Religious activities

Topic outline

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• UNIT 1: INTRODUCTION TO RELIGIOUS SCRIPTURES

  Key Unit Competence: Describe the structure of the sacred books and 

  highlight their importance in spiritual growth 

  and worship

  Introductory Activity

  Latifah, John and Christian are students in a one of teacher training 

  colleges in Rwanda. They often attend the school library to read different 

  books in order to supplement their information and knowledge. Latifah 

  and Christian are used to read scientific, literary and the Holy Scriptures. 

  John also does the same but he never read the Holy scriptures. He always 

  blames his classmates about wasting of time in reading the Holy sciptures. 

  By the end of term Latifah and Christian receive their school reports with 

  good marks but John gets failure in behaviour.

  1. Do you think Latifah and Christian performed well in discipline and 

  John failed?

  2. How do Holy Scriptures influence the behaviour of Latifafh and 

  Christian?

  3. Why are some writings called Holy Scriptures?

  4. The Holy Scriptures are said to be Word of God,do you think God 

  took materials and wrote it Himself? Explain.

  5. What do you think is based on to structure or to group the biblical 

  books? 

  6. What is the importance of Holy Scriptures at home, at school and 

  in life in general

  1.1. Holy Scriptures concepts

  1.1. Learning activities: 

  1. Basing on your personal experience and using various resources, 

  research on the meaning of Holy Scriptures and give some 

  examples.

  2. What do you think was the process of their writing?

  3. Discuss their importance to individual, school community and 

  society in general. introduce their friends when together they meet 

  new people.

  Religious texts or Holy Scriptures are those sacred and central to the teachings 

  of almost every given religion. They are significant as these almost every 

  given religion. They are significant as these texts convey spiritual truth, 

  establish a connection with the divine, foster communal identity, and provide 

  the promotion of mystical experiences and spiritual practices.

  

  1.1.1. Bible

  Etymologically the word Bible comes from plural Greek “ta biblia” that means 

  books or a collection of books, a library. Its singular “to biblion” gives name 

  Bible. The Bible is then a collection of books of Word of God consists of the 

  Old and New Testament. Bible is therefore a compilation of books considered 

  as one book.

  1.1.2. Testament

  The term Testament came from Latin “testamentum” meaning Alliance or 

  covenant: it is defined as treaty for mutual advantages: the following are 

  examples of the covenant found in the Bible:

  • Abraham formed an alliance with Canaanite princes (Genesis 14:13)

  • Abraham formed alliance with Abimelech (Genesis 21:22-23)

  • The patriarchs concluded a covenant of alliance by blood of some 

  sacrificial animal except birds (Genesis 15:10)

  • The Sinaitic Covenant or Mosaic Covenant refers to the Biblical 

  Testament between God and His chosen people, Israelites (Exodus 

  19-20): the sign of that Testament became the Decalogue or Ten 

  Commandments of God.

  • Jesus Christ concluded the New and eternal Alliance and with the pillars 

  of the Church (Matthew 26:26; Luke 22:14-19): the sign of that Alliance 

  has been the Holy Meal, Holy Sacrifice known also as the Eucharist.

  Main parts of the Bible

  The Old Testament

  The Old Testament or Old Covenant is formed of all books about the 

  relationship between God and His chosen people, Israel. It is about preparation 

  of Human Salvation: creation of all, the fall of man, the call of Abraham, and 

  liberation of Abraham’s descendants from Egyptian slavery, conclusion of 

  the Alliance at Sinai Mount, giving the Promised Land etc. Christians give 

  the name Old Testament to differentiate it from the new one established by 

  Jesus Christ. The Old Testament into the Catholic Bible consists of 46 books 

  while the Old Testament for Protestant Bible consists of 39 books.

  The New Testament

  The New Testament is about 27 books that talks about the fulfilment of human 

  salvation through Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The books of the 

  New Testament are mainly written in Greek language.

  

  1.1.3. Revelation of the Bible

  
  

  God revealed Himself by Jesus “whoever sees me sees the one who sent me” John 12:45
  

  Divine revelation means that God made Himself known to man. The Bible 

  as Word of God, His creation and the incarnation of Verb constitute the 

  three main means by which God revealed Himself. By incarnation God 

  made Himself a man; God took flesh like us except sin. In Jesus Christ the 

  revelation reached its accomplishment and by His Death the Salvation was 

  fulfilled (John 19:30). Jesus Christ is the True word of God. By Him God is 

  revealed and accessible as it is declared into the Bible “I am the way, the 

  truth and the Life (John 14:6)

  1.1.4. Inspiration of the Bible

  The Bible is an inspired book because it is formed of the books that were 

  written under inspiration of the Holy Spirit so, it has God its Author. As the 

  Holy Scriptures testify, the authors were free to use their own faculties but 

  God acted in them “All Scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, 

  reproving, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God 

  may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17). If 

  the Bible has God as its author, it cannot contain the errors. This is called 

  inerrancy of the Bible.

  1.1.5. Authorship of the Bible

  
  

  The authorship of the bible refers to its origin and its writing then to whom 

  the Bible is belonging. The Bible is a proper word of God written by sacred 

  authors called by God. They wrote history between God and people and 

  divine mean of education: story of creation and fall of man (Genesis 1-3); 

  laws and norms of life (Exodus 20-23); divine callings; men’s reactions like 

  praises, thanksgivings, interrogations; preparation and accomplishment of 

  human Salvation

  Into the Bible God speaks to man. He renewed and communicated His plan 

  of salvation when He firstly called Abraham. He concluded promises with 

  him (Genesis 12:1-5; 15:1-21). To save all humanity God then chose Israel 

  and both sides expressed their relationship in term of Alliance (Exodus 24: 

  1-8)

  1.1.6. Canonicity of the Bible

  The concept canonicity comes from Hebrew word “Ganeh” and a Greek word 

  Kanon meaning, rod or reed that was used to measure, rule or standards 

  of measurement. Canon refers to the list of the books included in the Bible 

  officially accepted as inspired by God. Hence, canonicity is a legal Church 

  confirmation of a list of books as inspired books. The Church recognizes 

  that the books that were inspired are satisfactory and approved to be the 

  guide of Religious teaching. Origen (185-253) an early Christian scholar of 

  Alexandria and a theologian used the term Canon to denote the rule of faith, 

  standards which are used to measure or to evaluate. 

  The Old Testament knew two main canons: 

  The first Canon: it is called Hebrew Canon, Protocanonical (prime) or 

  Jamnia canon (area in South Tel-Aviv. It was confirmed by Doctor of Laws 

  in 70 AC after destruction of Jerusalem. These books were translated in 

  Greek in Alexandria with additional books in Greek as original texts. These 

  translated books make the canon of Alexandria or Septuagint because 70 

  scientific translators separately finished translating them at the same time. 

  This translation was made for Jews in Diaspora who used Greek in that time. 

  This Old Testament of Hebrew canon considered 39 books while the Greek 

  Canon contains 46 books as inspired

   Jesus bore witness to the Old Testament: Jesus bore witness to these 

  three divisions of the Old Testament. “These are my words which I 

  spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written 

  about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must 

  be fulfilled” (Luke 24:44). Jesus mentions Psalms because it was the 

  first and largest book of the writings.

  • Jesus testified to the extent of the Old Testament canon. When arguing 

  with the religious leaders Jesus said, “Upon you may fall the guilt of 

  all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel 

  to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered 

  between the temple and the altar” (Matthew 23:35). Abel was the first 

  to be murdered and Zechariah was the last to be martyred in the Old 

  Testament order. Abel was slain by his brother Cain and Zechariah was 

  stoned in the house of God while prophesying. Genesis was the first in 

  chronological order and Chronicles the last.

  • Jesus testified to the sacredness of Old Testament. He said, “Do not 

  think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to 

  abolish but to fulfil. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass 

  away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all 

  is accomplished” (Matthew 5:17-18). Speaking to the disciples after 

  His Resurrection He began “With Moses and with all the prophets, He 

  explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures. 

  He said to them, ‘These are my words which I spoke to you while I was 

  still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of 

  Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then He 

  opened their minds to understand the Scriptures” (Luke 24:27, 44-45).

  Deuterocanonical (2nd canon) or Apocrypha books

  The Deuterocanonical books of the Bible are books considered by 

  the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodoxy to be canonical parts of 

  the Christian Old Testamwent but are not present in the Hebrew Bible. The 

  word deuterocanonical comes from the Greek meaning ‹belonging to the 

  second canon›. These books are the following: Tobit, Judith, 1st Maccabees, 

  2nd Maccabees, Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) and Baruch.

  Note: These books make difference and bring about 2 versions of the Bibles:

  a. Bible with 66 Books: These are mostly protestant Bibles who follow 

  only the Hebrew Canon. They recognize 39 books of Old Testament 

  and 27 books of the New Testament. They consider the 7 books as 

  Apocrypha books or non-inspired books hence do not include them 

  in their list book books in the Bible. 

  b. Bible with 73 books: This is followed by Catholics and Orthodox. 

  They followed the Greek Canon. They considered the 7 books as 

  deuterocanonical books and consider them as inspired by God.

   Both catholic and some Protestant Churches established the common Bible 

  known as Ecumenical Translation of the Bible (ETB) containing both Protocanonical and Deuterocanonical

  1.1.7 The Quran

  
  

  a) Meaning and redaction
  

  The literally meaning of the Quran is “the recitation”. It refers then to the Word 

  of God to be recited. It is the sacred book for Muslim believed as a revelation 

  from God (Allah). Muslims believe that the Quran was orally revealed to 

  Muhammad through the archangel Gabriel (Jibril) from 610AC up to 632 

  the year of his death. These words were Allah’s words of wisdom, truth, 

  and commandments to His creation. The Quran (which means recitation) 

  was revealed in the Arabic dialect used by the Quraish tribe of Mecca of 

  that time. This dialect became the formal Arabic of the Islamic nations due 

  to the distribution of Quranic scriptures throughout the Islamic empire. In 

  the Arabic, the Quran is poetic in style with rhymes, meter, and shifts in line 

  lengths.

  The Quran deals mainly with what and how Allah wants mankind to believe 

  and do in Man’s moral struggle. Its primary theme is that of complete 

  submission to the will of Allah. Other teachings of Quran include;

  • there is only one sovereign God (3:191; 5:73; 112:1-4).

  • there will be an end of the world and judgment day (:30; 35:33-37).

  • those who do not submit themselves to Allah will go to hell (2:24; 3:12).

  • that those whose good deeds exceed their bad will obtain paradise 

  (3:135; 7:8-9; 21:47).

  • social and ethical behavior for Islamic society.

  The Quran was not written by Muhammad by his disciples. The main 

  message of the Quran is the Oneness of God, God is unique: Allah. The 

  Quran is a book with content without mystery. The Islamic theology restricts 

  only what intelligent can grasp: God is one, Omnipotent, bounty etc. the 

  Quran talks about Jesus not as Son of God but as Prophet and about Mary 

  as mother of Jesus

   Short History of Qur’an Writing 

  In the year 610 (believed to be the 26th of Ramadan), while in a cave on Mt. 

  Hirah, which is now called Mount Jabal Nur, Muhammad said that the angel 

  Gabriel appeared to him and commanded him to recite (96:1-19). From 

  that point on, Muhammad claimed to have received revelations up to the 

  time of his death (23 years later in 632). In these encounters with the angel 

  Gabriel, sometimes Muhammad would see the angel, other times he would 

  only hear him, and at others, he only heard the sound of a bell through which 

  the words of the angel came.

  Since Muhammad could not read or write, his companions wrote down what 

  he said. These recitations were copied onto a variety of materials: papyrus, 

  flat stones, palm leaves, shoulder blades and ribs of animals, pieces of 

  leather and wooden boards. Additionally, these sayings were also being 

  memorized by Mohammad’s followers. In fact, to this day, great emphasis is 

  placed upon memorizing the entire Qur’an, and there are many thousands 

  of Muslims who have committed it to memory.

  Apparently, there was no attempt made to collect all of the sayings given by 

  Muhammad during his lifetime. After all, Mohammad was continuing to give 

  ‘recitations’ on a somewhat regular basis. But, after he died in 632, AbuBakr, Muhammad’s father in law, became the caliph (religious leader of the 

  Muslims); and there was a small effort to collect the fragments of Qur’anic 

  sayings into a commonplace.   But, it wasn’t until the fourth leader of Islam, 

  Caliph Uthman, that the whole Qur’an was finally assembled, approved, and 

  disseminated throughout the Muslim world.

