O' Level FRS Notes 2020 1st Impression

FRS Notes 4047
INDIGENOUS RELIGION
CONCEPT OF GOD
-The belief in the existence of God is prevalent among Traditionalists in many African societies
including Zimbabwe.
-The Supreme Being “is no stranger and he looms large in the consciousness of the people.
-The notions of and beliefs about God as are expressed in his names, attributes, activities and
through the worship
God’s Intrinsic Attributes

1. Omnipotence
-God is the one to whom absolute power and might are attributed.
-TheAfrican God is “a God of Power…the ultimate source of all power”
-In ,many African Religions, the omnipotence of God has far-reaching implications.
-It is seen as the source and the basis upon which other attributes and activities of God
are discussed.
-It is because of God’s omnipotence that he can be presenteverywhere; that he is all-knowing;
all-seeing; and can carry out his activities as he chooses.
-God’s overriding power surpasses that of any being, natural or
supernatural.
- God is who he is, and can do what he chooses because of his omnipotence.
-He is considered the ultimate cause of a person’s fortunes or misfortunes in life and death, the
determiner of the number of children born in a household and of all
events.
-In that regard, ultimate responsibility for everything that
happens from birth until death is attributed to God.
-However, this does not mean that God is held responsible for the perpetration of evil or for
unfortunate happenings it simply infers that God has allowed these situations to occur.
2. Omnipresence
FAMILY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES NOTES ORDINARY LEVEL: Page 1

FRS Notes 4047
-God is everywhere.
- He is he one whom you meet everywhere
-He is not only the “Preexisted One”, but the one whose presence pervades the earth.
In general, the Traditionalists believe that God manifests himself to them during times of
worship and religious gatherings.
-God’s presence is strongly assumed at all major sacrifices.
-The omnipresence of God is also connected with natural occurrences such as thunder and
lightning.
3. Omniscience
- God’s omniscience means that his wisdom and knowledge are limitless
and that even if we may know some things, it is only God who knows all.
-No one else, apart from God,is worthy of, or is given, the attribute of Omniscience.
-Often it is because of our imperfect and incomplete knowledge that we affirm God’s
omniscience.
-There is a common view in West Africa which may have originated from Nigeria that
says: “No one knows tomorrow.” You can make your plans ahead but from a human point of
view you cannot tell exactly how things will turnout; in the final analysis only God knows.
4. All-Seeing
-God not only knows, he also sees, for nothing is hidden from him.
-G sees everything because he lives above.
-God sees whatever we do.
- This concept echoes the African belief that, ”wrong-doers cannot escape the judgment of God”.
5. Ruler
-The concept of God the Creator as the supreme ruler of the world is prevalent in Africa.
- In indigenous religion, the notion of sovereignty is of particular significance in the peoples’
attitude towards God.
Among the religions in Africa, God’s role as ruler is of course understood to be analogous to
that of a chief.

FRS Notes 4047
-As a chief, God is always thought of as one with immense authority and wisdom, and as one
who performs the functions of a judge, and maintains justice and equity.
-It is by the chief’s authority that the people in his jurisdiction are able to carry on their day-to-
day affairs or maintain their respective position.
-As such, the Traditionalists find it difficult to conceive of social life and maintain daily living
without the chief.
NON-ANCESTRAL SPIRITS
-Most African people, believe that their world is full of a myriad of spirit.
-Various spirits play important roles among the people .
Categories of non-ancestral spirits and their characteristics.

1. Nature Spirits
-Non-ancestral spirits are classified as either nature spirits or human spirits.
-Nature Spirits were created as such and are either associated with individuals, communities, and
clans, with natural features such as mountains/hill tops, lakes, forests, caves, trees, rivers and
springs on account of their mysterious, fearsome and somatic natures.
- Although natural spirits may be good, bad, or ambivalent in their operations, most natural
spirits are characterised by an unpredictable ambivalence and must therefore be treated
cautiously.
-Although people may be aware of the causes of a particular misfortune, suffering and accidental
or inexplicable deaths are usually considered to be the acts of evil spirits.
-Natural disasters, such as floods and the consequent destruction are attributed to the anger of
nature spirits.
- Destruction caused by thunder and lightning, wind and rain, are similarly thought to be the
work of spirits.
-The acquisition of special skills or good fortune is often attributed to good spirits.
-It is believed that a person gifted with “spiritual eyes”, will take “a good spirit” to become
wealthy, or renowned or to attain certain skills.
- It is a common notion that people with outstanding abilities or talents have “taken a spirit”.

FRS Notes 4047
- Outstanding athletes, hunters, smiths, leaders in the secret societies, strikingly good drummers
and singers, and above all, diviners of various kinds are all believed to have obtained their
outstanding abilities from spirits.
- The patron spirits of secret societies are highly revered.
2. Human Spirits
-The next category of non-ancestral spirits is Human Spirits.
- These are the dead who have not been integrated into the ancestor cult, witches, wicked dead
relatives and ghosts.
-Witches, and wicked dead relatives who have not received respectable burial rites, are believed
to become malevolent spirits roving around in the night or day inflicting mischief on the
innocent, especially their enemies or infants.
3. Witchcraft
-In many African societies, the belief in witchcraft is very strong
-Witches are believed to be everywhere acting invisibly. A person may practise witchcraft,
potentially afflicting people by mystical means through the power and encouragement of evil
spirits. -This is usually done at night to avoid being discovered.
-In some societies, a witch may be of either gender, so men and women might equally be
suspected of witchcraft.
-It is said that a witch leaves the body spiritually when “asleep and goes out to attack another
person, infant or adult” while their victim is also asleep.
-In most African societies, witchcraft is regarded as the greatest wrong or destruction on earth.
-It is considered the “reverse of normal values and behaviour” of the community and for these
reasons, practitioners of witchcraft in African societies, witches area always considered to be
evil and anti-social.
-Witches are believed to acquire their power through their “double eyes” (four eyes, two in front
and two behind) which make them capable of seeing beyond the physical and ordinary.
-However, not all people with “double eyes” practise witchcraft. For instance, people with
exceptional abilities like sorcerers and traditional healers are believed to have “double sight”.
-It is also believed that twins and triplets poses “double sight”.

FRS Notes 4047
-Schools of thoughts noted that, these individuals “may possess the same powers as witches, but
they are not necessarily malevolent
- Some use their double vision to secure wealth and fame through the spirits.
-Most double-sighted individuals are good people who use their abilities to expose witches or
others trying to harm people through mystical means.
-Witches are believed to sometimes take on different forms to perpetuate mischief.
-Like other spirits, they are capable of taking the form of animals, reptiles or birds.
-Witches are associated with animals like leopards, elephants, lions, snakes, owls and vampire
bats.
-The nightly cry of an owl is considered a supernatural manifestation of witchcraft.
-Witches can also deprive people through spiritual means by stealingcrops, plaguing or killing
cattle, or causing harm and destruction on anyone who is seen as a threat to them politically or
socially.
-Wicked like-minded people may procure the services of witches to eradicate apolitical opponent
or a rival in love affairs.
-Although a witch is considered to be powerful and is feared by most people, it is also
believed that in the natural human existence he/she, is vulnerable to certain charms and spells
and could be repelled by them.
-Charms may be sticks, stones, pieces of traditional cloth, or almost anything a person thinks is
powerful.
-In general these charms are called medicines.
-There is an almost endless variety of these medicines, some are used for personal protection
such as amulets or talismans worn on the body or potions to bedrunk or rubbed into the skin
-A variety of medicines are also used for public protection
-Medicines are believed to possess mystical power because they are visible symbols of invisible
forces which come either directly from God or through the spirits.
4. Ghosts
-A ghost is “an apparition or spectre of dead person.
-Many Africans, Traditionalists believe that a spirit becomes a ghost when a person has not
received proper burial and is resultantly ,wandering about between this world and the next.

FRS Notes 4047
-In African tradition, Ghosts are harmless, but are notorious for stalking and harassing their
targets until something is done to appease them.
-Usually, this is accomplished by performing a second burial rite.
-It is on account of their habit of harassing the living that ghosts are considered to be evil spirits.
Stories of ghosts haunting homes, offices and people are still common among most people in
Africa.
ANCESTRAL SPIRITS
- In most African cultures, the ancestors are of central importance

in the lives of most indigenous traditionalists.
-To take the ancestors away from them is to destroy their roots in the past, their culture, their
dignity and their understanding of communion sanctorum.
Categories of Ancestors
• Ancestors of a direct genealogy of a particular family or group of families.
• Ancestors who were community heroes whose memories have come down in history as the
defenders of their community, and of their ethnic group.
• Ancestors associated with professional expertise ,smiths, hunters, and sacred specialists.
The Role/ Functions of the Ancestors

-The ancestors are closely involved in the life of the Traditionalists by manifesting interest in the
welfare of the communities to which they belonged, and still belong.
- Not only do they belong to their respective communities, they also order the lives that are led
there.
-Even though spatially they are primarily associated with their graves, because of their
spiritual characteristic, they are capable of following their children wherever they go, which
makes it possible to call on them everywhere and from anywhere in the world.
-Not only are they ever-present, they are also conversant with everything that goes on in the
community.

FRS Notes 4047
-Although the dead are physically removed from them, the traditionalists believe that they
continue to watch over and influence them.
-People bring their problems to the ancestors, and entreat them to intercede with God on their
behalf, to bring good fortune and a better life to them, and so on.
-The Ancestors are intermediaries between the living and God (19, with characteristics similar to
those of humankind, but with a superior power, and a supernatural ability to help the living.
-They speak to people in dreams and in strange events for instance, “if the first glass of wine was
spilt.
-Prayers are relayed through the stream of Ancestors until they eventually reach God.
-They are addressed in idiomatic expressions of surprise, wonder, or in-ability to understand the
happening.
CONCEPT OF MEDIUMSHIP
-There are five categories of medium in which the Shona believes.
1. The tribal Spirit (mhondoro).
-This is the spirit of the whole clan of the tribe.
-The Shona believes that these spirits brings rain and are responsible for the production of good
crops.
-They are also responsible in giving the decision as to who shall succeed to the chieftainship.
2. Ancestral Spirits (Vadzimu).

- The ancestral spirits helps and protects the individual units of the clan.
-They could be the spirit of the mother, father, grandmother or grandfather.
3. The Alien Spirit.

-This could be the spirit of a foreigner who did not receive proper burial.
-The spirit needs to be remembered through prayer and ritual ceremonies.
- The talent in this spirit include hunting.
4. Traditional Healer (N’anga).
- This is a special spirit of healing.
-This type of spirit remains in the family when the original N’anga dies.

FRS Notes 4047
-It is regarded as a good spirit in ATR because of its role eg can consult the ancestors.
Method used by traditional healers.
1. Kupfungaidza
2. Use of herbs
3. Kutemera.
4. Use of Ushers
5. Use of mafuta Ehwai.
6. Kutspika.
5. The evil spirit of the witch
-This maybe inherited from the great grandmother who was a witch.
-Whenever a woman rejects this spirit, she may encounter the problem of losing a child
whenever she is pregnant.
Role of Mediums in the Liberation Struggle.
 Preparing and mobilizing people for war

 Inspiring people to fight eg Nehanda amd Kaguvi
 Co-ordinating military strategy.
 Giving medicine to fighters.
 Healing the wounded.
 Seeking for foreign assistance.
 Providing food
 Providing logistics needed during the uprising.
 They co-ordinated the war.
TOTEMS AND INDIGENOUS IDENTITIES.
Defining Totem
-It is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such
as family, clan, lineage or tribe.

FRS Notes 4047
- Can also be defined as any animal, plant or other object, natural or supernatural which provides
deeply symbolic meaning for a person/ social group.
- Totemism is an aspect of religious belief centered upon the veneration of sacred objects called
totems.
Importance of totems
- In traditional African culture, kinship is two-prolonged and can be established either by

bloodline or totem.
-The concept of using totems demonstrates the close relationship between humans, animals and
the lived environment.
- Totems are a source of family pride and are about identity.
- Totems have also been described as a traditional environment conservation method besides
being kinship.
- Totems identifies the different clans.
-. Totems build up some relationships and allow intermarriage between people of diverse totems.
- Totems are important because they are used on specific occasions to respect each other.
BELIEFS IN LIFE AFTER DEATH.
-There are several myths/stories about the origin of death .

-In these stories, God did not intend for humankind to die, he gave to different animals
preventives of death to take humans, in each story the appointed animal did not get to humankind
on time as result death came into the world.
-Traditionalists consider death as inevitable.
-It is the ultimate end of every created being.
-Therefore, life must be spent wisely and respectfully.
-Death is feared because it physically snatches a person from his/her community.
-The deceased is deprived from a physical communal life and activity.
-A death, it is generally believed that the spirit leaves the body and assumes a spirit existence,
and the buried body decays in the grave.

FRS Notes 4047
The “good dead” spirit continues to be good. Under this category fall the ancestors and
those who did not perform heroic acts to attain ancestorship but did lead a decent and
praiseworthy life.
- The “bad dead” spirit is believed to become evil and may become a ghost and taunt the living.
-For most Traditionalists, the grave appears to be , the seal of everything, even if a person
survives and continues to exist in the next world.
- In religions of Africa, life does not end with death, but continues in another realm.
-Traditionalists believe that those who are dead are never gone but are the thickening shadow,
wood that groans, and are in the fire that is drying ,forest and in the house.
- Dead people are believed to be of help to the family and the community in times of trouble and
can also cause trouble if certain rituals are not performed well.
Rituals associated with the belief in life after death
-In indigenous religion, there are quite a number of rituals that were/are performed surrounding
death.
- Those rituals were to facilitate the passage of the dead person between this world and the next
one.
Reincarnation
-It refers to the soul of a dead person being reborn in the body of another
Transmigration
-It refers to the changing of a person into an animal.
Ritual Purification
-It is done by most religions and serves as the main aspect of their beliefs.
-Africans believe that anyone or anything that came in contact with the dead is unclean.
KUROVA GUVA CEREMONY/MAGADZIRO
{SETTLING THE DECEASED'S SPIRIT}
The ceremony is known by different names among the Shona sub-cultural groups e.g karanga-
magadziro,kugadzira mudzimu, Zezuru-kurova guva (to beat the grave),korekore kutamba
mudzimu, kutora mudzimu or bona.
-however, the ceremony generally is performed during the same season of the year to serve a
common function.

FRS Notes 4047
-Some rites may differ here and there but the function of ritual is the same i.e. to invite the spirit
of the deceased into the family.
-The ceremony is directly linked to the burial ceremony due to the fact that when the burial
ceremony is being conducted it is done in anticipation of performing the kurova guva in the
near future.
- It takes place a year after burial
-The Shona belief that the body will have to completely decompose .however, there are instances
where it can take place immediately after burial.
-This would be due to some difficulties surrounding the condition of the deceased's spirit.
-When a person dies the Shona be believes that the spirit of the deceased wonders in the
wilderness awaiting the kurova guva ceremony.
-Post -burial period the spirit is considered dangerous and can be manipulated by evil spirits.
-Musha mutema- there is a dark cloud that wonders in the family.
-The ritual can also be held after more than one year in some cases after 30 to 40 years due to
several factors.
1. In poor families this was mainly due to lack of livestock especially cattle or the scarcity of
grain to brew beer and food to feed people at the ceremony.
2. Sometimes there were droughts which would force people to post pone the ceremony.
3. The person might have died in a distant place
4 rituals are performed according to spirituality hence they have to wait until the senior‘s kurova
guva has been done.
5. Family conflicts in some of them held to do with the decease's wealth and widow.
6. In modern days the impact of western religious (Christianity)
-The ceremony was held during the dry season (August) dry season=religious and social
activities.

FRS Notes 4047
It was seen after harvest that food will therefore be plentiful.
-There were certain taboos that were supposed to be respected between the burial and the kurova
guva ceremony by the members of the family e.g. The children were not supposed to marry
-The spirit should be there to bless their marriages
-They also wanted to prevent shock to the incoming of new members in the family.
-You were not supposed to temper with the estate of the deceased since it will have to wait the
inheritance ceremony which is held after the KUROVA GUVA ceremony and this might include
the widow.
-the widow herself was not to marry or indulge in sexual relation s until after the kurova guva
and nhaka ceremony.
-if a widow or widower decided to marry before kurovaguva ceremony that's violation which
referred to as "kupisa Guva'
PROCEDURES TO BE TAKEN IN THE KUROVA GUVA CEREMONY
-The rituals differ from place to place and region to region.
- They consult a n'anga to find out the procedure they should take.
- Consulting a n'anga is done to make sure that the ritual will be performed in a way that is
acceptable to the spirit.
-From this stage all the steps will be done with amultation with the deceased's spirit.
-the ritual should have the approval of the family spirits.
-if one wants to marry there should be consultation.
-Millet beer will be brewed by elderly woman who are beyond child bearing stage with no
sexual relations(kupedza Ura)
-she will be helped by the small boys and girls (pre pubescent boys and girls)
-members of the family are advised not to have conflict when preparing for the ceremony.

FRS Notes 4047
-On the evening before the ceremony the beer is concentrated to the spirit of the deceased by the
eldest member of the family.
-The concentration marks an all night celebration that involves singing and dancing in honour of
the spirit.
-Music is important because it enables communities between the living and the dead person.
-The next morning involves rite of inviting the spirit from the grave.
-This rite varies from area to area
-In some areas they remove one or two stones and ------ of porridge and beer are poured on the
front of the grave to invite the spirit.
-The elder member of the family who will be leading will speak to the deceases asking the
spirit to accept the invitation to come home.
-after this the entourage return home to dance and feast
-sometimes the spirit is symbolizing brought home.
- For the Shangwe they tie a black cloth around the neck of a ------on the----before the ceremony
and take the good outside-the homestead and appropriate functioning will address the spirit that
they are bringing home and sacrificed the following day.
-Among the Shona people of North E. Zimbabwe a branch is cut from a ceremonial tree and the
severed end is covered to avoid the spirit from escaping.
- The branch is dropped to the homestead making fragment rest to the rest the spirit.
-The spirit is cooled by pouring beer into a branch.
-The branch is tied to the wall of the house of the family head.
-Among the Korekore a pathway is made between the grave and the homestead to provide the
spirit into a road to travel as it rejoins the family.

FRS Notes 4047
-among the ---- there is need to got the grave early in the morning the spirit is invited by
members of the family by pouring water on the back of a goat addressing the spirit of the
deceased to come home.
- if the spirit accepts the invitation the goat would shake its body vigorously.
-The goat is slaughtered and the meat is roasted and eaten without salt.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE CEREMONY
1. It brings hope and confidence into the family considering the unpredictability of the
spirit of the deceased.
2. It marks the end of mourning in the homestead which is referred to as musha mutema
The widow will no longer veil her head with black cloth or wear the symbolic black dress of
mourning - return to mourning.
3. It resolves problems and tensions caused by death by ….. the spirit of the deceased
among the family's spirit guardians. The living and the dead would have restrengthened
their cowardice relationship.
4. It allows one of the most important rituals in Shona culture to take place i.e. inheritance
ceremony "NHAKA"
5. from a general point of view the ceremony celebrates shona religious practices and
communities and re unites the people to the fundamental tradition of their culture
6. it strengthens relationship - ties as both close and distant relatives converge at one place
for a common purpose. So it reaffirms social ties.
CHANGE- the ceremony has been replaced by memorial service-Christianity.
The Inheritance Ceremony.

-Before the Kurova Guva ritual is conducted, it is customary among the Shona to distribute all
the personal belongings of the deceases which had been sealed after the funeral.

FRS Notes 4047
-If the deceased is a woman, blankets, pots and plates are taken by those from her maternal home
and if it’s a man things including his wife or wives are inherited by those from his home.
- The wife or wives to be inherited have to pass through the Kudarikatsvimbo rite to prove that
they did not commit ant act of adultery since their husband’s death.
-The wife/wives may choose whom she/they want to inherit
-At times she/they may choose not to be inherited but may give the responsibility of looking after
the family to his eldest son.
-In some cases she/they may choose to go and stay with her/their parents.
Ritual of owner.
-After a certain period of time, at most annually, the ritual of owner ritual is performed.
- It mighty be in the face of calamity usually a misfortune like complex illness or even death in
the family.
-The ritual is known as beer of the ancestors (doro rana sekuru).
-The annual rite of owner is normally addressed to the deceases head of an extended family.
Ritual of appeasement.
-Angry spirits are the most formidable phenomenon in their religious experiences.
-They are known to attack harshly or suddenly leading to death in the family.
-In such cases, ancestral spirits would be known to have withrew their protection from the
family.
-The avenging spirits (Ngozi) would be causing havoc in the family.
-In such cases, the diviner is consulted.
- The payment known as kuripa ngozi would be paid in form of money, cattle and at times
wife(virgin girl).-
Pre-Burial Rites-Rituals before Burials
-This rituals tend to differ from area to area, clan to clan.
-According to MFC Bourdion, most o these rites are common in most Shona people.
1. Kupeta Ritual.
-This is found among the Shona beliefs.
-This is whereby someone has persived to be near his/her death is moved outside his/her
homestead.

FRS Notes 4047
-The place could be of his/her son, son in-law or some close relative away from children and
others in the village.
- Very close people will be aware of his/her whereabouts and will be the only people to visit.
2. Kuridza Mhere (Chema).
-When a person dies every family member of the deceased is notified.
- It is believed that if the family member is not notified, he/she experiences mystical misfortune
eg getting hit by a car, getting tired etc,
3. Kubata Maoko.
- People around the neighbourhood/community goes to the funeral to show their sympathy.
- They bring with them chema/token of sympathy.
4. Kugeza mufi/washing ritual.

- It is believed that the deceased has to be clean before embarking the journey.
-The person is washed to become clean.
- The nephew, niece (Muzukuru) of the deceased or the sahwira baths them.
FAMILY RELATIONS
-It is within the family environment that an individual’s physical, emotional and psychological
development occurs.
- It is from our family that we learn unconditional love ,we understand right from wrong, and we
gain empathy, respect and self-regulation.
-These qualities enable us to engage positively at school, at work and in society in general.
-The family environment in which children grow up has been considered a key predictor of
their future outcomes.
-Stable functional families contribute to youth social empowerment by providing many of the
factors that protect young people from engaging in risky sexual behaviour, drug use and abuse,
delinquency, and other anti-social behaviour.
-Negative family experience, poor child-parent attachment; a chaotic, dysfunctional, abusive,
neglectful, or impoverished family environment may directly or indirectly hamper youth’s social
and economic empowerment.

FRS Notes 4047
-Families contribute to the economic empowerment of their members by playing a “role of

insurer of last resort, providing aid and solace when all else fails and preventing temporary
setbacks from becoming permanent”.
-In Africa, as in many other developing regions(see for example, the extended family is a long
established institution which provides its members with sophisticated social security system, an
economic support to meet their basic needs for food, shelter, and clothing, and a
wide circle of relatives on whom to fall back in times of crisis, unemployment, sickness, poverty,
old
age, and bereavement.
-The family’s affective role of nurturing and supporting its individual members includes
promoting
and safeguarding the health of children as well as instilling moral and social values in them, with
the overall goal being to ensure that the next generation is productive and socially responsible.
-Children's growing competence and development is largely influenced by family life and family
relationships. Children's well-being continues to depend on the quality of family interactions.
-Children of today are growing up in a variety of households and different family systems. A
number of these different families includes,
- Only child families

- Large families
- Single parent families
- Blended families
- Gay & Lesbian parent families
- Adoptive parent families
- Grandparent families
-Family type plays an integral role in children's development. Family theories outline the
interactions which occur between family members.
1. Only child families
-Many couples are now choosing to have children who will never have any siblings.

