SACRED TEXT

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The Sacred Texts
Sacred texts establish a religion’s cornerstone, instilling spirituality, character, and law in its persons. Some are stories of historical individuals in the faith. A sacred text may be regarded as the unchangeable word of God. Other sacred texts are expanded and revised by future generations. Texts could be metaphorical, literal, or both. The sacred text is ceaseless in its importance and undiminishing in its appeal. Men’s books usually have their own day and eventually grow obsolete. However, the word of God is exactly like himself, “the same yesterday, today, and forever.” As time passes, the sacred texts never age. Its authority is always fresh. Therefore, ancient sacred texts are still relevant today.
Almost every religious belief and thought has a central ancient sacred text that guides its followers. The sacred texts are important because they convey mystical truth, foster communal identity, establish a link with the divine, and offer the promotion of spiritual experiences and mystical practices. The monotheist traditions and practices of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam were born in the Middle East (McGrath n.p). The three religions are inextricably related to each other. Christianity originated from Jewish tradition while Islam established from both Judaism and Christianity. Abraham is regarded as the first Jew to make a covenant with Almighty God. Since Christianity, Judaism, and Islam recognize Abraham as the first prophet, they are known as Abrahamic religions.

Thus, the three religions have various common traditions and beliefs. They all own up Abraham as the founding father. Jerusalem is a historic center for followers of the three religions. Muslims consider the “Dome of the Rock” as holy and do worship it as the location where Muhammad rose into heaven to get revelations from God. Jews contemplate Jerusalem as an ancestral and spiritual homeland. The Christians on their part worship Jerusalem as the area where Jesus Christ was buried and came back to life. They also have commonality in the scriptures. All the three Abrahamic religions have specific and common names for God. Jews and Christians use the name Yahweh or Elohim as Muslims use Allah. These names generally refer to God. For Christians, Yahweh was increasingly considered as too holy to be mentioned and was thus replaced by terms like him, not with a specific name, but utilizing the common names “God” or “Lord.”
Christianity refers to a religion established upon the miracles and teachings of Jesus. Jesus was sent by God to the world to fulfill prophecies and laws of the Old Testament. Christianity holds that there’s one God who created the earth, universe, Eve and Adam. Sacred texts are divinely inspired writings. For Christianity, the Bible is the main sacred text (McGrath n.p). The name results from Latin term “Byblos,” which means “books.” The text is divided into the new and old testament. The name provided for the two section are important. The term testament refers to a covenant. Therefore, the idea of new and old testaments reveals the Christian viewpoint that the ecclesiastical is the heir to the people of Israel who were chosen by God. The Old Testament is regarded as relevant, authoritative, and foundational, and is cherished and read by Christians together with New Testament. The primary function of the Bible which is the sacred text for Christianity is to sufficiently guide the followers on how God can provide them with eternal life.
The Bible provides information about salvation. From the story of Abraham, the salvation and commitment to God are evident. By the time of Abraham, humankind had turned entirely away from Almighty God; they had been destroyed by floods. Again, the salvation provides eternal life to those who believe. The religious adherents follow the function of the Bible by getting saved and committing themselves to the teachings and guidelines provided by the sacred text. The contrasting evidence can be extracted from the atheists who believe that there is no God and thus the Bible is just like a normal book. They assume that everything on earth happened naturally and that there were no supernatural forces involved. Therefore, the sacred text for Christianity is still relevant today as it ensures that Christians are well guided on matters concerning faith, salvation, and God.
In conclusion, sacred texts of Christianity are still relevant. The Bible guides the Christians on how to be faithful and to emulate Abraham in believing one God. In the three Abrahamic religions, sacred texts are so authoritative and influential that it makes the followers believe and respect it. It is important to analyze sacred text as it makes us understand its origin, function, and its relevance to the modern followers.
Works Cited
McGrath, Alister. “Christian Texts.” Religion Facts, 18 Nov. 2016, www.religionfacts.com/christianity/texts. Accessed 4 March. 2018.