  The Quran also contains many biblical figures (Abraham, David, Moses, and Jesus) 

  as well as non-biblical figures. However, some of the accounts of biblical characters 

  are different from the Bible.

  b) Structure/subdivisions of the Quran

  • General structure

  The Quran is divided into 114 Chapters called “Sῡrah” and Suwar in plural 

  which are subdivided into Verses “ᾱyah” in prular “ᾱyᾱt”

  The Quran is also divided into 30 equal sections, called juz’ or ajizain plural.

  The divisions of the juz do not fall evenly along chapter lines. These divisions 

  allow a speed reading of the Quran over a month’s period and reading a 

  fairly equal quantity each day. 

   Subdivision into Quarters

  The Quran can be divided into 4 quarters based on the themes. Each quarter 

  begins with the words “Alhamdulillah” (All praises are for Allah):

  • The first quarter: This part mainly discusses the concept of Allah being 

  the Sole and Only Creator of everything

  • The second quarter: The central theme of this part is that Allah is the 

  Only One Who is responsible for caring and nurturing everything after 

  creating it.

  • The third quarter: This part revolves around the discussion that Allah 

  has complete power to control and administer the affairs of the universe 

  as He pleases. It emphasises that He is the Supreme Sovereign and 

  none can be partner to Him.

  • The fourth quarter: This part mainly discusses the fact that Allah shall 

  be the Master and Supreme Judge on the Day of Judgment and no 

  intercessor can overrule His decree.

  While all these themes have been discussed in great detail in the 

  respective parts of the Quran, they are all summarized in Surah Fatiha.

  “Alhamdulillah” makes mention of the first part. It includes Allah’s name, 

  which tells us that He is the Creator of everything. This is so because the 

  mention of Allah’s name compels one to acknowledge this fact

  • Subdivison according to Juz’ (also known as Para or Siparah

  The Quran can be divided into 30 parts, of almost each length, each part is 

  called Juz’. That means each Juz’ is 1/30ths of the Quran

  1.1.8 Torah

  The word Torah literally means “instruction”, meaning some sort of guidance 

  in life. Though Torah is a part of the Bible, it was used by Jews as guidance 

  to live and offering sacrifice. But when Jews say “Torah,” they’re most likely 

  speaking of the Five Books of Moses, the foundation of all Jewish instruction 

  and guidance. We also call it the Chumash, from the Hebrew chamesh, 

  which means five. Often, when people talk about “a Torah,” they are referring 

  to a parchment scroll version of the Five Books of Moses that is kept in the 

  ark of the synagogue and taken out to be read during service.

  The Torah also commands the elders to «keep the Children of Israel away 

  from impurity. Some authors also consider Tenah and Talmud as Holy 

  Scriptures of Jewish Religion. 

  The following is the summary of Holy Scriptures of some major Religions in 

  the world:

  

  

  

  1.1. Application activity: 

  1. What are sacred books scriptures for Christianity and Islam.

  2. Explain these terms: Testament, authorship and Canonicity.

  3. Explain to your colleague what apocrypha books are.

  4. Using various resources the difference and the similarity between 

  Qur’an and the Bible .

  5. What should be your attitudes about to the Holy Scriptures? and 

  their role in every day life

  1.2. Relationship between the New and Old Testament

  1.2. Learning activitiy :
  

  From this biblical text “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or 

  the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matthew 

  5:17). Discuss the links between the two Testaments of the Bible.

  On the day of His Resurrection Jesus Himself reminded His disciples the 

  accomplishment of the Old Testament into the new one: He said to them 

  “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that 

  everything written about me in the Law of Moses and in the prophets and 

  Psalms must be fulfilled”. Then He opened their mind to understand the 

  Scriptures. And He said to them, “Thus it is written that the Messiah would 

  suffer and rise from the dead on the third day” (Luke 24:44-46)

  The Church becomes New Israel. The sign of the Old Alliance is the Ten 

  Commandments of God given at Sinai Mount Ex 20:1-17 while the sign of 

  he New Alliance becomes the holy Sacrifice: offering body and blood of 

  Jesus Christ.

  Jesus summarizes the commandments in love, and we are no longer 

  slaves of laws (Romans 6-8). Christ became the concluding mean of God’s 

  revelation (John1:18). In Jesus God proved his deepest love (John3:16). The 

  New Testament develops the process within human salvation reached its 

  fulfilment: conception of Saviour, birth, growth, teachings, miracles, suffering 

  death and resurrection. So the Old Testament became a preparation that 

  was accomplished into the New Testament

  1.2. Application activity:

  1. Find out, Explain the sign of Alliance between God and His people.

  2. Explain the invention of the sign of the New Alliance between 

  Christ and his Church.

  3. Prove the link between the Old and New Testament

  4. How did God proved His deepest love for humanity?

  5. Is the Old Testament important christians. Justify.

  1.3. Structure of the Bible

  1.3. Learning activitiy:

  With your previous readings, information, what you heard from the previous 

  lessons and the holy assembly you attendded, research on two biblical 

  books for each group below: Historical books; Pentateuch; Prophetic 

  books; Gospel; Letters; Poetic and Wisdom books.

  1.3.1. Formation and structure of the Old Testament

  a) Formation

  Before they were written, some contents of the Old Testament were orally 

  transmitted: they are from Genesis to the books of Samuel where we find 

  history of the Patriarchs, Moses, Judges, Kings, Elisha and Elijah.

  In 11th-10th centuries, two schools of scribes wrote Pentateuch. Those 

  schools are Yahwistic Tradition in Juda and Elohistic tradition in Israel. 

  After the deportation to Babylon (-587-538) the scribes present the book of 

  Jonah, Job, Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) to increase hope of people. 

  In 2nd century BC the persecution against Jews gave birth to spiritual 

  resistance: book of Daniel and Judith

  The Hebrew Bible (Only Old Testament) consists of 3 main parts:

  • Torah: 5 books of Law of Moses that occupies the first place in Jewish 

  life

  • Nevi’im that means Prophets: book of Joshua, Judges, Samuel and 

  Kings

  • Ketuvim that means other writings: Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Chronicles

  b) Structure of the Old Testament

  The structure of the Old Testament varies according to the centuries. All 

  editions present first the five books of law called “Pentateuch”.

  In the 13th century after Christ, the Catholics structured the Bible into three 

  collections:

  • Historical books with two sub-collections: Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, 

  Leviticus, Number and Deuteronomy). Others (Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 

  Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Tobit, Judith, Esther, and 

  Maccabees.

  • Didactic books: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Qohelet (Ecclesiastes), Song 

  of Songs, Wisdom and Sirach (Ecclesiasticus).

  • Prophetic books with two sub collections: Major Prophets (Isaiah, 

  Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel) and Minor prophets (Hosea, Joel, Amos, 

  Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, 

  Zechariah, and Malachi.

  Currently, the Bible consists of four collections with 73 books for Catholic 

  Bible and 66 books for Protestant Bible:

  Torah or Pentateuch: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers Deuteronomy

  Historical books: Joshua, judges, Ruth, 1st Samuel, 2nd Samuel, 1st 

  Kings, 2nd Kings, 1stChronicles, 2nd Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Tobit, 

  Judith, Esther, 1st Maccabees, 2nd Maccabees. Thefollowing books are not 

  found into Old Testament for protestant Bible: Tobit, Judith, 1st Maccabees, 

  2nd Maccabees.

  Poetic and wisdom books: Job, psalms, proverb, Ecclesiastes, song of 

  Songs, Wisdom, Sirach. The books of Wisdom and Sirach are not found into 

  Old Testament for Protestant Church.

  Prophetic books: 3 Major Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel)

  15 books as minor Prophets (Lamentations of Jeremiah, Baruch, Daniel, 

  Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonas, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, 

  Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi. The book of Prophet Baruchi does not appear 

  into Old Testament for Protestant church.

  Seven books are not accepted by Protestants because for them their origin 

  is hidden and their message is not clear: this is the origin of their name 

  “Apocrypha books”. These are: Tobit, Judith, 1st Maccabees, 2nd Maccabees, 

  Wisdom, Sirach and Baruch. But the Ecumenical Bible (common Bible for 

  Protestants Orthodox and Roman Catholics) contains all 73 books.

  1.3.2. Structure of the New Testament

  The books of the New Testament are structured in four collections below:
  

  a. Gospel: Good News formed by 4 books that account the fulfilment 

  of Salvation: they are Gospel according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and 

  John. The contents of three first gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) 

  look almost the same reason why they are called Synoptic Gospel.

  b. Acts of Apostles: 1 book written by Luke to testify the birth of the 

  Church (Pentecost) and the expansion of Good news.

  c. Epistles or letters: 21 letters or epistles

  • 13 letters of Paul including:

  
  

  St. Paul, Writer of Biblical Letters

  • Oldest letters: the 1st and the 2nd to Thessalonians written in 50 AC

  • Big letters: the 1st and the 2nd to Corinthians, letter to Galatians, to 

  Philippians and to Romans written between 56-60AC

  • Letters of captivity: letter to Colossians, to Ephesians and to Philemon 

  written between 61-63 AC

  • Pastoral letters: the 1st and the 2nd letter to Timothy, letter to Titus 

  written in70 AD

   1 letter to Hebrews probably written by Paul’s disciple.

  • 7 Universal letters including: 2 letters of Peter, 3 letters of John, 1 

  letter of Jude and 1 letter of James.

  The main message of letters has been to create unity of believers, call to leave 

  idols, encouragement to faith, peaceful life and respect between leaders and 

  believers call to sharing, to work, to be aware of wrong teachings, etc

  d. Apocalypse: 1 book written by John Apostle. It is also called “book 

  of Revelation” aiming at strengthening Faith and hope of Christians 

  exposed to kings and emperors’ harassment.

  1.3. Application activity:

  1. Talk about the collections of books into the Old Testament and the 

  New Testament.

  2. Specify the Author for each book: Apocalypse, Acts of Apostles.

  3. Identify 7 books found in Catholic Bible that are not found in 

  Protestant Bible.

  4. What lessons you get from the book of Job and Daniel.

  1.4. Importance of Holy Scriptures in the lives of the 

  believer

  1.4. Learning activitiy :

  Read the passage below and respond to the question that follows it:

  Every book is bought by its importance. For example the books of Biology 

  help learners to get enough information about body functions. The books 

  of history recount the past. The books of Geography describe the earth. 

  The Bible and the Quran are the most read books in the world. If you 

  agree with the passage above how do you see one another important at 

  your school, at home or to the society in general?

  We are social and religious being formed by visible body and invisible 

  soul. The Holy Scriptures then affect many of human fields:

  Social and didactic importance of Holy Scriptures

  
  

  • They highlight the guidelines for social relationship: solidarity, kindness 

  and sharing (Luke10:25-37), empathy (Romans 2:15, Matthew 7:12), 

  peaceful life (Isaiah 32:17; 57:21; Matthew 5:9), tolerance and anger 

  control (Ephsians4:26-27), fellowship (Mark12:31), social justice 

  (Prophet Amos) etc.

  • They are books for teachers and students

  • They are used by witnesses to affirm that they tell the truth (justice)

  • They are used by leaders to take oaths of offices for commitment

  • They orient political leaders (Romans 23:1; Exodus 9:16)

  • They comfort soul in the society (Proverbs 3:5-6; Matthew 5:4)

  • They make inner-peace into people (Philippians 4:70

  • They are sources of moralities and values: observe commandments of God, 

  discipline, obedience, hardworking, courage, forgiveness, unity, control 

  of language, etc. (Jeremiah 30:11; Deuteronomy8:5;1Corinthians11:32; 

  Proverbs 6:23; Luke11:28; 2Thessalonicians 3;8-10; Galatians 3:26, 

  Exodus 14:13, Matthew 5:7, Romans 3:4)

  Spiritual importance of Holy Scriptures

  As the holy Scriptures were written under the guidance of God’s Spirit they 

  mainly contain the spiritual and religious content:

  

  • They are essential for spiritual growth: prayer in order to win devil 

  (Psalms141:5), call for repentance (Joel 2:12-27), it highlights the fruits 

  of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), New heart and new spirit (Ezekiel 

  36:26)

  • They comfort soul of sick people (John33:16) and height hope for 

  eternal life 

  • They call people to be role model (Matthew 5:13)

  • They are used in religious ceremonies

  1.4. Application activity: 

  Discuss the importance of the Holy Scriptures to individual, a family, 

  Church and to the society in general

  1.5. End unit assessment
  

  1. Refering to the Bible, make the following concepts clear : 

  testament, revelation and canonicity.

  2. Relate the main parts of the Bible.

  3. Describe the sacred book for Muslims and its message.

  4. Explain the apocrypha books.

  5. Classify the Paulinic letters and highlight their general importance

  6. How are the Holy Scriptures important to lives of people in general?

  
  

• UNIT 2: BIRTH OF CHRISTIANITY AND ISLAM

  Key Unit Competence: Explain the origin of Christianity and Islam

  Introductory Activity

  Every institution has its own history: initiators or founders, headquarter, 

  hierarchy, inauguration date, fundamental rules, aims or finalities, 

  adherents or customers. 