FRS Notes 4047
- Literature suggests that these children are often viewed as being spoilt, selfish, lonely and
maladjusted, however, research does not agree with this negative view.
-Only children appear to be bright and successful, self-confident, self-reliant, resourceful and
popular with other children.
- A major reason for this may be that only children have somewhat closer relationships with
parents, who exert more pressure for mastery and accomplishment.
- Only children often have more pressure placed upon them by parents to excel in tasks and have
often high expectations for school and sporting results placed upon them.
-Only children miss out on the growing and learning and forms of socialisation which comes
with having siblings.
-Only children have the advantage of not having to fight for their parents attention and may have
the opportunity of more one-on-one interactions.
2. Large families
-Children of large families obviously experience different conditions from those in smaller or
one child families. Children in larger families have the advantage of having relationships with
siblings.
- These relationships and interactions gives them the opportunity to have companionship,
emotional support and assistance while they are growing up.
-Children in larger families often experience degrees of rivalry and may need to fight for parents
attention.
-The positive interactions that occur between siblings contribute to perspective taking, moral
maturity, and competence in relating to other children .
3. Single parent families
-The number of one-parent families have become more common in recent years.
- There are a number of varieties of one-parent families; those resulting from divorce, parents
who never-married, as well as a widowed parent. In single parent families the other parent not

FRS Notes 4047
living with the family may have little or no involvement in the child's life or may be highly
involved.
Single divorced parent families
-The largest percentage of single-parent families are headed by divorced female parents.
- The assumption has been made that the trauma from divorce is likely to result in poorly
socialised, cognitively deficient children who experience poor parent-child relationships.
- In many situations this may be the case but no relationship can be generalised.
Never-married single parent families
-It is believed that a cultural shift towards later marriage has contributed to a rise in never-
married motherhood.
-It has been thought that children in these kinds of families are shielded from marital strife;
children of never-married mothers show slightly better academic performance and emotional
adjustments than do children of divorced or remarried mothers.
-But they do not do as well as children in first marriage families compared with children of two
parent reared families.
-Although compared with children of two parent families, these children may experience less
attention, difficulties in interactions with other children, a lack in school performance and
behaviours associated with the lack of a male parental influence.
4. Blended families
-The blended family is one in which either parent brings with them children from a previous
marriage
-For some children, this expanded family network is a positive turn of events that brings with it
greater adult attention, but for most, it presents difficult adjustments.
- It is clear that there are many difficulties in accepting a step-parent into the family, especially
one who may have different child rearing practices, from which the child is used to.

FRS Notes 4047
- Research has found that children of remarriage are likely to experience difficulty in accepting
the marriage.
-This extends from some children having to - deal with the loss of a primary parent to acceptance
of a new one.
-Other feelings experienced may include divided loyalties, confusion in terms of belonging,
confusion due to membership in two households and unreasonable expectations due to the whole
adjustment process. But how well children adapt is related to the overall quality of family
functioning.
5. Gay and Lesbian parent families
-A larger percentage of the homosexual population are rearing children.
-The actual number of homo-sexual or gay parents is not known.
- Families headed by a homosexual parent or gay or lesbian couple are very similar to those of
heterosexuals.
- Gay and lesbian parents are committed to and effective at the parental role.
- Some research indicates that gay fathers are more consistent in setting limits and more
responsive to their children's needs than are heterosexual fathers.
-In lesbian families quality of mother-child interaction is as positive as in heterosexual families.

It has been found that children of lesbian mothers regard their mothers partner as very much a
parent. -Overall, children of homosexuals can be distinguished from other children only by
issues related to living in a non-supportive society.
-The great concern of gay and lesbian parents is that their children will be stigmatised by their
parents’ sexual orientation.
6. Grandparent reared families
-The number of grandparents rearing grandchildren has increased over the past decade.

FRS Notes 4047
-Usually, grandparents step in because of substance abuse, emotional problems, or physical

illness prevents the child's parents, most often the mother, from engaging in competent child
rearing.
- This situation can cause a lot of emotional distress for both the child, adjusting to a new
situation and for the grandparents who have been suddenly placed into a child-rearing situation.
-Children in this environment usually receive a lot of love and also experience the required
parental guidance.
7. Extended Family
-The extended family structure consists of two or more adults who are related, either by blood or
marriage, living in the same home.
-This family includes many relatives living together and working toward common goals, such as
raising the children and keeping up with the household duties.
-Many extended families include cousins, aunts or uncles and grandparents living together.
- This type of family structure may form due to financial difficulties or because older relatives
are unable to care for themselves alone.
-Extended families are becoming increasingly common all over the world.
RITES OF PASSAGE
-It is a celebration of the passage which occurs when an individual leaves one group to enter
another. It involves a significant change of status in society.
-From the ancient times, African societies have marked the transitions of the life cycle, from
birth to death, with rites of passage.
- Ceremonies that mark the stages of life provide clear definition of society’s expectations of the
individual and they give him/her a sense of identity and belonging.
-The rites of passage provide the African with the foundation of his or her being identity that is
sexual identity and the roles of gender identity.

FRS Notes 4047
-Males are prepared for their responsibilities in the community as men and females prepared for
their responsibility in the nation as women with no confusion
-Rites of passage have three phases: separation, liminality, and incorporation.
1. Separation
-In the first phase, people withdraw from their current status and prepare to move from one place
or status to another.
-The first phase (of separation) comprises symbolic behavior signifying the detachment of the
individual or group from an earlier fixed point in the social structure.
-There is often a detachment or "cutting away" from the former self in this phase, which is
signified in symbolic actions and rituals.
2. Liminality
-The transition (liminal) phase is the period between states, during which one has left one place
or state but has not yet entered or joined the next.
-The attributes of liminality or of liminal threshold people are necessarily ambiguous.
3. Incorporation
-In the third phase (reaggregation or incorporation), the passage is consummated by the ritual
subject.
-Having completed the rite and assumed their new identity, one re-enters society with one's new
status.
-Re-incorporation is characterized by elaborate rituals and ceremonies, like debutant balls and
college graduation, and by outward symbols of new ties: thus ,in rites of incorporation there is
widespread use of the 'sacred bond', the 'sacred cord', the knot, and of analogous forms such as
the belt, the ring, the bracelet and the crown.
Initiation.
-Among rites of passage, initiation was of particular importance.

FRS Notes 4047
-The process and details of initiation differ among societies.
- As they enter the adult world during their teenage years, African youngsters undergo a variety
of initiation rituals.
- These rites provide individuals with instructions about what will be expected of them during
the next phase of their lives.
-Due to initiation, one became an adult in the sociate and was given new tasks to fulfill on behalf
of the community.
- In all initiation ceremonies, a select group of elders takes charge of the sequence of ritual
events.
- To begin their training, initiates often enter a special place, a sacred forest or a ritually built
house.
-It is there that they lose their childhood identities and gain their adult selves.
-After the period of instruction, the initiates undergo an encounter or ordeal that marks the
climax of their initiation and the beginning of their new lives.
-One would marry, perpertuate life through procreation and as a consequence of hope to be and
ancestor and to be named after.
MARRIAGE INSTITUTION
- Marriage is referred to as a socially or ritually recognised union between spouses that

establishes rights and obligations between them, between them and their children and between
them and their in-laws.
-In most African cultures, marriages are believed to come from God.
-In the Traditionalist worldview, it is believed that God makes marriages, whether prearranged
or otherwise, happen.
- Because God created marriage, and directs people to their rightful partners, it is believed that he
is also the one who sustains marriages.
-Thus, at all weddings God is entreated for his blessing, and for the creation of a peaceful and
stable

FRS Notes 4047
home.
-In indigenous religion, marriage enhances harmony in the society because it involves not only
the living but also the spiritual beings, especially the ancestors.
Types of Marriages.
-The type and function of marriage vary from culture to culture, and can change over time.
-In general they are two types of marriages which are the civil and religious.
1. Polygamy.
- It involves marriage with more than one wife.
-Polygamy is widely accepted among different societies worldwide.
-This type of marriage has been present in the whole history of Africa like no other continent in
the world.
- One of the reasons why this has happened is because the African societies have managed to see
that children were a form of wealth and this way a family with more children was considered to
be more powerful.
- Polygamy in Africa was considered to be part of they way one could build an empire.
- Only after the colonial era in Africa, polygamy has started to be perceived as a taboo.
2. Polyandry.
- A women having multiple husbands.
-It occurs rarely in a few isolated tribal societies which includes some bands of the Canadian
Inuit although the practice has declined sharply in the 20 th century due to their conversion from
tribal religion to Christianity.
3. Monogamy.

FRS Notes 4047
-In the Christian society, a “one men-one women” model for the Christian marriage is advocated
for.
-For the past several years, Christianity has continued to insist on monogamy as an essential of
marriage
DIVORCE IN INDIGENOUS RELIGION
-The rate of divorce has increased significantly especially during the past several decades
globally and particularly in Africa.
-Divorce results in crisis for family members.
-For adults, divorce signifies the loss of an intimate relationship that also brought security and
support.
It also signifies a loss of hopes and dreams as well as feelings of failure.
Although there may be relief over the divorce, being alone also brings fear, anxiety, loneliness,
and guilt, especially if there are children involved.
-The rampant occurrence of divorce in African homes is found to have socio-economic and
political effect in the society.
-Discouraging socio cultural factors and/or conditions that influence divorce and/or separation
have long been matters of concern to spouses in Africa.
-Divorce affects the overall development of women.
-For instance, a divorced woman suffers discrimination because she is neither accepted in her
matrimonial nor maternal home.
-However, some actions against divorced women are done in other to humiliate them for
bringing shame and dishonour to their maternal families.
- indigenous marriage institutions reflect the knowledge, experiences and level of development
of the local people.
-Each society has its own peculiar actions and/or behaviour that signal divorce.
-Infidelity, infertility, laziness and unhygienic behaviour are some of the major causes of divorce
in many African societies and women with these attributes are usually returned to their parents.
- In Africa, it is believed that the value attached to children, barrenness is often considered an
important cause of marriage instability in many African populations.

FRS Notes 4047
ROLE OF WOMEN IN INDIGENOUS RELIGION

-At the core of most indigenous religions is a deep respect for the earth which is expressed in
rituals and practices that foster sustainability.
-Nature is often regarded as a sacred entity that comprises of all the people and beings if the
earth.
- A holistic vision of the community and the endeavor of maintaining and transmitting these
rituals and practices is commonly entrusted to female religious specialists.
-Women are referred to as anomalous creatures, intimately associated with the well-being of
society though their life-giving attributes.
- Traditional African religious ideology, therefore, stresses the domestic orientation of women’s
lives, affirming their reproductive role while distaining other aspects of their sexuality.
-In African societies, the central communal cults may be addressed to a diverse array of spiritual
beings which are royal ancestral spirits, deities, heroes or fertility spirits.
-In African societies, females frequently have important roles in personal rituals of status
transformation associated with birth, puberty and death.
- From the perspective of women’s ritual and secular roles, the most important status
transforming rituals are concerned with the transformation of a girl into a nubile maiden.
- Such rituals occur in many African societies and whenever they occur, the principal officiants
and participants are women.
- The symbolism of these rituals vividly portrays the essential cultural meaning of mature
womanhood.
- Both religious ideology and female puberty rituals stresses the concepts associated with fertility
and feminine sexuality.
- Fertility and vitality of humanity and its world represent important religious goals.
- Such goals reaffirm women’s domestic and inferior orientations in society.

FRS Notes 4047
Concept of Unhu/Ubuntu
Define Unhu
It is the processual mental and physical dispositions of an individual characterised by humility,

kindness, courtesy, warmth, empathy, understanding, respectfulness, friendliness,
responsibleness and consideration which manifest itself amongst others, in the manner one talks,
walks, behaves, dresses and interacts with relatives and non-relatives alike.
-The Shona believe that there is an impersonal, omnipotent or principal Creator, called Muwari,
Musikavanhu, or a Spirit which creates good and bad
Importance of exercising Unhu
I. It expresses the African dignity, humanity, reciprocity and shared relations found in
the African culture.
II. It builds a solid culture in which communities view justice and solidarity as
fundamental for their survival.
III. It supports the view that people do not live in isolation.
IV. It produces positive Africans.
V. It helps Africans to be united
VI. It produces a well cultured citizen who grows responsibly
VII. It promotes oneness in Africa.
Attributes of Unhu
a) Compassion
b) Reciprocity
c) Dignity
d) Humanity
e) Mutual Interest
f) Oneness
g) Tolerence
h) Respect

FRS Notes 4047
i) Integrity
j) Humility
Norms and Values
What are Norms?
-These are informal standards of behaviour which are formed as a result of relations.
What are values?
-These are standards and statements which address the most outstanding issues so that the
objectives of the organisation can be achieved.
-Values are meant to bring success.
Examples of school norms and values
-The school’s positive climate is anchored in its school norms.
-These norms includes respect, responsibility and rigor
1. Trust
2. Sharing
3. Respect
4. Responsibility
Importance of norms and values at schools
1. Human values form the basis of character and personality

2. The helps children to know the difference between right and wrong.
3. Enable children to be responsible of their actions.
4. Enables children to make good choices of friends
5. Enables children to live truthfully
6. Enables children to be disciplined all the time.

FRS Notes 4047
Norms and values at home
1. Respect
-These helps to guide behaviour at home as well as ensuring the success of the family
-At home, children are taught to respect elders including brothers, sisters, parents, relatives and
neighbours
2. Courtesy
-At home children are taught to be polite and have a positive attitude
- Children are taught not be ill-mannered and rude.
3. Discipline
-Children are taught to be well disciplined that is obeying rules and regulations.
4. Honesty
-At home, children are taught and expected to be honest with themselves and others.
-They are taught not to steal.
Norms and values at the workplace
-They are important as they ensure the continued survival of the organisation.
1. Team Work
-Members of the organisation should work as a team.
-For organisational goals to be achieved there is need for members’ combined effort.
2. Accountability.
-Members of the organisation should do their duties well and be answerable for thei actions.

FRS Notes 4047
3. Punctuality.
-Employees need to be conscious about time.
-They should come to work early and knock off at the expected time.
4. Respect
-Everyone in the organisation needs to observe hierarchy and authority in order to effectively
issue orders.
- For the organisational goals to be effectively achieved there is need for subordinates to follow
their senior’s orders and respect them.
5. Transparency
-Employees should allow inspection of their actions at any given period.
6. Productivity
-A sense of productivity should ring a bell in everyone’s mind.
- Without productivity, the organisation is hopeless.
Indigenous Religion and Environment
-In the contemporary African world, there is a dichotomy between what is secular and what is
religious.
-People’s view of the universe has changed.
- The world is no longer viewed in the religious sense but rather it is looked at as something to be
totally exploited for the benefit of the human being.
-Nature now is viewed in terms of exploitation of natural resources.
-Africans in the contemporary time should borrow a leaf from traditional Africa.
-They should use African cultural heritage in preservation and rehabilitation of the environment
that has been destroyed and degraded by selfish economic motives of few people.

FRS Notes 4047
-In traditional African societies, many people believed that trees and forests were the
manifestation of the power of the Supreme Being. They saw these things as ideal places to meet
God.
-Traditional African societies had many shrines, which were associated with big trees such as fig
trees and baobabs.
-These trees together with the vegetation around were preserved as sacred places for worship.
-Traditional trees, shrubs, grass and forests as valuable gifts from God.
-They respected big trees especially mũgumo (fig tree) as a place to meet God.
-Thus, sacrifices and offerings were done under the mũgumo tree.
-Until today, it is a taboo to cut a mũgumo tree because it is a sacred tree.
-The Africans did not attach much importance to trees and herbs just for spiritual purposes, but
also because trees, herbs and plants in general were useful in enhancing human life.
-Apart from being symbols of God’s presence among people, trees were seen as medicine to man
and animals.
-Trees, leaves, roots and grasses provided herbal medicines to human beings and to wild as well
as domestic animals.
-In order to preserve trees, shrubs, grass and vegetation in general, several strong taboos against
cutting certain useful and sacred trees or destroying the vegetation were formulated.
-Safeguarding of the plants was a matter of concern.
-It was held that if one cut some of these trees, he or she might bleed to death.
-Therefore, because of the importance of trees, shrubs and vegetation, as having religious,
physical, and cultural values, it was a moral obligation to preserve them in traditional African
societies.
Land and water
-For traditional Africans, land and water were precious gifts from God the Creator.

FRS Notes 4047
-Africans have a strong connection with the land not only as an economic resource, but as a
home, a place of sacrifice and offerings.
-When traditional African people struggled or fought for land, were not simply struggling or
fighting for it economically but for social, moral and religious motives.
-Among Africans, “land is a sign of identity”.
-God gave it to the ancestors so that he may use it for his well-being and for the community’s
well-being.
-That is why the placenta is buried into the soil to connect the new born with God and ancestors.
Nobody is allowed to play with land.”
-As land was strongly connected to life, then traditional African people had moral responsibility
to take care of it.
- Land bound people together in one community.
-Its absence threatened to tear them apart.
-This was because for many Africans, land was communal property.
- Land belonged to the community and God alloted it to the community through ancestors.
- Land was respected because it produced plants, which sustains human life.
-As a God given gift, Traditional Africans attached great value to land.
- It had religious significance and therefore sacred.
INDIGENOUS RELIGION QUESTIONS
THE CONCEPT OF GOD IN INDIGENOUS RELIGION.
a. Examine the term " Religion" (25)
b . Explain the concept of Indigenous religion (25)

FRS Notes 4047
c. Discuss the characteristics of Indigenous religion (25)
d. Explain the concept of God in Indigenous religion (25)
e. Identify and explain the attributes of God in Indigenous religion (25)
f. Discuss the origins of belief in God in ATR(25)
g. Compare the concept of God in ATR to that of Judaism (25)
h. To what extent do the creation myths explain the origin of human beings in African context
(25)
i. Examine the reasons why African traditional religion is not regarded as a world religion (25)
j. Compare and contrast the Shona cosmological myths with the Judeo-Christianity myths (25)
k. "God is the centre of African indigenous religion" Discuss(25)
l. Explore the relevance of the Shona/ Ndebele names of God. (25)
EXISTENCE AND FUNCTIONS OF SPIRITS IN INDIGENOUS RELIGION.
a. Discuss the existence of spirits in indigenous religion (25)
b. Examine the functions of spirits in indigenous religion (25)
c. Examine the challenges faced in establishing the existence of spirits in indigenous religion
(25)
d. Examine the significance of Alien spirits(25)
e. Discuss the types of spirits.(25).
f. Examine the importance of Avenging spirits (25)
g. Examine the relationship between Ancestors and God in Indigenous religion (25)
h. Compare and contrast Demon possession in Christianity to spirit possession in ATR (25)
I. "Human blood is sacred and must not be spilled " Discuss (25)

FRS Notes 4047
j. African cosmology is anthropocentric. Discuss (25)
.COMMUNICATION WITH THE SPIRITS AND THE BELIEF IN LIFE AFTER DEATH
a. Explain the concept of Life after death in IR (25)
b. Discuss the pre-burial rites in Indigenous religion (25)
c. Examine the rituals associated with death in indigenous religion (25)
d. Examine the causes of death in indigenous religion (25)
e. Compare and contrast the death rituals in Indigenous religion and of that of Judaism (25)
f. Outline the significance of Kurova ceremony (25)
g. To what extent does the existence of spirits present evidence of life after death in indigenous
religion (25)
I. Assess the various post funeral rites in indigenous religion and their significance (25)
i. Discuss the ritual of Kurova Gata (25)
j. Outline the procedures of the Kurova Guva ceremony (25)
UBUNTU / UNHU IN INDIGENOUS RELIGION
a. Discuss the concept of Ubuntu in indigenous religion (25)
b. Examine the nature of family relations in Indigenous religion (25)
c. Explore ways in which Ubuntu can be fostered in the young generation (25).
d. "Westernization is a major threat of Ubuntu". Discuss(25)
e. Assess the value of Indigenous religion in promoting Ubuntu. (25)
f. Compare and contrast Socialism ideology and the concept of Ubuntu (25)

FRS Notes 4047
g. Highlights the threat of Ubuntu in Shona communities and suggest ways of dealing with these
threats(25)
h. Examine the roles of taboos in promotion of ubuntu (25)
i. Information Communication technology ( ICT) is a threat to ubuntu. Discuss (25)
INDIGENOUS RELIGION AND MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE
a. Discuss the types of marriages in indigenous religion (25)
b. Compare and contrast types of marriages in Indigenous religion to that of Judaism,

Christianity and Islam (25)
c. Discuss the pre-marital rites in indigenous religion (25)
d. " Marriage is a community affair in Indigenous religion communities of Zimbabwe. Discuss

(25)
e. How does modernization affect some of the proper marriages in indigenous religion (25)
f. outline the significance of marriage process in Indigenous religion (25)
g. Examine the causes of divorce in Indigenous religion (25)
h. Examine procedure of facilitating divorce in Indigenous religion (25)
i. Discuss the impacts of divorce on the family and society in Indigenous religion (25)
j. Discuss ways through which divorce can be reduced in ATR(25)
. INDIGENOUS RELIGION AND GENDER RELATIONS [ WOMEN IN INDIGENOUS

RELIGION ]
a. Examine the status of women in indigenous religion (25)
b. Outline the roles of women in indigenous religion (25)

FRS Notes 4047
c. Identify and explain factors that hinder women in participating in politics in indigenous
religion (25)
d. Assess how gender affect women in Indigenous religion (25)
e. Compare and contrast the roles of women in Judaism and indigenous religion (25)
f. Suggest solutions that militate against women's participation in politics (25)
g. Assess factors that hinder women's progress in Indigenous religion (25)
h. How does gender issues substituted women in religious activities in Indigenous religion (25)
JUDAISM
ORIGINS OF PROPHECY IN ISRAEL
Definition of the prophecy .
 According to B. W Anderson, the English word prophet comes from the Greek word
prophetes which literally means “one who speaks for another especially for a deity.”
 The corresponding Hebrew word nabi is apparently related to the Akkadian verb nabu
meaning to call, to announce, to name.
 In view of this, prophets were regarded as persons through whom God speak to the
people.
 Was called to be God’s spokesperson, they received the promise from God’s “word” Jer
1:9. As would be discussed later, prophets in Israel used the messenger style which was
well known in the ancient times.

