In the introduction Chittister states: “We need to think again about the moral fibres of society. We need to think about them a great deal in fact. If we fail to rethink what it means to be a Christian, to be a carrier of the Judeo-Christian tradition, in this day and age, the next day and age may be far more stark, exceedingly more threatening, extremely less hopeful, seriously less spiritual than any we have ever known before.”
Sr Joan Chittister was one of the stand-out speakers at the Parliament of World Religions in Melbourne. So when a DVD was published by Faith and Reason (http://faithandreason.org/) of Chittister presenting this book in person, I could not resist. People who attended the subsequent study at All Saints Floreat Uniting Church were not disappointed.
Chittister embraces a great depth of learning. She begins with the earliest origins of each commandment within Hebrew society, before progressing to the contemporary world and then to our own personal circumstances. Throughout, Chittister returns to what the Ten Commandments are and are not, “They are not about restrictions; they are an adventure in human growth.”
The book explores what it means to be a moral person in the world today where our actions affect not only our own lives or those of our neighbour, but those on the other side of the world.
Richard Smith