  Discuss the above mentioned elements in relation to Christiantity and 

  Islam.

  2.1. Christianity

  2.1. Learning activitiy :
  

  Using various resources, research on the birth, founder, mission and 

  expansion of Christianity in the world

  
  

  The name Christians was used firstly at Antioch to mean disciples or followers 

  of Christ (Acts 11: 25-26). This name was given not by Jesus’ disciples 

  themselves but by the society of Antioch. It was also used by Agrippa, an 

  unbelieving King when he was in controversies with Paul (Acts 26:28). Peter 

  used it when he comforted Christians to glorify God by accepting persecution 

  basing on their name (1Peter 4:16)

  Christianity then is a religion based on the person and teachings of Jesus 

  Christ. The essence or fundamental nature of Christianity turns around 

  believing on life, death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Christians 

  believe God sent his Son Jesus to save the world (John 3:16).

  2.1.1. The precursor of Jesus

  
  

  John the Baptist, precursor of Jesus who was about to come

  The precursor also called the herald refers to the announcer of what about 

  to happen. John the Baptist, son of Elizabeth and Zechariah became the 

  precursor of the coming God’s Kingdom among people (Mark 1:2-3; Malachi 

  3:1; Isaiah 40:30). The teachings of John the Baptist were emphasized by the 

  baptism in Jordan River: baptism of conversion. He called people to prepare 

  the paths for the Lord and to produce good fruits (Luke3:9) He showed the 

  conditions to that heavenly Kingdom to many levels of people: the crowds, 

  tax collectors and soldiers (Luke 3: 10-14). The values from His predications 

  are repentance, sharing, honesty and respect for human rights.

  John the Baptist declared to be precursor and lesser than whom he came 

  to prepare for “One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to 

  stoop and loosen the thongs of His sandals. I have baptized you with water; 

  he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit” (Mark1:6-8)

  Christianity is one of three monotheistic religions that consider Abraham as 

  their ancestor: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Christianity is based on the 

  life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth: Jesus is Christ, the Anointed by 

  the Spirit of God, the Son of God and the Savior of all people, the Messiah 

  who was prophesied into the Old Testament

  The main teachings of Christianity then, turn around one God triune: God is 

  one the Father Creator of heaven and earth; the Son who is Incarnated Verb 

  of God who died and rose for human Salvation and the Holy Spirit who 

  animates the lives and inspires the Church

  This central theme Christian teaching was also recalled by Paul to 

  Romans: “for if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe 

  in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is 

  with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth 

  that you profess your faith and are saved. For the Scripture says, “No one 

  who believes in him will be put to shame” (Romans 10:9-11)

  2.1.3. Jesus and His Mission

  Short biography of Jesus

  
  

  This is the Jesus’ biography on earth remembering that before everything 

  the Word was and the Word was with God (John 1:1-11)

  The Annunciation by angel Gabriel and the spiritual conception (Luke 1:26-

  35

  Parents are Mary and Joseph descended from King David. Birth time: Under 

  the reign of King Herod, the great who ordered the massacre of innocent 

  babies and Augustus Caesar emperor of Rome with a decree of government 

  census. He was born at Bethlehem. The shepherds and the Magi came to 

  pay Him respect. At the 8th day He was dedicated in the Temple according to 

  the Jewish custom. At early age He was taken to exile in Egypt. 

  The growth place is Nazareth. At 12 years old He disappeared at Jerusalem 

  on the Feast of Easter. He was found after three days (Luke 2:41-49). At 

  30 year old he entered into the public life. He received the baptism by John 

  the Baptist that followed by His 40 days of fasting temped by devil. He 

  started teaching in Galilee and the message was to call for repentance and 

  believing in the Gospel because the Kingdom of God is at hand (Mark1:14-

  15). He chose 12 Apostles (Mark3:13-19). He performed many miracles and 

  He used to teach in parables (comparisons aiming at teaching). 

  At 33 years old He concluded the process of Salvation by ultimate sacrifice: 

  He offered Himself at the Last Supper. It follows his crucifixion on Calvary, 

  His death and Resurrection after three days. He appeared to eleventh and 

  at the 8th He reappeared to Tom. He stayed with Apostles until the 40th day 

  when He went back in Heaven (The Ascension). On the Pentecost (50th day 

  of His resurrection), Jesus fulfilled the promise to the Apostles: they received 

  the gift of the Holy Spirit.

  Mission of Jesus

  
  

  Firstly, Jesus declared his mission when He returned to Galilee and taught 

  in Synagogue “the Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed 

  me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to 

  captives and to recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, 

  and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord” (Luke 4:17-19). 

  Several times Jesus declared His main mission: Proclamation of Good 

  News of eternal life to the entire world. For Jesus all categories of people 

  are children of God. He comes to increase hope of the neglected people 

  especially: Sinners called gentiles, sick people, wives, children, slaves and 

  all the oppressed people in general.

  He came to gather all human kinds in one Kingdom without distinction “I 

  came to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke19:10). He performed 

  miracles to prove the power of God Kingdom of God among people. But, His 

  target was not human kinds body, He came to heal spiritual injuries and the 

  blindness of hearts (John 9:1-12) and His Kingdom did not belong to this 

  world (John 18:36-37)

  He came to save sinners and to call them for repentance. So God hates 

  sin but loves sinners who repent perfectly “It is not the healthy who need 

  a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous to repent but 

  sinners” (Luke 5:31-32)

  2.1.4. Pentecost event

  
  

  The Pentecost was a Jewish feast called Shavuot. It was primarily a 

  thanksgiving for the first fruits of the wheat harvest but it was later associated

  with a remembrance of the Law given by God to Moses on Sinai Mount. In the 

  early church, Christians often referred to the entire 50-day period beginning 

  with Easter as Pentecost.

  Shiphrah N.Gichaga wrote: Pentecost was one of Jewish festival with 

  the Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles. For Jews Pentecost was a 

  commemoration of God’s giving of the Law to Moses on Mount Sinai. It 

  was a harvest festival commonly called the Festival week’. Every Jew was 

  expected to bring to the Temple the first fruits of the harvest as thanksgiving. 

  The feast was held 50 days after the Jewish Passover. (Shiphrah Gichaga 

  N: 2009)

  The Christian Pentecost refers to the 50th day after the Resurrection of Jesus 

  when Jesus fulfilled the promise made to His Disciples: reception gift of the 

  Holy Spirit. The spirit came in form of wind, fire and different tongues. God 

  manifested His presence through a mighty wind and fire as the light Apostles’ 

  mission. The Holy Spirit enabled Apostles to speak different tongues and 

  everybody there understood in his/her own languages (Acts 2:8). It is a Sign 

  that they would evangelize many nations.

  What became the role of the Holy Spirit to the Early Church?

  • He would act as advocate, counsellor and comforter

  • To make understanding deeply Jesus’ Words and teachings(remind 

  and Explain parables and mystery such death and Resurrection and 

  holy Trinity)

  • To reveal the truth about God and His Word then to fight against 

  heresies

  • To continue Jesus’ work of renewing the people of God for example by 

  forgiving sins (John 20: 22-23) and by others holy and efficacious signs

  • Power to Apostles to be true witnesses of Jesus in Jerusalem, Judaea, 

  Samaria and to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8)

  • Power to discern and find out the sinful hearts: cheating of Sapphira 

  and Ananias (Acts5:1-11)

  The gift of the Holy Spirit to Christian (Isaiah 11:1-3; 1 Corinthians 12:1-32)

  • Wisdom: perfection of Faith. It helps to make deep understanding of 

  all truth about God, His plan for us and to order our relationship with 

  created world. By wisdom we love God by loving creatures rather than 

  loving things more than God

  • Understanding: it helps to gain certitude about our beliefs and meaning 

  of the essence of the believed truth

  • Counsel: perfection of cardinal virtue of prudence. It helps to judge 

  best to act well 

  • Fortitude: also called courage, it refers to strength to follow through on 

  the actions suggested by counsel

  • Knowledge: it gives us ability and skills to do well what we judged

  • Piety: it is a willingness to worship and serve God

  • Fear of the Lord: it is a perfection of virtue of hope. It helps us to 

  desire not to offend God. There are also gift of faith as total confidence 

  in God, of performing miracles, of prophecy, of distinguish spirits,

  of speaking in tongues and of interpretation of them.

  With the help of the Holy Spirit Christians generate the following fruits as the 

  Scripture says in Galatians 5:16-26: peace, joy, love, kindness, patience, 

  self-control, faithfulness, gentleness and generosity.

  The Illustration below shows the fruits of the Holy spirit

  

  In addition, Christians live virtues of modesty, humility and goodness or 

  mercy

  2.1. Application activity: 

  1. How do the teachings of John the Baptist help you to live in the 

  society?

  2. Summarize the biography of Jesus 

  3. What and how did Jesus accomplish His Mission? 

  4. Explain the basis of Christian teachings

  5. How did the Pentecost become the public foundation of the 

  Church?

  6. How does the Holy Spirit manifest Himself in your life at school 

  like at home?

  2.2. Islam
  

  .2. Learning activitiy :
  

  Using different resources, personal information and knowledge you got in 

  previous school years make a research and share the results about Islam: 

  Its foundation, beliefs and its holy book

  
  

  Islam means Submission to Allah. This submissiveness is also talked by 

  Jan Thompson. Literary the word Islam means Surrender and Muslim 

  means the one who surrenders to Allah (Jan Thompson: 2005, p2). Islam 

  also means Peace because by surrendering Muslim makes peace. The 

  Islamic concepts:

  • Allah: Muslim name for God

  • Allahu Akbar: God is the most great

  • Bismillah: in the name of Allah, the Merciful, and the Compassionate.

  • adhan: first call to prayer

  • du’a: personal prayer

  • jumu’ah: Friday prayer

  • qiblah: direction for prayer (where Muslims orient regard in prayer)

  • mihrab: alcove in the wall in mosque that shows the qiblah

  • minbar: a piece of furniture in Mosque serves to raise imam or a 

  preacher of Friday midday sermon, so that he can be seen and heard.

  • wudu: washing that Muslims perform before prayer

  • salam: peace

  • imam: a leader of a prayer, or the one stands in the front of other 

  worshippers.

  • khatib: preacher of the Friday sermon

  • masjid or mosque: Muslim place of worship

  • mu’adhin or muezzin: person who calls Muslims to prayer

  • Makkah: the holy city of Islam, in Saudi Arabia (Mecca)

  • prostration: a taken position of Muslims in a prayer to show they 

  surrendered their lives to Allah

  • The dome: a part of building in hot countries sometimes over the prayer 

  hall that allows air to circulate.

  • the minaret: a tall tower

  • moon and star: signs to Muslims of the greatness of the Creator

  • The five-pointed star: it symbolizes the five Pillars of Islam

  • Muhammad: the greatest prophet of Islam, the Messenger of Allah

  • The Quran: the sacred book for Muslims

  A Muslim common prayer known as Swalat is made in the carpeted Mosque. 

  But, Jan Thompson wrote that a “prayer mat laid down at home or even at 

  the side of the road, becomes a mosque or a place of prostration” (Jan 

  Thompson: 2005, p1

  When a Muslim goes to mosque to pray must wash feet before but visitors 

  must not. When worshipper washes another one’s feet he proves respect 

  to him. The cleanness or hygiene rite before prayer shows respect to Allah. 

  Ordinary women do not get regular time to go to mosque to pray by many 

  family responsibilities. If they go there they will pray separately with men so, 

  they do not distract each other. In this case also if there is washing room, the 

  room for men will be separated from the men’s one. 

  A mosque has three uses: it is first a place of worship; it can be used as a 

  college or Islamic school. Lastly it is a community centre used for all kinds 

  of activities. 

  2.2.1. Bibliography of Muhammad

  Muhammad is believed as God’s Prophet. The first pillar of Islam which 

  is about faith testifies it “there is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the 

  messenger of Allah (La illaha illallahu Muhammad-ur-Rasulallah)

  Short biography of Muhammad

  Muhammad was born in Makkah (Mecca) in Arabia about 570 of Christian 

  era.

  His father is Abdullah was a trader who was died few moths before the birth 

  of Muhammad. He became trader like his Father. Died, he was buried in 

  Yathrib which became Madinah.

  His mother is Amina who died at 6 years of Muhammad

  He was taken in charge by his grandfather Abdul Muttalib who later died

  Muhammad was left in uncle’s hands Abu Talib, son of Abdul Muttalib

  Muhammad looked after uncle’s sheep and he went with him on trading 

  expeditions.

  He founded a league to protect the safety and rights of strangers in Makkah

  He earned the reputation of being an honest and reliable businessman, and 

  he was called “al-Amin”, the Trustworthy. 