FRS Notes 4047
 In line with this, Claus Westermann argues that, in Israel, prophets were God’s
Messengers. Prophets believed themselves to have been sent by Yahweh. “Go and say to
my people …” (Amos 1:1-3, Jer 2:1-3, Isaiah 45:11-13).
 The nature of Israel religion was monotheistic worship of Yahweh and Yahwism is
believed to be a borrowed god from the Father in Law of Moses Jethro and it was his
Jethro’s religion.
 It is problematic to know when exactly was the name was first used with Abraham or
with Moses? If it started with the patriarchs , the problem is that God did not introduced
himself to them , thus one can say they were worshipping an unknown god who later
introduced himself to Moses.
 For B.W Anderson, “the word Yahweh name from a Hebrew term YHWH refers to a
personally divine name of God.”
 YHWH is also translated “I AM which connotes personal eternal and all sufficient aspect
of God’s nature and character.”(Ex 3:14). This verse shows that the Hebrews were
polytheist especially when the bible say “which god what is his name”
 It can be assumed that God introduced himself to the Hebrews through Moses and not
through the Patriarchs. It can also be assumed that the reason why God did introduce
himself as “I AM” means that he is an ever-present God as suggested by Ex 3: 12.
According to Hill and Walton “I AM in Greek is “ego eimi ho on” to suggest that
Yahweh is the only God of Israel.”
1) Priesthood
 The OT is clear that the tribe of Aaron was responsible for forwarding priests.
 These priests were later called Levites. Their responsibility was to preside over
sacrifices so that there was communication between Yahweh and Israel.
 The office was inherited. Priests were not paid for their service. They survived on
charity from the members of the society that’s why in he book of Joshua they were
not allocated land.

FRS Notes 4047
 The office became corrupt. It is upon the corrupt office that prophesy arose.
2) Prophecy
 Prophecy in Israel is also believed to be a borrowed phenomenon. This is evidence

when dealing with extra biblical material and the archaeological evidence.
 God was believed to be universal and this is testified by the story of Abraham and
Abimelech, Balaam a Moabite was used as a vessel of Yahweh (Num 22).
 If God used Abimelech and Balaam, it shows that prophecy was not unique in Israel.
 The other assumption was that, Israelite religion was borrowed and there is also
strong evidence that Yahweh was borrowed as previously discussed. This is
evidenced in ( Ex 18) where we are told that Jethro offered a sacrifice to God and
gave advice to Moses on issues of administration
 Jethro was a Midianite where Moses met face to face with God in (Ex 3).
 The God worshipped in Midian was El and Yahweh is called Elohim. From such an
assumption, Israel worshipped the borrowed.
 Scholars support this by archaeology and extra-biblical material. However,
archaeological evidence is problematic because people with assumptions’ want to
validate their arguments by stretching it to reach the conclusion.
 Sponsorship is also for such evidence whereby it is the view of the sponsor that will
be carried, thus the sponsor is justified.
 In addition, archeological evidence is scant that why it can be stretched. It is not
uniform in its findings.
 It is not as clear as the Bible is regarding prophecy. Like archaeological evidence, the
Bible has its problems especially in its presentation of the origins, nature and
developments of prophecy in Israel.
 Information is not consistent to allow us come with a conclusion as to how and why
prophecy originate e.g. Samuel and Kings originally were believed to be one scroll
but later were divided into two but both believed to written by Samuel. Today they
appear to be one book. If they were written by one man, there should be no

FRS Notes 4047
contradiction. Later it was discovered that it was not Samuel who wrote because
Samuel died in I Sam 12.
 M Noth concludes that 1 and 2 Samuel and 1and 2 Kings belongs to a Deutronomistic
School which also wrote Deuteronomy 4ff, Joshua and Judges. The writers had the
same idea.
 The problems that we have are that both Samuel and Kings do not show how
prophecy originated.
 In 1 Sam 9:9, it shows that there was an evolutionary change from the title of the Seer
to the Prophet.
 This story is told by a redactor who lived during a period where a prophet was no longer
called a Seer.
 In Hebrew: Seer is roeh and prophet is nabi.
 2 Sam 24:11 has a different picture. It says the word of the LORD came to Gad, David’s Seer
which means which means the word Seer was also in use.
 However, being a prophet does not mean a Seer, but this contradicts with 1 Sam 9:9.
 The question one may ask is, why is there these inconsistencies? As we move to the
Canonical era which is far later than the discussed era, Amos is called a Seer by Amaziah
( Amos 7:10-14).
 Amos in his presentation says “I am neither a prophet nor a prophet’s son” In view of this, a
prophet was either a Seer or a prophet’s son.
 If this is the case, the bible is consistent.
 While Gad was a Seer, his counterpart Nathan is always called a prophet ( 2 Sam 12:35)
implying that a prophet and a Seer are different.
 As we move to 1 and 2 Kings, we find almost a different picture from Samuel. 1 Kings
17:18, we a introduced to another title Ish-Elohim (Man of God) referring to Elijah. The
question is, is the prophet also a man of God?
 In ( 1 Kings 18:20-22) Elijah is also referred as a prophet. It is not clear from the Bible
whether the two means the same.
 The disciples of Elisha are called Sons of prophet implying that Elisha was a nabi not a man
of God.

FRS Notes 4047
 In (2 Kings 6:1ff), Elisha’s disciples are called sons of prophets. With such inconsistencies
we cannot wholly depend on the bible on the nature, origins and the developments of
prophecy in Israel.
 The Bible presents a better picture unlike archaeological evidence.
 Those scholars who use the bible use it as a basis and those who use archaeological evidence
use it to justify themselves.
Given this situation, we need to look into the origin of prophecy in and outside Israel.
 There are two theories:
a) Prophecy as a borrowed phenomenon and

b) Prophecy as a unique feature Israel.
PROBLEMS CONCERNING THE ORIGINS
1. There are no enough sources that allow us to reconstruct the history of the
phenomenon, and in particular we do not have extra biblical material with which to
compare and contrast the biblical material that we have. So the bible remains our
primary source.
2. The material that is present is not homogenous enough to allow us to make a smooth
reconstruction of the origins of Israelite prophecy.
3. We do not know whether the information we have about prophecy is not a reflection
of a changing situation in the life of Israel.
4. We are not sure whether the labels we have are not of self-understanding of other
groups. Sometimes we are given labels that do not tally with what we think about
ourselves. We carry labels given to us by the community and not the original ones.
1. PROPHECY AS A COMMON AND BORROWED PHENOMENON/

ASSOCIATIONIST THEORY

FRS Notes 4047
-Scholars who subscribe to this view, for example J. Lindblom, use extra biblical material
from the Ancient Near East to show that there are certain similarities which can be
established between prophecy in Israel and Prophecy in the Ancient Near East.
Evidence in support of this:
1. The word prophet itself came from a foreign word nabi which is a Hebrew word and
hence is not of Israelite origin.
2. The covenant arrayed by Yahweh and the people through the prophets are like the
suzerain treaties of the Hitites.
3. Ecstacy which is regarded as one of the earliest form of prophecy in Israel; was not
for them only, for example Baal prophets at the contest at Mount Carmel were
ecstatic too. (Refer to the legend of Wen Amon)
4. Israelite prophets had clear court connections and some Ancientnear East prophets
had connections with courts, for example Mantic and Mahhumm prophets of the god
Dagan in the time of Hammurabi, although they seem not to have used the oracles as
such.
5. Prophets as mouthpieces of deities. In the Mari text there was a Syrian god Adad
who used a prophet as his mouth- piece and the prophet claimed authority over the
king.
6. Prophetic guilds.
THE LEGEND OF WEN AMON
According to this legend, there was a certain man by the name Wen Amon from Egypt
who went to a certain centre in Phoenicia called Biblis looking for timber to build a
temple for his god, AmonRe. On arrival Wen Amon forwarded his request to the prince
but the prince ignored him because he was busy offering sacrifices to his God. It was
during this sacrificial ceremony when a youth got into trance or ecstacy. The youth in this
state summoned the priest’s mission, and without making any decision the prince granted
Wen Amon’s request.
According to this school there is a sense in which the possessed youth can be considered
as a prophet. In other words the youth possessed three prophetic traits:

FRS Notes 4047
1. Ecstacy
2. Ability to foretell (prediction)
3. Prophetic authority
So if we consider this youth as a prophet there is no way we can say this phenomenon is
unique to Israel.
THE LEGEND OD ZIMRI LIM FROM MARI TEXT
Mari was a cultic centre and Zimri lim was a legendary king of Mesopotamia. The legend
talks about a certain seer who went to Zimri lim with a message from god Adad and the
message was ‘Iam the god who made you king over Mesopotamia if you obey me I will
bless you, if you disobey I will punish you’. This seer is said to have released this
message in ecstasy.
SIMILARITIES
1. The title seer is also used to refer to Israelite prophet.

2. Being ecstatic
3. Prophetic oracle is similar to Israelite prophetic oracles and contents.
THE STELLE OF ZAKR
Zakr was a Syrian king. Stelle is an inscription on the rock. On the tablet there seems to
be an oracle or statement which was released when the Syrians were about to be
capturered. The king released the following words, ‘I lifted my hands to Baal Shamayn
and he answered me and spoke to me by means of visionaries…’. Although it was not
clear from the inscription on the rock, it appears these words are a prophecy in response
to the king’s prayer and the people who are referred as visionaries could be regarded as
prophets.
WEAKNESSES
1. It ignores the theological origins of prophecy that is the link between prophecy and
religion.
2. It ignores political factors behind the emergency of prophecy.

FRS Notes 4047
3. It assumes that we have clearly identified characteristics of prophecy which we can

use to define the phenomenon, in particular ecstasy is taken to be a major prophetic
feature, the problem is we do not have a clearly developed definition of prophecy and
in particular ecstasy was not a major feature of prophecy in Israel. Rarely do we find
Israelite prophets releasing their oracles in a state of ecstasy. If at all ecstasy was a
major feature of prophecy then it was a feature of earliest prophets and tends to die
out as we move to the classical period. Moreover according to J. Linblom ecstasy can
not be borrowed as it is from a deity.
4. Prophecy in the Ancient Near East was divinatory in nature, while Israelite prophets
were not allowed means of gaining information used by other nations, e.g.
necromancy, sooth saying, e.t.c. Israelite prophets were commissioned by God. They
only prophesy in the name of Yahweh and their objective was to acertain the will of
Yahweh regardless of personal wishes. Being independent of the hearers was the
badge of a true prophet, for example the story of Micaiah when he was consulted by
Ahab and Jehoshaphat.
PROPHECY AS A UNIQUE FEATURE
The above differences between prophecy in Ancient Near East and prophecy in Israel led some
scholars to argue that prophecy in Israel must have been unique to Israel. Basically these scholars
pick certain unique features of Israelite prophecy and use this to argue for their positions.
However they do not agree on what is unique about Israelite prophecy. Hence this broad theory
can be split into sub- theories.
TRADITIONAL THEORY
-This theory argues that prophecy in Israel originated as a basic mechanism through which
YAHWEH communicated the meaning and demands of his covenant with Israel.
-Scholars who subscribe to this theory submits that prophets were messengers of YAHWEH who
were basically intermediaries or covenant mediators.
-This submission is in the line with the meanings of some of the terms that are used to refer to
prophets.

FRS Notes 4047
-According to W.B.ANDERSON “the English word prophet is derived from the Greek word
prophetess which can be translated to mean one who speaks for another party, especially for the
deity.” As observed above the Hebrew equivalent term “nabi” can be translated literally to mean
the one who communicates the divine will, so the idea remains the same that prophet were
messengers of god.
-This theory suggests that prophecy originated with Moses, particularly with the Sinai Covenant.
-The critics of this theory does not recognize the existence of other covenants in the OLD
Testament like Genesis 15,Abraham.
-Those who subscribe to this theory submit that it is with the Sinai Covenant that we begin to see
God entering into a Covenant with Israel as a nation.
- Earlier than Moses, God had entered into covenants with individuals and not with Israel as a
nation.
-In this context, scholars who argue for this theory maintain that the covenant was a unique
feature of Israelite religion and it is in this light that prophecy in Israel could be regarded as
unique.
-An analysis of this theory can lead to the conclusion that prophecy in Israel had cultic origins; it
originated within the religious institutions of Israel.
-The first scholar to suggest this view was H.E Wald and it was later developed by G Holscher
who explicitly stated that, “prophets were inspired as cultic figures, who were responsible for
explaining the meaning and demands of the covenant.” However, S Mowingel and A.R Johnston
have most convincingly argued the theory of cultic prophets in the ancient Israel.
-According to them, “in early Israel, the difference between a priest and a prophet was not very
great since both responded to inquiries, offered instruction, and performed sacramental functions.
-Secondly, prophets are frequently closely related to the priests and the temple, especially in
Jerusalem for instance, Elijah, like the prophets of Baal, offers sacrifices, [1Kings 18:20-40
Critique

FRS Notes 4047
-The first problem with this sub-theory is that there were different types of covenants within
Israel.
-The question, which arises, is that, which one of these covenants was associated with the origins
of prophecy?
-This theory suggests that different prophets may have arisen in connection with different
covenant traditions within Israel.
-For instance, prophets from the North probably originated in connection with and were probably
influenced by the Ephramite traditions while prophets from the south were probably influenced
by Judean prophetic traditions.
-The second problem has to do with the assumption that the concept of covenant was unique
feature of Israelite religion.
-This assumption has no strong base because there are striking similarities between the mosaic
covenant and similar Hittite treaties, like the suzerainty treaty.
-Furthermore, this theory is based upon some assumption, which may not be historical. For
example, the historicity of the figure of Moses and the exodus itself is not archaeologically
confirmed.
-Finally, it is not explicitly clear that when prophets prophesied they always communicated the
meaning and demands of God’s covenant with Israel.
NB: Prophecy originated with Moses at Mount Sinai. However it is weak because there were
other covenants before it. Gen. 9:12 Noah, Gen 15 Abraham. Moses’ covenant is national thus
he becomes the first prophet. Moses arose to explain the demands of covenant.
THEOLOGICAL THEORY
-According to B.W Anderson, prophecy originated in Israel as a basic mechanism through which
Yahweh communicated the meaning and his demands of the covenant with Israel.
-This is in line with the meaning of the two terms that were used to refer to prophecy.

FRS Notes 4047
-The Greek word prophetess can be translated to mean one who communicated the divine will.
Israelite prophets regarded themselves messengers of Yahweh.
-H. Gunkel and C. Westermann looked at the phenomenon of prophecy from a form critical
perspective and they analyse the form of prophetic utterances and discover that these began with
the ‘messenger style’, ‘Thus says the Lord…’ implying that their message was not from
themselves but from an external force.
-These oracles specifically dealt with the covenant relationship between Israel and Yahweh. So
prophecy in Israel was covenant specific.
-Such a covenant relationship was a unique feature of Israelite religion. This supports that Moses
is the first prophet. He is the representative of all prophets. (Deut 18:18).
PROBLEMS
1. There are some situations and there are some prophets without necessarily talking
about the covenant and similarly there are some circumstances where certain Israelite
figures talked about the covenant without prophesying, for example Noah.
2. Some scholars like M. Noth challenged the view that Moses was the first prophet on
the grounds that all the verses which support Moses as a prophet are anachronistic. In
fact for M.Noth later editors made Moses into a prophet yet he was really a very good
leader. However Von Rad observed that prophecy I Israel is associated with the cult,
leadership or both. This observation remains valid and from then onwards we proceed
in three directions, that prophecy has either cultic or political origins or both.
CULTIC ORIGINS
-The priestly theory is in support of Samuel as the first prophet as is proven in 1Samuel3. It
states that prophecy is just an advancement of priesthood.
-Partly in support of the above theory is the seership theory which states that prophecy originated
from seership and this is also regarded as the evolutionary theory by M. Noth.
-This theory is mainly based on 1 Samuel 9:9.

FRS Notes 4047
-The implication of this verse is that the office of a prophet evolved from that of a seer. There
was a historical development from the office of a seer to that of a prophet.
-The assumption is that there should be a distinction between a prophet and a seer.
-This theory is supported by semantics.
-A semantic analysis of the Hebrew terms which are used to refer to a seer are roeh and hozer
meaning one who is gifted with the ability to foretell, whereas the Hebrew term for a prophet is
nabi which refer to a person who can do both foretelling and forth telling.
-Seers were primarily divinatory in that their emphasis is in the future but prophets were
concerned with the present.
-If at all they refer to the future there was specific reason to relate the future to the present.
WEAKNESSES
1. This theory is based on 1 Samuel 9:9 and the assumption is that Samuel was the last
judge and the first prophet, yet Genesis 20:7 refer to Abraham as a prophet and Deut
18:18, Hosea 12:13 refer to Moses as the first and architect of prophecy. Therefore
we cannot assume that prophecy began with Samuel.
2. This theory assumes that there is a clear distinction between a seer and a prophet, yet
the two terms are used interchangeably, e.g. 2Samuel 24:11, Gad is regarded as both
a seer and a prophet. Amos in Amos 7:14 when he was addressed as a seer he
responded denying that he was a prophet nor a prophet’s son, as if to suggest the two
terms mean one and the same thing. However some scholars try to distinguish a
prophet and a seer.
The difference is that:
1. A seer was more or less associated with specific shrine while prophets were itinerant.
2. A seer was more or less a priest in that he dealt with issues of the cult, especially
those elements that involve sacrifices.
3. A seer receives remuneration for a service, while a prophet receive gifts.
4. More often than not prophets clashed with kings and its rare to find seers clashing
with kings.

FRS Notes 4047
POLITICAL OR SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY
-It is based on sociological school of Mark Weber and Norman Gottwald.
-They believe that prophecy has its origins in sociological tension, as a result of
commercialization which led to the creation of a social pyramid in Israel.
-When Israel settled in Canaan there developed three social groups, the aristocracy, the merchant
and the commons (poor).
-The commons were being exploited by the elite and as a result there was class struggle in Israel.
-From this class struggle emerged some charismatic figures especially among the exploited class.
Such figures were prophets who became the champions of the poor.
-They were the spokespersons of the deprived, the voice of the voiceless and were supported by
Yahweh.
-This theory is supported by the incident of Naboth and Ahab in 1 Kings 21.
- Amos also defended the poor.
-Such a theory is important as it considered elements of economic and social factors which
influence the rise of prophecy.
-One can also look at the link between the origins prophecy and politics in Israel in terms of
transition from a tribal confederacy to a monarchy and from priesthood to prophecy.
-The priests were part of the state as the office was sponsored by the state.
-With the establishment of the monarchy, kings probably abused their political power and
perhaps got away with it because of the office of a priest would not criticize the king (the hand
that was feeding them) as he was in charge of the state treasury.
-There was thus need to evolve an independent office that would speak for the poor and provide
checks and balances on the office of the king.
-Prophets arose to fulfil this task.

FRS Notes 4047
Weaknesses
This theory assumed that there was no prophecy before settlement in Canaan yet we have
Abraham and Moses who are regarded as prophets.
CONCLUSION
Condensed the whole information showed that to explain how prophecy originated in Israel is
synonymous to seeking a needle in a hay stack. Biblical and extra biblical information is
inadequate to solve this problem. Hence the origins of prophecy in Israel remains veiled in
obscurity. It leaves us on cross roads. what is clear is that prophecy has to do with God and is
generally linked to social, political, religious and cultural crisis of the time. Hence J. Muilenburg
concluded that prophecy came with a particular word for a particular time.
REASONS FOR EMERGENCE OF PROPHECY
1. Need for intercession (Gen 20:7)

2. Need to interpret the misfortunes of Israel and explain the covenant and the
exodus event (Moses)
3. Need for ecstatics, that is charismatic defense and administration (Numbers
11:25).
4. Need to deal with Philistine aggression. Need to revive Israel’sreligion that is, to
combat idolatry. Need to institute and control the monarchy (Samuel).
SIMILARITIES BETWEEN PROPHECY IN ANCIENT NEAR EAST AND THAT OF

ZIMBABWE
1. the legend of Wen Amon and the issue of ecstacy. Zimbabwean prophets are also
ecstatic forthtellers and have prophetic authority.
2. Both are caught with the spirit of nationalism.
3. From the legend of Zimri lim a seer used the prophetic formula ‘Thus says the
lord’ which is also used by some Zimbabwean prophets for example some say
‘Zvanzi nashi Jehovha…’

FRS Notes 4047
4. From the stele of Zakr the issue of visions come out. Some Zimbabwean prophets
claim to see visions.
5. The concept of a seer can also be equated to the concept of (varatidzwa) in some
African independent churches.
6. Prophets in both Zimbabwe and the ANE is given by individuals wearing distinct
regalia (uniforms).
PROPHECY AND MONARCHY
-Because of the weaknesses of the tribal confederacy Israelites were feeling insecure,
politically and they wanted to be like other nations.
-Indirectly this was tantamount to rebellion against Yahweh. In fact this was an
admission that Yahweh was no longer a sufficient king.
-In this light the representatives of the old order interpret it as infidelity. Samuel was
aware of the religious implications and warned people of the results of lack of faith.
-Prophets saw the monarchy in an ambivalent light, that is, as both divinely sanctioned
and as well as a rebellion against God. (1 Samuel 10:17-27, 27:12; 28:3ff).
-Prophets viewed the monarchy as a rebellion against Yahweh.
-The Israelites were turning into a secular state. Prophecy was responsible for the
transition from the tribal confederacy to the monarchy.
-Samuel is an important figure in this regard.
-He is the one who anointed the first king of Israel (Saul).
-Before the monarchy judges had combined role of priests and prophets.
-The rise of the monarchy represents a break and even a reaction to this long standing
tradition.
-Judges were charismatic leaders whereas kings apart from Saul and David were not.
-As such there was need for someone who would advise the king on religious matters.

FRS Notes 4047
- So prophets who were prepared to proclaim that the king has been divinely chosen and
those who had divine support.
-So they act as revolutionaries and were responsible for dynastic disruptions, for example
Ahijah led the division of the monarchy and Elisha plotted the downfall of the Omri
dynasty.
-The prophets believed the monarchy to be the betrayal of Yahweh as the sovereign ruler
(1Samuel 9:8).
-According to this view prophecy tried to force charismatic leadership into the rule of the
northern kingdom during the time in which charismatic rule was no longer an adequate
answer in which Israel was facing.
-Israel was involved in whirlpool of international political events and hence the need for
dynastic rule to cope with the external pressure.
-So there were clashes between the prophets who wanted the continuation of the old order
in which they were superior and the Israelites, kings in particular who were no longer
concerned with spiritual success but political one.
-When kingship was established in Israel much of the responsibilities of the former
covenant representatives were assumed by kings.
-However the kings were not allowed to become the official spokespersons for the Deity.
-For the prophets kingship was too dangerous an institution to go unchecked by tenets of
the covenant faith, for example David was not permitted to build a house of Yahweh in
Jerusalem (2 Samuel 7).
-So prophecy during this time acted as king’s conscience that is to maintain checks and
balances on the powers of the kings and royal officials.
-As God’s representatives prophets would admonish and reprove, denounce prevailing
sins, threaten with terror of divine judgement and call people to repentance and proclaim
Yahweh’s divine assurance, for example the famous Davidic promise(2 Samuel 7).

