The Ten commandments : how our most ancient moral text can renew modern life / David Hazony.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hazony, David.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Ten commandments--Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Ten commandments.

Physical Description:

xiv, 288 pages ; 24 cm

Edition:

First Scribner hardcover edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Scribner, [2010]

Summary:

Journalist and philosopher David Hazony offers a new look at our most venerable moral text. Combining a fresh reading of the Old Testament's most riveting stories and ancient rabbinic legends with an exploration of what ails society today, Hazony shows that the Ten Commandments are not just a set of obscure laws but encapsulate a deeply valuable approach to life, as relevant now as it was when they first appeared more than two millennia ago. He begins with a daring claim: Although they have become a universally recognizable symbol of biblically based religion, they are not, strictly speaking, a religious text. Rather than making a statement about faith or mystical realms inaccessible to reason, they contain a coherent prescription for how to make a better world. At their core stands what Hazony calls the "spirit of redemption," which he describes as one of the two basic spiritual components of Western civilization.--From publisher description.

Contents:

Redemption

Morality and loneliness

Our lies destroy us

The redemptive self

Wisdom of the heart

The meaning of life

Love and ecstasy

Making room for others

Our communities, ourselves

Peace.

Notes:

1st Scribner hardcover ed.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781416562351

1416562354

9781416562405

1416562400

9781416562511

1416562516

OCLC:

457770069