Ethical monotheism as defined by Dennis Prager (2009) encapsulates two specific beliefs. First, it is based upon the premise that there is one God from whom emanates one morality applicable to all of humanity. Secondly, god's primary demand of people is that they act decently toward one another, a demand that in practice takes precedence over man's obligation to worship and adore God himself. Prager (2009) notes that the God of ethical monotheism is the God first revealed to the world in the Hebrew Bible, or what is now thought of in Christianity as the Old Testament. The primary characteristics of God include a supernatural nature, a personal presence, beneficence or goodness, and holiness. Eliminating any of the first three of these attributes invalidates ethical monotheism although it is possible to ignore holiness and still lead an ethical life.
It is usually assumed that monotheism represents ancient Israel's primary contribution to mankind's intellectual store of ideas (Nikiprowetzky, 1975). The Holy Scriptures give rise to ethical monotheism in which man is obligated by virtue of a covenant with a Creator God to perform certain acts or duties to benefit his fellow man. Indeed, running throughout the Hebrew Bible are demands for obedience to God's commandments coupled with obligations owed by men to one another. A failure to fulfill either of these sets of obligations leads to a loss of union with God.
It is interesting, according to Nikiprowetzky (1975), that when one examines the Ten Commandments given by God to Moses, the first four commandments refer to man's obligations to God and the next six are meant to shape man's obligations to his fellow man. It is this duality of a monotheistic faith coupled with an ethical world view that is key to understanding ancient Judaism. The six commandments requiring honor for one's parents, refraining from murder, adultery, theft, and giving false evidence, and avoid...