Religion and Human Experience

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Religion and Human Experience
The authority and status of scriptures in the
tradition(s) chosen in the light of the relevant
religious beliefs about the revelations/inspiratio
n of the scriptures. The importance of scripture
for believers in relation to other sources of
religious authority in the tradition(s) chosen.
Syllabus Section Authority
General understanding of different ways of
interpreting scripture, e.g. literally or
figuratively (symbolically) in the tradition(s)
chosen with some illustrations and examples
The nature, purpose and role of scripture and
sacred writings as a source of authority and
inspiration for faith and practice in the
tradition(s) chosen
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Religion and Human Experience
Syllabus Section Authority
Buddhism The nature and compilation of the Pali
Canon, the purpose of the three Pitzkas.
Christianity The development and formation of
the canon attitudes towards the Bible within
different Xian groups.
Christianity The development and formation of
the canon attitudes towards the Bible within
different Xian groups.
Hinduism The nature and compilation of the
Vedas. The difference between Ibruti and Iwruti.
The nature of the epics Mahabharata, Ramayana
and the status of the Puranas.
Hinduism The nature and compilation of the
Vedas. The difference between Ibruti and Iwruti.
The nature of the epics Mahabharata, Ramayana
and the status of the Puranas.
Islam The role of Prophets (pbut) in Islam the
nature and purpose of the Quran as the
ultimate source of knowledge.
Judaism The role of the Prophets, the Torah and
the Talmud. The role of Rabbis.
Judaism The role of the Prophets, the Torah and
the Talmud. The role of Rabbis.
Sikhism The Guru Granth Sahib its nature and
its status for Sikhs.
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Religion and Human Experience
Syllabus Section Authority
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
I Samuel
II Samuel
I Kings
Nehemiah
II Kings
Esther
Ezra
I Chronicles
II Chronicles
Canon A set of religious writings regarded as
authentic and definitive and forming a religions
body of scripture
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
Song of Songs
Lamentations
Job
Psalms
The Old Testament (in Christianity), the Hebrew
Bible (in Judaism). The books are the same, but
the Hebrew Bible is in a different order to the
Old Testament
The Pentateuch (Judaism Torah)
Old Testament History
Wisdom and Poetry
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Ezekiel
Daniel
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi
Acts of the Apostles
Matthew
Mark
Luke
John
The New Testament is considered by Christians to
be the continuation of the Old Testament. Jewish
readers do not endow the New Testament with any
divine authority, as they do not accept Jesus
Christ as the Masiah.
The Prophets
The Gospels and Acts
Romans
I Corinthians
II Corinthians
Galatians
Ephesians
Philippians
Colossians
I Timothy
II Timothy
Titus
Philemon
Hebrews
James
I Peter
II Peter
I John
II John
III John
Jude
Revelation
I Thessalonians
II Thessalonians
Writings of the Apostles
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Religion and Human Experience
Syllabus Section Authority
Derivation of the Canon

• 66 books (39 OT/HB, 27 NT)
• The early books would have been written on
  papyrus (thick leaves of a water-based plant
  found in South America and around Egypt) or
  Scrolls made from leather/animal skin
• The later books may have been written on scrolls,
  but usually on thick paper
• The OT/HB was mainly written in Biblical Hebrew
  and some words from other ancient languages such
  as Persian
• The NT was written mainly in Greek with the odd
  word in Hebrew, Aramaic and Latin.
• Different versions of the same text written in
  different languages

The Masoretic Text The traditional text of the
Hebrew Bible, revised and annotated by Jewish
Scholars between the 6th and 10th centuries Anno
Domini
The Septuagint A Greek translation of the Hebrew
Bible made in the 3rd or 2nd centuries BC to meet
the needs of Greek-Speaking Jewish people outside
Palestine. The Septuagint contains some books
not found in the Hebrew Canon (from Latin
septuaginta meaning 70 because it is thought that
around 70 scholars worked on the translation)
The Vulgate A Latin version of the Bible
produced by Saint Jerome in the 4th Century Anno
Domini (from the Latin word vulgatus meaning
public or for the public)

• Various Codex's
• A collection of manuscript texts, especially of
  the Scriptures, in book form
• Examples include
• Codex Sinaiticus
• Codex Leningradensis
• Codex Bezae
• Codex Vaticanus
• Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus

