Religious text

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A scripture of Islam, The Quran - National Museum, New Delhi, India Holy Quran - National Museum, New Delhi.jpg
A scripture of Islam, The Quran - National Museum, New Delhi, India
A page from Codex Vaticanus in the Greek Old and New Testament Codex Vaticanus B, 2Thess. 3,11-18, Hebr. 1,1-2,2.jpg
A page from Codex Vaticanus in the Greek Old and New Testament
The Rigveda (Vedic chant) manuscript in Devanagari, a scripture of Hinduism, dated 1500-1000 BCE. It is the oldest religious texts in any Indo-European language. Rigveda MS2097.jpg
The Rigveda (Vedic chant) manuscript in Devanagari, a scripture of Hinduism, dated 1500–1000 BCE. It is the oldest religious texts in any Indo-European language.


Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They often feature a compilation or discussion of beliefs, ritual practices, moral commandments and laws, ethical conduct, spiritual aspirations, and admonitions for fostering a religious community.

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Within each religion, these sacred texts are revered as authoritative sources of guidance, wisdom, and divine revelation. They are often regarded as sacred or holy, representing the core teachings and principles that their followers strive to uphold. [1] [2] [3]

Etymology and nomenclature

According to Peter Beal, the term scripture – derived from "scriptura" (Latin) – meant "writings [manuscripts] in general" prior to the medieval era, then became "reserved to denote the texts of the Old and New Testaments of the Bible". [4] Beyond Christianity, according to the Oxford World Encyclopedia, the term "scripture" has referred to a text accepted to contain the "sacred writings of a religion", [5] while The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions states it refers to a text "having [religious] authority and often collected into an accepted canon". [6] In modern times, this equation of the written word with religious texts is particular to the English language, and is not retained in most other languages, which usually add an adjective like "sacred" to denote religious texts.

Some religious texts are categorized as canonical, some non-canonical, and others extracanonical, semi-canonical, deutero-canonical, pre-canonical or post-canonical. [7] The term "canon" is derived from the Greek word "κανών", "a cane used as a measuring instrument". It connotes the sense of "measure, standard, norm, rule". In the modern usage, a religious canon refers to a "catalogue of sacred scriptures" that is broadly accepted to "contain and agree with the rule or canon of a particular faith", states Juan Widow. [8] The related terms such as "non-canonical", "extracanonical", "deuterocanonical" and others presume and are derived from "canon". These derived terms differentiate a corpus of religious texts from the "canonical" literature. At its root, this differentiation reflects the sects and conflicts that developed and branched off over time, the competitive "acceptance" of a common minimum over time and the "rejection" of interpretations, beliefs, rules or practices by one group of another related socio-religious group. [9] The earliest reference to the term "canon" in the context of "a collection of sacred Scripture" is traceable to the 4th-century CE. The early references, such as the Synod of Laodicea, mention both the terms "canonical" and "non-canonical" in the context of religious texts. [10]

History of religious texts

One of the oldest known religious texts is the Kesh Temple Hymn of ancient Sumer, [11] [12] a set of inscribed clay tablets which scholars typically date around 2600 BCE. [13] The Epic of Gilgamesh from Sumer, although only considered by some scholars as a religious text, has origins as early as 2150 BCE, [14] and stands as one of the earliest literary works that includes various mythological figures and themes of interaction with the divine. [15] The Rigveda, a scripture of Hinduism, is dated 1500 BCE. It is one of the oldest known complete religious texts that has survived into the modern age. [16] [17]

There are many possible dates given to the first writings which can be connected to Talmudic and Biblical traditions, the earliest of which is found in scribal documentation of the 8th century BCE, [18] followed by administrative documentation from temples of the 5th and 6th centuries BCE, [19] with another common date being the 2nd century BCE. [19]

High rates of mass production and distribution of religious texts did not begin until the invention of the printing press in 1440, [20] before which all religious texts were hand written copies, of which there were relatively limited quantities in circulation.

Authority of religious texts

The relative authority of religious texts develops over time and is derived from the ratification, enforcement, and its use across generations. Some religious texts are accepted or categorized as canonical, some non-canonical, and others extracanonical, semi-canonical, deutero-canonical, pre-canonical or post-canonical. [7]

"Scripture" (or "scriptures") is a subset of religious texts considered to be "especially authoritative", [21] [22] revered and "holy writ", [23] "sacred, canonical", or of "supreme authority, special status" to a religious community. [24] [25] The terms sacred text and religious text are not necessarily interchangeable in that some religious texts are believed to be sacred because of the belief in some theistic religions such as the Abrahamic religions that the text is divinely or supernaturally revealed or divinely inspired, or in non-theistic religions such as some Indian religions they are considered to be the central tenets of their eternal Dharma . In contrast to sacred texts, many religious texts are simply narratives or discussions pertaining to the general themes, interpretations, practices, or important figures of the specific religion.

