Why sacred texts are important

These are fixed truths and a tradition without any discernible origin. The Tanakh is a collection of Jewish texts, and some of its source material serves as the basis for the Christian Bible's Old Testament. Many of the same divine teachings from the Bible are recorded in it.

In the Talmud, rabbinic teachings are described which tell about the meaning of work and the prohibition of different types of work. This text, first translated into English in the year and first written in Japanese, is a record in the Shinto religion which explains the customs, ceremonies, and magical practices followed in Japan by Shintos.

It is a Chinese philosophical text, authored by Laozi in the 6th Century B. The Dao De Jing denotes many of the most important philosophical teachings of the religion in 81 chapters. Even if one affirms such sovereignty of the text, however, one is not condemned to a shallow reading. Traditions have long maintained that sacred texts are multilayered, or three-dimensional.

They have depths hidden below the surface, and so their content is not simply coextensive with the text as it appears to the casual reader. The Islamic tradition speaks of the zahir outer and the batin inner , and one finds in many religious traditions notions of the exoteric and esoteric meanings of scripture. Furthermore, the kind of language that one finds in sacred texts is considered in most cases divine language.

Therefore, though it may seem on the surface to be like ordinary language, each letter and sound can function in myriad ways—numerical, mystical, symbolic—linking together, for some readers at least, all scriptures. As scholars we are fascinated, even driven, to explore the many complex and often unexpected ways these texts function, yet we do so recognizing that they are sacred to others, even if not to ourselves.

However, for the sake of those for whom it is, I treat it with respect. In the end, it is the sacredness of the human person that demands of the scholar a particular approach to the text. Furthermore, it is the conviction of our universities that the human quest for wisdom and truth, for liberation and fullness of life, is ultimately, as the Second Vatican Council taught, a single quest that unites us all.

It proposes itself as a clarification and corrective without at the same time taking much interest in the actual sacred texts with which it claims a common origin.

Some have even found my reading helpful. One reader told me the only thing in that book that suggested to her I was not a Muslim was the mention of my Jesuit brothers in the acknowledgments. Yet I recognize that my approach was profoundly, even if not obviously, shaped by my being Christian. I sense an obligation to make sure that the engagement with this canon takes account, not only of the closed text and a flattened reading, but also of J.

At the same time, as Muslim students discover some of the richness of the exegetical tradition, it is no less essential that they come to understand the ethical responsibility they bear in their reading of the texts—a personal responsibility that cannot be contracted out to a medieval commentator, no matter how learned or pious. Yet at a deeper level, the term betrays the particularity of each tradition. It is difficult to argue that Christianity is a scriptural religion in the same way as either Islam or Judaism might be, and both of them have profound differences from each other in their approach.

It may be that Christian faith is just an extreme case of recognizing that the word of ultimacy for which human beings are listening cannot be exhausted by a text. Internet Sacred Text Archive - Baha'i. Internet Sacred Text Archive - Buddhism. Chinese Philosophical Etext Archive. Electronic versions of Chinese philosophical texts created by the Confucian Etext Project; Electronic versions of Chinese philosophical texts from other sources, to some of which we have made minor improvements; and Information on and links to more information on the preparation and use of these texts.

Chinese Classical Literature. This site contains Chinese classics with each character hyperlinked to its definition and etymology. No Chinese software is necessary - characters are displayed as images. Links to English translations are included for most works.

Internet Sacred Text Archive - Taoism. Clear Quran. ClearQuran translation is clear, pure, and easy to understand. The meaning is highly accurate, the sentence structure is simple, the flow is smooth. A decision is generally better made if a person has considered a variety of sources rather than just using one, or always consulting the same one.

This can help them gain the most complete picture of their situation and the options available so they can make a better and informed decision.