“There is such a thing as an ecology of hope, and it lies in restoring to our culture a sense of family, community and religious faith. The great question facing the liberal democracies of the West is whether it can be done. I believe it can, and that is the theme of many of the chapters in this book. These values never die, though occasionally – as now – they suffer an eclipse. If Judaism and the history of the Jewish people have a message for our time, it is surely this. Faith in the future changes lives and rebuilds the ruins of Jerusalem.”
– Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks
Faith in the Future addresses some of the major themes of our time: the fragmentation of our common culture, the breakdown of family and community life, the lack of moral direction and the waning of religious belief. Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks asks: How can we construct a humane social order that honors human dignity and difference, one in which we can be both true to ourselves and a blessing to others? In the turbulent state of the modern world, can we give those who come after us a coherent map of hope?
The four sections of the book lay out a plan for what Rabbi Sacks calls “an ecology of hope”: In “The Moral Covenant,” he touches on the broadest of issues: morality, the family and the importance of communities in the life of society. In “Living Together,” he asks how we can co-exist while remaining faithful to our distinctive identities and traditions. In “Holy Days,” he describes how Judaism lives out its beliefs, and in “Jewish Ethics and Spirituality,” he sketches some of Judaism’s leading themes.
Faith in the Future was first published in 1995, but the questions addressed are today more relevant than ever. All those concerned about the state of contemporary society, of any faith community or none, will find Faith in the Future profound, challenging and deeply moving.
