Rumours of a Better Country: Searching for trust and community in a time of moral outrage

by Marsh Moyle

Hyper-individualism and consumerism are failing to satisfy our hunger for meaning. We face an identity crisis in which real community is increasingly hard to find. The culture wars have been painful and polarising and have proved a poor way to agree any kind of moral standards. Is it even possible to find a vision for goodness that can bring us together?

Rumours of a Better Country addresses our hunger for justice and a better way of living by awakening our moral imagination to the potential of a trusting community. Drawing on ancient wisdom and looking through the lens of daily reality, it shows how trust and trustworthiness must be the foundation for any kind of meaningful freedom.

Through the questions and mysteries of the ‘Café Now and Not Yet’, readers will experience chance encounters with Palestinians in a pub in communist Czechoslovakia, appreciate an intriguing sculpture from Romania and hear post-communist Ukrainians struggling to imagine a better life. Each of these encounters provides a real-life context for a rich and provocative journey into the heart of goodness and why it matters.

272 pages, Hardcover

Published January 18, 2024

Reviews

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

what if we wanted to actually follow the decalogue? what would change?

the prose was a bit meandering at times, but just picture yourself at l'abri. also I'm interested in more books built around meditating on one piece of art, is thay a subgenre?

my opinion changed from like 3 stars to 4 stars to 5 stars while reading... I think I'll keep thinking about this one for a while! recommending, especially to Ben/Matt/Julia.

[Martha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good ideas in this book. Lots underlined. But quite a challenging read as very meandering. I enjoyed it more after attending conference with the author and reading in groups. It’s a book that benefits from being read in community. Given its topic that probably isn’t surprising!

[Anna donohue · Rating 5 out of 5]

found myself talking and thinking about this book often. i have never read anything like it - unpacking the joy there is to be found in the ten commandments! would recommend to anyone!!!!

[Frank Peters · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an excellent book, and almost certainly deserves a higher rating than I have given. My rating is based on my personal reading of the book, which was not done as recommended by the author. The book is designed to be read in community and discussed with others. In that context it would have been much, much better. I unfortunately am not aware of people who live nearby and read these types of books and with whom I could have a discussion.

The book is centred on the decalogue, or the ten commandments and the premise is that these “ten words” are a recipe for a “better country”. Each chapter demonstrates why this is so. The style of the book is what I will describe as artistic philosophy. The author attempts to write in the loose way that a conversation might progress, with many “what if” type statements. This made it difficult to hang on to anything particular in each chapter, while at the same time getting an interesting overview that required much more thought (and ideally discussion). A simple example of what the author argues can be made around the command to not steal. If we lived in a country without any theft, we would not need passwords, keys, locks or any security measures. This would save money and resources that could be used for better things. Each one of the commandments has a similar potential. Then, ultimately all of them can be summarised as Jesus did in: love God and love your neighbour.

[Peter Day · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was encouraged to read this book and did so with considerable scepticism. However, I was pleasantly surprised. The book takes a fresh look at the ten commandments and the implications for them in our lives and, particularly, in society. While I didn't agree with all the conclusions, the book made me think a lot, which is a good thing.

In the introduction, the author warns us that this is not a book that can be speed read. It requires slow reading and careful consideration, but is worth the effort. It may even challenge the way you think, especially if you live in western individualistic society.

My main disappointment was that there could have been a clearer presentation of how a person can come to know the author of the ten commandments through the one they point to, Jesus Christ. It is a book I would like to give to thinking sceptics, but I would like a more punchy gospel conclusion.

[Bradley Endsor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book yet often felt like the Ten Commandments and how Moses applied and understood them was a sidebar to a book that overall lays out some good thoughts about the Kingdom Jesus is building. This is a book I will probably revisit and look forward to engaging further in how the Ten Commandments still have abiding validity to our society and communities