No Other Gods, by Ana Lyons-Levy.
Book review and comments by Donald Harvey Marks
physician scientist and 3rd generation veteran.
In "No Other Gods," Unitarian Universalist minister Ana Lyons-Levy explains her personal journey of leaving a restrictive, high-control religious group to finding a more authentic, grace-filled relationship with the divine. My wife and I have had the pleasure of meeting her in person after a presentation, and of reading this wonderful book. Following are my thoughts.
Lyons-Levy's narrative follows her upbringing, the psychological and emotional toll of legalistic doctrines, and the eventual "breaking point" that led her to question everything she had been taught. Understandingly, her deeply introspective writing focuses less on the sensationalism of her upbringing and more on the internal process of deconstruction—the messy, painful, yet liberating act of stripping away man-made idols and false images of God to discover a faith rooted in love rather than in fear.
No Other Gods is less a deconstruction of religious belief than a reconstruction or reinterpretation of the Ten Commandments in a way that makes sense for today, and one which certainly speaks to me, Lyons-Levy argues that "reconstruction" isn't about inventing new rules, but reclaiming the Ten Commandments as a radical manifesto for social justice and liberation from modern idols like consumerism and corporate power.
The Path to Reconstruction
Levy-Lyons explains that reconstruction is a necessary step after leaving restrictive or "empty" religious structures. She suggests that many modern people (the "spiritual but not religious" or the "secular left") suffer from a "desert of meaning" because they have prioritized individual freedom over communal obligations.
Her personal reconstructive process focused on:
- Embodied Spirituality: Moving away from abstract belief and toward concrete practices.
- Communal Accountability: Recognizing that we need "fences" (rituals and rules) to protect us from the addictive pull of modern culture.
-Dethroning Deities: Identifying the "modern gods" we unconsciously worship—wealth, productivity, social status, and our screens.
The Ten Commandments in Today’s Life
In my favorite part of this book, Levy-Lyons reinterprets the ancient decalogue not as "thou shalt nots" from an angry judge, but as countercultural acts of resistance.
The key Points and themes of this book were her comparisons and interpretations (Talmud-like) to The 10 Commandments, which for me were the essential parts and more relevant even than her own personal reflections that brought her to this point, although those were important also.
According to the accounts in the Bible (Exodus 20:2–17 and Deuteronomy 5:6–21), God spoke directly to the Israelites at Mount Sinai and later inscribed these 10 commandments onto two stone tablets given to Moses. For reference, this event occurred shortly after the Exodus from Egypt—traditionally placed about 2–3 months after the departure (Exodus 19:1). Many traditional and some conservative timelines date the Exodus (and thus the giving of the Commandments) to around 1446 BCE.
Here are the 10 commandments, in simple English, and as reconstructed by Lyons-Levy in No Other Gods:
1. You shall have no other gods before Me.
Levy explores how rigid rules and "fences" form a trap of Legalism and behavior which can eventually become in themselves idols. When the performance of holiness becomes more important than the heart, the "rules" effectively become the "other gods" alluded to in the book's title.
Levy-Lyons directs us to dethrone the "deities" of corporate power, political tribalism, and the need for constant external validation.
2.You shall not make idols.
The book details the subtle ways authority figures in high-control environments use scripture to invalidate a person's intuition or emotions, a form of Spiritual Gaslighting.
Levy highlights the difficulty of trusting oneself after years of being told that one's heart is "deceitful above all things."
She encourages us to resist the "branding" of our lives by recognizing that real life is spectacular without filters or luxury status symbols.
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
A significant portion of the book deals with the social consequences of leaving her Orthodox religious family.
The Costs of Departure:
* Shunning: The pain of losing family and community ties. I am clearly reminded during this discussion of my own pain and anger when my mother shunned my wedding and my wife.
She asks us to refuse to let God’s name be used to justify hate speech, environmental destruction, or violence (e.g., "thoughts and prayers" without action).
4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
The climax of the book for me was Levy’s realization that God is not the "angry taskmaster" as portrayed by her former community. She redefinef the Divine by adopting a theology of radical grace, where God is found in the ordinary, the broken, and the essential questions themselves.
In a radical strike against consumerism, she reminds us that we are more than our productivity or our individual economic output.
5. Honor your father and your mother.
Eco-Theology: Honoring "Mother Earth." Levy-Lyons notes the Hebrew wording for this commandment refers to "soil," suggesting that caring for the environment ensures our "days are long" on the planet.
6. Do Not Kill / murder
Lyons-Levy expanding the definition of killing and murdering to include deaths caused by systemic poverty, lack of healthcare, and environmental devastation. Certainly, killing and murderer could include unnecessary illness and death from an insurer denying life -sustaining Healthcare. You may be interested in my comments on a related circumstance acting out in real life - The Pathology of Despair: From Systemic Failure to "Social Banditry" in American Healthcare. Is Luigi a new Robin Hood / Pancho Villa?
7. You shall not commit adultery.
Levy-Lyons interprets the command against adultery far beyond physical infidelity, viewing it as a mandate for integrity and a warning against the "commodification" of human beings in a consumerist culture
8. Do Not Steal
This should be taken as an economic mandate: Stealing includes failing to pay a "fair trade" price or living off the "slave wages" of global workers.
9. No False Witness against your neighbor
Demanding truth in the age of "fake news" and resisting the urge to spread dehumanizing stereotypes about other nations or races.
10. Do Not Covet
She asks us to adopt the practice of "Enough." Recognizing that a consumer culture is built on making us feel insufficient, there is liberation in knowing we have enough, we are enough.
Deconstruction as Healing
Levy argues that deconstruction is not the end of faith, but often the beginning of a healthier one. She encourages readers to dismantle the "altars" they’ve built to religious systems, intellectual certainty, and the approval of others.
Core Takeaways
No Other Gods serves as a roadmap for anyone feeling suffocated by religious expectations. Levy’s message is that true freedom comes from realizing that "No Other Gods" includes the god of Religious Perfectionism. By letting go of the need to be "right" or "worthy" by human standards, one can finally experience a genuine connection with the Creator.
References
No Other Gods: The Politics of the Ten Commandments, by Ana Levy-Lyons, Reviewed by Natan Margalit, February 26, 2018
Social Stability and Uncertainty in the Age of A.I., Donald Harvey Marks
Einstein, Relativity and Relative Ethics, by Donald H Marks
Jonas Salk, Polio Vaccine and Vaccinating Against Hate, by Donald H. Marks.
What I have Not Told My Family About The Meaning of Time, personal Reflections on mortality, by Donald H Marks
When Justice Hurts: A Centrist Perspective on Social and Immigration Justice in Liberal Communities, by Donald H Marks on blog
How Woke can we be? The meaning of Woke, by Donald H. Marks. on blog
You're just another damn progressive, aren't you? by Donald Marks
The Pathology of Despair: From Systemic Failure to "Social Banditry" in American Healthcare. Is Luigi a new Robin Hood / Pancho Villa, by Donald Marks
