Synopsis
According to God of Deliverance and Transformation: The Ten Commandments for the Twenty-First Century, the Decalogue expresses a revolutionary vision and path for a formerly enslaved and newly liberated people. The Commandments initiated the development of communities characterized by human dignity, justice, and equality while mandating resistance to all enslaving powers.
This understanding of the Commandments is largely unknown today. In the past 50 years, religionists mischaracterized the Ten Commandments and used it as a coercive tool to gain dominance in its cultural wars. The revolutionary nature of the Decalogue was corrupted and obscured. Yet radical resistance against oppression is the contextual core that underlies the message of the Commandments.
Calling faith communities to reclaim the Ten Commandments for preaching, teaching, and ethical life, God of Deliverance and Transformation outlines contemporary relevance to be found in this ancient text. Individuals and communities making personal escapes from dehumanizing enslavement and journeying toward a land of promise and equality will find a template that is life giving and equitable for all.
Accessible to general audiences (and of special interest to those engaged with Biblical studies, spirituality, and the interface of ethics and religion), the book mines recent scholarship on the Decalogue, disclosing nuances of meaning and application typically absent from today's discussions of the Ten Commandments.
A Study Guide is now available to accompany the book for personal or small group or Sunday School use. Please contact the author for a free download.
About the Author
Mark E. Diehl served the Presbyterian Church (USA) as an ordained pastor from 1980 to 2021. His ministry encompassed primarily the southeastern United States, including Louisiana, Arkansas, Maryland, Tennessee, and North and South Carolina, with a brief sojourn in Michigan. Mark's pastoral roles in congregations were diverse, serving in churches of 12 to 3,500 members located in rural and small-town settings as well as inner cities and suburban areas. From 2012 to 2021, he focused on transitional ministry in congregations without a called senior minister/head of staff.
A native Texan, Mark received his education at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX (BA), Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, GA (MDiv), and Loyola University at Baltimore (MS in Pastoral Counseling). He was certified for pastoral counseling and for Transitional Ministry in the Presbyterian Church USA. Presently retired and living near Greensboro, NC, Mark is married to Mary Brown Diehl, and they have three grown children.
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