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No Other Gods: The Politics of the Ten Commandments
Ana Levy-Lyons, a public theologian who is equally at home in secular and religious worlds, offers a deeply perceptive reinterpretation of the Ten Commandments for our modern lives.
The Ten Commandments are a spiritual resource for social justice. A politically and spiritually brazen prescription for living, the Ten Commandments would turn our world upside down if we actually followed them. Far from being only ethical norms on which everyone already agrees or a remnant of a bygone oppressive era, the Commandments are actually countercultural practices.
Today the Ten Commandments are a divisive part of American culture. Religious conservatives champion them, even if they don't always practice them. Religious liberals and the nonreligious may bristle at what they perceive as antiquated moral restrictions. But, this ancient code still has vital contemporary relevance. Rev. Levy-Lyons explores ways the Commandments bring us meaning, illuminate our values, and help us navigate through the turbulent waters of social injustice, environmental crises, and societal inequity.
No Other Gods looks at each Commandment in new ways, moving beyond interpersonal morality to the global economy and our hyper-connected age. From the first, You Shall Have No Other Gods Besides Me (Dethrone the Modern Deities of Political, Social, and Corporate Power), to the tenth Do Not Covet (Practice Your Liberation-You Have Enough, You Are Enough)-and all those in between-she underscores how the Commandments can produce a bold spiritual consciousness.
Whether you are deeply religious or spiritual-but-not-religious, learn how the Ten Commandments can guide you to resist injustice, heal our earth, and find personal dignity amid the free-for-alls of modern life. "We don't have to invent a bunch of new practices for a meaningful way to live out our spirituality and social justice politics," says Levy-Lyons. "There is a perfectly good set of ten of them, all ready to go, with as much progressive firepower as any of us can handle, that has existed for some three thousand years."
The Ten Commandments are a spiritual resource for social justice. A politically and spiritually brazen prescription for living, the Ten Commandments would turn our world upside down if we actually followed them. Far from being only ethical norms on which everyone already agrees or a remnant of a bygone oppressive era, the Commandments are actually countercultural practices.
Today the Ten Commandments are a divisive part of American culture. Religious conservatives champion them, even if they don't always practice them. Religious liberals and the nonreligious may bristle at what they perceive as antiquated moral restrictions. But, this ancient code still has vital contemporary relevance. Rev. Levy-Lyons explores ways the Commandments bring us meaning, illuminate our values, and help us navigate through the turbulent waters of social injustice, environmental crises, and societal inequity.
No Other Gods looks at each Commandment in new ways, moving beyond interpersonal morality to the global economy and our hyper-connected age. From the first, You Shall Have No Other Gods Besides Me (Dethrone the Modern Deities of Political, Social, and Corporate Power), to the tenth Do Not Covet (Practice Your Liberation-You Have Enough, You Are Enough)-and all those in between-she underscores how the Commandments can produce a bold spiritual consciousness.
Whether you are deeply religious or spiritual-but-not-religious, learn how the Ten Commandments can guide you to resist injustice, heal our earth, and find personal dignity amid the free-for-alls of modern life. "We don't have to invent a bunch of new practices for a meaningful way to live out our spirituality and social justice politics," says Levy-Lyons. "There is a perfectly good set of ten of them, all ready to go, with as much progressive firepower as any of us can handle, that has existed for some three thousand years."
304 pages, Hardcover
Published March 6, 2018
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April 10, 2018
Summary: A liberal, progressive reading of the Ten Commandments, moving beyond personal morality to the social and political implications of the commands.
It seems that the most attention the Ten Commandments have received of late are controversies about whether or not they may be displayed in court houses and other public settings. Most would perceive that these commandments are the property of the conservative elements of Judaism and Christianity and that more enlightened, secular, humanist, spiritual-but-not-religious approaches liberate people from the oppressive laws and strictures of conservative religion. Yet, Ana Levy-Lyons, the author of this work and a minister of a progressive Unitarian congregation, contends that this freedom from religion hasn't always been liberating, evidenced by record levels of anxiety and depression and an activism lacking in sustaining ethical foundations. She proposes in her introduction to this book:
"We may feel today that we've outgrown the need for the religious strictures of the past. But those very strictures might well have been devised for such a moment as this. Now be when we need them most. Especially today, we need shared commitments to hold ourselves accountable to history, to the future, to one another, and to something larger than all of us. We need faith in our collective power to transform the world toward justice--a power authorized and fueled by the ground of being itself. Choose-your-own-adventure spirituality is inadequate to the challenges we face. We need religious practices like the Ten Commandments that are rooted in a deep and multilayered tradition, that are spiritually rich, and that are intentionally insulated from modern culture."