  He impressed khadijah, the rich widow for whom he worked

  At his 25 years old he had a very happy marriage with khadijah with 40 years 

  old.

  As long asKadhijah was alive, Muhammad did not take other wife while 

  polygamy was allowed. Muhammad took 12 wives in all during his time at 

  Madinah.

  In Makkah, arabs used to worshiped about 365 idols while Allah was known 

  too. Muhammand and the arabs called Hanifs took decision to become 

  monotheist, believing that there was only one God, Allah.

  Muhammad liked to play alone to the Cave Hira on a mountain called Jabal 

  al-Nur which means Mountain of Light. One night when he was 40 years 

  old He received a vision from Archangel Gabriel who gave him Arabic word 

  to recite. This is how Islam started getting the Quran about 610 AC. The 

  night of first vision of Muhammad known as the Night of Power is called 

  Laylat-ul-Qadr. Many Muslim commemorate this Night in the night of 27th

  in Ramadan. He became a preacher of one God and opponent to idolaters. 

  His wife did in 619. On 16th July 622 Muhammad with Abu Bakr set out by 

  night on the journey to Yathrib, late in the honor of Muhammad called alMadinah (the town of prophet). This is what Muslims call Hijrah that means 

  emigration. The reason is that there was a serious group who wanted to 

  assassinate him. The Muslims were many that time and the Muslims’ title

  • The Companions: all muslims who knew Muhammad in his lifetime

  • The Emigrants: all those who had come with Muhammad to Yathrib

  • The Helpers: all citizen of Yathrib who converted to Islam

  Death of Muhammad: from Jan Thompson we read that in March 632 he 

  went on pilgrimage to Makkak (Mecca) for the last time where he delivered a 

  famous speech to his fellow pilgrims. He enforced the five essential practices 

  known as five Islamic pillars. A few months later; Muhammad died of fever 

  and was buried in Madinah. His tomb is still there, under the dome of the 

  prophet Mosque, with the tombs of his two successors, Abu Bakr and Umar 

  (Jan Thompson: 2005, p34)

  Historically an era refers to a system of chronology dating from a particular 

  event. It can be also defined as a memorable or important date or event

  especially one that begins a new period in the history of a person or thing. 

  When we simply consider an era as an epoch we will conclude that the end 

  of an era is the beginning of another. Examples of eras: the zero years is 

  known as Christian era from the birth of Jesus

  
  

  The year 622 is considered as Muslim era or the foundation of Islam. It is 

  linked with Hijrah that became the beginning of Muslim calendar. It became 

  also the first time the community ran to Islamic lines. 622CE became the 

  1AH (1anno Hegirae) for the Muslims and the Muharram is the 1st Month in 

  Islamic calendar, so the 1st Muharram is the New Year’s Day. On this day 

  Muslims commemorate the Hijrah (Jan Thompson: 2005, p32

  2.2.3. Pillars of Islam

  This is an extract from the last Muhammad’s sermon “O People, listen to me 

  in earnest, worship Allah, say your five daily prayers, fast during the month 

  of Ramadan, and give your wealth in Zakat. Perform Hajj if you can afford to” 

  (Jan Thompson: 2005, p33). The Islamic faith is based on six pillars such as: 

  beliefs in Allah, beliefs in Angels, beliefs in holy books (Quran and Gospel 

  not the whole Bible), beliefs in Messengers or prophets, beliefs in Last Day 

  and beliefs in predestination. But Islam itself is based on five pillars that 

  follow:

  Shahadah: it is a declaration of faith: Abdul Wahid Hamid tells us that the 

  Arabic word Shahaadah means Witness or Testimony (Abdul Wahid Hamid: 

  1989, pp20-21). There is no god except Allah and Muhammad is His Prophet.

  Salat (Prayer): every Muslim is called to pray five times per day kneeling 

  towards Mecca. Those prayers are: Fajr: The Morning Prayer between dawn 

  and sunrise, Zuhr: prayer of after midday, during the early afternoon, Asr: 

  prayer of the late afternoon, Maghrib: prayer of just after susnset and Isha: 

  prayer of the night prayer

  Sawm: it is an islamic fasting during the month of Ramadan. Muslims fast 

  from food and drinks as long as the sun is out. 

  Zakat: it is a practice charitable giving to the poor or alms-giving. It is done 

  in money, materials or services. 

  Hajj: Pilgrimage to Makkah (Mecca) at least once in lifetime

  The fundamental sources of Islam are the Quran as Word of God and 

  the Sunnah as the examples of prophets Muhammad PBUH (Peace and 

  blessings Be Upon Him). By Sunnah we understand the sayings, actions, 

  silence and disapprovals of the Prophet. Sunnah is also linked to the 

  Hadith which refers to the recorded expressions, quotes and Quran 

  interpretation from the Prophet Muhammad about religious duties. Hadith 

  is considered to be the second to the Quran. The hadith helps to understand 

  the Quran and this last helps to explain the hadith.

  2.2. Application activity: 

  1. Here are the islamic and arabic terms, give their meaning in 

  English: Bismillah, Allah,Swalat and Allahu Akbar.

  2. Discuss the values should the society get from grandfather and 

  uncle of Muhammad

  3. Why is year 622 considered as starting of Muslim era?

  4. How does each Islamic pillar help Muslim to live well with his/her 

  and with others?

  2.5. End unit assessment

  1. Explain the mission and the teachings of John the Baptist

  2. Breakdown the basis of faith in christianity and in Islam

  3. Summarise the biography of Jesus and of Muhammad

  4. Generalise the role of the Holy Spirit sent to the Apostles on the 

  Pentecost

  5. Interpret the necessity of hygiene of Mosque and cleaneness of 

  body before a prayer

  6. Develop the found letters added to the name of Prophet 

  Muhammad PBUH

  7. Justify the link between the Quran and the Hadith

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

• UNIT 3: THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT

  Key Unit competence: Assess the practice of supreme commandment 

  and the Golden rule in various religious 

  teachings

  Introductory Activity

  Read attentively the answer given by Jesus to the one who asked Him 

  about the supreme Commandment of God “Love the Lord your God with 

  all your heart and with all your soul and with your mind? This is the first and 

  the greatest commandment. The second is like it: love your neighbor as 

  yourself. All the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments” 

  (Matthew 22:35-40).

   Assess how all commandment linked with these two above Commandments

  3.1. God’s commandments and their categories
  

  3.1. Learning activitiy 
  

  Basing on your experience as a believer, analyze the relationship between 

  God and his people.

  - What do you think regulates this relationship?

  - Discuss two commandements of your choice and identify sins related to 

  the breaking of these commandments?

  a) Decalogue
  

  God is love 1John4:8. God who is one and Triune lives communion of 

  Love as Paul said “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of 

  God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you” (2Corinthians 

  13:13). When the man fell God did not abandon him. He called Abraham 

  and communicated him the plan of Salvation. He liberated the Abraham’s

  descendants from Egyptian slavery. God concluded Alliance with His people 

  at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:7-25) and the Sign of that Alliance is the Ten 

  Commandments of God known as Decalogue (Exodus 20: 3-17). Below are 

  the ten commandments of God and the values we get from:

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  3.1. Application activity:

  1. Precise the Commandment of God that prevents us from the 

  following sins:

  a. Cheating quiz and examination

  b. Disobey discipline leaders at school

  c. Abortion of foetus willingly

  d. Sexual infidelity

  2. Precise the category and dimension for each commandment 

  below:

  a. Remember the Sabbath Day, the Day of the Lord and keep it 

  holy

  b. You shall not give false testimony against your neighbour

  c. Honour your father and your mother

  d. You shall not steal 

  3. With fact example, explain how we sometimes substitute God by 

  money and by honour, and give a piece of advice.

  3.2. The Greatest Commandment

  3.2. Learning activitiy :

  Discuss the the greatest commandment in christianity and its importance 

  in daily life

  a) Greatest Commandment into the Old Testament

  The Old Testament also talks about the double greatest commandment of 

  God: Hear O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord one! Love the Lord your 

  God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your strength” 

  (Deuteronomy 6:4-6). 

  This commandment is not only limited to love for God but also it has to be 

  prove to our neighbour as it is commended in book of Leviticus “you shall 

  love your neighbour as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18)

  b) Greatest Commandment into the New Testament

  When a lawyer and expert of the law asked Jesus what the most important 

  Commandment is Jesus responded: Love the Lord your God with all your 

  heart and with all your soul and with your mind. This is the first and the 

  greatest commandment. The second is like it: love your neighbour as 

  yourself. (Matthew 22:35-40). All the law and the prophets hang on these 

  two commandments”

  Richard comments the first part of the greatest commandment like this:

  With all your heart: never hide anything form God. He is your best 

  confidant; trust God with your heart. He will give you wisdom and direction, 

  keep commandments into your heart and be moral “If you love me, keep my 

  commandments” (John14:15).

  With all your soul: display the fruits of self-control and having a humble 

  spirit. A balance between spiritual life, dogmas of your beliefs, feelings, 

  emotions, and daily life is necessary.

  With all your mind: renew your mind with the Word of God and do everything 

  consciously. 

  With all your strength: ask from God to give you the supernatural strength 

  to do what God is calling you to do. Do what you have to do beyond how you 

  fell.

  Love your neighbour as yourself: before we love others we must know that 

  we are loved. God loved us before: we must first receive God who is love 

  and then we love others for God who is inside us (Philippians 2:13). Bernock 

  confirms “Before we can give this love we need to receive it ourselves. 

  You can not give what you do not have”. We remember a clear meaning 

  of the one who is our neighbour was given by Jesus in a parable of Good 

  Samaritan (Luke 10: 25-37). Referring to the Bible, Bernock identified some 

  characteristics of loving your neighbour:

  • Acting with compassion

  • Looking out for neighbours’ wellbeing (1Corinthians13:1-13)

  • Serving from heart that means kindness (1Corinthians13:4)

  • Speak kindly

  • Sharing joy and sorrow: rejoice with those who rejoice, mourn with 

  those who mourn (Romans 12:15

  • Forgiving (Ephesians 1:4)

  Jesus shows love as new and greatest commandment and as a tangible 

  mark of His disciple “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples” 

  (John13:35). 

  3.2. Application activity: 

  1. Explain a) To love God with all your heart 

   b) To love God with your entire mind

  2. To love your neighbour requires receiving love first. Explain

  3. How do you love God through your classmates or your neighbours?

  4. Talk about love God with all your sou

  3.3. The Golden rule in various religions

  Barikunda is a student-teacher in one of Rwanda teacher training college. 

  He is clever and talented. He never explains courses to his time taker 

  classmates. He thinks he will be the first and almost alone to get scholarship 

  for University then he will serve God and the society. He always becomes 

  jealous against his some classmates who try their best to succeed and he 

  celebrates the failure of time taker ones. Study the case and thereafter 

  advise him about good service to God and to the society

  3.3.1. Golden rule in Islam
  

  Golden rule in Islam is as an ethics of reciprocity which refers to an Islamic 

  moral principle that calls upon people to treat others the way they would 

  like to be treated (Abu Amina Elias: 2013). The Oxford dictionary defines the 

  golden rule as any form of the dictum: do unto others as you would have 

  them do unto you (Oxford English Dictionary: 1989)

  
  

  Several times Muhammad PBUH stated the Golden rule as reported by 

  disciples: None of you has faith until he loves for his brother or his neighbour 

  what he loves for himself (sahih Muslim, Book 1, Number 72)

  Sahih Muslim: refers to authentic source of reported information

  • The servant does not reach the reality of faith until he loves for the 

  people what he loves for himself of goodness (Sahih Ibn Hibban, Book 

  of faith, Number 238).

  • Whoever would be delighted to be delivered from the hellfire and 

  entered into Paradise, then let him die with faith in Allah and the last 

  Day, and let him treat the people the way he would love to be treated ( 

  Musnad Ahmad, Number 6768, Sahih).

  • The words said by Abu Huraira (May Allah be pleased with Him) were 

  reported: be kind to your neighbour and you will be a believer; love 

  for the people what you love for yourself and you will be a muslim 

  (By Al-Bukhali, Ali-Adab Al-Mufrad, Number 260, Hasan) in Sunan AtTirmidhi, Book of Asceticism, Number 2305, Sahih)

  3.3.2. Golden rule in Judaism

  The value of empathy is deeply rooted in Jewish everyday’s life. Rabbi Tzvi 

  Nightingale recounts: Judaism depends on the ability to view another person 

  as real as oneself. For Judaism believers, to understanding God’s Word 

  cannot begin without the recognition that a person next to me is just a real 

  as me; that another person travelling through life has the self and same

  experience of love, pain, hurt and joy from the ups and downs as the life 

  that I strongly and seriously experienced (Rabbi Tzvi Nightingale: 2018). 

