39 of 53 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
The 10C's on the dissecting table, June 16, 2000
Dr. Schlessinger and Rabbi Vogel have organized their book in the most straightforward fashion imaginable. The 319 pages of text are doled out at the rate of one chapter per commandment, in numerical order. The back cover contains a handy condensed list which shows, at a glance, how the commandments divide into two natural groups.
The first group, 1 through 4, contains doctrinal commands bearing directly on religious practices and traditions. The second group, 5 through 10, consists of social interaction rules which are not intrinsically religious at all, but rather address behavioral issues very familiar to anyone who has reached adulthood in the company of other humans.
It has always seemed to me that the doctrinal commandments (I'm your God; don't worship any other gods; don't blaspheme; keep the Sabbath) offer next-to-zero practical guidance for solving moral problems. Hence I was especially curious to see how Dr. Schlessinger and Rabbi Vogel would treat the initial four commandments in their effort to relate them to everyday life. One answer is, "thoroughly" -- roughly 44,000 words of commentary for 190 words of commandment. The result literally defies summary, but I'll try.
C1). The authors characterize the First Commandment as a challenge to take relationships with God seriously, as a means for laying down the authority of one God, and as a reminder that proper interaction with God is covenantal, not casual. Five supporting points are made by stating reservations that a person might have in accepting doctrinal-command obligations, then giving a rejoinder or counter-argument in parentheses. The first is
"Abdication of personal freedom (but not so - you always retain free will)."
Fair enough. The fifth is
"Acquiescence of intellect to ancient mysticism (but imagining one's own intellect as the ultimate possible intelligence and power is supreme arrogance)."
Oops. Note that the rejoinder spuriously attempts to limit the possible responses to two. In truth the reader does NOT have to choose between a) acquiescing to mysticism or b) appointing himself Master of the Universe. It is entirely possible to reject mysticism and remain one's humble self. In fact, I and many others do it regularly. In the end, the First Commandment remains about as simple as it sounds: I'm the main man; I rescued you from Egypt; take it or leave it.
C2). In the opening pages of the C2 (false idols) chapter, the authors quote from Exodus 34:6,7, describing God as one "...Who cleanses -- but does not cleanse completely, recalling the iniquity of parents upon children and grandchildren...". In my Bible, a similar threat of generational pass-through punishment for idolatry is included in the wording of C2 itself (Exodus 20:5,6). If there is any moral point on which every resident of Earth could intellectually and instinctively agree, it would be that each child is rightfully born innocent. What, then, should we think of an authority figure who takes vengeance by deliberately subverting that eminently just and fair principle?
According to Dr. Schlessinger and Rabbi Vogel, C2 is taken so seriously in Judaism that breaking it, i.e. engaging in idolatry, is a sin one must be willing to die to avoid. They go on to define idolatry as everything from full-blown, golden-calf idol worship down to common foibles such as superstitions, Princess Diana fixations, egocentrism, bowing to feelings, selfish pursuit of happiness, and love of things or style. If you would, then, rather die than break C2, you'll be very careful or very short-lived. Having twice absorbed all 39 pages of C2 elucidation, I can pretty confidently reduce it to this: God is really, really touchy about competition.
C3) and C4). My reading of the C3 (blasphemy) chapter led to an interesting discovery. Back on page 33 of the C2 chapter, the authors had pointed to mass killings in Russia, the Third Reich, China and Cambodia as "blatant testimonials to godless chaos and cruelty," the implication being that if people who are not religious do bad things, it must be BECAUSE they are not religious. A little additional thinking would have helped the authors realize that lack of Judeo-Christian religiosity may, or may not, account for a given instance of bad behavior.
I wondered why the alternative cases where bad things are done by religious people, such as Northern Ireland, the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, etc., were omitted. A partial answer came when I reached page 93, at the end of the C3 chapter. Sure enough, the Crusaders were condemned for "raping and murdering with the sign of the cross embroidered on their chests and banners," but as blasphemers, not as religious criminals! That, I had to concede, was ingenious. Evidently the reasoning goes as follows: No evil can be done by religious people, because if you're evil, you're not really religious. So the Crusaders can be passed off as blasphemers who were merely masquerading as murderous religious zealots. It is a perfectly circular bit of Catch-22 logic that Yossarian, the Abyssinian bombardier, would have loved. The fullsome C4 chapter says, six ways to Saturday, that the Sabbath or day of rest is enhancing and uplifting, provided it is dedicated to spiritually acceptable activities. A list of suggestions is provided to clarify what is acceptable. Coincidentally, there are 10 of them.
Having learned many things about the four doctrinal commandments, I was nevertheless left with the depressingly tautological conclusion that they can be inspiring, but only if you are religious to begin with, or become religious while studying them.
The remainder of the book, covering the social interaction commandments 5 through 10, deals with common-sense moral rules that can help anyone, religious or not. But they consist of isolated cases rather than embodying a general principle that covers all situations. I can't write much more and stay within the Amazon word limit, so suffice it to say that I'm coming to believe the moral-guidance value of the 10 C's is rather overrated, and the power of the golden rule is definitely underrated.
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19 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Politically Incorrect but Morally Right, August 26, 1999
Laura Schlessinger is not famous for telling people what they want to hear and this book does not divert from her typical bluntness. She advocates such outdated notions as integrity, honesty, self-sacrifice and even the archaic concept of abstinence before marriage. However, she also offers strong evidence as to why these principles are not only morally sound but necessary to find true happiness and meaning in life.
Each chapter is devoted to a commandment, and although Dr. Schlessinger is an Orthodox Jew and her co-writer Stewart Vogel is a rabbi, she cites many Christian and a few Muslim sources throughout the work. Especially brave are stands against abortion, divorce, and self-serving lies because espousing such standards is not currently in vogue, but equally enlightening-and perhaps even more challenging to those who do try to live by so-called traditional values are her calls for personal sacrifice as a needed part of life.
To illustrate her message of the benefits of altruism she includes many letters from her listeners. These feature moving testimonies of people who cared for elderly and infirm parents or grandparent rather than dump them in a nursing home. One powerful case for honesty is laid out by the father of a high school valedictorian barred from graduation ceremony for admitting that she was drinking on a school outing while several other guilty students lied and were permitted to take part in the ceremony. He said how year's later she still regretted that one breach of rules but never regretted her bold veracity.
Also refreshing is Dr. Schesslinger's vocalization of the outrage so many of us feel but must stifle. She talks of her bemusement of a woman who can't understand the promiscuity of her live-in boyfriend's twenty year-old daughter. Perhaps this would-not-be step-mother is overlooking the obvious.
All and all it is uplifting and challenging effort that will give any open-minded person much to ponder.
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13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Insights into her foundational principles, January 25, 2004
NOTE: This review will be about the book, and not about other people's reviews of the book.
For background, I am a single, 30-something Christian, and I enjoy Dr. Laura's show and her politics, and her advice. This book is a great revelation of the specific principles that underlie her marital and ethical philosophy. Contrary to common belief, Dr. Lara works from fixed principles. Her show and philosophy is not a series of "hissy fits" or "power trips." She is articulating very ancient, and even eternal laws of conduct and behavior. By compliance to these law, we can improve our lives.
In essence, Dr. Laura is doing something that few authority do. She reveals her sources and is open about her bias. I got a four-year Bachelors degree, and in those five years, only once did a professor mention a bias.
This book is not a missionary tract. Rather, it is more of a deposition and testament of what she believes. In the preface, she freely mentions that she struggled with the issues contained in the ten commandments. This is why it is co-written with a rabbi. Sometimes I got the feel that I was reading a rabbinical debate-it's there in the subtext. You know the old saying about two Jews and three opinions. I love the sub-text of discussion and debate.
I found the book easy to read, agree with some of her conclusions, and was in now way offended by the religious tone. And I enjoyed the Jewish insights, especially how Jews, Catholics, and Protestants divide the commandments differently. Jews see the first commandment as "I am the Lord thy God," where as Catholics and Protestants skip this preface, and go directly to "Thou shalt have no gods before me." This preface is a pause and consideration of the nature, grandeur and existence of God. This pause and preface lays the foundation for the rest of the commandments.
I recommend this book to people of all branches of Judeo-Christianity. This nexus of faiths are all tied to Abraham and Moses. There is something of these laws in all religions, and I value Dr. Laura's and Rabbi Vogel's insights on the matter.
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