Levy-Lyons offers an interpretation of these commandments as a radical manifesto of liberation rather than of oppression, empowering resistance to a materialistic, capitalistic society. Inspired by the rabbinic tradition of midrash, she offers a fresh interpretation of the commandments that she hopes both secular liberals and the progressive religious might engage in common.
Beginning with the first command, to have no other gods, she argues that the message of this command is to "dethrone the modern deities of political, social, and corporate power" that pervade our daily life, as well as all the private personal gods that vie for a place in our lives, whether they are ideals of beauty or what she calls the "tyranny of balance." She argues that our relation as a community to the one who is "Being" itself demotes all these other pursuits. Likewise, we should accept no "sculpted images" (the second commandment) as substitutes, whether they be material objects or the sculpting of ourselves or being lured by the power of a brand. She contends, "real life, unfiltered by brands, is spectacular." The third command, of not taking God's name in vain calls upon us to defend God's goodness by refusing to allow others to justify immorality in the name of God, or justifying a culture that celebrates guns or destroys the environment with the idea that this is how God has made the world, that this is just the way things are. It is a call to assert the goodness of God in matters of justice and care for the earth.
Against a 24/7 mentality and a rigid sabbatarianism, the fourth command is an invitation to squander one day every week. It seeks the liberation of those in wage slavery so they can also rest, it says "no" to a relentless consumerism and "yes" to Abraham Joshua Heschel's "palace in time" where we rejoice in enough and linger over meals with friends. It is a dangerously radical waste of time that threatens the "gods" of the other six days. Likewise, in a culture that fosters accountability only to ourselves and leaving home for the next new thing, the fifth commandment calls us to honor parents, and in so doing stay accountable to where we've come from. While not justifying the wrongs that may have been done to us, the command challenges us to honor what made us who we are, that none of us are self-made. Levy-Lyons also extends this to the earth itself, that our accountability to it is connected to our living long in the land.
To not kill is not merely to not murder, but to not let die, and challenges our involvement in systems that kill, whether they are the third world sweatshops that produce our clothes or the bureaucratic systems of a city like Flint that channel toxic water into the homes while diverting them from automotive plants. Our commitment to life may go so far as to abstain from meat or animal products, considering how animals live and die. The seventh command against adultery rejects the idolatry of consumer choice (and unchoosing) in the most intimate of human relationship, to instead turn our choices to protect innocence and to stay in for the long run. The eighth challenges us not only to refrain from taking what is ours directly, but in what we pay for things, and how our choices affect the availability of the world's resources to others. The ninth is not about what counts as a lie but the pursuit of truth, whether in the courts, or in the marketplace or the political arena. She makes trenchant comments about "truthiness" -- lies that sound like they could be true but undermine truth-telling.
She ends with the tenth commandment, to not covet, and recognizes the internal aspect of this command, how in fact coveting precedes all else. Coveting is subverted when we embrace a life of "enough"-- that we have enough and we are enough. She recognizes that to cultivate a life of "enough," that keeps the commands, takes a community (it was fascinating that as a liberal, she includes Rod Dreher's The Benedict Option in her further reading list--perhaps this is why). Her concluding chapter contends that it matters, that pursuing goodness and love multiplies to a thousand generations and in the end, the commands transform into ten blessings, a paraphrase of which she concludes the book.
