Secular Imperative

In 2008 I came to a realization about my own internal morality that is subtle but I think might help others, which I call the Secular Imperative:

1. Because of the phenomenon of hallucination and coincidence, God knows you can never be 100% sure there is or is not a God.
2. Therefore, God will judge you on your decisions not only by how much you followed God's will, but also by OTHER justifications you found to make your decision.
3. God is judging you on your ability to make good decisions even when you are not 100% sure of the reality of God.
4. This means God expects you to find good reasons to do the right thing besides edicts supposedly from God.

Growing up LDS, we say we "know" rather than "we believe." For the LDS God is waiting to hear from you, just barely outside of your peripheral vision, hoping you will start a correspondence with God. The LDS religion is rife with potent mojo: I can tell you story after story about personal experiences that would show why I would be lying if I didn't use the word "know" when I say "I know there is a God." 

But here's the problem: how do I know I am not crazy? How do I know have not had hallucinations or experienced some extraordinarily incredible coincidences? But since I actually am very confident that there is a God, I am also confident that God knows that no matter what, I have to entertain some possible chance that I am wrong about God's existence.

Therefore, I am confident that God's view of me and my decisions is in the context of me never being able to be sure if God exists or not. Therefore it is critical for me to have justifications for my decisions that go beyond obedience to "God's will." It is important to God for me to explore why doing something is right or wrong beyond religious justification.

THAT is what I call the "Secular Imperative." Here are two examples:

• Word of Wisdom (LDS rules about not drinking, smoking, using illicit drugs, etc.): that stuff is expensive and bad for your health. Nothing epitomizes trying to buy happiness like spending big bucks on happy pills. I am better off without risking some kind of chemical addiction.
• Chastity (sex only with one person you are married to): Do I want to complicate my life with affairs? Do I want to spend the money it would take for me to have an affair? Do I want to risk the expenses and isolation of divorce? Do I really want to risk having a child outside of my current marriage? Do I want to have to help some woman decide if she wants an abortion because of my wayward penis? Would I like to risk catching an STD? Has any women ever "made me happy," is that even a fair thing to expect out of a lover? NOPE!

The Secular Imperative is not a disregard for God's advice, nor is it blind obedience to religious edicts. The Secular Imperative is a serious exploration of the reasoning behind God's will by taking a stark inventory of the world God gave us.