The Ten Commandments: A Fresh Look at the Code of Conduct Set Forth in the Old Testament

by J. Michael Orenduff

An award-winning author offers a fresh look at the code of conduct set forth in the Old Testament.
 
The Ten Commandments are in dire need of an update. After all, how many of us truly understand what it means to covet something? Or what constitutes making a graven image? But how do we revise the Bible? Isn't it blasphemous to suggest that the Word of God needs improvement?
 
Author J. Michael Orenduff, who taught philosophy and religion for forty years, is not proposing that we change God's words, but our understanding of them. The world has changed a great deal since the rules were handed down to Moses on Mount Sinai. And since we are no longer nomads roaming the desert, the time has come for an interpretation that provides meaning and guidance in today's complex society. For example, what exactly does honoring one's mother and father mean in a single-parent household—or one with two mothers? How should we interpret the command "Thou shalt not kill" when it comes to wielding a weapon in self-defense or on the frontlines of a just war? In an era when truth has become as variable as the individual broadcasting it on social media, shouldn't the rule about bearing false witness be broadened to hold more people accountable?
 
In a warm, witty voice, Orenduff grapples with the moral code outlined in the Old Testament, examining differing theological traditions to offer an understanding of God's commandments that is accessible and meaningful for the modern reader.

102 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 18, 2025

About the author

Mike Orenduff grew up in a house so close to the Rio Grand that he could frisbee a tortilla into Mexico. Despite such antics, he ended up in higher education, teaching at thirteen colleges in eight states and three countries. He was also an academic dean three times, an academic vice-president twice, a president four times, and a statewide chancellor once. His supporters say he welcomes new challenges. His critics say he cant hold a job. Newt Gingrich, in his book, To Renew America, called Orenduff A hero to the American People for his pioneering work in distance education.
After taking early retirement form higher education, Mike embarked on a new career as a fiction writer. His play, The Christmas Visitor, has won numerous awards. His murder mystery series has also received many accolades. The first in the series, The Pot Thief Who Studied Pythagoras, won the Dark Oak Mystery Contest and the Kindle version won the 2010 EPIC Award as the eBook of the Year in the Mystery/Suspense Category. The second book in the series, The Pot Thief Who Studied Ptolemy, was recently selected as the Fiction Book of the Year by the Public Safety Writers Association. Although the Pot Thief books are humorous murder mysteries, they also contain serious treatments of the issue of race and ethnicity.
Mike and Lai, his high school sweetheart, wife of forty-five years and noted art historian, have two grown children. Jay is a dean at Columbia University in New York, and Claire teaches art history at Georgia College and more importantly is the mother of their grandson, Bram.