I found this attempt to interpret the commands to those seeking to escape the oppressiveness of conservative religion fascinating both for the recognition of how these commandments are in fact for our and the world's good, and the radical demands that keeping these commands raise, particularly extending beyond personal and private morality to our concerns about systems and structures and ideologies. Yet as one who exists in a different social space than the author, the insistence on the value of human relations while keeping the deity as a very impersonal Being was puzzling. I was perhaps most troubled by an unwillingness to ask questions about the use of abortion as birth control or the warehousing of the aged among our concerns about killing. There seemed to be more concern about the warehousing of animals than people. Likewise, can we truly talk about adultery without also questioning cohabiting without commitment? There was nothing about how pornography destroys marriages. It felt at times that her reading of the commands comported with the values of progressive community with whom she ministers.
We all find it easier to challenge the transgressions of others than our own. This, actually, is what makes this a good book for me to read because I often do not hear in my faith community the challenges Levy-Lyons gives in this book. At the same time, what I would contend is that these commands are truly radical in challenging "off limits" subjects for all of us, whether this has to do with our consumerism, our exploitation of the planet, or all the ways we distort the wonderful gift of our sexuality, or even our attempts to keep the infinite yet personal God at arms length. What a fascinating conversation might be had, like Bill Moyers' Genesis series, were scholars and ministers across the spectrum gathered to discuss these ten words, ten commandments, ten blessings!
____________________________
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary advance review copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
It seems that the most attention the Ten Commandments have received of late are controversies about whether or not they may be displayed in court houses and other public settings. Most would perceive that these commandments are the property of the conservative elements of Judaism and Christianity and that more enlightened, secular, humanist, spiritual-but-not-religious approaches liberate people from the oppressive laws and strictures of conservative religion. Yet, Ana Levy-Lyons, the author of this work and a minister of a progressive Unitarian congregation, contends that this freedom from religion hasn't always been liberating, evidenced by record levels of anxiety and depression and an activism lacking in sustaining ethical foundations. She proposes in her introduction to this book:
"We may feel today that we've outgrown the need for the religious strictures of the past. But those very strictures might well have been devised for such a moment as this. Now be when we need them most. Especially today, we need shared commitments to hold ourselves accountable to history, to the future, to one another, and to something larger than all of us. We need faith in our collective power to transform the world toward justice--a power authorized and fueled by the ground of being itself. Choose-your-own-adventure spirituality is inadequate to the challenges we face. We need religious practices like the Ten Commandments that are rooted in a deep and multilayered tradition, that are spiritually rich, and that are intentionally insulated from modern culture."
Levy-Lyons offers an interpretation of these commandments as a radical manifesto of liberation rather than of oppression, empowering resistance to a materialistic, capitalistic society. Inspired by the rabbinic tradition of midrash, she offers a fresh interpretation of the commandments that she hopes both secular liberals and the progressive religious might engage in common.
Beginning with the first command, to have no other gods, she argues that the message of this command is to "dethrone the modern deities of political, social, and corporate power" that pervade our daily life, as well as all the private personal gods that vie for a place in our lives, whether they are ideals of beauty or what she calls the "tyranny of balance." She argues that our relation as a community to the one who is "Being" itself demotes all these other pursuits. Likewise, we should accept no "sculpted images" (the second commandment) as substitutes, whether they be material objects or the sculpting of ourselves or being lured by the power of a brand. She contends, "real life, unfiltered by brands, is spectacular." The third command, of not taking God's name in vain calls upon us to defend God's goodness by refusing to allow others to justify immorality in the name of God, or justifying a culture that celebrates guns or destroys the environment with the idea that this is how God has made the world, that this is just the way things are. It is a call to assert the goodness of God in matters of justice and care for the earth.
Against a 24/7 mentality and a rigid sabbatarianism, the fourth command is an invitation to squander one day every week. It seeks the liberation of those in wage slavery so they can also rest, it says "no" to a relentless consumerism and "yes" to Abraham Joshua Heschel's "palace in time" where we rejoice in enough and linger over meals with friends. It is a dangerously radical waste of time that threatens the "gods" of the other six days. Likewise, in a culture that fosters accountability only to ourselves and leaving home for the next new thing, the fifth commandment calls us to honor parents, and in so doing stay accountable to where we've come from. While not justifying the wrongs that may have been done to us, the command challenges us to honor what made us who we are, that none of us are self-made. Levy-Lyons also extends this to the earth itself, that our accountability to it is connected to our living long in the land.
