In the process of shaping the concept of a deity as the explanation for the otherwise inexplicable swings between joy and torment in individual lives, religions have distilled what was often originally an oral tradition into sacred texts that have come to represent a thread of continuity and timeless wisdom for believers through the ages.
In all written material there is a relationship between the reader and the word on the page, but for religious believers, their sacred texts take that relationship to new heights. Some will speak of their holy book falling open in front of them on a page that provides a clear answer to the precise dilemma they are currently confronting. Others use their daily reading of religious texts to provide them with guidance in their everyday lives. In all sorts of ways religious texts are invested with faith, and become a practical, spiritual and moral yardstick, the ultimate authority in judging behavior. Below, we discuss three of the best-known sacred works; others are dealt with later in the book.
The Bible The Bible, the holy book of Christians, is divided into two sections, the Old and the New Testaments. The former, which was written between approximately 1200 BCE and 200 BCE, begins with the creation of the world, and though it contains prophecies of a Messiah who is yet to come, it ends before the birth of Jesus. The latter, dating from 40 CE to 160 CE, covers the life, teachings, death and resurrection of Jesus, and ends (in most versions) with a glimpse of the end of the world and the final judgment. It is estimated that six billion copies of the Bible have been sold in the last two hundred years alone.
Are the gospels true?
The four gospels (a word meaning “good news”) collected in the New Testament of the Bible are for Christians the key accounts of the life of Jesus. Yet none of them is a firsthand narrative. They are not, to take the word as it is typically understood today, gospel—that is, infallibly true in every respect. For a start, they were written decades after Jesus’s death, with the oldest existing manuscript versions dating from only the third century. Moreover, they all offer different—often strikingly so—accounts of the basic details of Jesus’s life.
Most Christians believe that the gospels are the result of a complex process of authorship that makes them much more than straightforward historical chronicles. They are part reportage, part the setting down in writing of existing oral traditions stretching back to when Jesus was alive, part preaching, part reference back to Old Testament prophecies, part commentary on political events at the time of writing, and part works of literature and imagination. The exact proportions of each element are hotly disputed.
Some Christians insist that the account of the creation of the world given in the Book of Genesis at the start of the Old Testament is literally true—that God created the Earth in six days and rested on the seventh. Others accept that this flies in the face of scientific knowledge. Throughout the Bible there are many conflicting details and statements, but most Christians prefer to believe that despite the contradictions, the Bible possesses an essential truth. For some, especially in the Protestant tradition, it is the supreme arbiter in matters of religion.
“The Bible’s authority for Christians lies in the fact they have a special relationship with it that can never be altered, like the relationship of parent and child.”
Diarmaid MacCulloch, Professor of the History of the Church, University of Oxford, 2009
The Torah The term Torah can refer to the Hebrew Bible (which overlaps with the Old Testament but does not mirror it), along with the rabbinic teachings that evolved during the first six centuries CE. It is, however, more often used to describe the first five books of the Bible—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, the “books of Moses.” Jews believe that God dictated the Torah to Moses on Mount Sinai fifty days after their exodus from Egyptian slavery—though this can only be true of certain sections of the five books, sometimes referred to as the “Oral Torah.” They believe that the Torah shows how God wants them to live—as laid down in 613 commandments. Another factor that binds the five books together is that they are all about God’s concern for his “chosen” people of Israel.
The Torah scroll is regarded as the most sacred object in a Jewish synagogue. It is usually kept in an “ark,” or cupboard, and is revealed at the climax of the liturgy, when it is paraded solemnly among the congregation, who show their respect by brushing it with the tassels of their prayer shawls.
Buddha and scripture
The Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama) fought throughout his life against the cult of personality, and tried to direct the attention of his disciples away from himself. His life was not important, he declared. What mattered was the truth he had discovered, which was rooted in the deepest structure of existence—dharma, or a fundamental law of life for gods, humans and animals alike. The Buddhist scriptures are therefore unlike other holy books in that they tell us very little about the Buddha himself, to the extent that some Western scholars in the nineteenth century doubted he had ever existed. These scriptures run to many volumes, in various Asian languages, and their authenticity is a matter of much scholarly debate. It is believed that they were not written down until the first century BCE, around 400 years after the Buddha lived.
The Qur’an Muslims believe that the Qur’an was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad bit by bit over a period of 23 years. It consists of the exact words of Allah and so, unlike holy books in other faiths, involves no human authorship. Muhammad’s own teachings are contained elsewhere, in the Hadith, which are a series of oral traditions relating to the Prophet’s words and deeds. The Qur’an was first set down in writing by Muhammad’s secretary and follower Zayd ibn Thabit soon after the Prophet’s death in 632. It contains 114 chapters and is not arranged in chronological order. Islam rejects pictorial illustrations, but the decorated writing—or calligraphy—in some ancient copies is amongst the great art treasures of the world.
There is a precise ritual attached to reading the Qur’an. Muslims must “prepare the heart” and wash their hands. Women usually cover their heads—as for prayer. There is a special sitting position—disciplined and alert—on the floor, with the Qur’an on a stand or kursi in front of the reader.
Though the words of the Qur’an are unchanging, different translations and interpretations place varying emphases on them. In recent times, for example, some Muslims have attempted to justify violent atrocities by reference to jihad—or struggle—a concept they place in a military context, even though Muhammad is not portrayed by Islam as a man of violence.
The significance of all these holy books goes beyond any direct, or indirect, connection to the deity. They are seen as having the power both to encapsulate the hopes of humankind as no other text does, and to speak directly to those aspirations in a way that is unique, tangible and empowering.
“Let holy reading always be at hand.”
St. Jerome, c.410
the condensed idea
Religions venerate holy books
| timeline | |
|---|---|
| c.700 BCE | First of 13 Hindu Upanishads written |
| c.586 BCE | Jews’ exile from Jerusalem prompts the Torah |
| c.100 BCE | Buddhist scriptures recorded |
| c.CE 40 | St. Paul writes earliest sections of the New Testament |
| c.CE 635 | Qur’an started after death of Muhammad |