FRS Notes 4047
-In fact they constantly reminded kings and people in general that their real ruler was
Yahweh whose demands they had to meet.
-Prophets also functioned as court officials who were consulted when great events were
impending, mostly before and during wars, for example Ahab and Jehoshaphat tried to
ensure victory over the Arameans at Ramoth- gilead, Jehoshaphat wished to hear the
word of Yahweh, he summoned 400 prophets (1Kings 22).
-Thus when entering an important undertaking the kings constantly apply to the prophets
for a word from God. David had Nathan, Rehoboam had Shemaiah and Jeroboam had
Ahijah as their advisors.
-However it was not always the case that prophets were for the kings.
-The prophet’s independence of the kings might make him sensor the king’s action and
might be a source of danger for he was in no doubt as the divine nature of his authority
and the people thought the same.
-Ahab hated Micaiah for he never prophesied good concerning him and jeroboam who
was designated king by a prophet was also rejected by a prophet (1 Kings 14:7).
-Prophets reaffirmed Yahweh’s sovereign stay in the political sphere in which Israel
lived.
-Prophecy grew with the rise of the monarchy, though some scholars like F.M.
-Cross argue that, prophecy started with kingship and died together in exile.
-It’s likely that there was prophecy earlier than the monarchy (1Samuel 3). It’s most
likely that these prophets were taken for granted.
-They never delivered any oracles; they were only there to boost the morale during holy
wars.
-They were acting as army band.
-So the prophetic movement assured a more prominent role during the period of the
monarchy when kings set upon thrones of Israel.

FRS Notes 4047
-Prophets became particularly important during this period because of the rise of the evils
of the monarchy.
-Monarchy contributed certain changes in the life and tradition of Israel, for example
access to resources is limited to other people.
-Stratification of the society led to the exploitation of the poor by the elite, hence social
injustice was now rife, for example in the Ahab- Naboth issue Elijah as a prophet
intervened and he felt the worship of Yahweh and his exclusive sovereignty over Israel
was threatened as never before.
-So the prophets continuously access to the resources. They were calling for
righteousness and justice.
-Because of the monarchy there were disastrous foreign alliances which led to apostasy.
-The Omri dynasty for example had marriage alliance with the Phoenicians. Omri
married his son Ahab to Jezebel a foreign wife who initiated the worship of Baal.
-Elijah came on the scene during this time and is there to maintain the worship of
Yahweh, hence the elimination of then and Bethel confused the Israelite Omri dynasty.
-Foreign alliances were tantamount to apostasy, for example Jeroboam 1 and the calf
worship at Dan and Bethel confused the Israelites hence he is regarded as the worst king
in the history of Israel.
-So prophets were there to combat idolatry.
MONARCHY
1. Discuss the relationship between prophecy and the rise of the monarchy.
2. ‘Prophecy in Israel became particularly important during the time of the monarchy’ to
what extend is this view valid?
There are three traditions which tried to account for the emergency of the monarchy.
1. 1 Samuel 10:17-27, chapter 7 and 8. The Israelites demanded for a king and Saul was
chosen by casting of lots and was made king at Mizpah.
2. 1 Samuel 9:1-10:16, the monarchy came into being by secret anointing by a prophet.
FRS Notes 4047
3. 1Samuel 11, Jabesh Gilead is attacked by the Ammonites and appeal for help from
Saul and he took arms and defeated the Ammonites and was anointed as king at
Gilgal.
FEATURES OF THE MONARCHY
1. Government was centralized.

2. Charismatic leadership was passed to prophets.
3. The title of kingship was not hereditary.
4. The state became the unifying factor rather than a religious concept of the covenant.
THEORIES ON THE EMERGENCE OF THE MONARCHY
1. The evolutionary theory- societies evolve from primitive to civilisation and likewise Israel
evolves from nomadic to settled life and was bound to change.
2. Borrowing- Israel was simply copying things that have nothing to do with them. They
wanted to be like other nations. Israel was a religious state, so by so doing it was now turning
to a secular state, hence a rebellion against Yahweh.
3. Crisis –because of defeats during wars Israel wanted to change leadership in order for them
to be like those nations which were defeating them.
HOW THE MONARCHY AFFECT ISRAEL’S RELIGION
With the introduction of the monarchy there are a number of changes which took place:
1. When it emerges it failed to justify itself and they suggested that the monarchy was
charismatic. The king was referred as the son of God and therefore the monarchy was
not a secular thing (2Samuel 7:14). They considered the king as the anointed one. So
the king as the anointed was sacrosanct and inviolable. Such a claim was a powerful
ideological tool since any attempt to usurp the throne of the king was tantamount to
rebellion against Yahweh.
2. Access to the resources is limited to other people.
3. Monotheism was introduced during this time. If Yahweh is one he functions through
his messengers. Religious leaders are hierarchically ordered.
4. Central shrine

FRS Notes 4047
5. God was no longer of Israel but has to do with the house of David.
CALL OF ANCIENT NEAR EAST PROPHETS
A call narrative is the section of a prophetic book that records the call of a prophet.A call was the
mark of a true prophet in Israel and this is probably what distinguished Israelite prophets from
other prophet- type persons in the rest of the Ancient Near East.
A call narrative almost always assumed a definite form or proceeded in definite stages, namely:
1. Theophany- the deity either appears or he is heard and lets his mission known.
2. Resistance from the prophet
3. Pressure from the deity. This pressure takes two forms, namely force and
persuasion with signs.
4. Acceptance by a prophet
5. Commissioning of the prophet and assurance from the deity.
The call of Ancient Israelite prophets was a call to mediate the covenant between Israel and
Yahweh and therefore a prophet as a covenant mediator speaks to the whole people of Israel and
not specific individuals only.
COVENANT
-This involves a mutual agreement entered into by two individuals, or by two groups or an
individual and a group.
-The effect was that peace prevailed between the two parties involved. In this case the covenant
was between Yahweh and Israel.
-Here Yahweh was understood to be actively at work with Israel to guide his people in the path
of truth and fidelity to the covenant.

FRS Notes 4047
-To maintain mutual understanding between these two parties, Yahweh elected the prophets as
covenant mediators.
-They officiated at sanctuaries.
-As God’s representatives, prophets would admonish, reprove, denounce prevailing sins, threaten
people with terror of divine judgement, call people to repentance and proclaim Yahweh’s divine
assurance.
-Prophets would advise Israelites to put away foreign gods and worship Yahweh alone.
-They called upon Israel to face the most severe judgement of Yahweh upon them for their sins
and apostacy.
-Prophets never claimed to be introducing anything new, they were reformers who took their
stand on the ground of Sinai.
-Although their contributions were moral, ethical and theological, prophets functioned as agents
of social change.
-They were absolutely against social injustice to the extent that some scholars like K. Whitelam
would want to argue that prophets were usually from the social fringes (they were poor), they
were spokespersons of the deprived, the voice of the voiceless.
-They were calling for interrelationship between justice, order, fertility and prosperity.
-If the king failed to provide justice then the social, politlical and ecological structure was
believed to be thrown open to the ever present powerof chaos.
-It is this loyalty to God which stands behind the prophet’s denunciation of Israel.
-Elijah came on the scene when there was widespread apostacy and the majority of people
becoming strongly attached to foreign gods.
-There was an alarming growth of social injustice, e.g. the killing of Naboth (1 Kings 21). The
whole structure of Israelite society was threatened by the harsh economic system, hence Elijah
and Elisha together with the prophetic guilds declared war on the Omrides and became
instrumental in bringing about their downfall.

FRS Notes 4047
-Amos as a social reformer condemned socio- ethical practices which under the Canaanite feudal
system were regarded as ethical, e.g. dishonest trade practices, luxurious lifestyle of the rich and
oppression of the poor. They were sold for a pair of shoes.
-During the monarchical period kingship was seen in an ambivalent light, too dangerous an
institution to go unchecked by the tenets of covenant faith.
-Prophets therefore intervened not because they had political ambitions, but they were crying for
interrelationship between justice and prosperity.
-In fact the functioned as a conscience of people but not to dictate its politics.
-Political success was only important to the prophets if it had to do with spiritual goodness
ROLES OF PROPHETS
1. MESSENGERS OF YAHWEH
-The authority enjoyed by prophets among their people depended naturally on the fact that they
were bearers of the divine word.
-They were commissioned by God and understood themselves as messengers of Yahweh hence
they used the prophetic formula ‘Thus says the Lord’.
-Thus they were primarily spokespersons for God to his people, denouncing them of their sins,
pleasing with them to repent to God, encouraging them to follow the will of God in all phases of
their life..
-Israelite prophets were spokespersons for monotheistic Yahwism.
-Key features of Yahwism that formed the core of prophets are monotheistic, ethical and
judgmental dimensions of Yahwism that stood at the center of the message of each of the ancient
Israelite prophets.
-These three had no parallels in the ANE prophecy, i.e. they were essentially unique and made
Israelite prophecy unique.
-The apodeitic law as exemplified in the Decalogue is the basis of monotheistic Yahwism.

FRS Notes 4047
‘you shall have no other gods before me…’ (Exodus 20:3).
-The apodeitic law is believed to be authentic to Israel.
-If prophets were spokespersons of monotheistic Yahwism, then basically they interpreted the
apodictic laws that were at the centre of Yahwism which implies that the prophets spoke and
represented that which was unique to Israel.
2. INTERCESSORS
-This is somebody who pleads on behalf of people to Yahweh, e.g. Gen 20:7, Amos 7:1-6.
-The intercessory role is expressed in the tells of Elijah who helped one the widows of Zarephath
to discover in her house oil and milk to keep herself and her son till the next good rains.
3. CULTIC FUNCTIONARIES
- Prophets were cultic office holders though we cannot deny that prophets were somehow linked
to the cultic pattern.
-They were chief representatives of the heavenly council, divinely appointed to proclaim the
word of God to the people.
-They sought no royal or ecclesiastical favours, since their lives were completely directed and
decimated by the divine suzerain.
4. COVENANT MEDIATORS.
-Covenant involves a mutual agreement entered into by two individuals, or by two groups or an
individual and a group.
-The effect was that peace prevailed between the two parties involved. In this case the covenant
was between Yahweh and Israel.
-Here Yahweh was understood to be actively at work with Israel to guide his people in the path
of truth and fidelity to the covenant.
-To maintain mutual understanding between these two parties, Yahweh elected the prophets as
covenant mediators.

FRS Notes 4047
5. SOCIAL REFORMERS -CALLING FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE.
-Prophets were speaking on behalf of the less privileged in society and become the mouthpieces
of those who had no power to stand for their rights.
-In times of ill-treatment and injustice such prophets stood for the ordinary people who had no
power to confront leaders and kings in society, for example Elijah and Naboth, Nathan and
David.
-The poor were deprived of land and wealth, widows, the fatherlessand the weak could not
protect themselves.
-Prophets directed their messages to leaders or officials of institutions in society who had power
and authority in the social life of Judah and Israel. (1 Kings 21, Amos 5:7-10, Isaiah 1:21-26.
-Issues of wealth, pursuit of it and possession of it were also addressed by prophets because they
were sources of corruption.
-Amos’ message- rich would build hewn stone houses, large vineyard e.t.c. the most vulnerable
in society were oppressed like the widows and ophans- that was violation of justice.
Hence message of judgment to the Israelites was a result of injustice
6. ADJUDICATE INTER-TRIBAL DISPUTES
-Before the monarchy prophets would at tribal centres adjudicate inter-tribal disputes.
-So the designation of a leader of the tribes in time of danger, officiate at the ceremony of
covenant. –
Above all things the leader was there to maintain the categorical law of the covenant in the life of
the tribes.
7. POLITICAL ADVISORS
-When kingship was established in Israel much of the responsibility of the former covenant
representatives was assumed by the king.

FRS Notes 4047
-However the king was not permitted to become the official spokesperson of the deity.
- Therefore prophecy was established to check and balance the powers of the kings.
-Prophets were involved in anointing and dethroning of kings.
-Whenever a king is enthroned and dethroned prophets are involved.
-Here prophets are seen to be playing a leading role in the formation of the kingdom. So at times
prophets are regarded as revolutionaries.
-For religious and social changes to be fully addressed there was need to remove political leaders
the argument being that religious and political practices which were a breach to the Sinai
covenant were being promoted by the political leadership hence there was need to remove them
to promote genuine reform back to the stipulations of the Sinai covenant.
-Thus it is not surprising to note that whenever a king is enthroned or dethroned, a prophet is
being involved e.g. Elisha anointed Jehu while the Omrides were still in power and Jehu’s
revolution lead to some religious and political change.
-Whenever prophecy intervened in these matters, it was not for any other reason but for spiritual
reasons.
-They were not against monarchical regime, against decline of Israelite law and custom, against
encrochmates of the magnets, against apostasy and against
-oppression of the humble class of Israel.
-In fact they were against the institution of the kings which were failing to adequately express
loyalty to God.
-Politics and religion were interwoven and since prophets did not live in ivory tower separated
from the lives of their society they were not puppets in the hands of an arbitrary deity.
-God used prophets as spokespersons without violating their own personalities hence they were
not hollow tubes.
-So they reaffirm Yahweh’s sovereign stay in the political sphere in which Israel lived.

FRS Notes 4047
-This made altogether a head on collision with the effect which was made to further Israel’s
political security especially with diplomacy and policy of military armament.
-At one point we find prophets giving oracles to attack showing harmonious co-operation
between prophets and military leadership.
-Prophets near the Philistine Garrison in a clear indication that prophets were political.
-There are there to incite Israelites to engage in holy war against the Philistine enemy.
8. COURT OFFICIALS
-Prophets were consulted when great events were impending mostly before and during wars e.g.
Ahab and Jehoshaphat tried to ensure victory over the Arameans at Gilead. Jehoshaphat wished
to hear the word of Yahweh and summoned 400 prophets (1 Kings 22).
-Thus when entering upon important undertaking the king constantly applied to the prophets for
the word from God e.g. David had Nathan as his court prophet, Rehoboam had Shemaiah, and
Jeroboam had Ahijah.
-However it is not always the case that prophets were for the kings. Prophet’s independence of
the king might make him and sensor the king’s action, e.g. Ahab hated Micaiah (1 Kings 22:8).
EARLIEST FORMS/MANIFESTATIONS OF PROPHECY IN ISRAEL
FORMS APPROVED IN THE BIBLE
1.DREAMS
-It is an event that is seen by an individual when he/she is asleep.
-God can visit a person in a dream and speak with him, for example the prophetic call of Samuel
was made possible through dream (1 Samuel 3:1ff).
-In Deuteronomy 13:1ff ‘if a prophet has arisen among you or a dreamer of dreams…’ clearly
points to the existence of this aspect in Ancient Israel.

FRS Notes 4047
- It should be noted that dreams received by non-Israelites needed a Hebrew interpreter, for
example Joseph (Genesis 41:25-33) was called from prison to interpret Pharaoh’s dream.
-Daniel also interpreted king Nebuchadnezzar’s dream (Daniel 2:24-45).
2. LOTS(URIM AND THUMMIN)
-These were cast to detect a guilty person.
-In Joshua 7:14-19 Joshua discovered by lots the person who had offended God by taking spoils
from the doomed city of Jericho.
-Achan was caught and was stoned to death in the valley of Achor.
-Lots were probably put in a basin and rapidly rotated.
-The answer was given by a lot which leapt first. this method was sometimes divinatory, e.g. the
usage of sacred stones (urim and thumin) in the Old Testament.
-Urim and thummin were found inside an ephod. It seems according to 1 Samuel 2:18 and 2
Samuel 6:14, the ephod was some kind of a dress like an apron (as the word ‘girded’ may
suggest).
-However in 1 Samuel 23:6,9 and 30:7 an ephod was some kind of symbolic vestment that was
kept in a sanctuary and would be carried along by the priest or prophet during military
expeditions.
-The urim and thummin were part of this vestment.
-The main purpose of this practice is to determine the will of the deity or deities on what course
of action to take. The objects were religiously symbolic.

FRS Notes 4047
-Use of sacred stones is found in 1 Samuel 14:41-43. Saul used these stones to detect the guilty
action of Jonathan.
-These objects can be compared to hakata (casting lots) in Zimbabwe.
-These objects need someone who is a religious official.
-The difference is that in Israel the ephod in which the lots are found was some kind of dress
whereas in Zimbabwe lots are either bones or dried tree bucks or shells of snails or sea creatures
or even stones.
-Just like hakata urim and thummin (two sides of part of an ephod that were marked differently)
were used to determine or to manifest the divine will in terms of yes or no, this one and not that
one.
-The symbolic nature and the fact that the ephod was kept at a sanctuary, it’s most probable to
have been a priestly object used to perform priestly duties.
-However determining and interpreting the will of God were usually prophetic functions. So lots
in this case fall in the realm of a prophet.
3. VISION
-It is an appearance seen by an individual which is inaccessible to everybody else.
-The vision may be seen when one is in ecstacy.
- A person may see either symbol which are interpreted or real experience.
-Items that may appear in a vision may depend on the prophet’s personal background, for
example if Isaiah was originally a priest it is understandable that he experienced a vision in the
temple.
-If Amos was a farmer, the imagery drawn in his vision involves pests.

FRS Notes 4047
-Visions are one of God’s methods of divine revelation (Numbers 12:6)
4.ECSTACY
-According to B.W Anderson, ecstacy is an experience of being overcome with an emotion so

powerful that self control or reason may be suspended.
-It does not arise from mere emotional rapture but from the spirit (ruah) of Yahweh which falls
upon a person.
-It takes control of the self and makes one an instrument of divine will. In such a state unusual
things happen, eg Elijah overtook the chariot of Ahab (1 Kings 18), Saul stripped off clothes and
lay naked (1 S amuel 19:19-24).
-It transforms a prophet i.e made him another man (1 Samuel 10:6).
MODE OF OPERATION OF PROPHETIC GUILDS
1. The ecstatics lived in bands (groups) under the leadership of a father (ab) and they
were the sons of the prophet (bene hannebiim). The father’s spirit was shared
among the sons (Numbers 11,2Kings 2, 1 Sam 19:24). The function of the chief
prophet was to teach the sons the secrets of the prophetic office while the sons
supported and legitimized the authority of the father.
2. Ecstacy was induced by music (2 Kings 3:15)
3. Ecstatic/ frencied behavior.
4. Decentralization of community households for example some lived in Bethel,
Gilgal, Jericho (2 Kings 2:1-5)
5. Prophesied violently (1Kings 18:28)
6. Use symbolic acts to demonstrate (1 Kings 22)
7. They use slogan to refer to the leaders as chariot and its horsemen (2 Kings
13:12,14).
FUNCTIONS/ACTIVITIES OF PROPHETIC GUILDS

FRS Notes 4047
1. The ecstatics lived in bands (groups) under the leadership of a father (ab) and they
were the sons of the prophet (bene hannebiim). The father’s spirit was shared among
the sons (Numbers 11,2Kings 2, 1 Sam 19:24). The function of the chief prophet was
to teach the sons the secrets of the prophetic office while the sons supported and
legitimized the authority of the father. Probably, prophecy like the office of the priest
had to go through some form of learning. So maybe the responsibility of the father
was to authenticate that one has undergone through all stages and therefore qualified
as a prophet. The assumption here is that if prophets used cultic objects, it simply
meant that one had to learn and prophecy is not something that comes spontaneously
(2 Kings 4:38-41). So they were professionally trained and perhaps paid for a service,
eg Ahijah is being paid when he delivered the message of Jeroboam (1 Kings 14).
2. The father anointed and would send sons to anoint kings vindicating the leadership of
the anointed individual by bestowing upon them certain charisma (2 kings 9). So they
were messengers of the fathers who would at one point anoint kings.
3. The sonsin particular acted as political commissars and would gather at military
garrisons in a bid to boost the morale of the anointed kings and their soldiers as they
fight against their enemies. So they were functional during holy wars, eg when Israel
fought against the Philistines, the guilds were stationed near the philistine garrison,
probably to weaken the enemy by proclaiming their defeat in advance as well as
chanting war songs. So they function as a military band.
4. They were upholders of monotheism just like their fathers.
5. They were industrious that is they could cook, farm, gather food for themselves.
6. They could also prophecy.
7. They also had cultic functions. They were experts at intercessory prayers. Some of
them acted as temple personnel.
FORBIDDEN METHODS OF PROPHECY
1. DIVINATORY PRACTICES

FRS Notes 4047
-There is a strong condemnation of these forms in Deuteronomy 18:10 ‘There shall not be found
among you anyone who burns his son/ daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination,
a soothsayer, an auger, or a sorcerer or a medium, or wizard, or a necromancer…’.
-Divination is a process of discovering the unknown or the future through supernatural means.
2. ASTROLOGY
-It is the study of heavenly phenomenon, for example stars, moon, sun e.tc. this method was
common amongst the Babylonians as they were skilled in foretelling the future from the
movement of stars and planets.
-During the time of Jeremiah he attacked bitterly the worship of the Queen of heaven (the mother
goddess (Jeremiah 7:18). This is also condemned in Deuteronomy 4:19.
3. NECROMANCY
-It is the process of seeking guidance from the spirit of the dead.
-This method is strongly condemned both in Levitical laws and in deuteronomic writings, for
example in Leviticus 20:28 ‘if a person turns to medium and wizards playing the harlot after
them, I will set my face against that person and will cut him off from among his people’.
-Though condemned this practice was still practiced in the eighth century (Isaiah 8:19-20).
Necromancy includes two ideas:
1. Worship of ancestors
2. The dead being consulted to determine the future.
1Samuel 28:1ff Saulconsulted the witch of Endor to raise the spirit of Samuel who
was dead.
4.HEPASTROPHY

FRS Notes 4047
-It is the process of divining from the liver of the sacrificed animal. Ezekiel 21:21 ‘For the king
of Babylon stands at the parting of the way, at the head of two ways to use divination he shakes
the arrows, he consult the teraphim, he looks at the liver’. It was only commonly practiced
among the Babylonians.
5. HYDROMANCY
This refers to the use of water or it is divination by water. It is alluded to in Joseph narratives in
genesis 44:5. ‘it is not from this that my Lord drinks, and by this that he divines…’
Qsn DISCUSS THE EARLIEST FORMS OF PROPHECY IN ISRAEL AND OUTLINE

THE FUNCTIONS OF EARLY ISRAELITE PROPHETS.
HOW AND WHY PROPHETIC BOOKS WERE COMPILED AND

PRESERVED
1. Small collections of the sayings of the prophet were made during the prophet’s
lifetime, by the prophet or his disciples. Message was the product of the
community and not individual. Sons of the prophets are known to also have had a
task of preserving prophetic traditions.
2. Transmission through a number of unidentified generations. Units of tradition
developed independently and circulated orally independently.
3. When sayings came to the attention of civic or religious authorities they must
have been widely reported, for example Amaziah the priest in charge at Bethel,
was able to quote a saying of Amos as grounds of extraditing him (Amos 7:11)
and his trial for treason.
4. In some cases sayings and stories would have circulated in groups of disciples to
be consigned to writing only when memories began to fade.
5. Utterances of professional prophets were probably preserved among the temple
and court records.

FRS Notes 4047
6. Later on the words were put together into small units of literature (periscopes)
following a number of criteria, for example if it had common subject matter or
tradition used the same catch words, for example ‘For three transgressions and for
four…’ or common theology, for example 2 Kings 2 where we have a series of
miracles.
7. Redactors later compiled periscopes into continuous narratives.
WHY WERE THEY COMPILED
1. Political disasters, for example the fall of Jerusalem and subsequent deportation,
seem to have provided a powerful stimulus to the preservation of prophetic
sayings. Probably the first compilation of prophetic material dates back from this
time.
2. To preserve prophetic material.
3. To record and deposit after disappointment as proof in the event of future
fulfilment of his/her prophecy.
4. So that the prophecy might benefit by providing lessons to future generations
(posterity).
5. To keep the prophetic tradition alive.
6. To maintain a reliable record of the prophetic literature.
METHODS USED BY PROPHETS TO DELIVER THEIR MESSAGES
1.SYMBOLIC ACTIONS
-B.W Anderson defined symbolic actions as ‘acted out parables’.
-They were oracles in a prophet’s book which were acted in real life.
-These oracles were connected to the message to be delivered.

