From its very beginnings, the Koran establishes itself as the final word on right living. The first sentence reads, “This book is not to be doubted. It is a guide for the righteous, who believe in the unseen and are steadfast in prayer.” Later on, Mohammed quotes God as saying, “Here are the Scriptures and the wisdom I have given you,” (3:81) thus portraying the text as the direct word of God spoken through the prophet. Both of these passages are integral to the Koran’s credibility as a holy scripture.
Mohammed’s version of right living is very works based. Because of the thousands of commandments he requires of his followers, it would be nearly impossible for a Muslim to function without a written log of these demands. Enter the Koran. As it is a “guide for the righteous”, and Islamic Paradise can only be achieved through righteousness (3:15), the Koran is an essential element to the Muslim faith, a faith that is unattainable without the presence of the book. In fact, Islam as a religion did not even exist until the advent of Mohammed’s teachings.
The Bible is the only accepted sacred scripture of the Christian faith. It consists of sixty six books written by more than forty authors over a period of about seventeen hundred years. The first and oldest of these books is Genesis, which completion dates
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back to about 1500 BC. A chronological record of God’s relationship with humanity, the books document everything from the earth’s creation to its prophesied ending and everything in between. The Bible is further categorized into two larger sections, the Old and New Testament. While the Old Testament focuses primarily on the history of the Israelites, the New Testament tells of the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, as well as the beginnings of the Christian church.
Through its very nature, the Bible cannot be used as a collection of commands or requirements as is the Koran. While there are exceptions of this, (for example, the Ten Commandments [Ex. 20:1-17] and the book of Leviticus) the heavily narrative structure of the text often requires interpretation and indirect application. Even Jesus’ direct teachings are communicated through stories, such as the Parable of Weeds. (Matt. 13:24-30)
Like the Koran, the Bible is presented as the literal Word of God. Paul writes, “All scripture is God-breathed.” (2 Tim. 3:16) The logic of this concept is further explained in Peter’s charge to “...understand that no prophesy of scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. Prophesy never had its origin in the will of man, but men awoke from God...” (2 Pt. 1:20-21) Since man is only a reflection of God created by God, what man writes of God will be divinely inspired. To eliminate any hang-ups, Psalm 18:30 illustrates the precision of the Bible. “As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless.”
Throughout its pages, the Bible is described as more of a helpful tool than a black and white law book. It “...is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in
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righteousness so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim. 3:16-17) A Psalmist writes, “[God’s] word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” (Ps. 119:105) It does not provide many specific answers, but acts as a foundation upon which the follower will shape his/her thought and motivation.
Vastly different from the Koran is the Bible’s role in salvation. While Mohammed cites righteous living as the way to heaven, Paul states that “it is by grace you have been saved...not by works.” (Eph. 2:8-9) Therefore, no amount of Bible reading will gain one’s salvation. This means that, while remaining central, the text is not necessarily required to be a Christian.
Finally, there is the Hindu Bhagavad-Gita (or simply the Gita). Written sometime between 400 BC and 100 AD, it is part of the larger Mahabharata scripture. Its title translates roughly to “Song to the Lord” and reflects the poetic style by which it was written. Only one of nineteen major Hindu scriptures (which lie among scores of other minor texts), the Gita is a transcription of a discourse shared by the god Krishna and a human warrior named Arjuna. In the text, Arjuna faces the conflict of either fighting a civil war in which he would kill his friends and family or fleeing and gaining the label of coward (as well as negative karma). He brings this problem before Krishna, and the god responds with eighteen teachings on non-attachment and action versus inaction.
If, in reference to the Koran, the Bible steps slightly away from literal interpretation, then the Gita approaches vagueness; metaphors and surface contradictions abound. In describing the Self, Krishna states “Rarely someone sees it, rarely another speaks it, rarely anyone hears it – even hearing it, no one really knows it,” (2:28) then
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jumps to another topic without explaining the previous any further. Obviously, this text requires a large amount of personal interpretation as well as a deeper understanding before it can be fully comprehended.
Krishna would argue that this lack of comprehension is unimportant. On multiple occasions he states that knowledge is far subservient to knowing. Understanding is of more use than a familiarity with sacred lore. Returning to the beginning quote, we see that “a man who seeks to learn discipline passes beyond sacred lore.” (6:44) Accordingly, discipline, an aspect of non-attachment, supercedes all knowledge obtained by the study of the scriptures. Krishna even goes as far as saying that one whose “understanding passes beyond the swamp of delusion...will be indifferent to all that is heard in sacred lore.” (3:52) How does one reach this understanding? By “striving with effort, purified of his sins, perfected through many births, [he] find[s] a higher way.” (6:45) The Hindu belief in reincarnation (many births) provides the time needed to gain experiential understanding.
Krishna also encourages personal investigation of material presented in the scriptures. He teaches that knowing can be reached “by humble submission, by asking questions, and by service; wise men who see reality will give you knowledge.” (4:34) Thus, knowledge gained through experience is superior to that communicated in sacred texts. This statement further decreases the necessity of sacred lore. It seems that Hindu scriptures can only be used to their full potential once the seeker has already achieved enlightenment (the Hindu version of heaven or paradise). Therefore, the text is only an accessory to one’s own experience.
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Through this comparison of holy texts, the most obvious conclusion is as follows: as the amount of personal interpretation increases, the necessity of the text will decrease. The Koran, an inflexible text communicating concrete, specific concepts is absolutely essential to the Islamic faith, while the Gita, at once philosophical and abstract, actually points followers away from itself. The Bible lies somewhere between the previous two on both accounts. This makes it not altogether necessary, but still extremely important to the practice of Christianity. As this illustration has shown, religious texts that may seem similar on the surface can have entirely different functions within their respective faiths. Considering this simple fact could be the first step in avoiding religious assumptions and truly understanding the faiths of other peoples.
Works Cited
The Bhagavad-Gita, trans. Barbara Stoler Miller;
copyright 1986, Barbara Stoler Miller; Bantam Books
The Bible, New International Version
copyright 1984, The International Bible Society; Zondervan Publishing
The Koran, trans. N.J. Dawood
copyright 1999, N.J. Dawood; Penguin Books