Introduction to Religious Scriptures
Senior 4 · General and Religious Studies
Introduction to Religious Scriptures
Lesson 5 of 5
40 min
A psalm calls scripture a guide for daily life: "Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light for my path" (Psalm 119:105). Every faith community you have studied would say something similar of its own scripture. Yet history also shows verses torn from their context and used to justify hatred, exclusion and even violence.
The same book can be a lamp or a weapon, depending on how it is read. This lesson weighs the importance of scripture for believers and for society, explains how careful interpretation works, and compares what the scriptures of different faiths teach about living together in diversity, which is Rwanda's daily reality.
Definition
Authority: the right to guide belief and action. Believers accept their scripture as authoritative.
Interpretation: working out what a text means. Exegesis: careful study of what a passage meant in its own setting. Hermeneutics: the principles of interpretation.
Context: the words, book, history and culture surrounding a passage.
Literal and figurative reading: taking words in their plain sense, or as images, poetry or symbols.
Proof-texting: quoting a verse out of context to "prove" an opinion already held.
Unity in diversity: living together in peace and cooperation while keeping different beliefs and identities.
| Function | For the believer and the community | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Revelation and truth | Makes known God, or ultimate truth, and the purpose of life | "Every Scripture is God-breathed" (2 Timothy 3:16); "This is the Scripture whereof there is no doubt" (Qur'an 2:2) |
| Guidance | Gives values and laws for daily life (Unit 9) | "Your word is a lamp to my feet" (Psalm 119:105) |
| Worship | Provides prayers, songs and readings | The Psalms; Al-Fatiha in every prayer; Torah reading on the Sabbath |
| Identity and memory | Tells the community's story and who it is | The Exodus at Passover; the Hijra |
| Comfort and hope | Speaks to suffering, illness and death | Psalm 46:1; Surah 13:28 (Unit 9) |
| Inner change | Searches and shapes the heart | "The word of God is living and active … and is able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12) |
| Culture and learning | Inspires literature, art, music and literacy | "Read!" (Qur'an 96:1); scriptures translated into Kinyarwanda |
Every faith has traditions of careful interpretation: Jewish rabbinic commentary, Christian biblical study and church teaching, and Islamic tafsir. They share a basic rule: a verse must be read inside widening circles of context (Figure 5).
Worked example: "eye for eye"
Exodus 21:24 says: "eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot". Quoted alone, it can sound like a command to take revenge. Read in its circles of context:
Conclusion: a verse that sounds harsh alone was, in context, a step towards justice and away from revenge. Careful reading changes the meaning completely.
Rwanda's faith communities live side by side, and Article 37 of the Constitution protects each one's freedom. Law N° 72 of 2018 forbids religious organisations to use their preaching to jeopardise "the unity of Rwandans" (Unit 9). What do the scriptures themselves say about living with difference?
| Scripture | Teaching on unity and diversity |
|---|---|
| Bible (Psalm 133:1) | "See how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to live together in unity!" |
| Qur'an (5:48, Pickthall) | "For each We have appointed a divine law and a traced-out way. Had Allah willed He could have made you one community. But that He may try you by that which He hath given you (He hath made you as ye are). So vie one with another in good works." |
| Qur'an (49:13) | Humans were made "nations and tribes that ye may know one another" (Unit 8) |
| Dhammapada (5) | "Hatred ceases by love" (Unit 10) |
| Analects (XV, 23) | "What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others." (Unit 10) |
The teachings differ in their foundations, but they converge: difference is not a reason for hatred, and believers of different faiths can compete only "in good works".
Warning
Common mistakes
Important
Discuss. Surah 5:48 says God could have made humanity "one community" but did not, so that people would "vie one with another in good works". Psalm 133:1 praises living "together in unity". How can these two ideas, diversity and unity, both be true in a Rwandan school with Christian and Muslim students?
CrashCourse Religions #14: "How Do Religious Texts Work?", about 11 minutes. Note the different ways communities use their texts: reading, reciting, interpreting and performing them.
Practice
Key points
Further reading
Sources and credits
Written by Ganzaa: the opening, Figure 5, the tables, the worked example and the exercises.
Quick check
Put the circles of context in order, from the smallest to the widest.
Tap the cards in the right order.