To not kill is not merely to not murder, but to not let die, and challenges our involvement in systems that kill, whether they are the third world sweatshops that produce our clothes or the bureaucratic systems of a city like Flint that channel toxic water into the homes while diverting them from automotive plants. Our commitment to life may go so far as to abstain from meat or animal products, considering how animals live and die. The seventh command against adultery rejects the idolatry of consumer choice (and unchoosing) in the most intimate of human relationship, to instead turn our choices to protect innocence and to stay in for the long run. The eighth challenges us not only to refrain from taking what is ours directly, but in what we pay for things, and how our choices affect the availability of the world's resources to others. The ninth is not about what counts as a lie but the pursuit of truth, whether in the courts, or in the marketplace or the political arena. She makes trenchant comments about "truthiness" -- lies that sound like they could be true but undermine truth-telling.
She ends with the tenth commandment, to not covet, and recognizes the internal aspect of this command, how in fact coveting precedes all else. Coveting is subverted when we embrace a life of "enough"-- that we have enough and we are enough. She recognizes that to cultivate a life of "enough," that keeps the commands, takes a community (it was fascinating that as a liberal, she includes Rod Dreher's The Benedict Option in her further reading list--perhaps this is why). Her concluding chapter contends that it matters, that pursuing goodness and love multiplies to a thousand generations and in the end, the commands transform into ten blessings, a paraphrase of which she concludes the book.
I found this attempt to interpret the commands to those seeking to escape the oppressiveness of conservative religion fascinating both for the recognition of how these commandments are in fact for our and the world's good, and the radical demands that keeping these commands raise, particularly extending beyond personal and private morality to our concerns about systems and structures and ideologies. Yet as one who exists in a different social space than the author, the insistence on the value of human relations while keeping the deity as a very impersonal Being was puzzling. I was perhaps most troubled by an unwillingness to ask questions about the use of abortion as birth control or the warehousing of the aged among our concerns about killing. There seemed to be more concern about the warehousing of animals than people. Likewise, can we truly talk about adultery without also questioning cohabiting without commitment? There was nothing about how pornography destroys marriages. It felt at times that her reading of the commands comported with the values of progressive community with whom she ministers.
We all find it easier to challenge the transgressions of others than our own. This, actually, is what makes this a good book for me to read because I often do not hear in my faith community the challenges Levy-Lyons gives in this book. At the same time, what I would contend is that these commands are truly radical in challenging "off limits" subjects for all of us, whether this has to do with our consumerism, our exploitation of the planet, or all the ways we distort the wonderful gift of our sexuality, or even our attempts to keep the infinite yet personal God at arms length. What a fascinating conversation might be had, like Bill Moyers' Genesis series, were scholars and ministers across the spectrum gathered to discuss these ten words, ten commandments, ten blessings!
____________________________
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary advance review copy of this book from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
December 2, 2024
A friend in a women’s group that I attend recommended that we read this book. No one in the group had heard of the author or her book, which surprised me when I received my copy of the book and read the glowing praise on its opening pages from well known theologians, primarily Jewish. I searched the archives of Christian Century but found no mention of it there. I wondered how it had escaped the attention of progressive Christian thinkers. Both the topic and the author’s insightful application to the present time deserve a wide audience of open hearts and minds. One reviewer declared it to be “scripture for our age.” If not life-changing, I can assert that it is certainly a life-enhancing book.
Levy-Lyons is well-situated for her writing task. She straddles worlds as a practicing Jew who is Senior Minister of a Unitarian congregation in Brooklyn, with added experience as a Gen-Xer of the gig economy and startup risk-taker. Yet she fearlessly exposes the selfishness of current American culture while making the case that Jewish wisdom has something very valuable to contribute to humanity as a whole. Grounding ourselves in the wisdom of the Ten Commandments is perhaps the best preparation for the struggle with the political realities of today. With Levy-Lyons’ help we can look hopefully toward a future of justice, liberation and love for all.