  The Talmud shows that the Torah mainly rolls on Golden rule as Rabbi Tzvi 

  Nightingale continues: 

  A gentile came to Shammai Jewish school (50-30 before Christian era) 

  requesting a quickie conversation to Judaism. He asked to be taught the 

  entire Torah while standing on one foot. Shammai (master and founder of 

  that school) had no patience for the ridiculous and disrespectful request and 

  chased him out of the study hall. Unworried, the gentile then proceeded to 

  visit Shammai’s colleague Hillel with the same request. Hillel instructed him 

  “Whatever is hateful and distasteful to you, do not do to your fellow man” this 

  is the entire Torah, the rest is commentary. Go learn!

  

  Brannon Deibert defined it in moral context: the golden rule covers the 

  empathic essence of morality. It is a simple yet powerful way of saying that 

  we should recognize the respective dignity of our fellow man and not forget 

  we all are capable of inflicting immoral actions.

  The golden rule particularly, guides the Christian relationships and interactions 

  and social life in general

  Importance of Golden rule

  
  

  The Golden rule 

  • Teaches us to adopt self-discipline and kindness

  • Guides principles of all morality

  • Comprises all the rules and all precepts given by the Prophets

  • Instructs us to put ourselves in our neighbours’ place and guides our 

  behaviours accordingly.

  So, Golden rule is a vital emphasis on empathy and the reciprocity of morality

  
  

  “Lord make me an instrument of your peace;

  Where there is hatred, let me sow love;

  Where there is injury, pardon;

  Where there is discord, union;

  Where there is doubt, faith;

  Where there is despair, hope;

  Where there is darkness, light;

  Where there is sadness, joy”.

  “O Divine Master,

  Grant that I may not so much seek

  To be consoled, as to console;

  To be understood, as to understand;

  To be loved, as to love;

  For it is in giving that we receive,

  It is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and

  It is in dying that we are born to eternal life”

  Amen

  Christians are encouraged to shine, to be the light for others. The must 

  evangelizes by good works in order the world that surrounds them see their 

  good deeds and glorify the Father in Heaven (Matthew5:6). The Prayer of 

  Francis of Assisi reminds us just how we can do that. It is an uplifting prayer 

  that teaches us how we can live like Jesus Christ and serve those around 

  us, putting others needs first. God wants us we feel and prove love for Him 

  through our neighbours as condition to live communion with Him “ No one 

  has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God remains in us, and His 

  love is perfected in us (1John4:12)

  3.3. Application activity: 

  1. After you learnt the Golden Rule in different religions, Generalize 

  it.

  2. Explain the Golden Rule in context of empathic essence of morality.

  3. Actualise the Golden rule to your school life.

  4. Analyse the values which are in the whole prayer of St Francis of 

  Assisi

  3.4. End unit assessment

  1. How should you observe the supreme Commandment of God at 

  school and at home?

  2. Assess the doctrinal similarities on Golden rule between Judaism, 

  Christianity and Islam

  3. Classify the Commandments of God according to their categories 

  and their dimensions 

  4. How can the prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi be important at your 

  school? Justify your answers.

  5. What do you understand by the word Talmud?

  
  

• UNIT 4: THE PILLARS OF FAITH IN ABRAHAMIC RELIGIONS

  Key Unit competence: Explain the fundamental elements of faith in 

  Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

  Introductory Activity

  1. Basing on your experience and using research identify religions 

  found in your community and come up with their fundamental 

  teachings and practices.

  2. Explain what you know about Judaism.

  3. Compare the fundamental teachings of Christianity and Islam, 

  and come up with similarities and differences. 

  4. What do you think was the religion of Jesus, what did they believe 

  in?

  The concept of Abrahamic religions refers to three religions: Judaism, 

  Christianity and Islam. These religions are very closely related in their 

  origins and their Holy Scripture. They also have similar beliefs about morals 

  and ethics. They do differ, however, in important aspects of their beliefs. 

  Historically, relations among these faith groups reflect both conflict and 

  cooperation. They all originate from the personality and faith of Abraham 

  which is a pure monotheism. They are like children of a single parent, capable 

  of reaching understandings and living in peace together despite difference in 

  some aspects of faith and practice. 

  4.1. Jewish Faith and Torah

  4.1. Learning activitiy :
  

  Using various resources discuss the Jewish religion and its key teachings.
  

  
  

  Judaism is the theistic religion of Jews, which means that they believe in the 

  existence of supreme God who is transcendent. Judaism is a monotheistic 

  religion and Jews consider Abraham as their ancestor. Jewish faith is based 

  on Torah (The first five books of Moses).

  Torah is a Hebrew term which means “Instruction”, “Teaching” or “Law”. The 

  word Torah has a range of meaning. It can most specifically mean the first 

  five books (Pentateuch or Five books of Moses) of the 24 books of the 

  Hebrew Bible (Tanakh

  Torah consists of the origin of Jewish peoplehood: their call into being by 

  God, their trial and tribulations, and covenant with their God, which involves 

  following a way of life embodied in a set of moral and religious obligations 

  and civil laws.

  The Torah starts from the beginning of God’s creating the world through the 

  beginning of the people of Israel, their descent into Egypt, and the giving 

  of the Torah at biblical Mount of Sinai. It ends with the death of Moses, just 

  before the people of Israel cross to the promised land of Canaan.

  The first five books of Moses are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and 

  Deuteronomy

  Genesis

  
  

  The book of Genesis is the first book of the Torah. It is divisible into two 

  parts, primeval history (Chapters 1-11) which is the story of the first years of 

  the world’s existence, and the Ancestral history (Chapters 12-50).

  The primeval history (Chapters 1-11) sets out the author’s (or authors’) 

  concepts of the nature of the deity and of humankind’s relationship with its 

  maker: God creates a world which is good and fit for mankind, but when 

  man corrupts it with sin God decides to destroy his creation, saving only the 

  righteous Noah to re-establish the relationship between man and God.

  The Ancestral history (Chapters 12-50) tells of the prehistory of Israel, God’s 

  chosen people. At God’s command Noah’s descendant Abraham journeys 

  from his home into the God-given land of Canaan, where he dwells as a 

  sojourner, as does his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob. Jacob’s name is 

  changed to Israel, and through the agency of his son Joseph, the children of 

  Israel descend into Egypt, 70 people in all with their households, and God 

  promises them a future of greatness. Genesis ends with Israel in Egypt, 

  ready for the coming of Moses and the Exodus

  Exodu
  

  The book of Exodus is the second book of the Torah, immediately following 

  Genesis. The book tells how the ancient Israelites left slavery in Egypt through 

  the strength of Yahweh, the God who has chosen Israel as his people. God 

  used the prophet Moses to rescue his people Israel as their leader.

  Leviticus
  

  

  The book of Leviticus begins with instructions to the Israelites on how to use 

  the Tabernacle, which they had just built (Leviticus 1-10), This is followed 

  by rules of clean and unclean (Leviticus 11-15), which includes the laws of 

  slaughter and animals permissible to eat, the Day of atonement (Leviticus 

  16), and various moral and ritual laws sometimes called the holiness Code 

  (Leviticus 17-26). Leviticus 26 provides a detailed list of rewards for following 

  God’s commandments and a detailed list of punishments for not following 

  them. Leviticus 17 establishes sacrifices at the Tabernacles as an everlasting 

  ordinance, but this ordinance is altered in later books with the Temple being 

  the only place sacrifices are allowed.

  Numbers

  The book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Torah. The name of the book 

  comes from the two censuses taken of the Israelites.

  Numbers begins at Mount Sinai, where the Israelites have received their 

  laws and covenant from God and God has taken up residence among them 

  in the sanctuary. The task before them is to take possession of the Promised 

  Land, Canaan. The people are counted and preparations are made for 

  resuming their march. The Israelites begin the journey, but they murmur at 

  the hardships along the way, and about the authority of Moses and Aaron 

  and God destroys many of them.

  Deuteronomy

  The book of Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Torah. Chapters 1-30 of 

  the book consist of three sermons or speeches delivered to the Israelites by 

  Moses on the plains of Moab, shortly before they enter the Promised Land.

  The final four chapters (31-34) contain the song of Moses, Blessing of 

  Moses and narratives recounting the passing of the mantle of leadership 

  from Moses to Joshua and finally, the death of Moses on Mount Nebo.

  4.1. Application activity: 

  1. Define the following terms: Judaism and Torah.

  2. List the five books of the Law. And summurize major teaching

  3. Explain how laws can help you to live peacefully in your community

  4.2. Christian faith 

  
  

  4.2. Learning activitiy :

  Using various resources, discuss the meaning of the term christianity and 

  its fundamental faith.

  Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and 

  teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. Its adherents, known as christians, believe 

  that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and the Saviour of all people. His 

  coming as the Messiah was prophesied in the Hebrew Bible, called the Old 

  Testament in christianity, and chronicled (recorded) in the New Testament.

  Christians believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ who died 

  because of people’s sins. All christian denominations believe that Christ 

  is the word of God incarnated. They confess that He came to save them 

  through his death and resurrection. He rose from the dead and appeared to 

  the apostles who became the witnesses of what they saw (Acts 2:32). The 

  Christian faith came from the apostles who had followed Jesus Christ.

  The word of God about Christ was written in the Holy Scriptures. Thus, 

  Christians also believe in the written Scriptures to nourish their faith.

  The creed summarises the Christian faith and its main points include:

  Belief in God the Father, Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit

  The death, descent into hell, resurrection and ascension of Christ

  The holiness of the Church and the communion of the Saints

  Christ’s second coming, the Day of Judgment, and Salvation of the Faithful.

  Like Jews, Christians have no fundamental reason to live in disunity with one 

  another. After all the one they believe in is One! Salvation is universal for all 

  who believe and confess the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

  We note that the name Christians was first used at Antioch and it means the 

  Disciples of Christ, the ones who believe and imitate Christ (Acts 11:25-26)

  4.2. Application activity: 

  1. What does the term Christianity mean?

  2. Briefly explain the beliefs of christians.

  3. How christian beliefs can help you to live in harmony in your 

  society?

  4.3. Six pillars of Islamic faith

  
  

  4.3. Learning activitiy :

  Using various resources identify the pillars of Islamic faith

  Islam is a theistic religion. The word Islam means submission under Allah’s 

  laws. Muhammad, the prophet of Allah started receiving the content of the 

  Quran from 610 up to 632. Officially Islam was founded in 622. Muhammad 

  was born at Mecca probably in 570. He went in Medina by exile.

  Iman, this term literally means faith or belief. In Islamic theology it denotes a 

  believer’s faith in the metaphysical aspects of Islam. Its most simple definition 

  is the belief in the six articles of faith known as arkan al iman. The term iman

  has been described in both Quran and hadith.

  Quran (Koran) is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims believe 

  to be a revelation from God (Allah). Hadith refers to the record of the words,

  actions, and the silent approval of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. According 

  to the Quran, “iman” must be accompanied by righteous deeds and the two 

  together are necessary for entry into Paradise.

  The six pillars of faith: Faith (iman) breaks down into six pillars:

  1. Belief in the existence and oneness of God (Allah). Believing in 

  Allah above all else is the first and most important. It is not only belief 

  in Allah alone but in the way He is described through the Quran and 

  the hadith (Sayings) of Prophet Muhammad.

  2. Belief in the existence of Angles. The second pillar of Iman is the 

  belief in Allah’s angels. The angels are messengers of Allah. They 

  are not His children as some may think. They were created from light 

  and were created before humans, for the purpose of worshipping 

  Allah. They can also appear in the shape of a man if so ordered 

  to so. Some of the angels’ names, which we know of, are Jibra’il, 

  Mika’il, Israfil, and Malik. They have many jobs such as guardians, 

  gatekeepers, and Trumpeters.

  3. Beliefs in the existence of the books of which God is the author: 

  the Quran (revealed to Muhammad), the Gospel (revealed to Jesus), 

  the Torah (revealed to Moses), and Psalms to David. Muslims are to 

  believe in all of these books and not just the Quran alone.

  4. Belief in the existence of all prophets: Muhammad being the last 

  of them, Jesus the penultimate (second from the last, Muhammad), 

  and Moses sent before them.

  5. Belief in the existence of the Day of Judgment: in that day, 

  humanity will be divided into two groups: that of paradise and that of 

  hell. These groups are themselves composed of subgroups.

  6. Belief in the existence God’s predestination, whether it involves 

  good or bad or pre-ordainment. What this means is that everything 

  in our lives is already written. It is our duty to know that whatever 

  Allah wills will occur. Also He is creator of everything including our 

  deeds. Allah knows our past, present, and the future. Our lives are 

  set, but that does not mean that we strive any less toward perfection.

