RELI 1000 Lecture 10 Variation in Scriptures o Length o Style o Scriptures also vary in styles prose poetry history laws philosophy magical chants etc Authority o Some scriptures are short others are enormous long Texts are assigned different levels of authority depending on religion Role in religions Not all religions are scripturally centered e g Religions of the book Judaism Christianity and Islam Hinduism Buddhism scriptures are mere tools for enlightenment Reverence Some religions do not condone disrespect of the sacred text E g the burning of the Qur an is offensive Examples Number of Texts o Range from one book to an entire library o Islam one book o Hinduism hundreds of texts o Taoism 1 200 o Sikhism one book the Adi Granth Examples Style o Some feature historical narratives Judaism Christianity Islam o Others focus on moral life Hinduism Confucianism These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute o Some are poetic others are prose o Some contain directions songs Hinduism Vedas Judaism Song of Solomon Psalms etc o Others do not have a description of rites the Qur an o Others have myths legends prophecy sermons love poems divination magic Buddhism Tripitaka o Buddhist Scriptures o Tripitaka 3 baskets o Written in Pali Contain Dharma teachings that aid enlightenment Examples of scriptures o c Tripitaka Sutrapitaka The first Basket All the teachings of the Buddha recited by Ananda a Buddha disciple and attendant in the company of 500 arahants enlightened monks after the death of the Buddha o c Abhidharmapitaka The third Basket o Consists of attempts to organize interpret Pali sutras o b Vinaya Pitaka The second basket o o Rules of the Buddhist monastic community the Sangha reported by another expert monk Prajanaparamita perfection of wisdom Composed after 200 BCE and used by Mahayana Buddhism Teach the doctrine of emptiness sunyatta Vajrayana texts Third turning of the Wheel of Dharma Compiled around the 5th century and used by Vajrayana Buddhism Emphasis is secret ritual practices e g mantras chanting sacred sounds e g Om Mandalas diagrams of the universe and deities demons and the use of yoga with strong sexual symbolism recognizing the power of lust and the need to overcome it to reach enlightenment Judaism o Torah five books of Moses o Genesis o Exodus o Leviticus o Numbers o Deuteronomy o They are eternal divine wisdom uncreated aspect of God s plan o They represent God s real presence among Israelites o They are revered because they possess miraculous power Other Texts o o Prophetic books Accounts of kings of Judah Israel Oracles of prophets like Moses Samuel Hosea Amos Malachi Elijah Jeremiah Daniel Esther Writings Psalms The wisdom Job Proverbs Ecclesiastes Esther o Daniel o Ezra o Nehemiah o Judith o I II Meccabbees o These were transmitted orally for a while Christian Biblical Interpretation o The Bible the Christian scripture emerged as the cannon 100 years after the death of Christ o The N T is the fulfillment of the O T which contains 27 writings o It is written in prose poetry wisdom sayings parables o After the death of Jesus stories about him circulated orally among his disciples for 4o years o Cont o They were written down around 40 45 CE o They include the four gospels o Mark 65 70 Luke 80 90 Matthew 80 90 John 90 100 Paul s Epistles o o Written to early churches in Thessalonica Corinth Galatia Ephesus Rome Writings of the Apostles Book of Revelation 90 100 I II Timothy 100 150 Titus 100 150 Christian hermeneutics use four fold method of text interpretation The letter literal historical sense context Allegory symbolic meaning Analogy hidden eschatological meaning what it teaches about the future or God s purpose Confucianism o Classified into two categories The Four Classics Ching I Ching Book of changes The book of poetry The book of history The books of rites The Spring and Autumn Annals Four sacred Books Shu Analects of Confucius The Mencius The Great Learning The Doctrine of the mean Lunyu Analects o Are considered a record of the words and acts of the central Chinese thinker and philosopher Confucius and his disciples as well as the discussions they held o They were written during the Spring and Autumn Period through the Warring States Period ca 475 BCE 221 BCE o the Analects is the representative work of Confucianism and continues to have a tremendous influence on Chinese and East Asian thought and values today Islam o o The Qur an Revealed word of God God s eternal word uncreated preexistent Dictated piecemeal directly to the prophet Muhammad spoken through the Archangel Gabriel Consists of 114 Chapters suras and several verses ayas Hadith Traditions concerning the teachings actions of Muhammad Hinduism o Vedas Hindus scriptures are divided into two o Sruti What is heard o Eternal word not composed by any human but heard by ancient sages and transmitted orally o Thy include o Rig veda ten books of 1 028 hymns to various deities o Sama veda Songs and chants used in ritual recitation o Yajur veda Hymns used in ritual o Arthava veda Hymns and formulae concerning magical healing o Brahmanas Contains rules and explanations of vedic rituals used by Brahman priests o Aranyakas Forest treatises used for meditation o Upanishad Sitting Near o Philosophical treatise concerned with knowledge or mystical insights that will help achieve release of the soul from the cycle if rebirth o Smirti What is Remembered o Texts associated with human authorship They include Indian epics o A Mahabharata 500BCE 400BCE o Story about the Bharata dynasty centers on accounts of the god Krishna assistance to the Pandara Clan in its conflict with rival kanrava clan o Also includes Bhagavad Gita Songs of the Lord o Teaches about the need for one to follow one s caste duty dharma o Ramayana 750 500BCE o Tells the story of Rama an incarnation of the god Vishnu and the rescue of his wife Sita from the Demon Ravana Scriptures and Interpretation o Hermeneutics the science of scriptural interpretation o As symbols every scripture requires interpretation Why They represent higher truths spiritual meaning beyond the ordinary Scriptures have been written passed in human language that is located in cultural context Words and meanings change over time Scriptures are written in vast range of literary genres History legends poetry philosophy David and Goliath o Lesson Israel as a small