Not many people can honestly say that their lives are grounded in the Ten Commandments. Although granted lip service of respect, the Ten Commandments have been immobilized in archaic language carved into stone, to be worshiped, memorized and set upon a shelf. Nearly everyone observes them to some extent but we lack understanding of their true significance and application to the problems we face. Levy-Lyons corrects this misunderstanding in the first chapter, first by defining them as simply ten “things” or “statements” (from the Hebrew word devarim) and then by revealing them to be practices of liberation. Each liberating statement provides a distinct vantage point from which to view the narratives of oppression in our own times and then to open a pathway to corrective practices.
All through the book I longed for a yellow highlighter to mark the moments when I said “Aha!” The book would have been colored a bright yellow by the time I finished reading. Instead I decided that this book must be read a second, perhaps a third time. It is a book to be shared and discussed and struggled with, and a helpful guide for discussion or private contemplation is included.
Levy-Lyons concludes her commentary with an altogether different perspective on the Commandments, one in which YHVH speaks to us lovingly, inviting us with chesed (Lovingkindness) toward liberation. This is accomplished by inverting each statement, transforming it into a blessing. The challenging words of the tenth commandment, Do not covet, are rewritten into this beautiful conclusion to the book, May you be blessed with enough; may you always be filled with the freedom, joy, and dignity of YHVH.
Levy-Lyons is well-situated for her writing task. She straddles worlds as a practicing Jew who is Senior Minister of a Unitarian congregation in Brooklyn, with added experience as a Gen-Xer of the gig economy and startup risk-taker. Yet she fearlessly exposes the selfishness of current American culture while making the case that Jewish wisdom has something very valuable to contribute to humanity as a whole. Grounding ourselves in the wisdom of the Ten Commandments is perhaps the best preparation for the struggle with the political realities of today. With Levy-Lyons’ help we can look hopefully toward a future of justice, liberation and love for all.
Not many people can honestly say that their lives are grounded in the Ten Commandments. Although granted lip service of respect, the Ten Commandments have been immobilized in archaic language carved into stone, to be worshiped, memorized and set upon a shelf. Nearly everyone observes them to some extent but we lack understanding of their true significance and application to the problems we face. Levy-Lyons corrects this misunderstanding in the first chapter, first by defining them as simply ten “things” or “statements” (from the Hebrew word devarim) and then by revealing them to be practices of liberation. Each liberating statement provides a distinct vantage point from which to view the narratives of oppression in our own times and then to open a pathway to corrective practices.
All through the book I longed for a yellow highlighter to mark the moments when I said “Aha!” The book would have been colored a bright yellow by the time I finished reading. Instead I decided that this book must be read a second, perhaps a third time. It is a book to be shared and discussed and struggled with, and a helpful guide for discussion or private contemplation is included.
Levy-Lyons concludes her commentary with an altogether different perspective on the Commandments, one in which YHVH speaks to us lovingly, inviting us with chesed (Lovingkindness) toward liberation. This is accomplished by inverting each statement, transforming it into a blessing. The challenging words of the tenth commandment, Do not covet, are rewritten into this beautiful conclusion to the book, May you be blessed with enough; may you always be filled with the freedom, joy, and dignity of YHVH.
March 2, 2018
No Other Gods is a deeper look into the Ten Commandments in a new way that will move you in a bold way. I really enjoyed this book and was surprised at how much I loved it. This book will bring the Ten Commandments alive in a way that you've never read before. I love the application of this book and how it challenges the readers to live a more conscious life following Jesus. This book is one that I think is unshakeable for the times we live in now and for the world that will move forward. This book helped guide me into understanding the commandments with a different lens, how to practically apply them and how to live them out. I think this book is a great resource and one to pull off the shelf from time to time. I give this book a 4.5/5 stars.
April 2, 2018
I won this book through GoodReads First Read program.
Levy-Lyons does a remarkable job of taking God's word and twisting it and turning it to be used for justify her leftwing political views. She walks us through each of the 10 Commandments and tells you that commandment doesn't mean what you were taught it meant and it really means something completely different. Despite what Levy -Lyons would have you believe God's Word doesn't change, we do.
I am a conservative evangelical Christian and I disagree with much of what Levy-Lyons has set forth in this book. She is quite inventive and is good at twisting things to prove her point.
