Throughout the semester we have asked you to read primary sources. Each primary source has a certain amount of authority, while at the same time it contains some bias. Every written passage has a bias, some hidden (and often not so hidden) agenda that the author wants to get across to the reader. Our sources of knowledge must be read with a critical eye. This often becomes a problem when reading religious texts. There is a difference between 'revealed' knowledge which a deity gives to a follower and knowledge gained by human reason. Religions often gave believers a sense of certainty in a changing world as cultures came into contact with one another. When people encountered others who had different views of life and of the universe, religion often acted as an anchor of cultural authority.
Religious texts, which believers hold come from a deity, have a sense of superior divine authority when compared to other forms of knowledge. This knowledge was revealed to individuals (usually only men) or small groups through spoken language or mystical experiences. Remember that all ancient religious texts began with oral traditions. The stories, morals, fables, parables, and events regarding the acts and teaching of gods were passed down by word of mouth. Only later were these ideas written down. Who made the original selections for the passages in these religious texts? Why should some stories or events be accepted and others rejected? Why, in other words, should you belief these texts?
Should a religious text be read literally, taking everything the book says as real and true and unchanging? Or should religious texts be open to interpretation? Should they be able to help people as they struggle through life? (You didn't forget that you were going to die eventually, did you?) Should these texts just tell you what to believe? In general, the message of the authors often needs to be interpreted for the majority of believers so that all followers can get the real benefits of their religion. Sometimes this need for interpretation is caused by the texts themselves since they are often obscure and difficult to understand. Many believers have depended on scholars or specialists of some sort to help explain the words and their meaning. So are these men (and in the past they would only have been men) the only ones who can interpret the religious texts? Where do they get their authority from? Are they somehow closer to the divine? Are some people excluded from reading the texts? How can the texts be used to legitmize social and political organizations and actions? Or to justify the rule of a king? Or rebellion against a ruler?
This week we will look at the historical development and growth of Christianity to see how this religion changed. We will look at these questions of religious and authority and how they relate to the development of Christian beliefs.
Click on your assignments below:
2. Interpretation of Images.
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