William Dean Witten

The Ten Commandments For Christians in Trump's America William Dean Witten

Ted Koppel, for many years the anchor of ABC's "Nightline," gave the graduation address at Duke University, May 1987. He began his remarks with a litany of the world's ills, a familiar list filled with statistics about the rise of violence, drug use, poverty, hate crimes, and homelessness. It was a bleak picture that depressed everyone in his audience. Koppel did not leave the graduates and their families on the edge of despair. When he had everyone nearly crushed under an avalanche of depressing observations, he concluded his speech by saying something like this: "But there is a way out for our world. There is a course of action upon which all of us can agree. If all of us were to act on these simple principles, the world would be a far different place. First: 'You shall have no other gods before me.' Second: 'You shall not make for yourself a graven image.' Third: 'You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain." And on he went, straight through the Ten Commandments. When he finished the list, he sat down. Was Ted Koppel, right? Yes, of course, at least from a Christian point of view! The reality is that there is a way for Christians to live in and through Trump's world. The premise of this book is that the Ten Commandments, which God gave to Moses on Mt. Sinai, continue to be a spiritual compass and guide for living through Trump's America. They are prized throughout the church and the world. The way of the Ten Commandments is ordained by God.