The myth of Abraham and Isaac encapsulates the evil of Bahai’i, Christianity, Islam and Judaism. It promotes the idea that unquestioning obedience to the dictates of authority will turn out alright in the end. “I was only following orders.” is not an excuse for evil, but the Abrahamic religions promote unquestioning obedience.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prometheus tells of the myth of Prometheus who defied the Gods to bring fire to humankind. He was punished for it, but his story is far more inspiring than the servility and unquestioning obedience of Abraham. The Bible accepts slavery and promotes unquestioning obedience along with religious intolerance.

Josephus wrote: "Give them from Infancy strong personal and moral values that direct and protect them and their society for life.”

Although there is some good in the Bible it contains so much evil that it is not a good source for strong personal and moral values. I think the best way to give your children strong personal and moral values is to set a good example by exhibiting those values yourself.

However, one can find better values than those found in the Bible. In my opinion the following humanist principles are a good guide.

http://vgweb.org/manussa/coreprin.htm contains the principles and commentary on them.

H1. The only relevant spheres of action for humans are humanity in a collective sense, individual human beings, and the physical environment (nature) in which they operate.

H2. Human beings are not subject to God or any divine agency. They have no obligation to love, fear or obey any such supernatural agent.

H3. All beliefs must be founded on reason and human experience. Where the progress of knowledge reveals that any belief is or becomes untenable it should be abandoned.

H4. All human beings are entitled to inalienable human rights such as those enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

H5. These rights inhere to humans from the time the human fetus becomes a viable biological entity capable of independent existence without physical or organic dependence on another human being.

continued

continued

H6. Humans do not have a right of dominion over animals and the environment, it being recognized that humans along with many other species of animals do change their environment by their very existence.

H7. Children shall not be subjected to physical and mental abuse, nor to religious or political indoctrination by parents or others. The rights of children should be codified in a charter of children's' rights.

H8. Civil laws should be arrived at by a collective consensual process and should promote the common good, not the tenets of a particular religion or philosophy.

H9. Special privileges should not be given to any group on the basis of religious or philosophical belief, nor should any group be discriminated against on grounds such as race, ethnicity, beliefs, gender or age.

H10. There is no conclusive evidence that life exists after death so humans should exert themselves primarily in terms of their present life.

H11. The following ethical principles should in general be promoted:

1. Abstaining from conduct injurious to life and the physical well-being of persons.
2. Abstaining from the theft of property of others
3. Abstaining from sexual violence and misconduct
4. Abstaining from falsehood, fraud and deception
5. Abstaining from drunkenness, narcotics and mind bending drugs

H12. Humanism should develop an attitude of compassion to those in a state of suffering from whatever cause that leads to the suffering, and seek to engage in action that alleviates this suffering.

Humanism is an arbitrary and irrational value-system.

It just happens to pick and select certain positive elements from certain religions.

It defies all logic that something so temporary and inconsequential as a human life, or even the life of humanity, should be of value and further, that it should be of more value than the life of an animal, a light-bulb or a sand-castle.

Paul,

"The one thing that all religions have in common is the requirement that devotees must have a blind faith in a god(s)...."

How did you manage to get that so wrong?

David F

Human right to life is only important to humans

It doesn't exist in nature, the natural world.

Nature without immunisation and modern day medicine would wipe
Millions and millions of people out every year, those in infant years
And many before the age of 20years.

This was the norm a short 115years ago.
Human rights aren't respected by the animal, reptile or insect populations like mosquitos
Either.

Let a puny human venture into animal territory without guns or weapons
He,d soon find out how little he mattered to a crocodile,lion or shark.

It is clear that human right to life is merely a very recent emotive idea
Based around the ego of the human species.

David,
Abraham was emerging from a culture of infant sacrifice, give him a break! The culture expected it of him, his peers were doing it, He rejected it against the culture of his former religion. Similarly today teenage pregnancy can equally have peer and boyfriend pressure to take the life of the unborn. It takes courage to stand against peer pressure. Of course you haven't the courage to change your mind to recognize this development in his life. Initially he had no conviction about it, till it was revealed to him atonement did not need to take a human life, the sacrifice could be an animal.

I will look more closely at these laws you have suggested to control people. Unless you have educated peoples conscience and they accept the values no laws will ever be accepted. Self control and love of the values and selfless love of one's neighbor is the answer.