Why the Ten Commandments Matter

- The Coral Ridge Hour television program is broadcast nationally and internationally on over 200 stations and has a viewership in excess of three million. - Kennedy hosts a daily, half-hour radio program, Truths That Transform, carried on over 700 stations, and The Kennedy Connection, a daily 90-second radio feature carried on over 500 stations. - Kennedy is president of Coral Ridge Ministries, whose newsletter has a circulation of more than 200,000. - Kennedy's Evangelism Explosion (Tyndale House, 2002) is used in every nation of the world and has more than 1.5 million copies in print. - Solving Bible Mysteries (Nelson, 2000), Why I Believe (Word, 1999), and What If Jesus Had Never Been Born? (Nelson, 1994-62002) have together sold over 300,000 copies. - D. James Kennedy (Ph.D.) is the long-time senior minister of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. He is the author of over 60 books.

- The Coral Ridge Hour television program is broadcast nationally and internationally on over 200 stations and has a viewership in excess of three million. - Kennedy hosts a daily, half-hour radio program, Truths That Transform, carried on over 700 stations, and The Kennedy Connection, a daily 90-second radio feature carried on over 500 stations. - Kennedy is president of Coral Ridge Ministries, whose newsletter has a circulation of more than 200,000. - Kennedy's Evangelism Explosion (Tyndale House, 2002) is used in every nation of the world and has more than 1.5 million copies in print. - Solving Bible Mysteries (Nelson, 2000), Why I Believe (Word, 1999), and What If Jesus Had Never Been Born? (Nelson, 1994-62002) have together sold over 300,000 copies. - D. James Kennedy (Ph.D.) is the long-time senior minister of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. He is the author of over 60 books.

Publishers Weekly

Kennedy, a Florida minister with national influence through writing and hosting the television program The Coral Ridge Hour, says that our morally sick society needs the antidote found in God's law. Kennedy begins by explaining why the Ten Commandments remain relevant: they summarize God's timeless moral law, convince people that they are sinners, and teach believers what pleases God. Kennedy then walks the reader through the positive and negative imperatives of each commandment. Interpretations that would have been familiar in American culture a generation ago might sound foreign to many readers. For example, Kennedy suggests that it's wrong to go out to eat on Sunday, and he says that the fifth commandment mandates respect not only for parents but for all those in authority. His sermonic style, reliance on hypothetical examples and tired anecdotes limit the book's effectiveness. He fails to provide sources for purported facts; for example, statements like "Today, in Los Angeles, there are more gang members than there are police officers" beg for attribution. Kennedy also prefaces several assertions with "I believe" or "in my opinion," a distraction during a discussion of absolute truth. While Kennedy answers the question implicit in the title, stylistic shortcomings muffle this book's message. (May 16) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.