In some religions (e.g. Christianity), the canonical texts include a particular text (Bible) but is "an unsettled question", according to Eugene Nida. In others (Hinduism, Buddhism), there "has never been a definitive canon". [26] [27] While the term scripture is derived from the Latin scriptura, meaning "writing", most sacred scriptures of the world's major religions were originally a part of their oral tradition, and were "passed down through memorization from generation to generation until they were finally committed to writing", according to Encyclopaedia Britannica . [23] [28] [29]

In Islam, the Sunnah are the traditions and practices of the Islamic prophet Muhammad that constitute a model for Muslims to follow. The sunnah is what all the Muslims of Muhammad's time evidently saw and followed and passed on to the next generations. [30] According to classical Islamic theories, [31] the sunnah are documented by hadith (the verbally transmitted record of the teachings, deeds and sayings, silent permissions or disapprovals attributed to Muhammad), and alongside the Quran (the book of Islam) are the divine revelation ( wahy ) delivered through Muhammad [31] that make up the primary sources of Islamic law and belief/theology. [32] [33] However sects of Islam differ on which hadiths (if any) should be accepted as canonical (see Criticism of hadith).

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bible</span> Collection of religious texts

The Bible is a collection of religious texts or scriptures, some, all, or a variant of which are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, Islam, the Baha'i Faith, and other Abrahamic religions. The Bible is an anthology originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Koine Greek. These texts include instructions, stories, poetry, and prophecies, among other genres. The collection of materials that are accepted as part of the Bible by a particular religious tradition or community is called a biblical canon. Believers in the Bible generally consider it to be a product of divine inspiration, but the way they understand what that means and interpret the text varies.

Hinduism is an Indian religion or dharma, a religious and universal order by which its followers abide. The word Hindu is an exonym, and while Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, it has also been described as sanātana dharma, a modern usage, based on the belief that its origins lie beyond human history, as revealed in the Hindu texts. Another endonym for Hinduism is Vaidika dharma.

Monotheism is the belief that one god is the only deity. A distinction may be made between exclusive monotheism, in which the one God is a singular existence, and both inclusive and pluriform monotheism, in which multiple gods or godly forms are recognized, but each are postulated as extensions of the same God.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noah</span> Revered figure in Abrahamic traditions

Noah appears as the last of the Antediluvian patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible, the Quran and Baha'i writings. Noah is referenced in various other books of the Bible, including the New Testament, and in associated deuterocanonical books.

The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Israelites. The second division of Christian Bibles is the New Testament, written in Koine Greek.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prophet</span> Intermediary between humanity and the divine

In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the supernatural source to other people. The message that the prophet conveys is called a prophecy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religion</span> Social-cultural system

Religion is a range of social-cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural, transcendental, and spiritual elements—although there is no scholarly consensus over what precisely constitutes a religion. Different religions may or may not contain various elements ranging from the divine, sacredness, faith, and a supernatural being or beings.

Sola scriptura is a Christian theological doctrine held by most Protestant Christian denominations, in particular the Lutheran and Reformed traditions, that posits the Bible as the sole infallible source of authority for Christian faith and practice. The Catholic Church considers it heterodox and generally the Orthodox churches consider it to be contrary to the phronema of the Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asceticism</span> Lifestyle of frugality and abstinence

Asceticism is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their practices or continue to be part of their society, but typically adopt a frugal lifestyle, characterised by the renunciation of material possessions and physical pleasures, and also spend time fasting while concentrating on the practice of religion or reflection upon spiritual matters, which is thought by some to allow the practitioner's core of consciousness to expand and connect with the infinite universal consciousness. Some individuals have also attempted an ascetic lifestyle to free themselves from addictions to things such as alcohol, tobacco, drugs, entertainment, sex, food, etc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comparative religion</span> Systematic comparison of the worlds religions

Comparative religion is the branch of the study of religions with the systematic comparison of the doctrines and practices, themes and impacts of the world's religions. In general the comparative study of religion yields a deeper understanding of the fundamental philosophical concerns of religion such as ethics, metaphysics and the nature and forms of salvation. It also considers and compares the origins and similarities shared between the various religions of the world. Studying such material facilitates a broadened and more sophisticated understanding of human beliefs and practices regarding the sacred, numinous, spiritual and divine.

