…notice that the central command of this statement addresses a heart orientation, what I have elsewhere characterized as worldview. In other words, according to the Shema, biblical religion consists of both right theology and right worldview—explicitly believing right things about God and then having the heart rightly oriented toward God.

In the context of giving the Law at Mt. Sinai and the promise that if they follow God’s commands as a nation, God will bless them, we find a statement that stands at the core of biblical religion:

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might (Deut 6:4–5).

While the Ten Commandments were themselves a summary of the Law, this declaration was an even more concise summary of the first four commandments regarding their worship; Jesus would later indicate this when he named this as “the great commandment in the Law” and summarized the rest of the commandments with, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” He indicated, “On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” (Matt 22:36–40).

Several characteristics of this statement, known as the “Shema” (from the first word, “Hear” in Hebrew), reveal important connections between biblical religion, worship, and culture.

First, the statement is a concise statement of Israel’s theology: The Lord is one. This doctrine separated Israel’s worship from the worship of all other pagan nations that were either polytheistic (worship of many gods) or henotheistic (worship of one god among many). Israel’s theology was explicitly monotheistic, unique among all the religions of the world to this day. Second, notice that the central command of this statement addresses a heart orientation, what I have elsewhere characterized as worldview. In other words, according to the Shema, biblical religion consists of both right theology and right worldview—explicitly believing right things about God and then having the heart rightly oriented toward God.

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