  From the above pillars, the first five are mentioned together in the Quran and 

  by Muhammad, while including a corollary of belief in Allah, the good and 

  evil of fate ordained by God, has referred to all six together in the following 

  manner in the Hadith of Gabriel. Iman is that you believe in God and His 

  angels and His books and His Messengers and the Hereafter and the good 

  and evil fate ordained by your God.

  Similarities and differences of Abrahamic Religions

  Abrahamic religions have things in common and have also differences. 

  The following aspects constitute the commonality and uniqueness of each 

  religion

  • Basic Beliefs and Common Stories 

  Jews, Christians and Muslims believe that God made a covenant, or 

  agreement with Abraham to keep the faith in One God and to worship Him 

  and teach the practice of worship to his children down the generations. God 

  would preserve, protect and multiply the children of Abraham. 

  The Jews believe that the covenant of God with Abraham goes only for 

  their people as one nation, while Christians and Muslims believe that the 

  covenant and message of God goes for all mankind. This covenant became 

  the legacy, or trust, for the children of Abraham to continue.

  According to the scriptures, Abraham was promised that his offspring would 

  become the fathers of great nations. These nations are the people who are 

  now called Jews, Christians, and Muslims. They are called monotheists, 

  meaning people who believe in one God, the Creator of all that is in the 

  universe and on earth. The common core of Abraham’s story is his faith and 

  obedience to the call of God. It is expressed in the Jewish and Christian 

  traditions in a verse of the book of Genesis. 

  Another act of Abraham that belongs to the core story is that God told him 

  in a dream to sacrifice his son. He and his son were prepared to obey this 

  divine command, but God redeemed the sacrifice with a magnificent ram. 

  This miracle meant that God does not require human sacrifice, but only the 

  willingness to obey. The Biblical account says that the son to be sacrificed 

  was Abraham and Sarah’s son Isaac, while the Qur’an states that it was the 

  first-born son Ishmael, whose mother was Hagar. The lesson of obedience 

  and strength of faith, however, is the same.

  • God, Prophets, and Revelation

  All of the Abrahamic monotheistic faiths share a belief that God, the Creator, 

  has “spoken” to humankind over time. The word for this divine communication 

  is “revelation”. Adherents of the Abrahamic religions believe that God 

  revealed Himself to certain individuals called prophets over the course of 

  human history. They believe that God communicated five main messages: 

  • The nature and qualities of the one God;

  • The purpose and nature of the universe created by God; 

  • The need to worship one God; 

  • The purpose of human life and the need to live a righteous life and the 

  news of judgment after death, and reward or punishment in the afterlife;

  • Morals and laws which people are told to follow. 

  The Abrahamic faiths have in common a belief in angels as God’s messengers 

  to human beings. The angel of revelation is named Gabriel. The human 

  beings chosen by God as bearers of revelation to other human beings are 

  called prophets. Some of them were chosen and inspired to teach people, 

  while the Major Prophets received revelations that have been memorized, 

  recited and written in Holy books or scriptures.

  • The Messiah 

  • Jews believe that Messiah is still awaited and coming at some future 

  time. The Reform tradition does not expect an individual Messiah. 

  Jews do not believe that Jesus was the Messiah. Some Jews believe 

  that Jesus was a spiritual leader. 

  • Christians believe that Jesus was the Messiah. They also believe that 

  Jesus was the son of God, who came to redeem human beings from 

  sin or wrongdoing, and that he compensated for all human sins with his 

  suffering and death. This salvation, or being saved and given eternal 

  life, is the central teaching of the New Testament (which means promise 

  or pledge, i.e. the salvation through Jesus).

  • Muslims also believe that Jesus was the Messiah. They do not believe 

  that he was the son of God, but a human being. Muslims also believe 

  that God did not allow him to die or be crucified at the hands of human 

  beings.

  Both Christians and Muslims believe that Jesus was raised up to God, but 

  Christians believe that Jesus was raised from the dead or resurrected. 

  Muslims believe that Jesus was one of the greatest prophets. Muslims also 

  share the belief with Christians in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ near 

  the end of time. 

  Among adherents of the Abrahamic faiths, only Christians and Muslims 

  believe Jesus as a messenger of God and only Muslims believe that 

  Muhammad was a prophet, a man who was born in Makkah in about the 

  year 570 AD. They believe that he received the final revelation from God 

  through the holy book called the Quran. Historically, Muhammad was not 

  accepted as a prophet by Christians and Jews. Similarly, Jews do not accept 

  Christian or Muslim beliefs about Jesus.

  • The Monotheistic Concept of God and the Afterlife 

  All three Abrahamic faiths share many ideas about the nature of God. He is 

  the Creator of the Universe. The monotheistic tradition of God includes the 

  idea of a covenant, or promise, of God. The covenant is a trust placed upon 

  human beings to believe in God, to worship only Him and not to worship 

  any other gods. The scriptures describe God’s characteristics or attributes, 

  such as justice, mercy, and power over all of Creation. The scriptures of 

  the Abrahamic faiths also describe the promise of God to judge all human 

  beings on the Judgment Day, after they have died, and to reward or punish 

  them according to God’s justice. All of the faiths believe that God requires 

  human beings to show mercy to others, to do good deeds such as helping 

  others, and that He will reward those who have faith and do well in this world. 

  The promise of God is for eternal life after death, in a heavenly paradise. 

  Equally, those who do evil will be punished in Hell. The most important thing 

  for human beings, however, is to have faith in God, that He will grant mercy 

  to whomever He will, and forgive their sins or wrongdoing. Another important 

  concept of God is that He is not from the world, but He is present, and each 

  human being can approach God and become near to Him, through prayer 

  and other acts of worship.

  • Practices of Worship 

  Belief in the need to worship God is common to all religions. The most basic 

  form of worship is prayer. Each tradition prescribes specific words and 

  requirements for prayer, which takes place at appointed day. Public prayer 

  in houses of worship is common to all three faiths: Jews on Saturday, for 

  Christians on Sunday, and for Muslims on Friday. 

  All Abrahamic faiths recognize the personal, private prayer of each believer. 

  Prayers that mark the times in the day and the cycle of the year are among 

  the most important signs of obedience to God. Such rituals are also the 

  source of scientific efforts to achieve accurate timekeeping and calendars. 

  The prayer also implies fasting in these three religions and performing 

  pilgrimage to Holy lands.

  • Celebrations 

  Each of the Abrahamic faiths has a few major celebrations during the year. 

  Both Judaism and Islam follow a lunar calendar for the timing of these 

  celebrations, and some Christian feast days are also influenced by the lunar 

  calendar. Some of these celebrations are: 

  • Judaism: Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Passover, Shavuot, Sukkot, 

  Chanukkah, Purim; these celebrations recall events in the dramatic 

  history of the Jewish people. 

  • Christianity: Advent, Christmas, Lent, Good Friday, Easter, and 

  Pentecost; these are only a few of the celebrations that commemorate 

  events in the life of Jesus.

  • Islam: Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr; Hajj and Eid al-Adha; Ramadan is a 

  month of fasting commanded in the Qur’an, and the feast day that ends 

  it is Eid al-Fitr. Eid al-Adha and the Hajj (the ritual journey to Makkah) 

  commemorate events in the life of Abraham and his family

  Sharing food and other gifts with family, neighbours, and needy people are 

  common ways to celebrate, and attending special worship services are part 

  of these celebrations.

  • Leadership 

  Individuals and the community participate in worship and follow ethical, 

  practical and religious laws. Leaders especially trained in knowledge of the 

  faith and care for the community and its members play roles in guiding the 

  faithful. 

  • In Judaism, leaders are called Rabbis, and they receive rigorous 

  training in the scriptures and other Judaic writings. 

  • In Christianity, priests and pastors serve as part of a church hierarchy,or 

  ranks of authorities. Only trained, ordained, or initiated priests can fulfil 

  certain sacred functions of worship for the lay, or ordinary people.

  • In Islam a prayer leader is called an imam“one who stands in front” of 

  the lines of worshippers. Leaders who offer advice on how to practice 

  Islam, on the law, and other kinds of guidance

  • Moral and ethical principles and laws

  Christianity, Islam and Judaism share a set of morals and values. The 

  most basic set of moral and ethical values in the Biblical tradition is the Ten 

  Commandments, which was part of the revelation taught by Moses, and 

  are revered by Jews and Christians as they appear in the Torah and the 

  Old Testament. This part of the belief system is an important reason why 

  Muslims are taught to respect Jews and Christians as fellow “People of the 

  Book.” The Qur’an includes all of the Ten Commandments – many of them 

  stated in a similar way, with the exception of the Sabbath (day of rest). 

  The Qur’an also states that its revelation came to confirm the right message 

  that the earlier prophets brought. Much of this message is the central religious 

  concept of one God, and the basic commandments to honour parents, help 

  the poor, respect neighbours, not to steal, kill, envy, or lie, and so on. Some of 

  these commandments also form the basis of civil and criminal law in secular 

  governments, and they form the basis for the concept of human rights. The 

  fact that they share values, beliefs and ethics, make them to easily interact 

  and allow many kinds of interactions possible.

  4.3. Application activity:

  1. What does the term Islam mean?

  2. Define the following concepts:

  a. Quran

  b. Hadith

  3. Identify the islamic six pillars of faith

  4.4. End unit assessment
  

  1. Define the following terms: Judaism, Torah

  2. List the five books of the Law.

  3. Explain how laws can help you to live peacefully in your community.

  4. Briefly explain the beliefs of christians.

  5. How christian beliefs can help you to live in harmonious life in 

  your society? 

  6. What does the term Islam mean?

  7. Define the following concepts:

  a. Quran

  b. Hadith

  8. Discuss the Islamic six pillas of faith.

• UNIT 5: THE PILLARS OF FAITH IN ABRAHAMIC RELIGIONS

  Key Unit competence: Evaluate the contribution of Religious values to the 

  peaceful life in the society

  

  Introductory Activity

  1. Discuss on the things that are important to observe in order to 

  have peace.

  2. According to you, what are the causes and consequences of 

  insecurity?

  

  5.1. Learning activitiy :

  In the picture above, we see people living together peacefully. There is 

  sharing and playing together. Describe what you understand by the term 

  peace, and discuss why you think peace is very important in society.

  5.1. Meaning of Peace and inner peace

  a. Definition of Peace

  The concept of peace is etymologically in line with the Latin pax and the 

  Greek eirenewhich are approximations of Hebrew shalom a cognate of 

  Arabic salaam, meaning safety, prosperity and security. Like other abstract 

  terms, peace is intangible. But like “happiness”, “justice” and “freedom”, we 

  recognize peace by its absence. Peace denotes the opposite of things we 

  don’t like, that disturb our peace

  It is often said that peace is not merely the absence of war but presence of 

  justice. The word peace can be defined as a social and political condition 

  that ensures development of individuals, society and nation. 

  It is a state of harmony characterized by the existence of healthy relationships. 

  It is a condition related to the social or economic welfare and equality. 

  It is also related to a working political order that serves true interests of all. 

  In the context of intra-national and international relations, peace implies the 

  presence of socio-cultural and economic understanding and unity. 

  Some scholars have differentiated negative peace from positive peace.

  Negative peace implies that there is no visible violence. In this case, there 

  could be lots of unresolved underlying issues that people do not want to talk 

  about

  On the other hand positive peace is a situation where there is restoration 

  of relationships, the creation of social systems that serve the needs of the 

  whole population and the constructive resolution of conflicts so that situation 

  do not escalate to open violence. Peace therefore, is a situation that prevails 

  when there exist respectful attention to the legitimate needs and interests of 

  all concerned

  Christians are called to be peace builders. In simple terms peace building 

  is all activity aiming at improving the quality of life. Peace building prevents, 

  reduces, transforms and helps people recover from all forms of violence. 

  Throughout the word of God, young people have always been called to rise 

  and shine and be examples and role models in their communities as peace 

  builders (Isaiah 9:6; Psalms 34:14; Ecclesiast 9:18). God himself is a God 

  of peace and hope. Young people are called to be ambassadors of peace 

  and hope. They can become instruments of peace, harmony, love and unity 

  in their community through mediation, mobilization, advocacy, ensuring 

  security, creating awareness on human rights (Matthew 5:9; Ephesians 4:3; 

  Romans 12:18). 

  b. Definition of inner peace

  Inner peace is also called peace of mind or inner calmness. It can be 

  developed through a kind of exercises and behaviours or discipline. It refers 

  to a state of being mentally and spiritually at peace, with enough knowledge 

  and understanding to keep oneself strong in the face of discord or stress. 

