Class: Monday, January 9th

1. Read and take notes over the following information. 

Remarkable in their centrality and enduring appeal, sacred writings offer a uniquely revealing window into global thought, culture, and history. A familiarity with the diverse body of world scriptures/sacred texts offers you: 

• a penetrating look at how people from different traditions have viewed the cosmos, the world, and human beings;
• a grasp of the core values and beliefs of the world’s highly influential faiths;
• a deep sense of the worldview, cultural themes, perceptions, and concerns driving the societies that produced the texts;
• direct knowledge and understanding of a towering body of world literature, reflecting richly varied traditions; and
• the words and insights of some of the wisest human beings in history on the self, the mind, ethics, morality, and meaningful living. 

At their core, sacred writings take you to the essence of the world’s faiths as they give meaning and inspiration to countless millions of people around the globe. In doing so, the texts provide a significant bridge to understanding other peoples and ways of life, and an opportunity to look at our own traditions and assumptions with fresh eyes and a greatly enlarged perspective (Grant Hardy). 

Reading Sacred Texts can fall under three categories: 

1. Religious

2. Historical

3. Literary 

In your notes, place some examples of the types of discussions or analysis that would occur under each of these categories. 

2. Read pages: 63-73 AND the box on page 74. 

Take good notes, especially on the introductory information. 

3. If you are intrigued about the study of religions in public school, click on the following: 

 ACLU- Current laws regarding religion in public schools

FOR WEDNESDAY/THURSDAY:
(I will go over in class on Tuesday... so hold off)
In your notes, prepare the following information: 

• What recognizable human experiences are portrayed in this text?
• What interpretation of human experience is expressed?
• Does the passage fall into one or more standard literary genres?
• What is the artistic style of the passage? What use does the passage make of literary techniques like metaphor, simile, word play, and the like?