Religious text

Religious texts, also known as scripture, scriptures, holy writ, or holy books, are the texts which various religious traditions consider to be sacred, or central to their religious tradition. Many religions and spiritual movements believe that their sacred texts are divinely or supernaturally revealed or inspired.

History of religious texts

The oldest known religious text is the Kesh Temple Hymn of Ancient Sumer, the oldest version of which dates to around 2600 BCE. The earliest form of the Phoenician alphabet found to date is the inscription on the sarcophagus of King Ahiram of Byblos (The Sumerian Temple Hymns) circa 1000 BCE. The Epic of Gilgamesh from Sumer, with origins as early as 2150-2000 BCE, is also one of the earliest literary works that includes various mythological figures. The Rigveda of Hinduism is proposed to have been composed over several centuries between 1700–1100 BCE making it probably the world's oldest religious text still in use. Oberlies gives an estimate of 1100 BC for the youngest hymns in book 10. The oldest portions of the Zoroastrian Avesta are believed to have been transmitted orally for centuries before they found written form, and although widely differing dates for Gathic Avestan have been proposed, scholarly consensus floats at around 1000 - 600 BCE.

Harry Potter

Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels and one play written by British author J. K. Rowling. The series chronicles the life of a young wizard, Harry Potter, and his friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The main story arc concerns Harry's struggle against the Dark wizard Lord Voldemort, who aims to become immortal, overthrow the Ministry of Magic, subjugate non-magic people and destroy anyone who stands in his way.

Since the release of the first novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, on 30 June 1997, the books have gained immense popularity, critical acclaim and commercial success worldwide. They attracted a wide adult audience, and have remained one of the preeminent cornerstones of young adult literature. The series has also had some share of criticism, including concern about the increasingly dark tone as the series progressed, as well as the often gruesome and graphic violence depicted in the series. As of July 2013, the books have sold more than 450 million copies worldwide, making the series the best-selling book series in history, and have been translated into 73 languages. The last four books consecutively set records as the fastest-selling books in history, with the final instalment selling roughly 11 million copies in the United States within the first 24 hours of its release.

Books of Chronicles

The two Books of Chronicles (Hebrew: דברי הימים‎ Diḇrê Hayyāmîm, "The Matters of the Days"; Greek: Παραλειπομένων, Paraleipoménōn) are the final books of the Hebrew Bible in the order followed by modern Judaism; in that generally followed in Christianity, they follow the two Books of Kings and precede Ezra–Nehemiah, thus concluding the history-oriented books of the Old Testament. In the Christian Bible, the books are commonly referred to as 1 Chronicles and 2 Chronicles, or First Chronicles and Second Chronicles.

Title

The English title comes from the 5th century scholar Jerome, who referred to the book as a chronikon; in Hebrew it is called Divrei Hayyamim "The Matters [of] the Days", and in Greek, Paralipoménōn (Παραλειπομένων), "things left on one side".

Summary

Chronicles begins at the beginning of the history of humanity, with Adam, and the story is then carried forward, almost entirely by genealogical lists, down to the founding of the Israelite monarchy (1 Chronicles 1–9). The bulk of the remainder of 1 Chronicles, after a brief account of Saul, is concerned with the reign of David (1 Chronicles 11–29). The next long section concerns David's son Solomon (2 Chronicles 1–9), and the final part is concerned with the kingdom of Judah with occasional references to the kingdom of Israel (2 Chronicles 10–36). In the last chapter Judah is destroyed and the people taken into exile in Babylon, and in the final verses the Persian king Cyrus conquers Babylon, and authorises the restoration of the Temple in Jerusalem, and the return of the exiles.

Sacred

Sacred means revered due to sanctity, is in general the state of being holy (perceived by religious individuals as associated with divinity) or sacred (considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspiring awe or reverence among believers).

From an anthropological or atheistic perspective, the religious view of the sacred is an emic perspective on a culture's collection of thoughts and practices that function as a basis for the community's social structure.

Objects are often considered holy or sacred if used for spiritual purposes, such as the worship or service of gods. The property is often ascribed to people ("a holy man", a "holy prophet" who is venerated by his followers), objects (a "sacred artifact" that is venerated and blessed), times ("holy days"), or places ("holy places", "sacred ground").

Etymology

The word "sacred" descends from the Latin sacrum, which referred to the gods or anything in their power, and to sacerdos and sanctum, set apart. It was generally conceived spatially, as referring to the area around a temple.