Levy-Lyons does a remarkable job of taking God's word and twisting it and turning it to be used for justify her leftwing political views. She walks us through each of the 10 Commandments and tells you that commandment doesn't mean what you were taught it meant and it really means something completely different. Despite what Levy -Lyons would have you believe God's Word doesn't change, we do.
I am a conservative evangelical Christian and I disagree with much of what Levy-Lyons has set forth in this book. She is quite inventive and is good at twisting things to prove her point.
March 28, 2019
Very thought provoking read. Makes the 10 Commandments relevant to life in today's 21st Century hustle and bustle. Stresses the importance of truth, dignity, community and authenticity.
Most people are familiar with the Ten Commandments as a general concept but are unable to name them or explain how they guide their daily lives. That is definitely true for me. No Other Gods provides key insights and interpretations that are relevant to all individuals who reside in western society. It is a well researched argument that will make the reader review and question their routine and challenge them to live a better life.
Most people are familiar with the Ten Commandments as a general concept but are unable to name them or explain how they guide their daily lives. That is definitely true for me. No Other Gods provides key insights and interpretations that are relevant to all individuals who reside in western society. It is a well researched argument that will make the reader review and question their routine and challenge them to live a better life.
April 2, 2018
This book will challenge your view, not just of what the 10 Commandments mean, but of what religion can mean in your life. This is a beautiful counter-cultural view of what our relationships can be, how we can connect with the world around us, how we can see ourselves. Even if you’re a good person who tries to do the right thing, this book will challenge you to do more, in the best and most encouraging way.
April 16, 2025
I really thought this book was going to be good but it was a disaster.
its by a practicing Jew who talks about different religions etc.,
about Muslims , Christians and Jews.
I really had high hopes for it but it was not my cup of tea!.
it could have been much better.
it was about the politics of the ten commandments and about Moses etc.!.
there are better books to be read.
there was nothing inside it!.
its by a practicing Jew who talks about different religions etc.,
about Muslims , Christians and Jews.
I really had high hopes for it but it was not my cup of tea!.
it could have been much better.
it was about the politics of the ten commandments and about Moses etc.!.
there are better books to be read.
there was nothing inside it!.
August 15, 2019
I greatly appreciate this book and the new perspectives it brings to the table, ESPECIALLY for the sixth and tenth commandments. It’s a must read for anyone who feels like they already KNOW the Ten Commandments.
I would give it a 4 if it had in-text citations available for some of the information it includes.
I would give it a 4 if it had in-text citations available for some of the information it includes.
March 20, 2018
A thorough understanding of the ten commandments , which were originally written in Hebrew, and how to apply them in our daily lives. Enlightning. Thank you Goodreads for this free book!!!!!
March 25, 2022
Up to date look at the 10 Commandments that shows their inherent relevancy for our times.
June 23, 2021
I'd really rate this book 3 1/2 stars; I had a hard time choosing whether to round up or down.
Full disclosure: I went into this book self-identifying as a politically liberal Christian.
In this book, Ana Levy-Lyons shows us how the Ten Commandments support liberal Christianity. "Liberal Christianity" may seem like an oxymoron if your idea of Christianity is what is presented by the conservative, right-wing Christians who seem to dominate the American religious landscape. But here, Levy-Lyons even goes so far as to call out the religious right for the ways in which their interpretation of Christianity actually breaks some of the Ten Commandments.
Interestingly, I associated the Ten Commandments so strongly with Christianity that I was a bit surprised when I realized the author is Jewish. But of course, the first five books of the Old Testament are the Torah, so the Ten Commandments are as much a part of Judaism as they are a part of Christianity.
Rather than write off the Ten Commandments as irredeemably outdated, oppressive, and a symbol of tribalism, the author encourages us to reclaim these ancient teachings within the context of modern times. She is clear that she is not trying to define what the Ten Commandments "actually" mean; instead, she examines the original text of each commandment and extends the interpretation beyond the literal. What do the Ten Commandments offer us, spiritually and politically, in the 21st century? Levy-Lyons proposes that keeping the Ten Commandments is to "reclaim...the concept of God...as a force for justice and stewardship of the earth." (p. 96) She leads us to think beyond our individual selves to see how the Ten Commandments can shape our thinking in regards to broader issues such as protecting the environment and supporting a living minimum wage.
