Apocrypha – Collection of fourteen ancient books of Old Testament, excluded by non Hellenistic Jews from their canon.
Apocalypse – The book of revelation of St. John recorded in the New Testament.
Apocalyptic number -The number 666 mentioned in the Apocalypse as the number of the beast.
Avesta – Holy book containing collection of religious text of Zoroastrianism. It is written in Avestan language and consists of teachings of Zarathustra.
Baha`i – A comparatively new religion which believes that God can be known through the lives and teachings of great prophets the most recent of whom was Baha’ullah in the 19th century. They believe that each prophet was a further stage in revelation of God.
Bhagavad Gita – A 700 verse scripture which is a part of the longest epic ‘The Mahabharata’. It consists of the teachings of Lord Krishna to Arjuna in the battlefield.
Buddhism – Religion based on the teachings of Gautama Buddha (the enlightened one). The Four Noble truths and the Eight Fold path paves the way to liberate oneself from suffering and attain ‘Nirvana’ (freedom from rebirth).
The Bible – The holy book for Christians containing teachings of God and Jesus Christ. It is a collection of religious texts sacred in Christianity and Judaism.
Catholic – A follower of the Universal Roman Catholic Church. The Catholic Church is transmitted through the succession of Popes.
Canticles -A scriptural hymn song forming a regular part of the church service.
The Decalogue – The Ten Commandments
The Dhammapada – is a collection of teachings of Gautama Buddha in verse. The original version version is Khuddaka Nikaya
Guru Granth Sahib – Adi Granth– The central religious holy scripture of Sikhism it is considered as the final sovereign guru of the Sikhs. Before his death Guru Govind Singh declared that there would not be any more human gurus and Guru Granth Sahib would be the final guru.
The Golden Rule – “ Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.” Matthew 7:12
Jainism – Religion based on the teachings of Vardamana Mahavir. The supreme principle is “Ahimsa” or non violence. The three principles of Jainism – Right Belief, Right Knowledge and Right Conduct.
The Kojiki (Shinto) – It is the oldest Japanese religious text divided into three parts – The Kamitsumaki (upper volume), The Nakatsumaki (middle volume) and The Shimotsumaki (lower volume).
The Major Prophets – Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Isaiah
Pentateuch – The first five books of the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament, called ‘Torah’ by the Jews. It includes Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.
Protestant – A form of Christianity the originated in 16th Century after reformation and separation from the Roman Catholic Church.
Quran -The central religious text of Islam consisting of the teachings of Prophet Mohammad. It is organised in 114 chapters.
Shia – The branch of Islam who believe that Ali was chosen by God to be the successor of Prophet Muhammad.
Sufi – A branch of Islam which focuses on purification of soul and spiritual closeness with God.
Sunni – It is the largest branch of Islam who accept Prophet Muhammad as the final prophet.
Tripitaka – Which means ‘Three Baskets’ are Buddhist scriptures. This is also known as Pali or Buddhist Canon in English. It consists of the Sutra Pitaka, Vinaya Pitaka and the Abhidhamma Pitaka.
The Tao Teh Ching – Chinese classic text by sage Laozi. It is a treatise on how to live life with integrity. The four principles of Daoism or Taoism teaches – Simplicity , patience, compassion: Going with the flow: Letting go and Harmony.
Zoroastrianism – Religion preached by Zarathustra or Zororaster. They worship God Ahura Mazda and worship in fire temple (Agiaries).