  Being “at peace” is considered by many to be healthy (homeostasis) and 

  the opposite of being stressed or anxious, a state where our mind performs 

  at an optimal level with a positive outcome. Peace of mind is thus generally 

  associated with bliss, happiness and contentment. Peace of mind, serenity, 

  and calmness are descriptions of a disposition free from the effects of stress.

  5.1 Application activity: 

  1. Define the term Peace

  2. Distinguish between positive peace and negative peace

  3. After defining the tern inner peace explain the actions you can 

  carry out to develop inner peace.

  5.2. Obstacles to Peace and inner peace

  5.2. Learning activitiy :

  Observe and describe the pictures below and discuss on the factors that 

  can be barriers to peace

  

  The obstacles of inner peace in the society, habit makes our character and 

  then after, our personality. When one does not develop a number of tips to 

  maintain his or her inner peace, he or she will find him/herself dominated 

  by stress and then overloaded by ideas and actions that can lead to a 

  disharmonious life. Being so, inner peace will progressively die and loose its 

  place in one’s life. Therefore, stress is the big obstacle of inner peace.

  The other obstacles of inner peace are: failure to achieve goals, physical 

  and mental troubles, fear, anger, hatred, disputes, quarrels, hunger, bad 

  relationships with others, 

  Actions that can develop inner peace: Finding peace within is a wonderful 

  but also a difficult thing. It is easy to go looking for it in the wrong places. So 

  here are five timeless thoughts to help develop your inner peace:

  • Simplify: The simplification of life is one of the steps to inner peace. A 

  persistent simplification will create an inner and outer well-being that 

  places harmony in one’s life. 

  • Accept: Acceptance of others, their looks, their behaviours, their 

  belief, bring you an inner peace and tranquillity instead of anger and 

  resentment. 

  • Forgive: Inner peace can be reached only when we practice forgiveness. 

  Forgiveness is letting go of the past, and is therefore the means for 

  correcting our misperceptions. Forgiveness is important because as 

  long as you don’t forgive someone you are linked to that person.

  • Do what you enjoy: Never continue in a job you don’t enjoy. If you’re 

  happy in what you’re doing, you’ll like yourself, you’ll have inner peace. 

  And if you have that, along with physical health, you’ll have more 

  success than you could possibly have imagined.

  • Be careful with your inner peace: Never be in a hurry; do everything 

  quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything 

  whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset.

  5.2. Application activity:

  1. List the factors that influence the lack of inner peace. 

  2. Explain how stress is the big obstacle of inner peace.

  3. Discuss the actions that can develop your inner peace.

  5.3. Religious teaching on Peace

  5.1. Learning activitiy :

  1. Observe the images below and read Genesis 4:1-12 in the Bible. 

  2. Find out why Cain killed his brother Abel. 

  3. What else could he have done to avoid committing murder

  

  In biblical view, peace describes the state of those who love the word of God 

  (Psalm 119:165). It depicts the concept of peace expressed in the blessing 

  of Aaron found in numbers 6:24, wherein it sums up all blessings and is 

  closely associated with the presence of God. Peace is the result of God’s 

  presence in a person’s life as God is the source of Peace Psalm 85:8).

  Peace in the Old Testament

  In the Old Testament, the primarily Hebrew word for peace is shalom, and 

  it refers to relationships between people (Genesis 34:21), nations (1 Kings 

  5:12), and God with men (Psalm 85: 8). Peace is a desired status in each 

  of these arenas, and shalom is often tired to a covenant or promise kept. 

  A familiar friend (literally, “friend of my peace” in Psalms 41:9) is one with 

  whom you would be at ease, a trusted companion. Peace was the standard 

  greeting (1 Samuel 25:6), still used in many cultures today.

  Shalom denotes completion or wholeness. The general meaning of the root 

  word is of entering into a state of wholeness and unity, a restored relationship. 

  It also conveys a wide range of nuances: fulfilment, completion, maturity, 

  soundness, wholeness, harmony, tranquillity, security, well being, welfare, 

  friendship, agreement, success and prosperity. The word shalom occurs 

  more than 250 times in the Tanakh and appears in 213 separate verses.

  Peace in the New Testament

  In the New Testament the primarily Greek word for peace is eirene, and it 

  refers to rest or tranquillity. Peace is the state of law and order that gives 

  rise to the blessing of prosperity. It also used to denote peaceful conduct 

  towards others. The New Testament use of the eirene remains firmly based 

  in the Hebrew traditions of Shalom in the Tanakh. It can describe both the 

  content and the goal of all Christian preaching, since the message is called 

  the Gospel of peace (Ephesians 6: 15). The word is found 91 times in the 

  New Testament, 24 of which are in the Gospels.

  A key focus of peace in the New Testament is the advent of Jesus Christ. 

  As announced by the angels in Luke 2: 14 (“Peace on earth”). Isaiah had 

  predicted the Messiah would be the prince of peace (Isaiah 9:6), and He is 

  called the Lord of peace in 2 Thessalonians 3:16. It is through Christ’s work 

  of justification that we can have peace with God (Romans 5:1); and that 

  peace will keep our hearts and minds secure (Philippians 4:7).

  God commands us to seek peace (Psalms 34:14; Matthew 5:9). We should 

  “make every effort to do what leads to peace (Romans 14:19). Of course 

  there will be people who do not desire peace, but we are still to do n utmost

  to be at peace with them (Romans 12:18). Believers have an obligation to 

  “let the peace of the Lord rule” in their hearts Colossians 3:15). This means 

  we have the choice either to trust God’s promises (letting His peace rule) or 

  to rely on ourselves and reject the peace he offers. Jesus gave his disciples 

  peace based on truth that he has overcome the world (John 14:27; 16:33). 

  Peace is the Fruit of the Holy Spirit, so, if we are allowing the Spirit of God 

  to rule in our lives, we will experience His peace. To be spiritually minded 

  brings life and peace, according to Romans 8:6.

  The world will continue to have wars and interpersonal conflicts until Jesus 

  comes to establish true, lasting peace (See Isaiah 11:1-10), but God will give 

  His Peace to those who trust Him. Jesus took the chastisement of our peace 

  (Isaiah 53:5) and has made it possible for us to have peace with God. Once 

  His peace rules in our hearts, we are able to share that peace with others; 

  we become publishers of peace (Isaiah 52:7) and ministers of reconciliation 

  (2 Corinthians 5:18).

  5.3. Application activity: 

  1. State the biblical meaning of peace. Discuss

  2. Coment this statement,”Peace is the result of God’s presence in 

  a person’s life.”

  3. What do you know about the biblical teachings concerning peace

  5.4. Peace and Conflict

  5.4. Learning activitiy :

  1. Find the meaning of the term conflict.

  2. In the conflict situation below, who is the mediator and who are 

  the fighters?

  3. Propose all the causes of conflict that you know.

  

  Definition of conflict

  A conflict is situation where there is opposition between two persons or 

  entities. It is the result of incompatibility of objectives and manifested 

  behaviours by protagonists. The term conflict comes from the Latin 

  “conflictus” which means an “act of striking together”. In other words, conflict 

  basically means a situation of competitive or opposing action. Put different 

  conflict is a natural and even necessary part of our lives whether at home, in 

  our families, at work, or within the church because it helps to resolves issues 

  which would otherwise prevail. Intense conflicts can, but does not have need 

  to, lead to violence. This means that when a conflict is not well resolved, it 

  may generate severe problems.

  Types of conflict

  Conflicts can be classified in the four types:

  Interpersonal conflicts

  This refers to the conflict between two people. This is because people are 

  different from one another. For example, some people get angry easily, some 

  are emotional others are slow to anger.

  Intrapersonal Conflict

  These are the conflicts that occur within an individual. The experience takes 

  in the person’s mind. It is a psychological conflict as it involves people’s 

  thoughts, values, principles, and emotions. Intra personal conflict may be a 

  simple one like making a decision between going or not going for lunch.

  Intragroup conflicts

  It is a type of conflict that happens among individuals within a team. The 

  incompatibilities and misunderstandings among these individuals lead 

  to an intragroup conflict. It arises from interpersonal disagreements (e.g. 

  team members have different personalities which may lead to tension) or 

  differences in views and ideas (e.g. in a presentation, members of the team 

  might find the notions presented by the one presiding to be erroneous due to 

  their differences in opinion). Within a team, conflict can be helpful in coming 

  up with decisions which will eventually allow them to reach their objectives 

  as a team. 

  Intergroup conflict 

  This takes place when a misunderstanding arises among different teams 

  within an organization. For instance, the sales department of an organization 

  can come in conflict with the customer support department. This is due to 

  the varied sets of goals and interests of these different groups. In addition, 

  competition also contributes for intergroup conflict to arise. There are other 

  factors which fuel this type of conflict. Some of these factors may include 

  a rivalry in resources or the boundaries set by a group to others which 

  establishes their own identity as a team.

  Conclusively conflict may seem to be a problem to some, but this is not 

  how conflict should be perceived. On the other hand, it is an opportunity 

  for growth and can be an effective means of opening up among groups or 

  individuals. However, when conflict begins to draws back productivity and 

  gives way to more conflicts, then conflict management would be needed to 

  come up with a resolution.

  Causes of Conflicts

  Here are some of the causes of conflict that can arise in society:

  1. Failure to apologise: Failure to apologise for the wrong done to 

  others can lead to conflict. People are human and therefore they 

  are not always perfect. They make mistakes and wrong others. 

  However, if one is wronged but the offender fails to express regret 

  for the wrong done that can lead to a conflict.

  2. Backbiting: Backbiting is another vice which can cause conflict. 

  Backbiting annoys many people. It hurts most when it is a friend that 

  has been backbiting you. You feel betrayed, such a friend proves to 

  be unfaithful to you.

  3. Selfishness: Being selfish is about being self centred and always 

  pursuing selfish interest. A person who always puts his interests first 

  without considering the good of others is selfish person.

  4. Envy: An envious person feels bad when another person is favoured, 

  gets good grades at school or does something better than him or 

  her. Envy leads to gossiping, insulting others and or even fighting. 

  (James 4:1-2)

  5. Divisive manipulation: This is what colonialists used “divide and 

  rule”. They would turn peaceful African communities against each 

  other to fight but in the interests of the colonialists. 

  6. Nepotism and tribalism: Nepotism is about favouring one’s 

  relatives at the expense of others. An example is a leader who can 

  unjustly employ his or her relatives in Government offices. Normally 

  such persons are appointed without following the proper rules of 

  appointing civil servants. 

  7. Prejudice: This means judging someone before you know the 

  facts. It is the act of judging others without supporting evidences. 

  Many times we are prejudiced against others on the basis of their 

  personal characteristics, say obesity, disability, homelessness, age, 

  skin complexion or height.

  8. Lack of self-control: Some people are ‘short-tempered’; they hardly 

  control their anger which results in being quarrelsome person. 

  9. Poverty: When people are poor they are not happy. They tend to 

  think that those who are rich are the ones who made them poor. The 

  poor think that the rich have accumulated a lot of money of which 

  some would have belonged to the poor.

  10. Injustice: this refers to unfair treatment of one party by another. 

  It is therefore, the absence of equal treatment, misuse of laws 

  against others and victimising any person by any means. Injustice 

  of whatever kind breeds bitterness, hatred and the desire to seek for 

  revenge. It is this desire to seek for revenge which eventually leads 

  to conflict or violence.

  Consequences of conflict in society 

  1. Lack of peace: The first thing a conflict takes away from people is 

  peace. Where there is conflict, people live in fear and are always 

  worried. They do not know what can happen any time. Where there 

  is absence of peace, people cannot concentrate on things that matter 

  a lot to their existence. This blocks development and progress.

  2. Deaths during wartime: The most important thing for any person 

  is his or her life. Once life is lost nothing else has any meaning to 

  a dead person. Conflict that can lead to physical aggression such 

  as war is deadly because it can cause injuries or death. The main 

  reason why people flee away from war zones is the fear of being 

  killing deliberately or accidentally by stray bullets or explosives.

  3. Migration: Conflict can lead to real physical war. Where there is 

  conflict or an actual war there is neither peace nor safety. Those who 

  feel vulnerable and cannot defend themselves decide to migrate to 

  other areas where they can be safe. By migrating they leave behind 

  their homes and places of their daily activities. They often move to 

  places where they may not have relatives. This makes them refugees 

  or internally displaced people. They begin to live on handouts from 

  well-wishers, charity organisations or the Government.

  4. Destruction of infrastructure: War is always disaster. Battlefields 

  are characterised with exchange of bullets, bombs and different 

  kinds of explosives. When this land of infrastructure such as water 

  facilities, electricity generating sources, roads and buildings are 

  destroyed. All these things are important for the provision of social 

  services. Government spends a lot of money to establish these 

  social facilities.

  However, a war of a few days can destroy facilities that took 

  Government several years to establish. Even when a war ends, it 

  always takes a long times to rebuild the infrastructures that were 

  destroyed during the war time.

