advocating for the extension of universal human rights, among which are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.
  6. To preserve the integrity of our Earth through ecological awareness and environmental stewardship.
  7. To respect the dignity and right-to-life of all members of the animal kingdom.
  8. To encourage the fullest expression of compassion and serenity amongst all members of the human race.
  9. To enable the continued intellectual and emotional growth of our species.
  10. To hold our neighbor to the same esteem that we hold ourselves.
I understand that it might sound a tad bit “rationalistic” and “humanistic” for CA’s tastes, but DO give me your opinion on it.

Personally, I do think that I can see Jesus Christ getting behind most of these.
Click to expand...
What do you mean by “Progressive” in Rule 3?
 
Reminds me of Pico della Mirandola’s gallant endeavor. I see some problems with your list, though. For one thing, you are creating a new paradigm here–the ultimate truths and principles for living are, according to you, embodied in this list. Thus, you are effectively creating a new religion, not abolishing

Point number one rests on a false premise–that there are universal truths held in common by all creeds. I suppose you could say that every religion requires some sort of morality, but what “morality” consists of varies widely. Is there a god, and if so, how many are there? What is the meaning of life? What is the greatest happiness? Why does evil exist? How do we become close to God (if we believe in Him)? Different religions have different answers to these questions, and no, “love your neighbor” is not a universal truth; different creeds have different answers to “who is my neighbor.”

Point two–reeaally complicated there. Don’t think I’ll get into it, but it is my belief that a) most people don’t want war most of the time; and b) we’ll have war until the world ends. Nothing wrong with sentiments such as “Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me,” though.

Point three–the heart of Christianity, its “fundamental,” if you will, is mankind’s disunity with God restored by Jesus’s death and resurrection. Take that away and you don’t have Christianity, no matter how much you quote from the Sermon on the Mount.

Point four–fine, although some religious creeds (eg nasty forms of Islam that involve destroying unbelievers) are not worthy of respect, and none except Christianity are actually correct.

Point five–fine, worthy goal, though it isn’t going to fix the fundamental (ah, there I go with that word again) need people have for Christ in their lives.

Point six–fine.

Point seven–sorry, humanity alone is made in the image of God. Animals just don’t have the rights (and responsibilities) we do.

Point eight–fine.

Point nine–fine.

Point ten–yeah, that’s enshrined in Christianity already–“Love your neighbor as yourselves.”

All that seems good to me in your list is covered by the Christian faith, which holds out promise not just for an improved world (for which we should all work, of course), but of true joy in this life and for all eternity. Any Progressive master plan seems weak by comparison.
 
Aren’t points 1, 4, 8 and 10 kind of the same thing? Don’t they all boil down to “be nice to people”?
 
Zeldarocks2 said:
  1. To become cognizant of the transcendent beauty and universal truths held in common by all Religions and Creeds.
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Thinking on # 1 more deeply… I feel that we already recognise this goal with the right to religious freedom. It assumes the recognition that there is a transcendent source or a alternate source of truth by which we measure human experience.
 
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