The editor of the Diocese of Toronto’s paper, Stuart Mann, thinks that the Ten Commandments are too judgemental: they are not there to keep us on the “straight and narrow” but are there to make us “free.’

The problem is, if God is not “judgemental”, if he doesn’t pass judgement on evil and sin, then there was no reason for Jesus to take our punishment by dying a horrible death on the cross. There is no reason to believe that we need Jesus in order to be saved, no reason to call ourselves Christians and no reason to attend a Christian church.

If a church teaches this, then people will stop attending and the church will die. And that is what is happening to the Anglican Church of Canada.

From here (page 5):

“You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol.

You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God. Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.

Honour your father and your mother. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness.

You shall not covet your neighbour’s house, your neighbour’s wife or anything that belongs to your neighbour.”

When I was younger, I would have recoiled at such a passage. It seems so harsh and judgemental, like a parent scolding a child. But I’m beginning to look at it in a different way. Rather than keeping his people on the straight and narrow, perhaps God is telling them how to be free.

When you add up all the complications that arise from some of the things God is warning us about—greed, envy, false gods, lust, lying— is it any wonder people are stressed out these days? Even if we kept half of God’s commandments, we would lead simpler—and happier— lives. It would free us up to think and dream and enjoy each other’s company—in short, to be closer to God.

The 10 commandments have been much maligned and ridiculed over the years, but there is great wisdom in them. Can we keep some of those commandments?

I think we can. You could probably cross a few off the list right now.

Those who guessed James Joyce’s Ulysses are probably correct, but the more relevant answer is…… The Bible.

I was delighted to discover that, since it explains much of what appears in the rag.

But, fear not! This summer, Stuart Mann decided to read all the New Testament; the newspaper is in danger of becoming unrecognisable.

From here (page 5):

This summer I decided to read the New Testament. I’ve read the gospels and Acts before but never Paul’s letters and the other epistles. This time would be different, I told myself. I would read it all the way through.

I read and pondered the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. Then I decided to take a break. I knew Paul’s letters were coming up and I just couldn’t face them. Something about his letter to the Romans had always stopped me from reading further.