Shattered Tablets: Why We Ignore the Ten Commandments at Our Peril

by David Klinghoffer

Is morality based on some essential truth or is it defined by society? In this highly original critique of American social mores and popular culture, David Klinghoffer argues that the Ten Commandments are essential to maintaining a morally healthy society. With the meticulousness of a scholar, he begins by excavating the meaning of the Commandments. Drawing on the millennia-old rabbinical work Mechilta , he explains that the Decalogue was written on two tablets to show that when a country neglects the Commandments written on the first tablet—those having to do with the relationship between God and peoplethe interpersonal relationships described on the second tablet suffer irreparable damage as well. By shrugging off the Bible as a guide and turning toward secularism, America has created a crude, cruel, and dishonest national life.

Addressing such timely topics as the controversy over public displays of the Commandments and the battles over Intelligent Design, Klinghoffer demonstrates that Christians and Jews are united in their opposition to the pagan aspects of our culture. In the tradition of Hebrew prophets like Jeremiah and Isaiah, he describes our failings with humor and compassion, but also with anger and disappointment. An unusual, incisive perspective on the role of religion in society, SHATTERED TABLETS is sure to spark debate. In the end Klinghoffer arges that by shrugging off the Bible as a guide and turning toward secularism, America has created a crude, cruel, and dishonest national life.

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Jody Mena]

The opinions expressed in this book only make sense if you assume several unsubstantiated givens to be unequivocally true; since I do not ascribe to a lot of those givens, this book held little interest or value for me. I picked up this book because the title posed an interesting question: why should I follow the ten commandments? I was hoping to get some kind of new insight, and for a moment, in between the insulting attitude, bigotry and downright holier-than-thou snobbishness, I thought there might be a few nuggets of actual wisdom. However, at present I have neither time nor inclination to finish this book, for in spite of said wisdom-splinters, at its root, this book is the same tired old self-justifying "believe in the Bible because the Bible says you should" argument and I frankly have better things to do with my time. I do hope to finish this book someday, because there were a few interesting positions that might lead to some insights, which shouldn't be disregarded just because the author has a questionable narrative personality. However, it's not a priority, and as things are, this book really does nothing for me.

[Elliot Ratzman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thou shalt not make crappy arguments in God’s Name! Klinghoffer is the rare Jew of the American Religious Right. Even rarer, he lives in Seattle. I would say his observations about liberal Seattle are cute if they weren’t in the service of such a mean-spirited and sunnily intolerant dogma—implying that Hindus and Muslims as idolaters, for e.g. His big claim is that a moral society has to abide by the 10 Commandments, explicated correctly. And by “correctly” he means believing abortion—not war—is murder (yet ridiculing vegetarians and poverty fighters), taxing the wealthy as theft, spanking children and fighting Darwinism. He knows the Jewish tradition enough to teach readers some interpretive points about the 10c’s. However, most of his doomsaying insight comes from reading the tea leaves of movies, pop culture and sensational (or exceptional) headlines to tell a story of American moral decline. He is against “secularism” and makes the usual weak arguments against these phantom devils.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book discusses the ten commandments and their impact on society. The writer, a Jewish journalist, talks about his home city of Seattle, and the ways that his fellow citizens ignore the commandments. He also discusses their wider impact on society. It was interesting to see a Jewish perspective on this topic, and although the author spends some time on culture war topics, he also presents a fresh perspective in other ways.

[Marianne Seegmiller · Rating 4 out of 5]

A new look at the 10 commandments as a matrix that I thought was interesting. I liked hearing the commandments described through the perspective of a Jew, using historical rabbinic writings, but I couldn't help thinking not many modern Jews feel the way he does. I do believe that more and more in our country ignore the commandments (at our peril), and don't understand the growing tendency of so many to cast anything religious aside.

[Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I only agree with 90% of what the author says in this book, I think the world would do well to try a bit harder to follow the big 10.