Religious law includes ethical and moral codes taught by religious traditions. Different religious systems hold sacred law in a greater or lesser degree of importance to their belief systems, with some being explicitly antinomian whereas others are nomistic or "legalistic" in nature. In particular, religions such as Judaism, Islam and the Baháʼí Faith teach the need for revealed positive law for both state and society, whereas other religions such as Christianity generally reject the idea that this is necessary or desirable and instead emphasise the eternal moral precepts of divine law over the civil, ceremonial or judicial aspects, which may have been annulled as in theologies of grace over law.

Śruti or shruti in Sanskrit means "that which is heard" and refers to the body of most authoritative, ancient religious texts comprising the central canon of Hinduism. Manusmriti states: Śrutistu vedo vijñeyaḥ meaning, "Know that Vedas are Śruti". Thus, it includes the four Vedas including its four types of embedded texts—the Samhitas, the Upanishads, the Brahmanas and the Aranyakas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Śvetāmbara</span> One of the two major schools of Jainism

The Śvetāmbara is one of the two main branches of Jainism, the other being the Digambara. Śvetāmbara in Sanskrit means "white-clad", and refers to its ascetics' practice of wearing white clothes, which sets it apart from the Digambara or "sky-clad" Jains whose ascetic practitioners go nude. Śvetāmbaras do not believe that ascetics must practice nudity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hinduism and other religions</span> Relationships between Hinduism and other religions

In the field of comparative religion, many scholars, academics, and religious figures have looked at the relationships between Hinduism and other religions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vedas</span> Oldest scriptures of Hinduism

The Vedas are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism.

Hinduism and Sikhism are Indian religions. Hinduism has pre-historic origins, while Sikhism was founded in the 15th century by Guru Nanak. Both religions share many philosophical concepts such as karma, dharma, mukti, and maya although both religions have different interpretation of some of these concepts.

Bibliolatry is the worship of a book, idolatrous homage to a book, or the deifying of a book. It is a form of idolatry. The sacred texts of some religions disallow icon worship, but over time the texts themselves are treated as sacred the way idols are, and believers may end up effectively worshipping the book. Bibliolatry extends claims of inerrancy—hence perfection—to the texts, precluding theological innovation, evolving development, or progress. Bibliolatry can lead to revivalism, disallows re-probation, and can lead to persecution of unpopular doctrines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biblical authority</span>

In Christianity, the term biblical authority refers to two complementary ideas:

A biblical canon is a set of texts which a particular Jewish or Christian religious community regards as part of the Bible.

Ancient Hebrew writings are texts written in Biblical Hebrew using the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet before the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE.