FRS Notes 4047
-They disclose the message of Yahweh to the people and they emphasise the main ideas of the
message so that people can easily understand the message.
-Quite a number of prophets gave their children symbolic names so that they may be walking
signs or placards to the people.
-The prophet Moses gave his sons symbolic names; Gershom which reminds Israelites that they
were ‘Sojourners’ and ‘Eliezer’ which reminds them of deliverance from Pharaoh (Exodus 18:3-
4).
-The prophet Hosea also gave his children symbolic names: Jezreel named in connection with
Jehu’s blood bath in the valley of Jezreel, Not pitied meaning Yahweh’s patience was exhausted
and finally Not my people showing that Yahweh had dissolved the covenant between him and
Israel. In fact the names of Hosea’s children demonstrate the deterioration of the relationship
between Yahweh and Israel.
-However God’s judgment was not his last word.
-After punishment these names were reversed showing that Yahweh had reconciled with his
people.
-The prophet Isaiah also had named his children symbolic names so that they will be visualaids.
He gave one of his sons the name Shear Jashub meaning ‘a remnant shall return’ after the Syro-
Ephramite crisis.
-He also gave his second son the name ‘Maher shalal hash baz’ meaning ‘the speed spoil
hastens’, pointing to the weakness of the coalition.the only symbolic actions performed by the
prophets. False prophets also performed actions.
-The prophet Zedekiah the son of Chenaah made himself iron horns symbolizing victory. It was
during a military campaign against Syria over the city of Ramoth Gilead.

FRS Notes 4047
-Ahab the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah joined together against Syria and
before they went for a war they inquired of the Lord from the four hundred court prophets of
Baal who belonged to King Ahab.
-With one accord they promised these two kings, ‘go up for the Lord will give it into the hand of
the king’.
- The two kings were assured of victory, that is when Zedekiah proceeded to make iron horns in
a bid to induce belief in the two kings that surely the Lord commanded or gave them this to be a
false prophet when the two kings were defeated by Syria and king Ahab died.
-Hence the efficiency of this method was questionable chiefly because it was also used by false
prophets.
-This method was a common method that Jeremiah used. Some of the symbolic actions in the
book of Jeremiah are:
1. The pot in the hands of a potter - a symbolic action which demonstrate that Yahweh was
there to punish Israel as a corrective measure.
2. The broken pottery in the valley of Hinnom or Topeth which symbolize doom.
3. Jeremiah’s purchase of the land at Anathoth symbolizing restoration.
4. A yoke bar in the prophet’s neck which symbolize Babylonian exile and slavery.
Hananiah the false prophet broke his bars and assured the Judeans that the exile period
was not going to last for 70 years as prophesied by Jeremiah. He prophesied that it was to
last for two years. Jeremiah proceeded to make iron yoke bars in a bid to prove to his
audience the certainty of the impending catastrophe.
The accounts contain:
1. God’s instruction to perform the action.

2. A description of the action itself
3. An explanation of its meaning
4. They sometimes include a statement made to onlookers.

FRS Notes 4047
5. As in a vision emphasis in the text is not on the action but on the lesson conveyed by the
action- usually that God was going to act either against or on behalf of his people (Hosea
1:1-2)
SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS METHOD
1. Symbolic action acted as visual aids to the audience aid memory. They served not only to
represent and make evident a particular fact, but also to make this fact a reality.
2. They tease the mind into active thought. In fact they deny the hearers the attitude of a
spectator. So they were meant to arouse the emotions of fear or hope, according to
circumstances. Thus what was done powerfully reinforced what is said. Symbolic actions
represent, indicate, point to or demonstrate. Therefore they point beyond themselves to
something else. They served to represent to the bystanders an object, an occurrence, a
course of events which were of particular significance. Therefore there is a connection
with the total message of the prophet.
3. They were used to attract the attention of the people. They always had such a structure as
to evoke in the consciousness of the bystanders the fact which the prophet had in mind.
4. They were meant to illustrate seriousness of the actions basing on the philosophy that
actions are more effective than words.
5. They express God’s intentions, e.g. destruction. They are symbolic ways in which God
intends to act towards his people.
6. It helped people to remember, see, judge and act. According to Lindblom prophets
frequently acted in unusual ways in order to derive home the oracles they uttered.
WEAKNESSES
1. Scholar by the name Edmund Sigmund view symbolic actions as signs of shear madness
and sign of exhibitionism. After a close analysis between Israelite prophets who
performed symbolic actions and his insane patience on the issue of behavior and he come
to conclude that symbolism is shear madness.
2. It was problematic because false prophets used this method.

FRS Notes 4047
2. SONGS (FUNERAL DIERGE)/ LAMENT
-The prophet Amos in 5:2 sung a funeral song to the Israelites when he wanted to prove his
audience the inevitability of doom that he was pronouncing.
-This is a funeral lament over Israel as if she were a corpse ready for burial. He saw Israel in
a coffin waiting for burial. Attached to the song is the issue of lament which usually begins
with a woe cry (woe…) Amos 5:18, 4:4-5, Isaiah 5:1ff.
-woe speech is a pronouncement whose tone is deep and full of grief. It is introduced with
catch word, ‘Woe to you…’ (Amos 6:4-6)
3. PARABLES
-Parables are comparisons which use story telling techniques and details drawn from
everyday life experiences in order to present religious truth in a way which attracts the
attention of the listener or reader by its vividness or strangeness and thus provokes further
reflection and appropriate action.
-When prophet Nathan rebuked king David for his sins in seducing Uriah’s wife Bathsheba
and murdering him. Nathan used a parable of the richman who took a poor man’s only lamb.
-The use of parables for sinners to condemn themselves is a prophetic device (2 Samuel 12:1-
14). David was made to condemn himself.
-David was also caught out again in the same way by the wise woman of terkoa (2 Samuel
14:1-23).
-The same method was used by the prophet Isaiah in 5:1ff, when he used the parable of the
vineyard where Judah was considered as the chosen vine planted on fertile and well prepared
land but regardless of the efforts made to ensure a good harvest the field yielded wild fruits.
-The parable was given to express God’s love for Judah and also to justify punishment that
should be given to the Judeans.

FRS Notes 4047
-God’s love is shown by his care in planting his vineyard.
-He punishes it because it could not produce the fruit of obedience, hence punishment was
inevitable.
-The prophet Jeremiah also employed the same method when he wanted to prove to Judah
that Yahweh was going to spoil the pride of Judah, in the parable of the waist cloth (Jeremiah
13:1-11).
-In Jeremiah 18:1-17 he gave another parable of the potter.
-In the parable Jeremiah wanted to deliver the message that Yahweh was going to punish the
Judeans as a corrective measure.
-In his advice to Zedekiah and those who had survived the first deportation he gave the
parable of the good and the bad figs.
-In the parable Jeremiah considered the exiles as good figs. (Jer 24:1-10)
SIGNIFICANCE
1. They were used as weapons of warfare in response to criticism of opponents.

2. To deny the hearers the attitude of a spectator. So they tease the mind into active thought.
3. It is one of the varied ways through which prophets spoke about the sphere of God’s
kingly rule and power which demands obedience.
4. As a challenge to mythically built world
WEAKNESSES
The message could be interpreted differently by the audience. For example Nathan’s parable
to David, David did not know that the rich man in the story was referring to him. So the
prophet’s message was not received as anticipated.
3. MIRACLES

FRS Notes 4047
-Miracle is something that happens contrary to nature.
-It is an extra-ordinary event.
-This method was used by prophets to show that the spirit of god was working through them.
-Prophets used this as a way of inducing belief in their audience that they were not merely
ordinary beings, but were being used as mouthpieces of Yahweh.
-Deuteronomy 13:1-12 seem to suggest that miracles were one way people could use to
distinguish true from false prophets. ‘if a prophet has arisen among you, or a dreamer of
dreams or gives you a sign and what he tells you come to pass…’
The archetypal figure Moses performed quite a number of miracles:
1. Changing the rod into a serpent before Pharaoh.

2. Changing water into blood
3. Ten plagues
4. Struck waters of the Red Sea and parted
5. Provision of manna and quails
6. Make bitter water sweet
7. Struck the rock with his rod when they run out of water.
Elijah and Elisha were carbon copies of Moses. Elijah in his battle with Baalism performed
miracles.in 1 Kings 17:1ff he announced drought to prove that it was Yahweh who provided
rains and not Baal.
1. Elijah multiplied the food of the widow of Zarephath.

2. Called fire from heaven to consume sacrifice (1Kings 18:31ff)
3. Raised the widow of Zarephath’s son.
4. Struck the waters of Jordan and water parted
5. Killed 400 prophets of Baal single handedly
6. Taken to heaven by whirlwind

FRS Notes 4047
ELISHA
1. Healed Naaman the leper (2 Kings 5:1ff)

2. Raised the Shunamite woman’s son from the dead (2Kings 4:8-25)
3. Purified the water at Jericho (2 Kings 2:19-25)
4. Filled the trenches with water during the battle with the Moabites (2 Kings 3:4ff)
5. Floated the axe.
All the above were messages sent by means of miracles. They point to prophets as
messengers of Yahweh, revealing Yahweh’ compassion and since illness was linked with
evil these miracles were significant in the fight against evil.
4. RHETORIC QUESTIONS
-These were questions which required no answer.
-They were there to provoke the audience to ponder seriously about the prophet’s message.
-When prophets used this method they wanted the audience to answer themselves.
-Amos used this method quite often, for example Amos 9:7 ‘Are you not like the Ethiopeans
to me…’ Here Amos wanted the Israelites to notice that they were no longer coddled.
Yahweh had desacrilised them because of their failure to comply with the covenant
stipulations. Amos 3 is full of these rhetoric questions.
-Jeremiah 13:223 also used this method. ‘can the Ethiopean change his skin…’
WEAKNESSES
At times this method is rather confusing especially to the audience who had preconceived
understanding of God. For example, ‘Are you not like the Ethiopians…’. Israelites fail to
grasp this since they regarded themselves as sacred and unique nation not to be compared
with surrounding nations, worse still with their enemies.
5. LETTERS/ DELEGATION

FRS Notes 4047
-At times prophets passed their responsibilities to their audience through disciples.
-This method was convenient where the prophet was barred from talking to his audience
direct.
- For example during the reign of Jehoakim the prophet Jeremiah having been labelled a
public enemy and a traitor was banned from prophesying in the name of Lord.
-Jeremiah dictated his oracles to his secretary Baruch whom he sent to Jehoakim with the
scroll.
-He instructed Baruch to read the scroll before the king.
-Jeremiah also wrote a letter to the exiles in Jeremiah 29.
-In the letter he informed the exiles that exilement was to last for 70 years in contrary to
Hannaniah a false prophet who had predicted that it was to last for two years.
WEAKNESSES
Though this method was effective, since a prophet could convey message to a distant
audience, this method had also some limitations in that there were certain areas which needed
emphasis and further explanations which might not have been heard or seen from the
message.
6. SERMON/ ORACULAR FORMULA
-Prophets could use word of mouth to convey their messages to the audience.
-They normally use messenger style or prophetic formula, ‘Thus says the Lord…’or ‘Hear
this word that the Lord had spoken…’ (Amos 1:3,6,9, 3:1).
-This was meant to convince their audience that the message was not from their thinking but
from the one who sent them.

FRS Notes 4047
-They were claiming that their authority was from Yahweh.
-Attached to this method is the issue of sermons where a prophet took advantage of a
gathering, say temple worshippers, e.g. Jeremiah 7 and 26 and deliver message to the people.
WEAKNESSES
False prophets also claimed to have appointed by Yahweh and also use the messenger style,
e.g. Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah (1 Kings 22:11) and Hannaniah (Jeremiah 28:2ff). So at
times it was difficult to distinguish true and false prophets since both were claiming to have
been sent by Yahweh.
6. ALLEGORY
-An allegory is considered as an imagery story whose details have a direct application to a
real life situation, that is, the characters in the story corresponds with something else in a real
life situation, e.g.
-Hosea’s matrimonial experience is often interpreted as an allegory and not historical event.
-It was actually an imaginary story which was given to visualize the relationship that was
between Israel and Yahweh.
7. IMAGERY/ METAPHORICAL LANGUAGE/ PICTORIAL LANGUAGE
-It was a method used by prophets to deliver their message in pictorial form.
- A prophet could select words which would create pictures to the minds of the audience, e.g.
Amos 3:12 where Amos pictured the useless remnant that was going to be saved from the
coming punishment as follows; ‘As a shepherd rescues from the mouth of the lion two legs or
a piece of an ear, so shall the people of Israel who dwell in Samaria be rescued’

FRS Notes 4047
-The prophet Hosea more often than not used metaphorical language and comparisons
especially when he was describing the sins of Israel.
-To begin with his matrimonial experiences which is given as part and parcel of his call
narrative was meant to be comparable to Israel’s harlotry and infidelity.
-According to Hosea 1:2, he was asked to take a wife of harlotry and have children of
harlotry chiefly because the Israelites had forsaken their Lord, going after other gods.
-In some instances he compared Israel to half-baked cake 7:11, stubborn heifer 4:16. Israel’s
love is compared to a morning cloud and dew, 6:4. Jeremiah call his audience not to deviate
from their Lord just as the leopard does not change its spots or an Ethiopian his skin.
TRUE AND FALSE PROPHETS
CRITERIA USED TO DISTINGUISH TRUE AND FALSE PROPHETS
BACKGROUND TO THE “TRUE AND FALSE PROPHECY” DEBATE IN ANCIENT

ISRAEL
-The problems faced regarding the criteria to distinguish who is a true and who is a false prophet
is not a modern phenomenon.
-It is maybe as old as the institution of prophecy itself.
-The Old Testament bears evidence of a society similar to our own; a society grappling with the
determination of true from false prophecy.
-While in ancient Israel, the society was provoked by the existence of conflicting messages from
people who both claimed to be prophets of God, in our contemporary society, the existence of
men and women who perform ‘extra-ordinary’ miracles seems to spark the debate more than
conflicting messages.
-The clashes between Elijah and the 450 prophets of Baal (and 400 prophets of Asherah) at Mt.
Carmel (1Kgs 18: 16-40), that of Micaiah ben Imlah and Zedekiah (1 Kgs 22:24) and the one

FRS Notes 4047
between Jeremiah and Hananiah (Jer. 28) are convincing evidence not only to the fact that in
Israel conflicting theological convictions between prophets was the source of contradictory
messages but also that this ideological clash in most cases ended up in real physical clashes/fist-
fighting and death.
-Thus, prophetic conflict in Israel was not uncommon and the reasons for their clashes varied.
1. CRITERIA SET IN THE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY
-The book of Deuteronomy offers maybe what could be the earliest and most comprehensive
attempt by the society at establishing criteria to determine authentic and inauthentic prophets in
Israel.
-For instance, in two separate but thematically related texts, Deuteronomy provides some criteria
that have been cited over the ages as important for distinguishing true from false prophets, even
in our midst.
-The first criterion pro-posed was ‘speaking in the name of Yahweh’. A true prophet was to
speak in the name of Yahweh. This criterion assumes that in Israel true prophets were
messengers of Yahweh, hence were supposed to speak in his name.
-And they were supposed to invite listeners to worship Yahweh alone.
-Any prophet who spoke in the name of another god, or one who told the Israelite community to
worship other gods beside Yahweh was to be stoned to death (Deut 13:1-5).
-In the contemporary world, and especially for the ordinary readers of the Bible, this criterion is
clear and has the capacity to flush out false prophets from true prophets.
-However, the matter of determining whether a prophet is true or false is not that simple.
Prophecy as a phenomenon is very complex.
-The main weakness of this criterion is that in ancient Israel, it only may have catered for the
difference between foreign prophets and Israelite prophets.
-Indeed, prophets of Baal most likely spoke in the name of Baal and those of Yahweh spoke in
the name of Yahweh.
FRS Notes 4047
-What this means is that the criterion did not solve the problem among Israelite prophets who all
claimed to speak for Yahweh, yet they had contradictory messages.
-The same is true in our modern society. All individuals who claim to be prophets speak in the
name of God, even though their messages some-times are contradictory. Under such
circumstances, who could we call true and who is false?
2. THE CRITERION OF PREDICTION AND FULFILMENT
-It was maybe due to the above weakness that Deuteronomists included another criterion that had
to be considered also in the determination of who is false and who is true; the criterion of
prediction and fulfilment (Deut 13:1-5; 18:21-22).
-In this sense, Deuteronomy assumes that a true prophet must speak in the name of Yahweh and
the prediction must come to pass in the manner so predicted.
-From the point of view of the Deuteronomist theologians, the criterion of speaking in the name
of Yahweh was supposed to be used simultaneously with that of prediction and fulfilment.
- If a prophet spoke in the name of Yahweh and predicted something which comes to pass, but
goes ahead and calls upon the people to worship some other gods besides Yahweh, such a
prophet was to be stoned (Deut 13:1-2).
-In the same manner, if he spoke in the name of Yahweh but the word was not fulfilled, such a
prophet was to be regarded as a false prophet, hence was supposed to be stoned to death (Deut
13:5; 18:20).
-With these criteria, maybe no contemporary man or woman who claims to be prophet would be
stoned.
-They all would be attested as true, for most of their predictions have come to pass. But at the
same time, they would all be stoned, since some of their predictions have not been fulfilled.
WEAKNESSES OF THE PREDICTION AND FULFILMENT CRITERION
-The criteria was too oversimplified an approach to the complex matter of prophecy’.
-The criteria leave a lot of issues unattended to.

FRS Notes 4047
-Firstly, the criterion of prediction and fulfilment of events only caters for prophets who make
short-term predictions, such as: tomorrow you will die, you will get money, or next week or next
year there will be drought, etc.
-But, prophets who make long-term predictions were left ‘unjudged’ until such a time predicted
has lapsed. But some of these predictions took generations to be fulfilled, hence caused a lot of
anxiety in the society (Ezek 12:27).
-And by the time the prediction was fulfilled, the concerned prophet may have died.
-What this means is that, prophets who made long-term predictions would die false prophets. In
other words, they only could be taken as true prophets by later generations who would have
witnessed the fulfilment of their predictions.
-But again, it depended on the memory of the people from one generation to another; otherwise
most of the predictions of these prophets would have been forgotten.
-The second weakness is that this criterion is self-contradictory.
-While according to these theologians, a prediction was supposed to be fulfilled maybe in the
prophet’s life time, some of these Deuteronomist theologians included in their history, long-term
predictions; prophecies that were not to be fulfilled in the immediate future or in their life-time.
-For example, 1 Sam 2:31-36 predicts what is in the very distant future and not yet conceivable.
1 Kings 13:2 also indicates that the prediction was made so many years back and the society may
have forgotten about it.
-Another incident is that found in 2 Kings 13:15-19, where Elisha made a prediction but died
before the prediction was fulfilled (2 Kgs. 13:20).
-Thus when we use the criterion of fulfillment of prediction, Elisha died a false prophet. The
same conclusion could be reached regarding Jeremiah. In Jeremiah 25:11-12 and 29:10, Jeremiah
made a prediction that Judah would be released from Babylonian slavery after seventy years.
-Basing upon the criterion of fulfillment of prediction, Jeremiah would only be proven as a true
prophet after seventy years.

FRS Notes 4047
-And by that time Jeremiah and most, if not all the people who were his audiences would have
died. In short, Jeremiah, according to this criterion, died a false prophet.
-The criterion has thus the propensity to dismiss as false all the prophets we have always
regarded as true, such as Elisha, Jeremiah, Micah and Isaiah among others. Micah (5:5) and
Isaiah (10:5) for example, predicted that Jerusalem would be destroyed by the Assyrians in the
eighth century but Jerusalem was not destroyed by the Assyrians in the eighth century.
- It was destroyed instead by the Babylonians in 587, in the sixth century BCE. According to this
criterion, Micah and Isaiah are false prophets.
-A third weakness associated with the Deuteronomist theologians’ criterion of prediction and
fulfillment of prophecy is that it makes prediction the sole function of prophets.
-Of course prophets predicted and this is very pronounced in the Old Testament.
-In 1 Sam. 10:5 for example, Samuel predicted that Saul would come across a group of prophets,
and it happened (1 Sam 10:10). In 1 Kings 11:26 Ahijah predicted the break of the kingdom and
Jeroboam would be king over the northerners, Israel and it happened (1 Kgs. 12:20).
- Ahijah predicted that Jeroboam’s ill son was going to die and it happened (1 Kgs. 14:12, 17)
exactly as predicted. But equating prophecy with prediction is not always quite correct.
-Prophets were first and foremost preachers, whose preaching was in-tended to cause change of
attitude and change of action from the audience.
-Herbert Bess is therefore right when he observes that ‘certainly the (Israelite) prophet did
predict the future...but prediction (of the future) was not the larger part of prophecy; it was as
much the prophet’s responsibility to interpret correctly the past and the present’.
-In other words, what they predicted may be offset by the change of behaviour of the people.
- In fact, most of the great prophets of Israel always connected their predictions of doom and
gloom with hope and chance of repentance.
-They always wanted people to repent so as to avoid consequences which they predicted. The
fourth most important weakness of the criterion of fulfilment of prediction, as implied in

FRS Notes 4047
Deuteronomy 13:1-5 especially is that even a false prophet could by chance predict what could
come to pass.
-In other words, there was also a great chance that a prophet regarded as genuine might on
occasion be false and the so called false prophet might speak the truth (1 Kgs. 13:18).
3. THE CRITERION OF MORALITY
-It is generally assumed that moral uprightness was expected of prophets if they had to be
considered authentic in the Israelite society.
-Although it is not known exactly how prevalent this practice of sexual immorality was among
prophets, the accusation is a strong one suggesting that this may have been a real cause for
concern.
- According to Jeremiah any prophet who is immoral is a false one. True prophets must be
morally upright.
-And this has influenced the way we judge men and women in our midst who claim to be
messengers of God.
-Anyone who commits adultery or fornication is dismissed as a false prophet. And anything he or
she says is not taken seriously.
-First, we have prophets in the Israelite society who lived morally questionable lives; yet they are
called true prophets and their words were revered.
-Hosea, for instance married a prostitute called Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim (Hos. 1:2,3).
And it is explicit in the Bible that she was a prostitute, an adulterous woman.
-Therefore, by marrying Gomer, Hosea committed an immoral act before the Lord. It is not
indicated in the Bible whether she stopped her immoral ways after marriage or not. But taking
cue from the divorce and remarriage (Hos. 2-3), she continued her trade even after marriage.
-This suggests that Hosea lived an adulterous life.
-Yet, he was called a true prophet.

