Toward A Culture Of Freedom [Hardcover]

The Ten Commandments belong to the classics of Western culture. They are an authoritative part of the Hebrew and the Christian Scriptures. Since they come to us from an ancient past, it is both necessary and worthwhile to inquire what they may mean for us today. Thorwald Lorenzen contends it is important to hear God's invitation to an alternative lifestyle: you shall not kill, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not covet. His thoughtful reflections on the commandments for today's tumultuous world begin with the God who speaks ten word to liberate God's people from oppression. Grounded in God's liberating yes, the ten words are neither laws nor rules. They are elements for a culture of freedom in which people are invited to celebrate life. Thorwald Lorenzen presents an inspiring call to embrace freedom as a matter of spiritual inheritance and destiny. Pastors and prophets alike will use this text to sharpen their vision, and every reader will find in it a guide to break free from those chains that bind them. --David Batstone, author, Professor of Ethics, University of San Francisco, and President, NOT For Sale Combining exegetical acumen with sharp theological insight, Lorenzen has produced a fresh and deeply profound meditation on the Ten Words of the Torah. Filled with historical and contemporary illustrations, Lorenzen proves that the Decalogue is as relevant, practical, challenging, and disturbing today as ever. Highly readable yet informed by a lifetime of scholarly study, Lorenzen's book will be immensely valuable to both pastors and laypersons and would make an excellent supplemental classroom text. The appendices on interpreting the Ten Commandments and on making ethical decisions make a book that is already well worth the price a bargain indeed. --Kent Blevins, Professor, Department of Religious Studies and Philosophy, Gardner-Webb University Here is the most careful and relevant study of the Ten Commandments now alƒ(