The chapter on the Fourth Commandment about observing the Sabbath especially resonated with me. The author interprets this Commandment as urging us to take time to slow down and take care of ourselves on a regular basis, engaging in "joyful, life-affirming, relationship-building, or spiritually deepening deployments of our time." (p. 112) She notes the irony in how, in our over-scheduled world of commitments and busy-ness, "it takes discipline...to enter into an undisciplined, formless time." (p. 119)
The chapter on the Sixth Commandment that forbids killing was also especially eye-opening for me. (The commandment is not as straightforward as one might expect.)
I admit, the writing in this book didn't grab me at first. What finally made the book click for me was imagining the words being spoken as in a sermon. The whole book is like a really great, thought-provoking sermon series.
I do wish the book, as a work of non-fiction, had references. The author makes a lot of statements that we are expected to accept at face value, without being given a source. Statements like, "Over one billion people in the world lack access to safe drinking water," (p. 166) and, "Today in the United States the average CEO makes a salary several hundred times that of the average worker." (p. 202) I know these statements are in the ballpark of being true (I don't know exact figures) because I keep up with the news and current events. But I can see someone else doubting those kinds of statements, wondering if maybe she's exaggerating.
Full disclosure: I went into this book self-identifying as a politically liberal Christian.
In this book, Ana Levy-Lyons shows us how the Ten Commandments support liberal Christianity. "Liberal Christianity" may seem like an oxymoron if your idea of Christianity is what is presented by the conservative, right-wing Christians who seem to dominate the American religious landscape. But here, Levy-Lyons even goes so far as to call out the religious right for the ways in which their interpretation of Christianity actually breaks some of the Ten Commandments.
Interestingly, I associated the Ten Commandments so strongly with Christianity that I was a bit surprised when I realized the author is Jewish. But of course, the first five books of the Old Testament are the Torah, so the Ten Commandments are as much a part of Judaism as they are a part of Christianity.
Rather than write off the Ten Commandments as irredeemably outdated, oppressive, and a symbol of tribalism, the author encourages us to reclaim these ancient teachings within the context of modern times. She is clear that she is not trying to define what the Ten Commandments "actually" mean; instead, she examines the original text of each commandment and extends the interpretation beyond the literal. What do the Ten Commandments offer us, spiritually and politically, in the 21st century? Levy-Lyons proposes that keeping the Ten Commandments is to "reclaim...the concept of God...as a force for justice and stewardship of the earth." (p. 96) She leads us to think beyond our individual selves to see how the Ten Commandments can shape our thinking in regards to broader issues such as protecting the environment and supporting a living minimum wage.
The chapter on the Fourth Commandment about observing the Sabbath especially resonated with me. The author interprets this Commandment as urging us to take time to slow down and take care of ourselves on a regular basis, engaging in "joyful, life-affirming, relationship-building, or spiritually deepening deployments of our time." (p. 112) She notes the irony in how, in our over-scheduled world of commitments and busy-ness, "it takes discipline...to enter into an undisciplined, formless time." (p. 119)
The chapter on the Sixth Commandment that forbids killing was also especially eye-opening for me. (The commandment is not as straightforward as one might expect.)
I admit, the writing in this book didn't grab me at first. What finally made the book click for me was imagining the words being spoken as in a sermon. The whole book is like a really great, thought-provoking sermon series.
I do wish the book, as a work of non-fiction, had references. The author makes a lot of statements that we are expected to accept at face value, without being given a source. Statements like, "Over one billion people in the world lack access to safe drinking water," (p. 166) and, "Today in the United States the average CEO makes a salary several hundred times that of the average worker." (p. 202) I know these statements are in the ballpark of being true (I don't know exact figures) because I keep up with the news and current events. But I can see someone else doubting those kinds of statements, wondering if maybe she's exaggerating.
June 26, 2018
I loved "No Other Gods" by Ana Levy-Lyons. It brings a different perspective on the ten commandments and applies them to our modern world. I highly recommended this book for anyone who is interested at seeing the ten commandments in a new light.
I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a review copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion of it.
I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a review copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion of it.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews