Decalogue: A Meditation On the Ten Commandments by Lance Matteson

Decalogue: A Meditation on the Ten Commandments is a series of reflections on the ten-pillar Mosaic code. For 3,300 years, the Ten Commandments have constituted a central moral framework for human society with a broad and deep influence. Decalogue plumbs afresh this moral influence, while also arguing for its metaphysical and remedial importance. The book is neither academic nor sectarian in approach. Instead, author Lance Matteson takes up his subject from a biblical standpoint based on his study of Christian Science, founded in the late nineteenth century by Mary Baker Eddy. The author also brings to bear his training as a lawyer - bringing out legal nuances about such pivotal elements as justice, consistency, and accountability. No doubt the author gained insight too from his nine years working in the Holy Land, doing projects with the Palestinians that required ongoing negotiations with Israeli Jews and Arab Muslims and Christians – that is, with the monotheistic heirs of Abraham and Moses. The books structure is simple. After a prefatory introduction, a single chapter is devoted in turn to each of the Ten Commandments, with a closing chapter that looks comprehensively at the Decalogue as a whole. The discussion is straightforward, yet at times dense. Each Commandment is analyzed thoroughly. The sequential logic and connection of each command with the next is indicated. The overall attitude of the book is big picture: generic, reflective, rational. How can we place these simple historic laws in perspective? How do they interrelate? What is their rationale, their underlying logic? What is their importance to society and individuals? Why do they matter? Matteson challenges the reader to think. The author is upfront about his reverence for Scripture, while displaying respect for nonbelievers. But those under the impression these axiomatic norms are quaint and obsolete should be prepared for a spirited counterargument.