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Summary: The Counter Cultural 10 Commandments
Review: The Ten Commandments that a judge from Alabama fought to hang on the wall were not the commandments of God that Christians serve. Those same commandments are not a general call for morality that can save the pluralistic society of the United States of America. According to the authors, these commandments must be understood within the context of the Christian community. This work declares the Ten Commandments to be the way that the worshiping church relates to God and each other. Hauerwas and Willimon seek to explain the commandments from that context so that they may be known "perfectly."Only the worshiping church is able to understand the Ten Commandments. They are not, as explained by the authors, "timeless ethical principles that are applicable to all Americans." This work reclaims another part of the church's heritage necessary for life as resident aliens. Clearly, Hauerwas and Willimon are working within and driving the trend toward understanding the church as a community. Their attack on American individualism serves to push the church to understanding itself as a holy people. These holy people are the possession of the "God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the God of Jesus Christ." The Truth about God is a striking look at the Ten Commandments. This work exposes the ways that our society is so sinful that the institution of the Church is the only hope for Christians to survive and obey God. Only within this context are the people of God able to truly obey his words to us. Despite the informal tone of some sections of the book, it strikes deeply in exposing our sinfulness and the churches need for grace. Hauerwas and Willimon teach at Duke University in Durham North Carolina. Hauerwas serves as the professor of Theological Ethics, and Willimon serves as the Dean of the Chapel and professor of Christian Ministry.
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