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Welcome to Sacred Texts of the World
Welcome to Sacred Texts of the World.
Billions of people shape their lives by sacred texts: the Torah, the Bible, the Qur’an, the Vedas and the Bhagavad Gita, the Buddhist sutras, the Guru Granth Sahib, the Tao Te Ching, and many more. These texts did not fall from the sky fully formed. They grew within human communities, drew on older stories, answered their neighbors, and were collected, translated, and argued over for centuries.
In this course you will read selections from the world’s scriptures and learn where they came from, using the best evidence from history and archaeology. You will see how the Bible grew out of older stories from Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Persia, and learn which popular claims about borrowing are supported and which are not. You will hear how believers themselves understand their scriptures. And you will look at how each tradition’s texts portray women, and how women have read and reinterpreted them.
How This Course Works
| Topic | Details |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite | None. Titles and degrees begin with ordination through the Ordination Orientation. |
| Pace | Self-paced. Most students finish in four to six weeks, studying about four to five hours a week. There are no deadlines. |
| Structure | Eight modules. Each module has a lesson, a reading assignment, and a ten-question quiz. |
| Book report | Read one of the books offered, pass its ten-question quiz, and write a one-paragraph summary, after Module 8. |
| Final exam | Fifteen multiple-choice questions and one essay of 1,500 to 2,000 words, taken after Module 8. |
| Credit | 3 credit hours toward further titles and degrees. |
Grading
| Part | To pass |
|---|---|
| Module quizzes (8) | Pass each with 70% or higher. Retakes allowed. |
| Book report quiz (10 questions) | Pass with 70% or higher. Retakes allowed. |
| Book report summary (one paragraph) | Approved by the school |
| Final exam, Part 1 (multiple choice) | Pass with 70% or higher. Retakes allowed. |
| Final exam, Part 2 (one essay, 1,500 to 2,000 words) | Approved by the school |
Required texts
- World Scripture: A Comparative Anthology of Sacred Texts, Andrew Wilson, editor (available free online)
- The Epic of Gilgamesh, translated by N. K. Sandars
- Tao Te Ching, a version by Ursula K. Le Guin
Many of these books are available from public libraries, used bookstores, and as ebooks.
What you will study
Module 1: What Makes a Text Sacred? Module 2: The Oldest Sacred Writings Module 3: The Hebrew Bible and Its Neighbors Module 4: The New Testament and Its World Module 5: The Qur’an Module 6: Scriptures of India Module 7: China, Japan, Indigenous, and Modern Scriptures Module 8: Reading Scripture Today
Book report choices
Tao Te Ching, Ursula K. Le Guin; The Epic of Gilgamesh, N. K. Sandars, translator
Academic honesty
All written work must be your own. You may quote and discuss the course readings and other sources, but you must say where the words and ideas came from. Submitting work written by someone else, including work generated entirely by AI tools, is not permitted.