RELIGST 1B03 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Religious Text, Vedas, Christian Culture
14 Jul 2020
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Document Summary
Nineteenth century write max m ller argued that religious scholars should make sacred texts a primary focus of their studies: for him, documents contain the authentic doctrine of the religion"s founders and their immediate disciples". He adds that the ancient sources stand in contrast with the actual practices of the present: he refers to these as the corruptions of later ages. For most of the twentieth century, religious scholars seemed to follow this advice: largely focusing on the study of texts. Books written and read within religious contexts. Generations of scholars have assumed that the primary way of learning about a religious tradition is to look at the texts: bible for christians, qur"an for muslims, vedas for hindus, etc. In these texts, there has been an expectation that the scholar will find the essential" basics of the particular religion: can be made accessible by the careful study of such texts.
