Lewis Smedes has written a penetrating study in ethics based on the five "moral" commandments--those pertaining to honor of parents, lying, stealing, adultery, and murder. Smedes examines what the commandments actually tell us to do and why, and how they can be understood amid the ambiguities of everyday living.

What drives us to be good? How do we even know how to be good? Philosophers and theologians have dealt with such questions for millennia, but Dan Barker thinks the answers are not so complicated. In Mere Morality, he argues there's no need to appeal to supernatural commandments or the fear of some higher power when considering morality. Stripping "good" and "evil" down to the basics, he offers a simple compass for navigating life's most difficult moral and ethical dilemmas.

The focus of Smedes's study is the commandments--in particular those five of the Ten Commandments which call us to respect other persons: "Honor your father and mother"; "You shall not kill"; "You shall not commit adultery"; "You shall not steal"; "You shall not bear false witness." Each of these commandments pinpoints the moral nucleus of one sector of life in community--family, marriage, property, communication, and the preservation of life itself. Using these commandments as a basis, Smedes asks three questions: What does God command us to do? Why does he command this? And how can we obey this in the ambiguities and conflicts of real life?--From publisher's description.