The Way of the Social Pentalogue

By William Hill

The Way of the Social Pentalogue is a personal or group study of the last five Commandments from a Reformed Theological perspective, with an emphasis not just on the negative "Thou Shalt Not" but on doing the positive intent of each Commandment - "Thou Shall" - in our daily moral and ethical lives.

• Language: English
• Publisher: William Hill
• Release date: Dec 3, 2012
• ISBN: 9781301241859

William Hill

Born in Washington, D.C., and raised in Arlington, Va., the author now lives in California with his wife, sons, and grandchildren.For questions, or comments, contact the author at: [e-mail]

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The Way

Of the Social Pentalogue

by

William Hill

Copyright 2012 The Way of the Social Pentalogue by William Hill

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this work may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in any database or retrieval system, without the permission of the author.

ISBN: 9781301241859

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1: Synopsis

Chapter 2: Preface

Chapter 3: Epistle to Diogenetus

Chapter 4: Introduction

Chapter 5: The Fundamental Right of Conscience

Chapter 6: Thou Shall/Thou Shall Not

Chapter 7: On the Taking of Life

Chapter 8: Abortion

Chapter 9: Euthanasia

Chapter 10: Suicide

Chapter 11: Capital Punishment

Chapter 12: War

Chapter 13: Covenant Keeping

Chapter 14: Yours is Yours and What’s Mine Isn’t

Chapter 15: Speaking With Forked Tongues

Chapter 16: Don’t Let Your Wants Hurt You

Chapter 17: Attitudes and Actions

Chapter 18:Précis

Chapter 19: Conclusion

Chapter 20: Notes

About the Author

Chapter 1: SYNOPSIS

The Way is a study of the last five Commandments, the Social Pentalogue; the commandments that concern how we as individuals should relate to others. The commandments are presented here not only in the original negative format (Thou shall not...) but also in a positive format — the active vs. the passive, what one should do vs. what one can avoid doing passively.

At the end of each section, Thought Questions are posed to focus the reader on the subject and to challenge the reader’s existing attitudes. At the end of the study, Think and Act questions are posed to challenge the reader to reflect on their past attitudes on a subject and to project their future action.

Originally written in 1999 for use by Adult Sunday School classes, the study is based on Reformed Theology. Because it is the largest of the reformed theology churches, many of the citations used herein are from the Presbyterian Church (USA)'s articles of faith, using the then-current (1999) tenets as its general basis. However, given the time lapse since then, those tenets may, or may not, have been altered. Nonetheless, their citation in this work does not change the basic premises used herein and, as they speak to the majority of those in the Reformed church, it is still reflective of Reformed Theology generally as, for the most part, they do not vary significantly from those of other reformed churches. Additionally, statistics and numbers cited are quite dated now. No attempt has been made to up-date them. I leave it to the reader to do his/her own research to see if they have improved or worsened over the years. In some cases, a conclusion drawn from them may seem quite prophetic.

For a group study, it is suggested as ten 45-minute sessions: Preface thru Right of Conscience (Week 1), Thou Shall/ Shall Not (Week 2), Abortion (Week 3), Euthanasia and Suicide (Week 4), Capital Punishment (Week 5), War (Week 6), Covenant Keeping (Week 7), Yours is Yours (Week 8), Speaking With Forked Tongues (Week 9), and Précis thru Conclusion (Week 10).

A full bibliography follows the conclusion in Notes. Footnotes are indicated throughout the body of the work within parentheses [ ].

Chapter 2: PREFACE

By the second century AD, the church recognized that those who came to the Spirit’s call needed a minimal amount of instruction on what was expected of a believer. One work, entitled the Didache, addresses the Ten Commandments (and Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount) as the accepted behaviors of a Christian. The author referred to them as The Way of Light. In fact, before the Church was called Christian, believers were said to follow The Way.

For unknown millennia since the Garden of Eden, generation after generation — conservatively some 67 generations alone since Jesus walked the earth — mankind has struggled to interpret, understand and implement God’s will in how we think, feel and act towards Him, ourselves and each other. God (as spirit, epiphany, or incarnation) has met face-to-face (so to speak) with humankind many times. Three occasions in particular have unique importance insofar as God at each time gave instructions as to just what He expects from us — in the Garden with Adam and Eve, on the mountain with Moses, and in the world through the Son of God (known to his family and friends as Yeshua [Joshua], and to the Greek world as Jesus). It is God’s Ten Commandments and