FRS Notes 4047
-Al-though it is possible that sexual immorality was not understood in the ancient Israelite
society in the same way as we do today, Hosea’s marriage to Gomer, a prostitute (Hos. 1-3)
would have been condemned as immoral by his society (cf. Deut. 24: 2-4).
-Thus, with this criterion, Ho-sea is a false prophet, yet all of the readers of the Bible regard him
as a true prophet.
-In the same way, ac-cording to this criterion, Isaiah’s sexual relations with a prophetess (Isa.
8:1-3) would have been condemned.
- Of course there are scholars who presume that this prophetess was his wife, but there is no
indication in the Bible that Isaiah was married to this woman he had sexual relations with. It is
possible that she was just a prophetess, whether she was married or not we do not know.
-The matter becomes worse if she was married.
-That means, Isaiah would have committed adultery. Second, on the basis of this criterion, Isaiah
can be regarded as false prophet because he walked naked for three years (Isa. 20:3). Although
he was dramatising the message of Yahweh, nakedness was considered an immoral act unless
one was mad.
-Besides, it was a shameful thing to be naked throughout the biblical period (Gen. 3:7; 9:20ff;
Rev. 3:18). Also, Elisha’s cursing of the children was a horrendous act that resulted in the death
of forty-two of them (2 Kgs 2:23-24).
-This constitutes a very immoral act that can be equated to terrorist acts.
-More so, the activities of Elijah and Elisha qualify them as mercenaries, yet they are not
regarded as false prophets.
-They were associated more with bloodshed than life preservation.
-They caused various bloodbaths in Israel (1 Kgs 18:40; 2 Kgs 1:9-12; 9:10) to the extent that
even later generations of prophets condemned their acts (Hos. 1:4).
-Surely men of God should have been known for good than for massacres! Without realising the
weaknesses of his criterion of moral upright-ness, Jeremiah goes further to set other subsidiary
criteria of morality that he thought could be used to differentiate true from false prophets.

FRS Notes 4047
-According to him, since they were immoral, false prophets lie, deceive people and steal oracles
(Jer. 23:23-32) from true prophets; those prophets who have been in God’s council.
-Basically, specific elements in the charge were criticisms of the techniques used to receive
oracles by these prophets.
-They are accused of using dreams and borrowing or stealing each other’s oracles.
-After stealing oracles, they would only appeal to the messenger formula that was common with
true prophets, ‘Thus says Yahweh....’(Jer. 23:31), as if they were sent by God.
-Although this criterion is quite attractive, it is fraught with weaknesses. In fact, all the criteria
set forth in Jer. 23:9-32 still leave a lot to be desired. For example, while Jeremiah positions
himself as morally upright, he can himself be dismissed as false. In Jer. 38:24-27, he lied to
protect King Zedekiah.
-Various other prophets still would fall by the way side. Micaiah ben Imlah also deceived King
Ahab that he was going to win so he should go up and put up a fight with Syria (1 Kgs. 22:16).
-He only could tell the truth after some pestering; otherwise he was prepared to lie so as to speak
the same word with other prophets.
-He had heeded advice from King Ahab’s messenger who told him not to speak against the word
of other prophets that the king had consulted earlier.
-With this same criterion, Elisha would be dismissed for using deception against Ben-Hadad (2
Kgs. 8:7-15).
-After all, the accusation that other prophets of Jeremiah’s era were preaching lies and deceit
would only make sense if they deliberately chose to lie and deceive people.
-Yet, it is clear from other biblical texts (Ezek 13; 14:1-11; Deut. 13:3) that these people may
have been honestly preaching what they without any doubt considered to be truth.
-In other words, their visions may have been false, but without realising it them-selves or without
them intentionally designing to preach falsehoods.
- As we noted above with the 1 Kings 22 incident, a true prophet could be deceived by God to
lie.
FRS Notes 4047
- Indeed these prophets were sent by Yahweh.
-In fact, it could be Jeremiah and Ezekiel who are liars.
-Their belief that these prophets were not sent by Yahweh is a lie because as a matter of fact
these prophets were sent by Yahweh.
-Further, Jeremiah’s attack on the use of dreams (Jer. 23:25-28) and the use of other prophets’
oracles (Jer. 23:30) is very problematic.
-The Bible has plenty of places where dreams are regarded as a legitimate way of receiving
oracles or inspiration from Yahweh.
-In other words, Yahweh in the history of ancient Israel has on various occasions communicated
his will through dreams, (Gen 28:12-17; 40-41), (1 Kings 3:5-15), Joel (2:28) and Daniel.
-Even in Deut 13:1,3 there is an implication that dreams were a formal way of receiving
revelation from God.
-The same high regard for dreams as a method in which the divine communicated to people
existed across the ancient Near East especially in Egypt, to the extent that what Joseph did in
Genesis 40-41 by interpreting dreams was not unknown.
4.THE CRITERION OF PRO-STATUS-QUO VS. ANTI-STATUS-QUO
-There are scholars who believe that in Israel a true prophet was one who always opposed the
ruling elite or the political establishment.
-Anyone who agreed or served the political establishment was regarded as false. In other words,
in sociological terms, central prophets were all regarded as false while peripheral prophets were
true.
-The great distinction between the messages of the true prophets and those of the false was not in
the manner of its delivery, but in the content of the message itself.
-The false prophets were the yes-men of their times, currying favour with the political figures of
the day and giving the messages that would justify the actions of those politicians’.

FRS Notes 4047
-In the Old Testament, the clash between prophet Jeremiah and prophet Hananiah (Jer. 28) is
cited often to demonstrate the fact that true prophets opposed the narrative of the ruling class
while false prophets agree with them.
-Thus, Jeremiah is presented as a true prophet for ‘contradicting’ the narrative of the Judean
political establishment while Hananiah is described as a false prophet for ‘agreeing with the
narrative’ of the Judean political leaders.
-While it is true that Jeremiah and Hananiah differed in their interpretations of the situation, their
differences had nothing to do with either one being true and the other being false.
-According to R. R. Wilson, ancient Israelite theological traditions lie behind both of these
views.
-Jeremiah as a peripheral prophet (one not part of the central religious establishment in
Jerusalem) subscribed to the Deuteronomistic school of thought that viewed the election of
Jerusalem and the house of David as conditional to obedience.
-To sustain his argument Jeremiah could cite the example of Shiloh and Samaria that were
destroyed in 722 BCE by the Assyrians as punishment for disobedience of the law of God
(Jeremiah 7; 2 Kgs 17).
-On the other hand, Hananiah, a central prophet (one who was part of the Jerusalem’s religious
establishment) appealed to the unconditional character of the election of Jerusalem and the house
of David (2 Sam 7; Psalm 132).
-And to support this theological position Hananiah could cite the miraculous deliverance of
Jerusalem when Sennacherib invaded. Despite Israel’s
-This in other words means both prophets were correct and their positions were favourable
among their constituencies.
-There are people who believed Hananiah to be a true prophet while disregarding Jeremiah as a
false prophet.
-And the same applied to Jeremiah; among his constituency, the Deuteronomists, he was a true
prophet while Hananiah was a false one.

FRS Notes 4047
-The claim by Jeremiah that Hananiah was false is therefore not an objective one.
-The above position becomes important, particularly when we scrutinise Jeremiah’s encounter
with Hananiah.
- According to Carroll, what scholars fail to realise is that Jeremiah 27-29 is an edited account
most likely way after Hananiah’s prediction was disconfirmed.
-The editors of Jeremiah worked from hindsight and from the premise that Jeremiah was a true
prophet and Hananiah was a false prophet.
- But, even if we take the account as it is, we can still realise that fundamentally both Hananiah
and Jeremiah were correct.
-From a theological perspective, they only interpreted Yahweh’s action in history from different
perspectives; which were not unknown in Israelite history.
-Hananiah’s prediction that the 597 BCE deportees would be released after only two years in
exile was informed by a well-known Israelite theological notion of the saviour Yahweh who
would save his people soon after punishing them.
-On the other hand, Jeremiah saw the deportation of 597 BCE as the be-ginning of many other
catastrophic scenarios to follow. This is why Jeremiah predicted seventy years.
- Prophet Gad was known to be King David’s personal seer (2 Sam. 24:11).
- This means Gad was first and foremost responsible to David, which makes him almost a
personal assistant of the king.
-Another interesting example is Isaiah who believed in the politico-religious ideologies of the
ruling elite: the Davidic Royal Ideology, the Invincibility of Jerusalem and the Temple theology,
to the extent that he is believed by some scholars to have been a foreign minister in King Ahaz’s
government.
- Despite this link with politicians hence his own participation in politics, Isaiah was never
doubted as a true prophet in his community.
-Even today, most if not all the readers of the Bible regard him as a true prophet.

FRS Notes 4047
-Therefore, although these prophets cited above participated in politics, supporting the rulers,
they were never thought to be false prophets.
5. THE CRITERION OF PROFESSIONALISM
-In their search for criteria to establish authentic and inauthentic manifestation of prophecy,
theologians in the Israelite society must have come to the conclusion that a true prophet is one
who does not receive payment for his services.
-The basis of this criterion lies in Micah 3:5, 11 which label those who prophesy for hire as false
prophets.
-True prophets therefore took their ministry as a service not a profession.
-H. H. Rowley notes that, false prophets on the contrary, instead of knowing the direct constraint
of the Spirit of God, were looking around for their oracles.
-They were the mere members of the profession, not men of vocation’.
WEAKNESSES
-The major weakness of this criterion is that its claims are not based upon a critical analysis on
the situation obtaining on the ground in Israel.
-There are several explicit examples of prominent prophets in the Old Testament who received
gifts or remuneration for their services.
-Of course, it is not clear if they charged or not.
-But the assumption we get from certain passages is that it was the expected tradition for clients
to bring gifts to prophets each time they consulted them.
-Prophet Samuel, for instance received money for his services (1 Sam 9:2). The impression in the
text is that he always did so.
-In 1 Kings 14:3 also, Jeroboam’s wife is instructed by her husband, Jeroboam to ‘take ten loaves
of bread, some cakes, and a jar of honey’ and go to Ahijah to inquire about their ill son’s fate.

FRS Notes 4047
-Further, Nathan is almost employed by King David as a civil servant, yet he was (and is still)
regarded by many as a true prophet. Biblical evidence shows that even until the classical era of
prophecy, (the time Micah ministered) prophets received payment for their services.
-In Amos 7:12, Amaziah advises Amos to go back to the land of Judah and to earn his bread
there. This statement may indicate that payment of prophets for their services was common.
-There is no adequate evidence therefore to conclude that professionalism was a mark of false
prophecy in Israel.
6. THE CRITERION OF ECSTASY
-Ecstasy manifests as suspension of mental faculty to give room to the invasion by the spirit.
-It is this external spirit that dictates either hyperactivity or extra-ordinary passivity/inactivity.
-Hyperactivity relates to the display of extra-ordinary capabilities and usually accompanied by

uncontrollable raving.
-On the other hand, one in ecstasy may display passivity, dullness or inactivity that is beyond
natural. In short, ecstasy is similar to a condition that one who has been drugged finds
him/herself.
-From the moment of consumption, drugs take over the individual’s mental and physical state.
-In fact, Israelite prophets, including some canonical prophets according to these scholars, were
ecstatic as those prophets of Canaan and Asia Minor.
-Isaiah walked around the streets of Jerusalem city naked and barefoot for three years (Isaiah
20:3) and Jeremiah wore a wooden yoke around his neck for some time (Jer. 27f).
- Thus, like ANE ecstatic prophets, there is an assumption that these persons are pictured as
moving across the land from one place to another in wild groups, chanting in loud voices (maybe
accompanied with dance) and making ecstatic inquiry for people upon request to do so.
-The ability of such individuals to enter into ecstasy earned them respect and endeared them to
the people who interpreted ecstasy as positive indication that they were indeed sent by the divine.

FRS Notes 4047
-Equally, in our context, Pentecostal prophets rely heavily on their capacity to make pre-dictions,
speak in tongues, and perform miracles such as making people fall on the ground and lie
unconsciously to authenticate their ministries.
-Moses is regarded as the standard of all prophets (Deut. 18:15), yet he did not display any
ecstatic behaviour.
-Also, Joshua who succeeded Moses, although he is not formerly called nabi /prophet, he was
nevertheless practicing the prophetic role in that he was a channel of communication between
God and the Israelite community.
-He never exhibited ecstatic behaviour.
-The same is true with Deborah who is called prophetess (Jud.4:4); she, like Moses and Joshua,
did not display ecstatic tendencies.
-The same is true of Samuel, himself a well-known prophet, yet he was not ecstatic.
-Even as we move through history fur-ther, Woods argues that we find the same non-ecstatic
manner of prophecy with Nathan (2 Sam. 7:2; 12:25), Gad (2 Sam. 24:11), Ahijah (1 Kgs. 11:29;
14:2-18) and others, particularly most of the classical prophets.
-Shall we then dismiss all these as false prophets because they were not ecstatic?
-This criterion therefore is weak and cannot help us solve the debate regarding who is true and
who is a false prophet.
-In other words, we cannot successfully use this criterion either to dismiss or to authenticate the
people who claim to be prophets in our midst.
7. THE CRITERION OF PROPHETIC CALL
-As we move towards the conclusion of our discussion, it is important to indicate that so far no
criterion is without weaknesses.
-It is clear even from the language used in the Old Testament that it was not possible for the
ancient Israelite theologians, let alone the ordinary people, to separate true from false prophets.

FRS Notes 4047
-What made the separation difficult is that externally one could not tell the difference between
true and false prophets since both maybe dressed, ate and behaved the same.
-This is why strangely the Hebrew Bible calls both prophets.
- According to S. Herbert Bess, the fact that they were always accused of deceiving people
shows that it was not possible to distinguish them on the basis of external criteria.
- For him therefore, one of the most distinguishing feature between true and false prophets is that
of call.
-While both were called prophets, ‘one point of distinction among true prophets must have been
that sense of compulsion to prophesy’.
-And this compulsion comes at the point of call. True prophets seem to have been called against
their wish, but the divine overwhelmed them and compelled them to prophesy.
-Moses, the standard of prophets (Deut. 18:15) was called and he resisted, but the divine
pressurised him until he accepted the call; then the divine commissioned him (Exo. 4:15-7:1ff).
-The Old Testament clearly attests this trend, as the call narratives of Jeremiah (Jer. 1:4, 20:7-8)
and Isaiah (6:1ff) bear testimony.
-Amos, Hosea and others experienced a definite call which obligated them to speak out for God.
-Therefore, we could conclude that true prophets had definite calls but false prophets did not
have definite calls.
WEAKNESSES
-While it appears to have been standard that Israelite prophets had call accounts detailing how
and when they were called and the mission for which they were called, not all Israelite prophets
had calls. Elijah, Ahijah, Micaiah, Nathan and Gad are clear examples.
-They we only met in the midst of their prophetic ministries.
Yet, such prophets were never doubted to be prophets in their communities on the basis that they
did not have call narratives.
HOW SERIOUS A PROBLEM WERE FALSE PROPHETS IN ISRAEL

FRS Notes 4047
1. True prophets receive a call from Yahweh and had credentials to speak. In fact their
authority was derived from Yahweh while false prophets were men of self appointed
ministries. They had no word from Yahweh (Jeremiah 14:13, 23:21). So they caused a lot
of confusion for they called people to other gods (1 Kings 18). They preached falsely
thereby causing people to follow their own messages (Jer 5:12)
2. They used palatable language in order to gain a living from the people.
3. False prophets opposed true prophets and caused people to oppose and hate them, e.g.
Jeremiah was labelled a traitor because of Hananiah who predicted that exilement was to
last for only two years, yet Jeremiah predicted that it was to last for 70 years. Micaiah is
also hated by the king because of the presence of the 400 prophets at the king’s court. ‘I
hate him for he never prophesy good concerning us but evil…’ (1 Kings 22:8)
4. False prophets placed no barrier between righteousness and sin. They prophesy what
people wanted to hear, prophesying peace where there was none . According to Jeremiah
they heal the wounds of the people lightly. The true prophet had a message of judgement
upon sin. They did not overlook sin like false prophets. For example Nathan announced
punishment on David for taking Bathsheba, Ahijah condemned Jeroboam 1 for promoting
apostacy in Israel and announced the end of his dynasty. Samuel’s message of doom to
Eli’s house for wickedness, rejection of Saul for disobedience. Elijah pronounced doom
to befall Ahab after killing Naboth. Amos, Hosea, Isaiah and Jeremiah pronounced doom
to befall Israel and Judah for committing apostacy.
6. False prophets were destroying yahwism, e.g. 1 Kings 18:21, Elijah questioned the
Israelites that, ‘How long will you go limping on two opinions…’ they caused Israel to be
stubborn and persecute true prophets.
7. False prophets caused the relationship between Yahweh and Israel to be fractured and
hence led to the breakdown of the covenant.
Judaism and Land
-Concerning sustainability of natural environments: this is an issue addressed by the Torah—but

it is not just a Jewish issue, but an issue for all of humanity.

FRS Notes 4047
-The Torah teaches that the human being is meant to be a steward of planet Earth, “to work it and
to protect it.”We are told that everything Gdcreated, “He saw that it was good.” “The world and
all that is in it is Gd’s.” You can't get a clearer message than that.
-The Bible provides environmental legislation.
-The Jewish nation in Israel felt an eternal bond to the Land of Israel, and therefore a
responsibility to protect their environment.
-This serves as a precedent for humanity today, as we begin to realize that humanity as a whole
has an eternal bond to the most beautiful planet we have yet to discover, planet Earth.
Some of the environmental legislation of the Torah:
1. A city must have a greenbelt surrounding it, thus limiting urban sprawl.
2. A fruit tree cannot be destroyed when setting siege to a city. Our tradition extended this
to include any wanton destruction of nature that could be avoided.
3. The rabbis severely limited the grazing of goats and sheep in parts of Israel where they
caused environmental damage. It is well known today that much of the desert in the
Middle and Near East was caused by the grazing of these animals.
4. King Solomon appointed a minister to limit the harvesting of wood in the forests of
Israel.
5. The Mishnah deals with laws of water and air pollution, limiting the rights of both rural
and civic residents.
-Jewish tradition teaches us to care for our planet in order to preserve that which God has
created.
-Psalm 24 notes, "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof," a dramatic assertion of
God's ownership of the land. I
-t follows, then, that any act that damages our earth is an offense against the property of God.
The Jewish concept of bal tashchit, "do not destroy," forbids needless destruction.
-Judaism emphasizes our need to preserve our natural resources and generate new ones for
future generations.

FRS Notes 4047
-The Torah (the Five Books of Moses) opens with a clear statement about God's relationship to
the Earth - "In the beginning of God's creating the heavens and the earth..." The formation of the
Earth is a matter of Divine concern, and therefore the preservation of that Earth must also be a
matter of Divine concern.
-The relationship between God and the land is continuous and longer lasting than any
relationship we may have with it.
- Thus in Leviticus God informs us that no land can be sold forever “for the land is Mine - you
are but strangers resident with Me”
Judaism on Wealth and Poverty
-Judaism is generally supportive of the pursuit of wealth, as long as it is combined with

generosity to the poor and less fortunate.
-The Book of Genesis relates how Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph amassed and administered
wealth.
-The Book of Proverbs seems to laud hard work and material productivity, and Job is rewarded
by God for his travails with twice his original fortune.
-This positive valuation of material wealth should be read against other biblical verses which
demonstrate a marked concern for the plight of the poor and other groups on the margins of
society, including slaves, orphans, and widows.
-The condemnation of wealth pursued without concern for the good of the community and the
wider society is a theme of rabbinic law (halakha).
-With the advance of industrialization and widespread poverty and social inequality in the
nineteenth century, many Jewish intellectuals and labor leaders took up socialist ideas.
- Today, Jewish charities are active inside the Jewish community and around the world, and
Jewish citizens in Israel, the United States, and Europe tend to be supportive of a robust welfare
state.
Judaism and divorce

FRS Notes 4047
-Although divorce is common in today’s social landscape, prevailing wisdom says that up to half
of all marriages will end in divorce, it is still a heartbreaking way to end a marriage.
-Unlike some religions, however, which do not permit divorce, Judaism recognizes the necessity
under certain circumstances.
-Just as marriage is a metaphysical reality, two souls fusing together to create one complete
soul ,so too divorce is a metaphysical reality.
-For a Jewish couple to become divorced, the man must give the woman a document called a
"Get," as prescribed in the Torah (Deut. 24:1-4).
-A Get terminates the Jewish marriage and certifies that the couple is now free to remarry
according to Jewish law.
Jewish marriage
-Jewish marriage is not merely a secular legal partnership, but a union sanctified by God.
-Marital obligations, therefore, are not merely personal, but have implications for universal
harmony.
- The existence of God as a “silent partner” in Jewish marriage endows a relationship with
sanctity and solemn commitment.
-Judaism views marriage as the basis of human companionship and the cornerstone of Jewish
community.
- As the venue for fulfillment of the biblical commandment,” be fruitful and multiply”, Jewish
marriage is also the basis of Jewish survival.
-Desirable times for a Jewish wedding have been set by both custom and law, but Jewish
weddings traditionally are not held on the Sabbath; on the holidays of Rosh Hashanah, Yom
Kippur, Passover, Shavuot, and the first and last days of Sukkot; and around certain fast days.
-The importance of marriage in Jewish tradition is grounded in the Bible, with God declaring
before he creates Eve to be Adams helpmeet that It is not good that the man should be alone
(Genesis 2:18).

FRS Notes 4047
- Marriage is vitally important in Judaism.
-Refraining from marriage is not considered holy, as it is in some other religions. On the
contrary, it is considered unnatural.
-The Talmud says that an unmarried man is constantly thinking of sin.
-TheTalmud tells of a rabbi who was introduced to a young unmarried rabbi. The older rabbi told
the younger one not to come into his presence again until he was married.
-Marriage is not solely, or even primarily, for the purpose of procreation.
-Traditional sources recognize that companionship, love and intimacy are the primary purposes
of marriage, noting that woman was created in Gen. 2:18 because "it is not good for man to be
alone," rather than because she was necessary for procreation.
ISLAM
THE NATURE OF THE QURAN & WHY THE QURAN HAS SUPREME
AUTHORITY FOR MUSLIMS
 -Muslims believe the Quran is the direct word of Allah.

 -It is divine, heavenly, and authentic & considered to be miracle.
 -The first surahto be revealed was surah ‘alaq. This happened in the cave of hiraon
the night of power (laylatul qadr)through the angel jibrail (a.s).
 The entire quran was revealed over a period of 23 years.
 The prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) would dictate the verses to his scribes & tell them where
to write each verse & where to place them.
 Many of the companions also memorised the quran.
 The quran is split into 114 surahs(chapters), 30 ajza (parts). Each surahhas ayat (verses).
 All chapters begin with bismillah exceptsurah taubah.
 It was compiled into book form during the time of abu bakr (r.a) after a number
of huffaz were martyred. This responsibility was given to zaid ibn thabit (r.a).

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 The copy was kept with hafsa (r.a), the daughter of umar (r.a).
 During the time of uthman (r.a), differences arose in its recitation. He asked for 7 copies
to be made in the dialect of the quraish from the original that was kept with hafsa (r.a), &
had them distributed in different regions. All other copies were to be disregarded.
AUTHORITY OF THE QURAN (KORAN)
The quran has supreme authority for the Muslims because:
 They believe it contains the exact words of Allah.

