The Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes are often considered significant texts for the Christian moral life. However, most interpretations of these passages either focus on the original meaning of the text or how the texts should impact ordinary living today. In The Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes Yiu Sing Lúcás Chan brings together biblical studies and Christian ethics to look at these foundational texts in a new way. For each passage Chan asks both what the texts meant and what they mean today. He helps readers to carefully study the text’s original meaning, then interpret the text within a sound ethical framework.The Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes is an excellent introduction to key concepts in biblical studies and Christian ethics that combines sound study with warmth and wisdom.
Yiu Sing Lúcás Chan (1968–2015) taught at the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, a graduate school of Santa Clara University.
Table of Contents
ForewordAbbreviationsPrologue: Ten to EightAcknowledgmentsI: A Schema for Bridging Biblical Studies and Christian Ethics1 Emerging Consensus2 Reading Scripture through the Lens of VirtueII: Exegeting and Interpreting the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:2-17 for Ethical Living3 The Decalogue in History4 Some Preliminary Questions5The First Commandment in 20:2-66 The Second Commandment in 20:77 The Third Commandment in 20:8-118 The Fourth Commandment in 20:129 The Fifth Commandment in 20:110 The Sixth Commandment in 20:1411 The Seventh Commandment in 20:1512 The Eighth Commandment in 20:16 13 The Ninth Commandment in 20:1714 The Tenth Commandment in 20:17III: Exegeting and Interpreting the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:3-12 for Ethical Living15 The Beatitudes in History16 Some Preliminary Questions17 The First Beatitude in 5:318 The Second Beatitude in 5:4 19 The Third Beatitude in 5:520 The Fourth Beatitude in 5:6 21 The Fifth Beatitude in 5:722 The Sixth Beatitude in 5:8 23 The Seventh Beatitude in 5:9 24 The Eighth Beatitude in 5:10-12 Conclusion: A Radical Invitation to AllEpilogue: West to EastGlossary of Chinese Terms