Communities of Faith SECTION A 4. Tick the box! True 1. The invention of writing made our entire complex civilisation possible.
2. Writing makes it possible for people to communicate accurately over great distances of space and time.
3. Sacred texts preserve important stories and teachings of a religion.
4. The Chester Beatty Library is now located at Shrewsbury Road in Dublin.
5. Alfred Chester Beatty amassed such wealth that he became known as ‘the silver king’.
6. Alfred Chester Beatty was made Ireland’s first honorary citizen in 1957.
7. The Sacred Traditions Exhibition displays sacred texts written on papyrus.
8. The Bible is not really one book but a whole library of books. 9. The Bible is divided into three parts, each called ‘testaments’. 10. For the whole human race, the Bible is ‘the Word of God’. 11. The Bible is open to different interpretations. 12. The title Qur’an means ‘to repeat’. 13. The Qur’an is ‘the binding force’ between Muslims all over the world.
14. Muslims believe that the Qur’an was given to Muhammad by the angel Jibril.
15. The Qur’an is written in Greek. 16. The Qur’an consists of 114 ayats. 17. Muslims must wash their hands before handling a copy of the Qur’an.
5. Think about it!
(a) Why do people read sacred texts? (b) Why were sacred texts written? (c) Give three reasons why the Bible can be called ‘an important book’. (d) Why are the members of a religion supposed to treat their sacred text with respect? (e) Why do Muslims say that every copy of the Qur’an must be treated with great respect?
