Reviews

Kennedy, a popular minister and prolific author, contends that our post-Christian (if not anti-Christian) society is biblically illiterate. Not only can we not name the Ten Commandments, he maintains, but we also cannot locate them in the Old Testament. (For the record, they are in Exodus 20:2-17.) Furthermore, Kennedy suggests that our lack of spiritual and moral consciousness has inched us along the slippery slope of decline and decadence. Kennedy's tone is exhortative, calling us back to Scripture-based ethics. The so-called Christian community is supposed to be and a "city on a hill," but, according to Kennedy, the sociological data show that Christian culture is indistinguishable from the culture at large (e.g., evangelicals are just as likely to divorce as nonevangelicals). Critics may pejoratively label Kennedy as a fundamentalist, but his supporters will claim that he is illustrating the relevance of Christianity to 21st-century life. In the end, Kennedy's clout cannot be gainsaid: his myriad books, in addition to his TV and radio shows, are pervasive. Because he is a household name among the faithful, this book (whose title echoes Huston Smith's Why Religion Matters) is recommended for public as well as academic libraries.-C. Brian Smith, Arlington Heights Memorial Lib., IL Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Kennedy, a Florida minister with national influence through writing and hosting the television program The Coral Ridge Hour, says that our morally sick society needs the antidote found in God's law. Kennedy begins by explaining why the Ten Commandments remain relevant: they summarize God's timeless moral law, convince people that they are sinners, and teach believers what pleases God. Kennedy then walks the reader through the positive and negative imperatives of each commandment. Interpretations that would have been familiar in American culture a generation ago might sound foreign to many readers. For example, Kennedy suggests that it's wrong to go out to eat on Sunday, and he says that the fifth commandment mandates respect not only for parents but for all those in authority. His sermonic style, reliance on hypothetical examples and tired anecdotes limit the book's effectiveness. He fails to provide sources for purported facts; for example, statements like "Today, in Los Angeles, there are more gang members than there are police officers" beg for attribution. Kennedy also prefaces several assertions with "I believe" or "in my opinion," a distraction during a discussion of absolute truth. While Kennedy answers the question implicit in the title, stylistic shortcomings muffle this book's message. (May 16) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.