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Religion and Human Experience
Syllabus Section Authority
The Formation of the Canon
The Old Testament/ Hebrew Bible The Old Testament
is unique amongst sacred texts/sacred canons, as
it is also the source of much historical detail
regarding the movements and settlings of the
Hebrew people and the nation of Israel. The
OT/HB came together over a great period of time
the first book is thought to have been written
about 2,750BC and the Hebrew/Jewish Canon was not
compiled (authoritatively) until about 150AD! By
400BC the five Books of Moses (known properly
as the Pentateuch/Torah, but most probably not
written by Moses) were generally accepted as
authoritative scripture. By 200BC the Major
Prophets and the Minor Prophets were also
recognised as scripture. The precise view as to
what was Hebrew/Jewish Canon was really up in the
air, this being made even more difficult by the
production of new books written in Greek during
this period. An example of this is 1, 2, 3 and 4
Maccabees. These books (actually probably
written on scrolls or papyri, but lets not get
bogged down in complicated theory) were written
about 100BC, written about the trials and
tribulations of the Jewish warrior Judah Maccabee
resisting the rule of the Greek leader Antiochus.
This is an example of the problematic nature of
the text, as it was written in Greek not Hebrew.
This book was rejected by both primary Canons and
was eventually accepted as Deutero-Canonical/Apocr
yphal, hence why it can be found in Bibles with
the Apocrypha (also known as the second Catholic
Canon). In the late part of the first century
Anno Domini (probably between 75-95 AD)
authoritative Jewish Scholars met at Yavneh to
draw up a list of the 39 books that would become
known as the OT/HB and would constitute the
Jewish/Hebrew Canon. Woohoo!
Wahey!
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Religion and Human Experience
Syllabus Section Authority
The Formation of the Canon
The New Testament (Page 1) Compared to the
establishment of the OT/HB, the New Testament was
very different. All of the NT books were written
under 100 years (i.e. the space between the first
book written and the last was less than 100
years). From the very genesis, these books were
being used and read by the early and progressive
Christian Church. Things worked well for the
Church and the concept of universal truth across
the books available wasnt really an issue (even
though there were loads of books like The
Infancy Gospel of Thomas, The Gospel of
Thomas, The Acts of Pilate, The Gospel of
Peter and The Gospel of Nicodemus which did
not necessarily consist and gave conflicting
portrayals of Christology and the Historical
Jesus). In the Early Church the term scripture
usually referred to text that belonged to the
Hebrew Bible, but this changed when the epistle
of II Peter referred to some Pauline text as
scripture(Pauline is a theological term
meaning that it is about the apostle Paul, and
Petrine is a theological term meaning that it
is about Peter). Soon after this Christian
writers such as Justin Martyr (c. 100-165 AD, a
famous Early Church theologian who was
responsible for clarification of much Church
doctrine) were also referring to Early Church
text as scripture. About 150AD, an Early
Church character called Marcion (dodgy!) left
the Roman church and declared that he had a new
idea about the Christian message based on his
unique selection of divinely accepted books,
most of which were rejected by the Early Church
leaders because their authenticity was dodgy.
This forced them to decide as to what the
definitive Christian Canon should be and what
they would class as authentic. Naturally half of
their job was done as the HB/OT was already
decided. The task of deciding what should or
shouldnt be included was a flipping difficult
one indeed. Much debate surrounded texts like
Hebrews, 2 Peter and Jude. The Armenian Church
would not accept the book of Revelation at all
until the 11th-12th Century Anno Domini, and the
books known as Didache and I Clement were very
nearly included too. As there were so many
factions of the Christian Church (e.g. Catholic,
Pauline, Greek Orthodox, Armenian, Messianic
Jewish etc), ascertaining a unified, accepted
view was always going to be difficult. However,
it was through ecumenical councils (all the
denominations sending scholarly representatives
and working together) and a wise Bishop that a
decision was eventually made.
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Religion and Human Experience
Syllabus Section Authority
The Formation of the Canon
The New Testament (Page 2) In 367AD, the
Patriarch of Alexandria and Primate of Egypt
called Bishop Athanasius wrote an Encyclical
Letter outlining what he believed should be the
accepted 27 books of the New Testament. I cannot
say for sure, but this was probably written to
the clergy and the people of Alexandria and the
diocese that this covered (Bishop Athanasius is
also thought to have written the Athanasian
Creed, the third Christian doctrinal creed and
was later beatified by the Catholic
Church). There were loads of criteria as to what
made a book suitable for inclusion, but one of
the most powerful was that the book was written
by an apostle - someone who experienced the life
of Christ first-hand or that lived during the
days of Christ. When deciding the definitive
Christian Canon, the aim of the Church was not to
create a list of writings that were to be deemed
as authentic, but to confirm the existing
practice of the churches in reading
them. Eventually, in 397AD the Council of
Carthage decided upon and issued a definitive
list that outlined and detailed the 27 books that
are now generically known as the New Testament.