Advice for Life: An Antidote for Chaos

On Wednesday evening, at 7:30 p.m., John Suk will begin a ten-week class on the Ten Commandments. Rather than focus on what they do and don't permit ancient Israelites or modern Christians to do, I'll focus on their historical background, as well as asking whether or not the commands (or words) are still relevant for us today. The format will be a split screen on Zoom. In one screen I'll lay out a few of the points we are discussing, on a powerpoint; on the other screen it will be me, or other members of the class who have questions or comments. The first class will explore why there is so much disagreement about what the First of the Ten Commandments is. The Jewish Talmud, Catholics, Calvinists, and Lutherans all disagree! At a minimum, though, all agree that the words "I am the Lord thy God," are at least part of it. So we'll explore who this God is, where he came from, how the Bible introduces him (definitely a him in this part of the Bible) and how he connected with the Israelites-whether in history or myth.