  5.4 Application activity: 

  1. Define the term conflict.

  2. Explain the types of conflict that you know.

  3. Highlight the causes and consequences of conlict in society

  5.5. Methods of Conflict resolution

  5.5. Learning activitiy :

  The story of Uwineza and Gasimba

  Uwineza and Gasimba are Senior one students and were still fighting in 

  the field when Mahoro arrived. They were fighting over a lost pen they 

  found in the field. Each one of them claimed that the pen belonged to 

  them. Nobody wanted to lose the fight. Mahoro stopped them from fighting 

  and requested them to give her the pen. Because she was a friend and 

  classmate to both, they gave her the pen. Then she asked them who was 

  the real owner but both claimed ownership. She told them that she, as 

  the mediator, would take the pen. Gasimba became happy that neither 

  of them would get the pen. Uwineza looked innocent as she said she did 

  not have a pen to use in the class. Mahoro decided to take the pen to 

  class without the two. She went entered the classroom and asked other 

  students about the pen. Those close to Uwineza confirmed that the pen 

  belonged to her. She called the two and gave the pen to Uwineza because 

  she was convinced that the pen belonged to her. After that clear evidence, 

  Gasimba said that he only admired the pen. He therefore agreed to buy 

  five pens for her as they shook hands.

  1. From the above story did you know that it was good to be honest? 

  Explain.Identify at least two methods of solving conflict.

  2. Identify the evidence that the two classmates in conflict were 

  eventually reconciled. 

  3. What do you think was the situation after solving the conflict ? 

  Think and discuss other methods of conflict resoltion.

  
  

  There are several methods used to cope with conflict. Those methods are 

  called Conflict resolution methods. Some of them are: mediation or dialogue, 

  negotiation, arbitration, promoting democratic rule, counselling and 

  litigation

  1. Mediation or dialogue:

  Mediation is a voluntary process in which an impartial person (the mediator) 

  helps with communication and promotes reconciliation between the parties 

  which will allow them to reach a mutually acceptable agreement. Mediation 

  often is the next step if negotiation proves unsuccessful.

  The Process: The mediator manages the process and helps facilitate 

  negotiation between the parties. A mediator does not make a decision nor 

  force an agreement. The parties directly participate and are responsible for 

  negotiating their own settlement or agreement

  2. Negotiation:

  Negotiation is the most basic means of settling differences. It is back-andforth communication between the parties of the conflict with the goal of trying 

  to find a solution.

  The Process: You may negotiate directly with the other person. You may hire 

  an attorney to negotiate directly with the other side on your behalf. There 

  are no specific procedures to follow - you can determine your own - but it 

  works best if all parties agree to remain calm and not talk at the same time. 

  Depending on your situation, you can negotiate in the board room of a big 

  company, in an office or even in your own living room.

  Negotiation allows you to participate directly in decisions that affect you. In 

  the most successful negotiations, the needs of both parties are considered. 

  A negotiated agreement can become a contract and be enforceable.

  3. Arbitration:

  Arbitration is the submission of a disputed matter to an impartial person (the 

  arbitrator) for decision.

  The Process: Arbitration is typically an out-of-court method for resolving 

  a dispute. The arbitrator controls the process, will listen to both sides and 

  make a decision. Like a trial, only one side will prevail. Unlike a trial, appeal 

  rights are limited.

  In a more formal setting, the arbitrator will conduct a hearing where all of the 

  parties present evidence through documents, exhibits and testimony. The 

  parties may agree to, in some instances, establish their own procedure; or 

  an administrating organization may provide procedures. There can be either 

  one arbitrator or a panel of three arbitrators. An arbitration hearing is usually 

  held in offices or other meeting rooms.

  4. Promoting democratic rule:

  The most conflicts in Africa are caused by bad governance; leaders should 

  strive to establish democratic rules in their countries. When people are led 

  democratically and can participate in the management of their countries, 

  conflicts will be reduced. Elections must be free and fair so that those 

  defeated accept results honorably. Wherever there is serious discontent 

  over election results, those cheated can resort to violence.

  5. Counselling:

  This is the profession of advice and guidance in resolving a personal 

  problem. Counselling is a framework though which the counsellor reaches 

  out to a person in need of advice and guidance for the purpose of enabling 

  that person to overcome some certain personal difficulties. Sometimes, the 

  cause of conflict between parties or people can be personal weaknesses 

  that need to be addressed in order to end dispute. Counselling can play an 

  important part in helping individuals involved in a dispute to be reconciled

  The counsellor can help individuals to identify better and safer ways of 

  solving problems that head previously seemed very difficult to deal with

  6. Litigation

  Litigation is the use of the courts and civil justice system to resolve legal 

  controversies. Litigation can be used to compel opposing party to participate 

  in the solution.

  The Process: Litigation is begun by filing a lawsuit in a court. Specific rules 

  of procedure, discovery and presentation of evidence must be followed. The 

  attorney for the other side will want to take your deposition to learn more 

  about the facts as you see them and your position in the case. There can 

  be a number of court appearances by you and/or your lawyer. If the parties 

  cannot agree how to settle the case, either the judge or a jury will decide the 

  dispute for you through a trial.

  A trial is a formal judicial proceeding allowing full examination and 

  determination of all the issues between the parties with each side presenting 

  its case to either a jury or a judge. The decision is made by applying the facts 

  of the case to the applicable law. That verdict or decision can conclude the 

  litigation process and be enforceable; however, if appropriate, the loser can 

  appeal the decision to a higher court. In some cases, the losing party may 

  have to pay the costs of the lawsuit and may have to pay the other party’s 

  attorney fees.

  For conflict based on interest, approaches like win-win, lose-lose and winlose are frequently used. 

  • Active Nonviolence Methods

  Definition of Active Non-Violence: It is the personal practice of being 

  harmless to self and others under every condition. The idea came from 

  the philosophy of “abstention from violence: not hurt animals, people and 

  environment. Gandhi, Martin Luther King Junior and Mandela used this kind 

  of methods for several times. Among the principles of Active Non Violence, 

  we can cite: non-aggression, non-killing, non-violence, etc

  Six Principles of nonviolence in conflict resolution (according Martin 

  Luther King Jr)

  1. Nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people. It is active 

  nonviolent resistance to evil.

  2. Nonviolence seeks to win friendship and understanding. The end 

  result of nonviolence is redemption and reconciliation.

  Six Principles of nonviolence in conflict resolution (according Martin 

  Luther King Jr)

  1. Nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people. It is active 

  nonviolent resistance to evil.

  2. Nonviolence seeks to win friendship and understanding. The end 

  result of nonviolence is redemption and reconciliation.

  • Gandhi and Active Non-Violence Methods 

  Mahatma Gandhi (2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948) was an Indian 

  activist who was the leader of the Indian independence movement against 

  British rule. Employing nonviolent civil disobedience, Gandhi led India to 

  independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across 

  the world. Gandhi’s birthday, 2 October, is commemorated in India as 

  Gandhi Jayanti, a national holiday, and worldwide as the International Day of 

  Nonviolence. According to Gandhi, nonviolence and truth are inseparable.

  • Martin Luther King and Active Non-Violence Methods 

  Martin Luther King Junior (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American 

  Baptist minister and activist who became the most visible spokesperson and 

  leader in the civil rights movement from 1954 through 1968. He is best known 

  for his role in the advancement of civil rights using the tactics of nonviolence 

  and civil disobedience based on his Christian beliefs and inspired by the 

  nonviolent activism of Mahatma Gandhi. King believed and declared that 

  violence was immoral. 

  • Mandela Nelson and Active Non-Violence Methods 

  Nelson Mandela (18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013), (imprisoned for 27 

  years) was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, political leader, and 

  philanthropist, who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. 

  He was the country’s first black head of state and the first elected in a fully 

  representative democratic election. His government focused on dismantling 

  the legacy of apartheid by tackling institutionalized racism and fostering racial 

  reconciliation. Ideologically an African nationalist and socialist, he served as 

  President of the African National Congress (ANC) party from 1991 to 1997.

  • Effects of Conflict Resolution (individual, family and society) 

  Conflict resolution has significant impact on individual, family and society. 

  At the individual level, the person whose conflict is resolved, is peaceful 

  and can work positively and successfully. When he or she has overcome his/

  her conflicts, he/she becomes a source of benediction for others. 

  At the family level, the resolution of conflicts creates harmony between 

  family members and enhances their efforts for integral development. 

  At the society level, conflict resolution contributes to the welfare and 

  development of communities. 

  Conflict Analysis

  For conflicts to be resolved, it is necessary to understand what is going on 

  between conflicting individuals or entities. One needs to study the problem, 

  analyze it and this to be easy some tools can be helpful. 

  • Problem Analysis

  It is usually said that a problem well analyzed is a problem half solved. In a 

  basic conflict analysis, we should gather as much information and knowledge 

  about:

  • Who are the people directly and indirectly affected by the conflict? 

  What are their perspectives about the conflict?

  • What are the underlying issues and needs that are not being mentioned?

  • What are the roots causes of the conflict? Do the conflicts have historical 

  roots or do they come from the current social context?

  • If there is no immediate intervention, is the conflict likely to escalate to 

  violence?

  • Are there parties who may be benefiting from the conflict; and is there 

  anyone trying to resolve the conflict?

  • How should you intervene in the conflict?

  • Classical Problem Solving Approach

  • The following steps can help solving the problem: 

  • Define the problem.

  • Generate as many options as possible for resolution

  • Evaluate the options.

  • Pick the best.

  • Develop implementation plan. 

  • Alternative approach to Conflict Resolution

  One of the tools to resolve conflicts is by the “The conflict resolution tree”. As 

  the name suggests, the conflict resolution tree focuses on the root causes 

  of the core problems that we can visibly see. The analogy of a tree is very 

  familiar with most people hence they can easily identify with the dynamics 

  in the analysis. In the Conflicts Resolution Tree, the leaves and branches 

  represent the effects while the stem or trunk represents the core problem. Of 

  course the roots represent the root causes of the conflict.

  

  5.5. Application activity: 

  1. Define conflict resolution methods.

  2. Outline different means of conflict resolution.

  3. Explain the active non violence method of confict resolution and 

  out line its princples according to Martin Luther King Junior.

  4. Outline the effects of conflict resolution to an individual, family and 

  society

  5.5. End unit assessment

  1. Why is the lack of peace in any given area a great disadvantage 

  to people?

  2. Highlight the causes and consequences of conlict in society.

  3. Identify and explain the effects of war on a development.

  4. Among the following five actions, find one which cannot develop 

  inner peace: Simplify, Accept, Forgive, Do not do what you enjoy, 

  be careful with your inner peace.

  5. Explain how stress is the big obstacle of inner peace.

  6. Distinguish the different types of conflict.

  7. Explain the different ways conflicts can be resolved.

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  Teacher’s Book, Kigali.

  REB 2016. Religious Studies syllabus.

  Shiphrah Gichaga N., Ruth Kerre M.; Dr Philomena Mwaura N., Elizabeth 

  Onoka A. (2003). Christian Religious Education, Student’s Book one. Nairobi: 

  Kenyan Literature Bureau (Second Edition).

  Shiphrah Gichaga N., Ruth Kerre M.; Dr Philomena Mwaura N., Elizabeth 

  Onoka A. (2003). Christian Religious Education, Form 2Teacher’s Guide. 

  Nairobi: Kenyan Literature Burea

  Shiphrah Gichaga N., Ruth Kerre M.; Dr Philomena Mwaura N., Jeremiah 

  Mambo M., Elizabeth 

  The New African Bible (2012). Paulines Publications Africa.

  b. b. Online references

  Abu Amina Elias, (2013). The golden rule in Islam, retrived from https://

  google.com /ur l?sa =t&source web&rct=j&url (on 9/919).

  Brannon Deibert, what is the Golden Rule? Biblical meaning, importance 

  and examples, on https://www.christianity.com/christian-life/what-is-thegolden-rule.html (on 10/9/2019)

  Courtnage Richard, Loving the Lord with all your heart, your Soul, your mind 

  and your strength. On https://www.ibelieve. Com (on 9/9)

  Crosswalk.com. (2019). Prayer of St Francis of Assisi on https://www.

  Crosswalk .com/ faith /prayer/the-prayer-of-st-Francis-MakeMe-aninstrument.html%3Famp %3 D1&ved (Visited 10/9/2019)

  Bernock, D. (2009). What does it mean to love your neighbor as yourself? 

  On https: www.crosswalk.com (on 9/9)

  Tzvi, N. R. (2018). Golden rule in Judaism, on https://www.aish.com/sp/pg/

  judaism-Golden-rule.html%3Fmobile%3Dyes&ved

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• Topic 9