Overview of Sacred Texts

The past few weeks I have focused mainly on discussing religions. Continuing the pattern, I thought it would interesting to learn more about what is truly behind some of these religions. If a person is religious, he mostly likely follows and reads a sacred text. The sacred texts contain the central idea(s) of each religion. As a religious person myself, I think without a text there is no solid ground for a religion to build off of, so there is not a reason for religions to exist. For this reason, I find it interesting to discover the history behind these texts.

Some of the oldest known religious texts, Pyramid texts found in Ancient Egypt, date back to 2400 BCE. Another text that dates back to about 2000 BCE is the Epic of Gilgamesh written by Gilgamesh for Sumarians.

The more popular religions in today’s society, Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, have their own sacred texts as well.

Buddhism originated in India and spread throughout Asia and much of the current world. In fact, Buddhism was my ancestors’ religion, and to this very day it influences me to some degree. Buddhist texts include the Buddhavacana and other texts with aspects from the Sutras or Sanskrit, a former text. The main aspect of this sacred text discusses what Buddha thought a life consists of. Buddha argues that an individual’s spirit is in an endless cycle of life and death (reincarnation). In order to end this cycle, one must simply follow Buddha’s teachings and follow the path that he laid out. First, one must meditate, understand the Four Noble Truths , and follow the Noble Eightfold Path that Buddha presented. Eventually, when the individual accomplishes this task, they will be in a stage known as nirvana (no suffering). The sacred texts describe and aid individuals in this process to reach nirvana.

Christianity and its relatives affect United States citizens the most because it is the most popular form of religion. More specifically, being a student from a West Michigan school, Christianity shaped me to be the person I am. Through the Bible , Christians learn what it means to be alive, how to live life on earth, and what afterlife consists of. The Bible consists of two sections, the New Testament and Old Testament. The Old Testament originated from Hebrew scripture and is a collection of books written prior to the life of Jesus. The main difference between the two is organization and division of material. The life and teachings of Jesus, found in the New Testament, drives the religion and discusses the Christian life. Within the New Testament, the life of Jesus Christ and his teachings strikes individuals, making them believers. Lessons vary in difficulty, some as easy as not lying and others having multiple and deeper meanings. Those who dedicate their lives in following the word of Christ enjoy an afterlife in Heaven.

These are not the only sacred texts. For more information on the previously mentioned texts and other texts, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_text.