SACRED TEXTS

CHRISTIANITY  The sacred text of Christians is the Bible.  The Bible consists of an Old Testament and a New Testament.  The Old Testament is the record of the sacred covenant between God and the people through Abraham and Moses.  The New Testament is the record of the new Christian covenant through Jesus.

JUDAISM  The Hebrew scriptures consist of twenty-four books and is divided into three sections that are referred to with the acronym TaNaKh, an abbreviation for Torah, Nevi’im, and Ketuvim.

HINDUISM  The sacred text of the Hindu is The Vedas  The Vedic texts are organized into four sections:  The Rigveda, containing hymns  The Yajurveda, containing formulas to be recited officiating priest  The Samaveda, containing formulas to be sung  The Atharvaveda, a collection of spells and incantations  Individual verses are collectively known as mantras

ISLAM  The sacred text of Islam is the Quran  Written by Muhammad, the founder of Islam  The Quran describes itself as a book of guidance and morals

BUDDHISM  The Buddhist tests were not recorded in writing until after Buddha’s death.  The texts are divided into three different collections, known as the Tripitaka.  They contain:  Stories told by Buddha  The path to enlightenment  Guidelines for monks  Buddhist philosophy

CONFUCIANISM  The holy text for Confucianism is the Analects  Sayings of Confucius  focuses on relationships and the relationship of the role of rulers and ministers to the conduct of government.  Another holy text is the Wujin, which contains five books  Contains poetry, documents, and rituals of Confucianism

DAOISM  There are two well-known holy texts in Daoism:  Tao Te Ching  Chuang Tzu  These texts criticize or mock other popular views, especially those of Confucius.  Another text, the Liezi, debates about the appropriate way to behave and to lead others