 It was brought to people through the final prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) as a message to all
of mankind.
 It was recited exactly by the prophet & recorded immediately & accurately by his
companions.
 It has never been changed, so they are sure their knowledge is correct.
 It’s a miracle from Allah because Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) didn’t know how to read &
write.
 It shows them how to follow the straight path.
 It inspires them to struggle in the cause of Allah.
 It makes clear to them their obligations & duties towards Allah.
 It enables them to practice their religion properly & to be guided.
 It encourages them through the examples of faithful believers.
 It develops love for Allah.
Respect for the quran.
 Muslims show respect for the quran by performing wudhu before touching it.
 Keeping it on a high place.
 Trying to follow & practice upon what it says.

FRS Notes 4047
 Reading it every day.

 Avoid eating & drinking whilst reading.
 Handle it with respect.
 Importance of revelation of holy quran to Prophet Muhammad

 Revealed on the night of power in the cave of hira on the mountain of lightjabal an-nur.
 It was the time when the first words of the quran were revealed.
 He became the final chosen messenger because he received this message from Allah.
 It proves that the quran is the word of Allah.
 It was the beginning of many such revelations which continued for a period of 23 years.
 Quran is regarded as a great miracle.
 It restored the original message sent to previous prophets & clarified the errors of
previous nations.
 Every sound structure must have a solid foundation in order to remain strong. Islam’s
foundation is the five pillars it was built upon, forming the basis of Islamic teaching as
taught by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), wherein he said:
PILLARS OF ISLAM
 Islam is built upon five pillars:
 The Declaration of Faith (Shahadah);

2. Establishing regular prayers (Salah);
3. Paying Charity (Zakah);
4. Fasting the (lunar) month of Ramadan (Sawm);
5. Pilgrimage (Hajj)
 These five pillars are a cornerstone of a Muslim’s life.

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Declaration of Faith – SHAHADAH
 The declaration of faith is bearing witness (testifying) that there is no deity worthy of
worship but Allah (God), and that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is His Servant and
Messenger. It must be based on a sincere and firm belief in the heart, as well as being
uttered verbally.
 The first part of the declaration implies that:
 No person, object or being has the right to be worshipped except Allah alone. The
Arabic name “Allah” refers to the One True God of all mankind and everything that
exists.
 Allah alone is the Creator and Sustainer of all that exists, and He has power over all
things.
 Allah alone has perfect attributes and is free from all deficiencies.
 Allah has no partner, equal, father, mother or son.
 The second part of the declaration is that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is Allah’s
Servant and final Messenger. He is the final Prophet in a long chain of Prophets sent to
call the people to the obedience and worship of Allah alone. Some of these Prophets
include Adam, Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon
and Jesus (peace be upon them all).
 The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was sent with the Qur’an (the final
revelation), in order to teach the people Allah’s message, and serve as an example for all
to follow.
 Some benefits of the Declaration of Faith:
 Complete surrender to the will of Allah and becoming His true servant and subject.
 Produces a high degree of self-respect and confidence, while also remaining humble
and modest.

FRS Notes 4047
 Produces strong determination, patience and perseverance, making a person brave and
courageous, as well as dutiful and upright.
 Makes a person obey and observe Allah’s commands.
The Prayer – SALAH
 “Indeed, I am Allah! There is none worthy of worship but I, so worship Me and offer the
prayer for My remembrance.”Qur’an 20:14
 The five daily prayers form the most important ritual of worship in a Muslim’s life; one
each at dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset and nightfall. Prophet Muhammad (peace be
upon him) said: “Prayer is a pillar of the religion (Islam). Whoever establishes it,
establishes religion; and whoever destroys it (e.g. neglects it), destroys religion.”
 Prayer establishes a personal and spiritual connection between the Muslim and his
Creator, based on faith, love, hope and reverence. When prayer is performed correctly
with complete concentration, humility and sincerity, it will have an enduring effect on the
person, filling his heart with contentment, peace and closeness with Allah.
 Prayer is the centre of a Muslim’s life and the best way to achieve submission to Allah. It
can be offered almost anywhere clean: such as in fields, offices, factories or universities;
and takes only a few minutes to perform. It consists of recitation from the Holy Qur’an,
supplicating to and praising Allah, with various body postures such as standing, bowing,
prostrating and sitting. Through prayer, the Muslim remembers the greatness of his
Creator and supplicates to Him for his needs and wishes.
 Repeatedly humbling oneself before Allah prevents a person from falling into sin, and is
a type of purification for one’s soul, as mentioned in the Qur’an: “Verily, the prayer
prevents one from the shameful and evil deeds.” Qur’an 29:45. Prayer is also an
opportunity for repentance and seeking forgiveness from Allah.
 The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) asked his companions, “If one of you had
a river by his door in which he bathed five times a day, would any filth remain on
him?” They replied, “No.” Then the Prophet added “Likewise, Allah wipes away sins
with the five daily prayers.”

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The Prescribed Charity – ZAKAH
 “Those who establish the prayer (salah) and give the charity (zakah) … these are the ones
who will prosper.”Qur’an 31:4-5
 All things belong to Allah, including wealth, which is considered as a trust. The
prescribed charity (zakah) is an obligation on every Muslim who meets certain criteria
(e.g. attained maturity, is sane, has wealth above a certain threshold). A small portion of
wealth (includes 2.5% monetary and may include other assets) which must be paid
annually to those who are eligible, as prescribed in the Qur’an (e.g. the poor and needy).
 The Prophet (peace be on him) said:“Allah has made zakah obligatory simply to
purify your remaining wealth.”
 The meaning of the word “zakah”, is both ‘purification’ and ‘growth’. This is similar to
the pruning of plants, whereby regularly trimming provides balance and encourages
growth. By fulfilling this obligation, Muslims purify their remaining wealth, as well as
ensure both financial and spiritual growth.
 Some benefits of zakah:
 Purifies one from selfishness, arrogance and a greedy heart.
 Trains one to be sympathetic and compassionate towards the poor and needy.
 Reminds one of the blessings from Allah and encourages one to be grateful.
 Bridges the gap between different socio-economic classes and groups, and is a form of
social security.
 Reduces poverty and ensures equality by making it obligatory upon the rich to share
some of their wealth with the less fortunate “…so that this (wealth) may not circulate
solely among the rich from among you.” Qur’an 59:7
 A person may also give as much as they please as additional voluntary charity.

FRS Notes 4047
Fasting – SAWM
 ”Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may
attain piety.”Qur’an 2:183
 As with any act of worship, fasting requires obedience and submission to Allah’s
commands through the highest degree of commitment and sincerity. Every year during
the month of Ramadan (the 9th month of the lunar calendar), Muslims fast from dawn
until sunset, abstaining from three key human needs – food, drink and sexual relations.
One should also abstain from all sinful actions.
 Fasting during Ramadan is obligatory on every physically and mentally capable adult
Muslim. Children, the sick, the mentally unfit, the elderly, menstruating women, and
travellers are exempt.
 Some benefits of fasting:
 Promotes spiritual self-purification and growth.
 Scientifically proven health benefits.
 Sympathy for those less fortunate, prompting more charity.
 A means of learning self-restraint and patience.
 Purifies the soul and helps it acquire the habit of obeying Allah by restraining desires,
and promotes steadfastness.
 Creates an increased feeling of unity and collective identity amongst those fasting.
 Creates an increased awareness about the state of affairs across the globe and the
hardships endured.
 Forgiveness of sins. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “He who fasts Ramadan,
with faith and hoping for reward (from Allah), then his past sins are forgiven.”

FRS Notes 4047
Pilgrimage – HAJJ
 “And Hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah) to the House (Ka‘bah) is a duty that mankind owes to
Allah, for those who can afford the expenses (for one’s transportation, provision and
residence).”Qur’an 3:97
 Pilgrimage to the Holy city of Makkah (in Saudi Arabia) and other sacred sites must be
performed at least once in a person’s life, if they are physically and financially capable.
 Performing the pilgrimage is a temporary suspension of all worldly activities, and is a

time for one to reflect, worship, seek the forgiveness of Allah and attain His closeness.
 The Pilgrimage is an annual event in the 12th month of the lunar calendar (Dhul-Hijjah in
Arabic), which unifies people of every colour, race, status and age, as they join in
worship of the One True God. All pilgrims wear simple and similar clothing, which strips
away distinctions of class and culture, so that all stand equal before Allah.
 Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, “Whoever performs Hajj and does not
utter obscenities or commit sin, will come back just like the day when his mother
bore him (i.e. pure of sins).”
 Hajj involves following in the footsteps of Prophet Abraham, as taught to us by Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon them). This great act of worship consists of many
components including sacrificing an animal, supplicating, visiting and praying at various
sites, circling the Ka’bah, walking between two mountains, as well as many other rituals,
all of which are performed over a period of 6 continuous days.
 Such an experience is life-altering and humbles a person, making them more patient and
thankful to Allah. Brotherhood is increased, as is the sense that all Muslims, regardless of
their differences, are one nation.
Conclusion
 The five pillars of Islam have been prescribed by Allah, and a Muslim is required to
believe and act according to them. They are practical as well as easy, and the blessings

FRS Notes 4047
and wisdom behind them are manifold. When put into perspective, they contribute to the
well being of both the individual and the society, enhancing the character and manners of
the individual, and making both society and individuals accountable and closer to Allah.
 These noble pillars of Islam are purely for the benefit of His creation, as Allah (Glory be
to Him!) is free of all needs. These five pillars provide the solid structure and ‘training
programme’ for the betterment and success of all humanity.
THE SHARIA LAW
 Monotheism, belief in one God, is the most important and foundational concept in Islam.
 -Muslims believe in one God who created the universe and has power over everything
within it.
 -He is unique and exalted above everything He creates, and His greatness cannot be
compared to His creation.
 -Furthermore, He is the only one deserving of any worship and the ultimate purpose of all
creation is to submit to Him.
 -The Islamic understanding of God is distinct from all other religions and beliefs in
various respects since it is based on a pure and clear understanding of monotheism.
 -This essentially captures the concept of God in Islam, which will be further elaborated in
this pamphlet.
 Muslims often refer to God as Allah.
 This is a universal name for God and does not refer to an exclusively ‘Islamic’ God.
 Interestingly, this name is related to the Aramaic and Hebrew names for
God, Allaha and Elohim.
 -Therefore, Allah is simply the Arabic name for God which affirms that He is One
singular God with no partners or equals.
 The name Allah cannot be pluralized or limited to a specific gender, which establishes
that God is One and that He is unique from everything He creates.

FRS Notes 4047
 Muslims continue to use this original Arabic name for God (Allah) since it perfectly
expresses His unique qualities.
 God is the Creator and the Sustainer of the universe who created everything for a reason.
Muslims believe that He created humankind with a simple purpose – to worship Him.
 He sent messengers to guide people in fulfilling this purpose. Some of these messengers
include Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad, peace be upon all of
them.
 They all taught a consistent message about God by affirming His greatness as the Creator
and guiding people to worship Him alone.
 This basic concept has always resonated with people’s natural understanding of God.
 When the final prophet, Muhammad, peace be upon him (pbuh), was asked about God,
the answer came directly from God in the holy book of Muslims, the Quran (also spelled
‘Koran’): “Say, ‘He is God the One, God the eternal. He begot no one nor was He
begotten. No one is comparable to Him.’” [112:1-4]
 This is a clear statement by God describing Himself to humanity without any room for
confusion.
 God is One and is exalted above everything He creates and He is capable over all things.
 Sharia law is the law of Islam.
 The Sharia (also spelled Shari'a orShariah) law is cast fromMuhammad's words, called
"hadith," his actions, called "sunnah," and theQuran, which he dictated.
 Sharia law itself cannot be altered, but the interpretation of Sharia law, called "fiqh," by
muftis (Islamic jurists) is given some latitude.
 As a legal system, Sharia law is exceptionally broad. While other legal codes regulate
public behavior, Sharia law regulates public behavior, private behavior, and even private
beliefs.
 Compared to other legal codes, Sharia law also prioritizes punishment over rehabilitation,
and the penalties under Sharia law favor corporal and capital punishments over
incarceration.

FRS Notes 4047
 Of all legal systems in the world today, Sharia law is deemed the most intrusive and
restrictive, especially against women (see below), and is making inroads into Western
democracies.
According to Sharia law (see links for details):

• Theft is punishable by amputation of the hands (Quran 5:38 - includes graphic
image).
• Criticizing or denying any part of the Quran is punishable by death.
• Criticizing Muhammad or denying that he is a prophet is punishable by death.
• Criticizing or denying Allah is punishable by death .
• A Muslim who becomes a non-Muslim is punishable by death.
• A non-Muslim who leads a Muslim away from Islam is punishable by death.
• A non-Muslim man who marries a Muslim woman is punishable by death.
• A woman or girl who has been raped cannot testify in court against her rapist(s).
• Testimonies of 4 male witnesses are required to prove rape of a female (Quran
24:13).
• A woman or girl who alleges rape without producing 4 male witnesses is guilty
of adultery.
• A woman or girl found guilty of adultery is punishable by death.
• A male convicted of rape can have his conviction dismissed by marrying his
victim.
• Muslim men have sexual rights to any woman/girl not wearing theHijab.
• A woman can have 1 husband, who can have up to 4 wives;Muhammad can
have more.
• A man can marry an infant girl and consummate the marriage when she is 9
years old.
• Girls' clitoris should be cut (Muhammad's words, Book 41, Kitab Al-Adab,
Hadith 5251).
• A man can beat his wife for insubordination (see Quran 4:34and Religion of
Peace).
• A man can unilaterally divorce his wife; a wife needs her husband's consent to

FRS Notes 4047
divorce.
• A divorced wife loses custody of all children over 6 years of age or when they
exceed it.
• A woman's testimony in court, allowed in property cases, carries ½the weight of
a man's.
• A female heir inherits half of what a male heir inherits .
• A woman cannot drive a car, as it leads to fitnah (upheaval).
• A woman cannot speak alone to a man who is not her husband or relative.
• Meat to eat must come from animals that have been sacrificed to Allah - i.e., be
"Halal."
• Muslims are to subjugate the world under Islam.
• Muslims should engage in Taqiyyaand lie to non-Muslims to advance Islam.
Who Is the Prophet Muhammad ?

 Muhammad was born in Makkah in the year 570. Since his father died before his birth
and his mother died shortly thereafter, he was raised by his uncle who was from the
respected tribe of Quraysh.
 He was raised illiterate, unable to read or write, and remained so till his death. His
people, before his mission as a prophet, were ignorant of science and most of them were
illiterate.
 As he grew up, he became known to be truthful, honest, trustworthy, generous, and
sincere.
 He was so trustworthy that they called him the Trustworthy.
 Muhammad was very religious, and he had long detested the decadence and idolatry of
his society.
 At the age of forty, Muhammad received his first revelation from God through the Angel
Gabriel. The revelations continued for twenty-three years, and they are collectively
known as the Quran.

FRS Notes 4047
 As soon as he began to recite the Quran and to preach the truth which God had revealed
to him, he and his small group of followers suffered persecution from unbelievers.
 The persecution grew so fierce that in the year 622 God gave them the command to
emigrate.
 This emigration from Makkah to the city of Madinah, some 260 miles to the north, marks
the beginning of the Muslim calendar.
 After several years, Muhammad and his followers were able to return to Makkah, where
they forgave their enemies.
 Before Muhammad died, at the age of sixty-three, the greater part of the Arabian
Peninsula had become Muslim, and within a century of his death, Islam had spread to
Spain in the West and as far East as China.
 Among the reasons for the rapid and peaceful spread of Islam was the truth and clarity of
its doctrine.
 Islam calls for faith in only one God, Who is the only one worthy of worship.
 The Prophet Muhammad was a perfect example of an honest, just, merciful,
compassionate, truthful, and brave human being.
 Though he was a man, he was far removed from all evil characteristics and strove solely
for the sake of God and His reward in the Hereafter.
 Moreover, in all his actions and dealings, he was ever mindful and fearful of God.
Ten reasons Prophet Muhammad ‫ ﷺ‬was the best Prophet of all time.
 As Muslims, it is mandatory that we believe in all Prophets and Messengers of God,

without making any distinction between them. As Allah states in the Quran regarding the
believers:
“All of them have believed in Allah and His angels and His books and His messengers,
[saying], “We make no distinction between any of His messengers.”
Quran 2:285
 Nevertheless, although we make no distinction in terms of believing that all Prophets and
Messengers were sent by God, whether it be Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and of
course Muhammad ‫ﷺ‬, we do in fact favour certain Prophets amongst others.

FRS Notes 4047
 As Allah also states in the Quran:
“Those messengers – some of them We caused to exceed others. Among them were those
to whom Allah spoke, and He raised some of them in degree…”Quran 2:253
 On saying this, we as Muslims wholeheartedly believe that Prophet Muhammad ‫ﷺ‬

was the greatest of all Prophets due to the many evidences available. We have compiled a
list of ten of the strongest signs that prove this, along with their accompanying references.
1.He was the final Messenger sent by God to the entirety of humanity.
 Allah states in the Quran:
“Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but (he is) the Apostle of God, and the Seal
of the Prophets: and God has full knowledge of all things.Quran 33:40
 Thawban also narrated that the Messenger of Allah ‫ ﷺ‬said:
“…And I am the last of the Prophets, there is no Prophet after me.”

2. He was given the Quran, the final revelation of God.
He has sent down upon you, [O Muhammad], the Book in truth, confirming what was
before it. And He revealed the Torah and the Gospel.Quran 3:3
3. He was granted the largest following.

 The Messenger of Allah ‫ ﷺ‬said:
“Amongst the apostles I would have the largest following on the Day of Resurrection,
and I would be the first to knock at the door of Paradise.”
4. He is the leader of the children of Adam.
5. He will be the first to be resurrected.
6. He will be the first to intercede on the Day of Judgement.
 Abu Hurayrah, narrated that the Messenger of Allah ‫ ﷺ‬said:

FRS Notes 4047
“I will be the leader of the sons of Adam on the Day of Resurrection, and the first one for
whom the grave will be opened, and the first to intercede, and the first whose intercession
will be accepted.’”
7. He will be the first to cross the Siraat bridge over Hell Fire.
“I was sitting with Abu Hurairah and Abu Sa’eed. One of them narrated the hadith about
intercession and the other was listening. He said: ‘Then the angels will come and intercede, and
the messengers will intercede.
“The Messenger of Allah said: ‘I will be the first one to cross it…”
8.He will be the first to enter Paradise.
 Anas bin Malik narrated that the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬said:
“I will come to the gate of Paradise on the Day of Resurrection and will ask for it to be
opened. The keeper will say: ‘Who are you?’ I will say, ‘Muhammad.’ He will say: ‘I was
commanded not to open it for anyone before you.”
9.He was granted the Maqaam Al-Mahmoud (The Praised Station).
 “It may be that your Lord will raise you to Maqaam Al-Mahmoud (a station of praise and
glory).”Quran 17:79
10. He led all the Prophets in Prayer during the Night Journey.
 This proves that our Prophet Muhammad ‫ ﷺ‬is the greatest leader, and as it was
stated by Ibn Katheer at the beginning of his commentary on Surah Al-Isra’: “Then his
honourable status and superiority to them was manifested when he was made to go
forward to lead them in prayer, when Jibreel (peace be upon him) indicated to him that he
should do so.”
 These are just a selection of the proofs that indicate that the Prophet Muhammad ‫ﷺ‬
was the greatest of all Prophets to have walked this Earth. May the peace and blessings of
Allah, God Almighty, be upon him, his family and his companions.
THE STATUS OF WOMEN IN SLAM

Introduction

FRS Notes 4047
 The status of women in Islam is one of the crucial topics and dominant themes in the
modern era, which theologians have been studying. Islam regards men and women as
being of the same essence created from a single soul. A woman has a completely
independent personality in Islam. In this paper, I will provide an overview of the status of
women in Islam in general and then I will focus on the issue of equality.
 One important part of the discussion will be devoted to clarify the conceptual context and
the relevant terminology of the subject of inheritance and to explain certain rulings of
inheritance in Islamic law that may seem at first glance to be in conflict with the idea of
equality.
 In the Islamic perspective, a woman has an honoured position. She has special respect,
love, affection and gentle feeling along with her legal and civil rights.
 Actually Islam expresses the best explanation for a woman’s true image in the following
verses from the Qur’an:
 We have enjoined man to be kind to his parents.
 His mother has carried him in travail, and bore him in travail, and his gestation and
weaning take thirty months.
 When he comes of age and reaches forty years, he says, ‘My Lord! Inspire me to give
thanks for Your blessing with which You have blessed me and my parents, and that I may
do righteous deeds which may please You, and invest my descendants with righteousness.
Indeed I have turned to you in penitence, and I am one of the muslims.’ (46:15)
 Your Lord has decreed that you shall not worship anyone except Him, and [He has
enjoined] kindness to parents.
 Should they reach old age at your side – one of them or both- do not say to them, ‘Fie!’
And do not chide them, but speak to them noble words. Lower the wing of humility to
them, out of mercy, and say, ‘My Lord! Have mercy on them, just as they reared me when
I was [a] small [child]!’ (17:23 & 24)
 ‘Do not covet the advantage which God has given some of you over others. To men
belongs a share of what they have earned, and to women a share of what they have
earned. And ask God for His grace’. (4:32)
 Similar to the Qur’an, the Prophetic hadiths also emphasize the honour and respect of
women within such a frame of love, endearment and affection.

