The more I understand the Bible in comparison with all other religions and worldviews, the more I see the unique fingerprints of the Creator in its pages. An example of this is found in the first 5 books of the Bible (the Torah) where it introduces to us The God of the Torah. A massive paradigm shift in world history took place when this was written. I think you will see what I mean as you read the following article adopted from The Rational Bible by Dennis Prager.

1. The first God in history to be entirely above and beyond nature. (This liberated humanity from believing it was controlled by nature, a revolution that made moral and scientific progress possible)

2. The God of the Torah introduced universal morality to the world. (Only if God is universal, can morality be universal; it was no longer local or individual)

3. The moral God of the Torah means morality is real. (Good and evil are not societal opinions, but objectively real)

4. The God of the Torah morally judges every human being. (There had never been a concept like this. And is a major reason for Jew-hatred)

5. The just and good God of the Torah gives humanity hope. (One of those hopes is ultimate justice)

6. The God of the Torah introduces holiness. (This elevated humans above animals)

7. The God of the Torah gives every individual unprecedented self-worth. (Since we are created in God’s image, we are infinitely valuable)

8. The God of the Torah is necessary for human brotherhood. (Since we all have one father/creator, we all are brothers and sisters in a broad sense)

9. Belief in the God of the Torah started the long journey of equality. (Slavery was abolished in the West due to Christians who believed in the Torah’s statement that we are created in the image of God)

10. The God of the Torah is incorporeal, non-physical. (This enabled humans to think in terms of a reality beyond that which accessible to our senses)

11. The God of the Torah teaches us the physical is not the only reality. (Consequently, there can be realities beyond our senses, such as a soul, morality and the afterlife)

12. The God of the Torah teaches us there is ultimate meaning to the existence of each of our lives. (Without the Creator, life is random and purposeless)

13. The God of the Torah gives each of us freewill. (Only if we have a non-material soul can we rise above our genes and our environment and act autonomously)

14. The God of the Torah teaches might is not right. (It is God Who determines what is right, not those use force or power)

15. The God of the Torah made human progress possible. (The Torah broke the cycle of superstitious paganism and laid the foundation for western civilization)