References

  1. ↑ Charles Elster (2003). "Authority, Performance, and Interpretation in Religious Reading: Critical Issues of Intercultural Communication and Multiple Literacies". Journal of Literacy Research. 35 (1): 667–670., Quote: "religious texts serve two important regulatory functions: on the group level, they regulate liturgical ritual and systems of law; at the individual level, they (seek to) regulate ethical conduct and direct spiritual aspirations."
  2. ↑ Eugene Nida (1994). "The Sociolinguistics of Translating Canonical Religious Texts". TTR: Traduction, Terminologie, Rédaction. 7 (1). Érudit: Université de Montréal: 195–197., Quote: "The phrase "religious texts" may be understood in two quite different senses: (1) texts that discuss historical or present-day religious beliefs and practices of a believing community and (2) texts that are crucial in giving rise to a believing community."
  3. ↑ Ricoeur, Paul (1974). "Philosophy and Religious Language". The Journal of Religion. 54 (1). University of Chicago Press: 71–85. doi:10.1086/486374. S2CID   144691132.
  4. ↑ Peter Beal (2008). A Dictionary of English Manuscript Terminology: 1450 to 2000. Oxford University Press. p. 367. ISBN   978-0-19-926544-2.
  5. ↑ "Scriptures". The World Encyclopedia . Oxford University Press. 2004. ISBN   978-0-19-954609-1.
  6. ↑ John Bowker (2000). "Scripture". The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions . Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0-19-280094-7.
  7. 1 2 Lee Martin McDonald; James H. Charlesworth (5 April 2012). 'Noncanonical' Religious Texts in Early Judaism and Early Christianity. A&C Black. pp. 1–5, 18–19, 24–25, 32–34. ISBN   978-0-567-12419-7.
  8. ↑ Juan Carlos Ossandón Widow (2018). The Origins of the Canon of the Hebrew Bible. Brill Academic. pp. 22–27. ISBN   978-90-04-38161-2.
  9. ↑ Gerbern Oegema (2012). Lee Martin McDonald and James H. Charlesworth (ed.). 'Noncanonical' Religious Texts in Early Judaism and Early Christianity. A&C Black. pp. 18–23 with footnotes. ISBN   978-0-567-12419-7.
  10. ↑ Gallagher, Edmon L.; Meade, John D. (2017). The Biblical Canon Lists from Early Christianity: Texts and Analysis. Oxford University Press. pp. xii–xiii. ISBN   978-0-19-879249-9.
  11. ↑ Kramer, Samuel (1942). "The Oldest Literary Catalogue: A Sumerian List of Literary Compositions Compiled about 2000 B.C.". Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research. 88 (88): 10–19. doi:10.2307/1355474. JSTOR   1355474. S2CID   163898367.
  12. ↑ Sanders, Seth (2002). "Old Light on Moses' Shining Face". Vetus Testamentum. 52 (3): 400–406. doi:10.1163/156853302760197520.
  13. ↑ Enheduanna; Meador, Betty De Shong (1 August 2009). Princess, priestess, poet: the Sumerian temple hymns of Enheduanna. University of Texas Press. ISBN   9780292719323.
  14. ↑ Stephanie Dalley (2000). Myths from Mesopotamia: Creation, The Flood, Gilgamesh, and Others. Oxford University Press. pp. 41–45. ISBN   978-0-19-953836-2.
  15. ↑ George, Andrew (31 December 2002). The Epic of Gilgamesh: The Babylonian Epic Poem and Other Texts in Akkadian and Sumerian . Penguin. ISBN   9780140449198.
  16. ↑ Sagarika Dutt (2006). India in a Globalized World. Manchester University Press. p. 36. ISBN   978-1-84779-607-3
  17. ↑ Kumar, Shailendra; Choudhury, Sanghamitra (1 January 2021). Meissner, Richard (ed.). "Ancient Vedic Literature and Human Rights: Resonances and Dissonances". Cogent Social Sciences. 7 (1): 1858562. doi: 10.1080/23311886.2020.1858562 . ISSN   2331-1886.
  18. ↑ "The Yahwist". Contradictions in the Bible. 23 December 2012. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  19. 1 2 Jaffee, Martin S. (19 April 2001). Torah in the Mouth: Writing and Oral Tradition in Palestinian Judaism 200 BCE-400 CE. Oxford University Press. ISBN   9780198032236.
  20. ↑ "The History Guide". www.historyguide.org. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  21. ↑ Charles Elster (2003). "Authority, Performance, and Interpretation in Religious Reading: Critical Issues of Intercultural Communication and Multiple Literacies". Journal of Literacy Research. 35 (1): 669–670.
  22. ↑ John Goldingay (2004). Models for Scripture. Clements Publishing Group. pp. 183–190. ISBN   978-1-894667-41-8.
  23. 1 2 The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica (2009). Scripture. Encyclopaedia Britannica.
  24. ↑ Wilfred Cantwell Smith (1994). What is Scripture?: A Comparative Approach. Fortress Press. pp. 12–14. ISBN   978-1-4514-2015-9.
  25. ↑ William A. Graham (1993). Beyond the Written Word: Oral Aspects of Scripture in the History of Religion. Cambridge University Press. pp. 44–46. ISBN   978-0-521-44820-8.
  26. ↑ Eugene Nida (1994), The Sociolinguistics of Translating Canonical Religious Texts, vol. 7, pp. 194–195
  27. ↑ Thomas B. Coburn (1984). ""Scripture" in India: Towards a Typology of the Word in Hindu Life". Journal of the American Academy of Religion. 52 (3). Oxford University Press: 435–459. doi:10.1093/jaarel/52.3.435. JSTOR   1464202.
  28. ↑ William A. Graham (1993). Beyond the Written Word: Oral Aspects of Scripture in the History of Religion. Cambridge University Press. pp. ix, 5–9. ISBN   978-0-521-44820-8.
  29. ↑ Carroll Stuhlmueller (1958). "The Influence of Oral Tradition Upon Exegesis and the Senses of Scripture". The Catholic Biblical Quarterly. 20 (3): 299–302. JSTOR   43710550.
  30. ↑ Qazi, M. A.; El-Dabbas, Mohammed Saʿid (1979). A Concise Dictionary of Islamic Terms. Lahore, Pakistan: Kazi Publications. p. 65.
  31. 1 2 Brown, Rethinking Tradition in Modern Islamic Thought, 1996: p.7
  32. ↑ Abou El Fadl, Khaled (22 March 2011). "What is Shari'a?". ABC Religion and Ethics. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
  33. ↑ "What is the Difference Between Quran and Sunnah?". Ask a Question to Us. Retrieved 20 June 2015.

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