The Sounds of Love and Grace

Book excerpt: The book you are holding results from years of research carried out as I traveled the world as a rock musician followed by living abroad as a minister. Did you know that all the music ever created in the West has its origin in just twelve sounds? From rock to bluegrass, to gospel to the intricate arrangements of classical, it all came from only twelve notes. That happened because musicians found an infinite number of tonal combinations to use within the twelve-note scale. What today’s social ills have in common with music is that they exist because of a failure on our part to have a similar vision for the Ten Commandments. That vision is one of limitless applications for them. This book approaches the Ten Commandments in the same manner that musicians approach the twelve-note scale—with a desire to create something fresh, building on what has come before. This book uses the “ten sounds” to create a different melody to sing in the areas of racial injustice, disability, gender inequality, and to bring healing to the wounds that linger on in some communities because of unjust activities engaged in by some of our forebearers.