Approaching the West — Page 98
A pproaching the West—98 “You shall observe My judgments and keep My ordinances, to walk in them: I am the Lord your God. ” (Lev. 18:4) Failing his responsibility to discharge any one of the obligations makes a person sinful. In theistic faiths, commandments against sin are not only transmitted through revelations and oral traditions, they have been put down into writings. These written religious scriptures contain rules and regulations that usually encompass the entire life cycle, from birth to death. Set of laws concerning human body, food, sex, marriage, upbringing of children, social behavior, ethics, agriculture, commerce, acquisition of property, funeral, disposal of the dead, and inheritance are all covered! For example, in Judaism, Tanakh (that includes the 613 commandments of the Torah and the books of Prophets and the Writings) elaborate the binding interpersonal obligations as well as the duties towards God. The Hindus have their Puranas, Vedas, Niti Shastras and Shruti scriptures. The Christians believe in the Bible as the Word of God inspired and inerrant in its original writing. The Muslims believe in the Qur’ ā n as their Holy Book, Word of All ā h, revealed to Prophet Mu ḥ ammad (peace and blessings of All ā h be on him) through the archangel Gabriel; and there are books of Ḥ ad ī th that contain narrations of the Prophet’s personal conduct and his sayings. The Sikhs have Guru Granth Sahib and Dasam Granth as the sanctified collections of the teachings of their Gurus. To ignore an authoritative God’s expressed directives constitutes sin with adverse consequences to the noncompliant. If there was no religious