FRS Notes 4047
 This is especially true when the hadiths teach about the mother, the wife and the
daughter. For example, the Prophet said:
‘Observe your duty to God in respect to the women, and recommend them to be well
treated’.
 He also said:
‘I do not think that a man gets better in faith without loving women better’.
 The Prophet had a daughter whom he loved very deeply and tenderly. He used to say:
“Fatimah is a part of me; whoever wrongs her wrongs me and who pleases her pleases
me.
 He visited her frequently; and on his return from any journey he called on her first before
going to his own home. Whenever she approached, his eyes glowed with joy. He would
take her in his arm, kiss her warmly and offer her his own seat. Indeed this kind, tender
pattern is an ideal model for mankind.
 A man came to the Prophet and asked him, “O messenger of God! Whom should I be
more dutiful to?” The Prophet replied: “To your mother.” He asked, then to whom. Then
he replied: “To your mother.” The man again asked, then to whom. Then the Prophet
replied: “To your father.”
Equality
 Islam considers both men and women equally human and grants them equal human
rights.
 Though their tasks and functions may sometimes differ, they both have opportunities for
achieving perfection and closeness to God. T
 he following verses from the Qur’an and sayings of the Prophet support this argument.
For example, God says:
‘mankind! Indeed We created you from a male and a female, and made
you nations and tribes that you may identify with one another. Indeed the
noblest of you in the sight of God is the most Godwary among you. Indeed
God is All-knowing, All-aware. (49:13)
‘mankind! Be wary of your Lord who created you from a single soul, and
created its mate from it, and, from the two of them, scattered numerous
men and women’. (4:1)

FRS Notes 4047
 Also Prophet Muhammad (S) said:

“All people are equal, as the teeth of a comb”. There is no claim of merit of an Arab and
non-Arab, or a white over a black person, or a male over a female.
- Only Allah-fearing people merit a preference with God.
 The most important sources in Islamic thought i.e. the Qur’an and Sunnah both confer the
great message of universal equality among all mankind. The above texts are just a few
examples and there are many more available.
 Apart from this, there are hundreds of verses which take the form of address: “O
mankind, or “O believer” which refer to both men and women. Both have similar duties
to perform; for instance prayer, rituals, fasting, to command to good and to prohibit from
evil. Moral virtues such as tolerance, truthfulness, honesty are required from both.
 According to Islam, personal superiority is only based on piety.
 Islam’s regard for women is not simply giving her a chance to survive.
 Muslims, men and women, are told to seek knowledge and education wherever they find
it and to use this knowledge to help fellow human beings.
 This is a duty about which they will be questioned on Judgement Day.
 History tells us about the immense contribution of Muslim women to the community.
One lady i.e. the Lady Khadijah, daughter of Khuwaylid, and one young boy were the
first to believe in Islam. Lady Khadijah was a great supporter of Islam and the Prophet.
An analysis of equality
 There are four logical characteristics of equality, which are crucial in Qur’anic
perspective:
 Equality in religious matters;

 Equality in ethical obligations and rewards;
 Equality in education;
 Equality in legal rights.
Equality in religious matters

FRS Notes 4047
 The Qur’an commands equality for men and women regarding religious obligations and
rewards. We read:
Indeed the muslim (or submissive) men and the muslim (or submissive) women, the
faithful men and the faithful women, the obedient men and the obedient women, the
truthful men and the truthful women, the patient men and the patient women, the humble
men and the humble women, the charitable men and the charitable women, the men who
fast and the women who fast, the men who guard their private parts and the women who
guard, the men who remember God greatly and the women who remember [God greatly]-
God holds in store for them forgiveness and a great reward. (33:35)
Equality in ethical obligations and rewards
 Secondly, the Qur’an reveals to mankind the desired equality of the two sexes by
establishing the same ethical obligations and rewards for women and men:
“And whoever does righteous deeds, whether male or female, should he or she be faithful
-such shall enter paradise and they will not be wronged [so much as] the speck on a
date-stone”. (4:124)
“Whoever acts righteously, [whether] male or female, should he be faithful, -We shall
revive him with a good life and pay them their reward by the best of what they used to
do’”. (16:97)
 If God had not deemed the two sexes of equal status and value, such explicit statements
of their equality in ethical obligations and rewards would not have been made in the
Qur’an.
Equality in education
 Although the more specific commands for the equal rights of women and men to pursue
education can be found in the hadith literature, the Qur’an does at least imply the pursuit
of knowledge by all Muslims regardless of their sex.
 For example, it repeatedly commands all readers to read, to recite, to think, to
contemplate, and as well as to learn from the signs (ayat) of God in nature.
 In fact, the very first revelation to Prophet Muhammad (S) was concerned with the
message of knowledge.

FRS Notes 4047
 In the Qur’anic perspective there can never be a restriction of this knowledge to one sex.
It is the duty of every Muslim man and every Muslim woman to pursue knowledge
throughout life, even if it should lead the seeker to “China,” we are told.
 The Prophet even commanded that the slave girls be educated, and he asked Shifa’ bint
‘Abdillah to educate his own wife – Hafsah bint ‘Umar.
 Audiences of both men and women attended lectures of the Prophet; and by the time of
the Prophet’s death, there were many women scholars.
Equality in legal rights
 A fourth evidence in the Qur’an for the equality of men and women is its specification of
legal rights which are guaranteed for every individual from cradle to grave.
 The Qur’an proclaims the right of both women and men in enjoying full legal rights. She
may buy, sell, earn a living and manage her own money and property.
 In Islam the woman has a legally independent personality and her obligations are
independent from those of her father, husband or brother.
 Thus, the woman in Islam enjoys all rights and is treated equal to man in this respect.
 In addition to these rights, the Qur’an grants the woman a share in the inheritance of the
family (4:7-11) and warns against depriving her of that inheritance (4:19), specifies that
the dowry (mahr) of her marriage should belong to her alone and never be taken by her
husband (2:229; 4:19-21 & 25) unless presented by the woman herself as a free gift
(4:44).
 As with any privilege, these rights of women carry corresponding responsibilities. If she
commits a civil offence, the Qur’an tells us, a woman’s penalty is no less or no more than
that of a man in a similar case (e.g. 24:2).
 If she is wronged or harmed, she is entitled to compensation just like a man.
 It is clear that the Qur’an not only recommends, but is also insistent upon, the equality of
women and men as an essential characteristic in the Qur’anic perspective.
A critical analysis of equality

 There are some discussions about a woman’s equality in her inheritance, education and
social rights.

FRS Notes 4047
 As we have already discussed, the religion of Islam has clearly required that equality has
to be exercised regardless of the physical gender.
 However, there may be a difference between the theory of Islam and the practice of
Muslims.
 In order to understand what Islam has established for woman, there is no need to look at
wrong customs that may exist in some Muslim societies.
 Objectively, religion means humanity, not cruelty or brutality.
 However, some cultures may have just a mask of Islam but in reality there are some local
cultural problems behind the mask. For example, one writer says:
 Men’s energies should be expended in worship, religious activities and in the search of
knowledge.
 This is to be attained by making women devote themselves to serving their men in the
home, preparing food and drink, washing, cleaning and caring for the children and
elderly.
 However, the above ideas are not related to genuine Islamic perspectives as demonstrated
in the Qur’an and Hadith. This writer has just reverted back to pre-Islamic culture. Based
upon the above texts from the Qur’an and Sunnah, these ideas are not plausible. If we
were to ask the writer, “where are these characteristics in the Qur’an and Hadiths?” we
will be assured of a silence that would speak volumes.
 According to Islamic point of view, a woman has no obligation to prepare food and drink,
wash and clean for her husband or his family. Of course, husbands and wives who form a
family, should share and care to maintain family life with mutual understanding.
 In the case of inheritance, the question of equality is fully applicable. In principle, both
man and woman are equally entitled to inherit the property of the deceased relation but
the portions they get may vary. In some instances man receives two shares whereas
woman gets only one. This is no sign of giving preference or supremacy to man over
woman. The reasons why a man gets more in these particular instances may be classified
as follows:
 First, a man is solely responsible for the complete maintenance of his wife, his family and
any other needy relations. It is his duty by Law to assume all financial responsibilities

FRS Notes 4047
and maintain his dependents adequately. It is also his duty to contribute financially to all
good causes in his society. All financial burdens are borne by him alone.
 In contrast, a woman has no financial responsibilities whatsoever except very little of her
personal expenses, e.g. the high luxurious things that she likes to have. She is financially
secure and provided for.
 If she is a wife, her husband is the provider; if she is a mother, it is the son; if she is a
daughter, it is the father; if she is a sister; it is the brother, and so on. If she has no
relations on whom she can depend, then there is no question of inheritance because there
is nothing to inherit and there is no one to bequeath anything to her.
 Even if she has no one to look after she will not be left to starve; maintenance of such a
woman is the responsibility of the society as a whole and the state. She must be given aid
or a job to earn her living, and whatever money she makes will be hers. So, in the hardest
situation a woman’s financial responsibility is limited, while a man’s financial
responsibility is unlimivements for Muslim women to seek roles in national leadership
have increased rapidly.
Islamic women and Politics
 Greater opportunities for women in education have further encouraged their involvement
in politics.
 The most prominent Muslim female leaders are former prime minister ofPakistanBenazir
Bhutto (served 1988-1990 and 1993-1996), Indonesian President Megawati
Sukarnoputri(became president 2001), former Turkish Prime Minister Tansu
Ciller(served 1993-1995), former Senegalese Prime Minister Mame Madior
Boye(appointed 2001), Bangladeshi Prime Ministers Begum Khaleda Zia (served 1991–
96 and 2001–06) and Sheikh Hasina Wajed (served 1996-01, 2009–present), former
Iranian Vice PresidentMasoumeh Ebtekar (served 1997–2005), Malian president Cissé
Mariam Kaïdama Sidibé (elected in 2011), Kosovan President Atifete Jahjaga(served
2011–16), current President of Mauritius Bibi Ameenah Firdaus Gurib-Fakim (elected in
2015) and Current President of Singapore Halimah Yacob(elected in 2017)

FRS Notes 4047
 Dar al-Ifta al-Misriyyah, an Islamic institute that advises Egypt's ministry of justice,
issued a fatwa stating that female rulers and judges are allowed in Islam.[2]
 The Qur’an contains verses that appear to support the role of women in politics, such as
its mention of the Queen of Sheba, who represented a ruler who consulted with and made
important decisions on behalf of her people.Further, the Hadith provides numerous
examples of women having public leadership roles. Muhammad’s first wifeKhadija bint
Khuwaylid was his chief adviser as well as his first and foremost supporter. His third
wife Aisha Abu Bakr, a well-known authority in medicine, history, and rhetoric, often
accompanied the Prophet to battles, even leading an army at the Battle of the
Camel.However, it is also within the context of this battle that a famous hadith is ascribed
to Muhammad where he says "Never will succeed such a nation as makes a woman their
ruler."However, contemporary scholars have cast doubt on the authenticity of this Hadith,
citing the odd timing of the Hadith's first release, its contradiction with the verses of the
Quran, and the most likely use of the Hadith for a specific person at the time (Queen of
Persia) rather than as a general rule or advice.
 Though leadership opportunities for Muslim women are cemented in religious text and
continue to expand today, earlier generations had different understandings of women’s
roles.
 Despite modern developments and greater inclusion of Muslim women in political life,
there are Muslims in certain countries who maintain that the ideal Muslim woman should
confine herself to the role of mother and wife.However, there have been scholars in a
variety of religious faiths and cultures that have advocated for the same thing.
Ethics in Islam
Ethics :- Meaning and Definition?
Literal Meaning :- In literal sense the word “ Ethics” means character, nature and disposition.
Technical Meaning :- Ethics is the area of study concerned with what is morally good and what
is morally bad.
-Ethics means “Science of Morals”.

FRS Notes 4047
-Besides this, we can say that ethics is a set of certain rules or a particular code of conduct which
is being provided by a society or a religion. Here we are dealing with Islamic Ethics, so we can
say that Islamic ethics is a set of norms which are guiding a common Muslim so that he may live
good and civilized life.
-Islamic Ethics or “ Ilm al- Akhlaq” is a science which deals with the ways to maintain virtues at
their optimum level, i,e to avoid wrong doing and to do what is right desirable.
-The scope of Islamic ethics is numerous ,far reaching and comprehensive because Islamic
Ethics deals with relationship between man and God , man and his fellow men, and other
creatures of the universe , and man with his innermost self.
-Islamic Ethics not only provide the man with knowledge to distinguish good from bad, justice
from injustice or courage from cowardice theoretically but also acquaints him with practical
knowledge and to him an executer of good morals and an abstainer from bad ones.
-This ethical system is not based on worldly customs and wages but derived from the two main
sources of Islam Viz. Quran ( Devine

FRS Notes 4047
Revelation) and Sunnah, therefore making it universal, perfect and above all valid for all the
times.
Ethical Teachings in the Qu’ran :-
The Ethical Teachings in the Qur’an are :-
1. Worship only Allah :- And your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him ( 17;23)
2. Be Kind, humble and honorable to one’s parents:- And that you be kind ( Dutiful ) to one’s
parents if one of or both of them attain old age in your life, say not to them a word of
disrespect, nor shout at them but address them in terms of honor(17:23/4:36).
3. Be Neither miserly nor wasteful in one’s expenditure: - And spend not wastefully (your
wealth) in the manner of a spendthrift. Verily, spendthrift are brothers of the devils (Shyatin)
(17:26-27).
4. Do not engage in mercy killings for fear of starvation: - And kill not your children for fear
of poverty (starvation). We shall provide for them as well as for you. Surely, the killing of
them is a grave sin (17:31).
5. Do not commit adultery:- And come not near to the unlawful sex. Verily, it is a Fahishah
(grave sin) and an evil way (17:32).
6. Do not kill unjustly:- And don’t kill anyone whose killing Allah has forbidden, expect for
just cause (17:33).
7. Care for orphaned children:- And come not near to the orphan’s property expect to improve
it, until he attains the age of strength (17:34).
8. Fulfill promises:- And fulfill (every) covenant. Verily! The covenant will be questioned about
(17:34).

FRS Notes 4047
9. Be honest and fair in one’s interactions:- And give full measure when you measure and
weigh with a balance that is straight. That is good (advantageous) and better in the end
(17:35).
10. Do not walk on earth arrogantly:- And walk not on earth with conceit and arrogance.
Verily! You can neither rend nor penetrate the earth, nor can you attain a stature like the
mountains in height (17:37/31:18).
11. Fear Allah and speak truth:- O you who believe! Keep your duty to Allah and fear him,
and speak (always) the truth (33:70).
12. Remain away from intoxicants and gambling:- O you who believe! Intoxicants (all kind of
alcoholic drinks), gambling, Al-Ansab and Al-Azlam (arrows for seeking luck or decision)
are an abomination of Satan’s handiwork. So, avoid (strictly all) that (abomination) in order
that you may be successful (5:90).
13. Be good and kind towards relatives and neighbours:- And do good to kinsfolk (relatives),
orphans, the poor, the neighbor who is near of kin, the neighbor who is a stranger, the
company by your side, the wayfarer (you meet) (4:36)
Significance of Ethics:
The significance of ethics can be explained and understood by the following points:-
1. Realization of creator and creation:- Ethics helps in realization of our creator, Allah. It is
because of ethics a man gets acquainted with the purpose of creation also.
2. Elevation and Purification of Souls:- Man's soul gets elevated by the ethics. It also gets Med
and begins to realize the purpose of life on earth.

FRS Notes 4047
3. Abolishment of discrimination:- Ethics plays a pivotal role in promoting equality and

abolishes discrimination on various grounds such as class, creed, caste, color, sex, language,
nationality, religion etc.
4. Civilization of human beings:- Ethics frees human beings from beastly instincts and civilizes
them.
5. Man gets pleasure, goodwill and nearness of God:- It is the quality of ethics by which man
gets pleasure, goodwill and nearness to his creator.
6. Executer of good morals and Abstainer of bad morals:- Ethics helps a man in the execution
of good morals and at the same time he himself abstains from bad morals.
7. Selfishness ends:- A selfless behavior and attitude develops in people because of ethics.
Simplicity, honesty, love, sympathy, piety, justice, truthfulness and modesty become the
virtues of people.
Conclusion
-Islam has the unique capacity to transform its various theological tenets and values into practical
and moral principles.
In fact, the Islamic Shariah was specifically established with an eye to instilling gracious
behavior and lofty morals among its adherents and to refine their characters, all of which
contributes to general well being among people and throughout the land.
-These goals are aimed at guaranteeing a safe and peaceful existence for each person and
protecting all aspects of the lives of individuals, whether in the arena of beliefs, wealth, honor, or
peace of mind.
- According to Islam, human well being begins and ends with manners and morals. It begins with
the call for people to accept guidance and righteousness and culminates in producing behaviors
among human beings indicative of humanity, nobility, and love.

FRS Notes 4047
- Islam has set down laws and rules which, by their nature, serve to ensure the establishment of
good morals and manners within Islamic society, whether at the level of individuals as they deal
with one another or at the level of societies in the greater world.
-These rules ensure the survival and protection of Islam’s ethical structure, thus allowing human
beings to live among one another on the basis of peace and mutual cooperation.
-There are regulations governing the poor due, charity, pledges, expiations, and financial
guarantees as well as rules touching upon joint responsibilities necessary to the preservation of a
stable society among Muslims.
-There are rules regarding the punishment of criminals, traitors, killers, and adulterers due to the
fact that their disregard for moral values poses a threat to the group and transgresses against
society and its integrity.
- It is necessary to treat such offenders harshly in order to guarantee a safe and peaceful society.
Concept of Jihad
Meaning of Jihad
-Jihad is an Arabic term, and its plain connotation is “to strive or work hard for something”. So,
it does not mean “the Holy War” against non- Muslims, which the West has associated with it.
-The absolute analysis of this religious action is divided in to two sections, Major and Minor
Jihad.
-The former is a spiritual effort which binds a Muslim to fight its inner self against the satanic
desires. It is an ongoing process throughout one`s life till death.
-The latter form is the physical struggle against the enemies of Islam. But it is greatly mistaken
as a means of violence, although in Islam, there is no room for killing of blameless, but should
only be used for defending oneself against the enemies.

FRS Notes 4047
- For further elaborating the delicacy of this matter, let us discuss it in the light of the Holy
Quran and the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (PBUH).
Jihad in Quran
-Like any other obligatory and supreme acts in the religion of Islam, Jihad is also a God given
responsibility to the Muslims, which should only be analyzed according to the Sacred Scripture
i.e. The Holy Quran, and not what the uninformed people do by manipulating its actual
denotation. Allah SWT says in Furqan e Hameed:
“The ones who have believed, emigrated and striven in the cause of Allah with their wealth and
their lives are greater in rank in the sight of Allah. And it is those who are the attainers (of
success).” [Quran, 9: 20]
-So, Jihad is actually the name of doing one`s best in terms of both fighting and expending
everything one has.
-As property is among the most important things one has, so it is imperative to spend as much as
one can, besides going in to direct battle with the enemies of Islam.
-Now, the act of warfare needs to be elaborated, as it is greatly misjudged and linked with wrong
motives. Allah Almighty says in the Holy Quran:
“Fight in the way of Allah those who fight you but do not transgress. Indeed. Allah does not like
transgressors.” [Quran, 2: 190]
-The phrase “Who Fight You” clearly indicates that the Almighty has ordered to clash with only
those who brawl with Muslims and try to destroy them.
-So, there is no way one could say that Jihad is an alternate name for spreading aggression and
slaughtering people.
- It also means that one cannot instigate a war against others, but only to defend themselves.

FRS Notes 4047
-After it has become evident that Jihad is only meant for self -defense and not the other way
around, it is necessary to have a look at the following verse in the same Chapter (Surah
Baqarah):
“And kill them wherever you overtake them and expel them from wherever they have
expelled you ……… And if they cease, then indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.” [Quran, 2:
191-192]
-Haters of Islam only quote the very first line of the above verses, and argue that Muslims are
cruel and are meant to kill others wherever they find them, but that is not actually true.
- It has been added in the following verse by Allah SWT that if they ask for mercy, then there is
no need to fight and kill them.
-This is the whole concept of Jihad from above lines of Quran and it should not be misquoted.
-On another instant, the Almighty said:
“Would you not fight a people who broke their oaths and determined to expel the Messenger, and
they had begun [the attack upon] you the first time? Do you fear them? But Allah has more right
that you should fear Him, if you are [truly] believers. [Quran, 9: 13]
-So, its crystal clear from the previous lines of Quran that combating is only obligated once
Muslims are under attack, and when they need to protect themselves.
-Jihad is said to be “fighting for the cause of Allah”, but there is increased requisite to
comprehend what this phrase actually means, as the word fighting is being misused by extremist
organizations operating in different regions of the word and portray it as the religious duty. Allah
SWT says in the Holy Quran:
“And what is [the matter] with you that you fight not in the cause of Allah and [for] the
oppressed among men, women, and children who say, “Our Lord, take us out of this city of
oppressive people and appoint for us from Yourself a protector and appoint for us from Yourself
a helper?” [Quran, 4: 75]

FRS Notes 4047
-Many of the believers and newly admitted persons to Islam still resided in the land of Makkah
even after mass migration to Madina of Muslims under the Messenger (PBUH) of God earlier.
- Those who were left behind were severely dealt with and oppressed by the polytheists and
disbelievers.
-Then, God, the Exalted directed Muslims to help them save from tyranny and repression they
were facing.
-It means that effort made for this cause is Jihad and is dear to Allah.
-So, the perception of Jihad in Quran revolves around striving in Allah`s Cause, fighting when
being attacked by rivals, helping out the oppressed ones, and have peace if they cease to fight.
Islam and Environment.
-Environment protection is an important aspect of Islam. Being stewards of the Earth, it is the
responsibility of Muslims to care for the environment in a proactive manner.
-There is a definite purpose behind the creation of different species, be it plants or animals.
- Muslims are encouraged to reflect on the relationship between living organisms and their
environment and to maintain the ecological balance created by Allah.
- Protection of the environment is essential to Islamic beliefs and mankind has the responsibility
to ensure safe custody of the environment.
Environment Protection and Resource Conservation
-The Islamic perspective on environment protection reflects a positive image about Islam and
how it embraces every single matter the humans face on earth.
- The Islamic attitude towards environment and natural resource conservation is not only based
on prohibition of over-exploitation but also on sustainable development. The Holy Quran says:

FRS Notes 4047
"It is He who has appointed you viceroys in the earth … that He may try you in what He has
given you." (Surah 6:165)
-"O children of Adam! … eat and drink: but waste not by excess, for Allah loves not the wasters."
(Surah 7:31)
-Prophet Muhammad (SAW) encouraged the planting of trees and the cultivation of agriculture
which are considered as good acts.
-This is illustrated in the following traditions: Narrated by Anas bin Malik (RA) that Allah’s
Messenger (SAW) said: "There is none amongst the Muslims who plants a tree or sows seeds,
and then a bird, or a person or an animal eats from it, but is regarded as a charitable gift for
him." (Bukhari).
-Islam is against the cutting or destruction of plants and trees unnecessarily as is evident in the
following Hadith: Abdullah ibn Habashi reported that Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said: "He
who cuts a lote-tree [without justification], Allah will send him to Hellfire." (Abu Dawud).
-The lote-tree grows in the desert and is very much needed in an area which has scarce
vegetation.
-The devastation caused by deforestation in many countries causes soil erosion and kills many of
the biodiversity of the earth.
-The approach of Islam towards the use of natural resources was brilliantly put forward by the
Fourth Caliph Hazrat Ali ibn Abi-Talib (RA) who said “Partake of it gladly so long as you are
the benefactor, not a despoiler; a cultivator, not a destroyer.
-All human beings as well as animals and wildlife enjoy the right to share Earth’s resources.
Man’s abuse of any resource is prohibited as the juristic principle says ‘What leads to the
prohibited is itself prohibited”.
- The Messenger of Allah (Peace Be Upon Him) forbade that a person relieve himself in a water
source or on a path or in a place of shade or in the burrow of a leaving creature.
-These values highlight Islam’s stress on avoiding pollution of critical resources and importance
of cleanliness.

FRS Notes 4047
Spreading Environmental Awareness
-There are various ways which you can raise environmental awareness in your personal and
professional circles.
-The popularization of social networking among young generation makes it easier and attractive
to spread environmental awareness using Facebook, Twitter, Google+ etc. A simple and
effective method which I use is the distribution of QR Codes (Quick Response Codes) in my
college campus.
-Another great idea would be to start your own school, college or workplace campaign for
planting trees.
-Students, faculty members and co-workers can be motivated to donate a nominal amount of
money towards plantation campaign. Keeping plants around your home, school or workplace is
not only aesthetic and decorative but also keep you healthy and improve indoor air quality.
According to Hazrat Jabir (RA) reported that Prophet Muhammad [S.A.W] said: “No Muslim,
who plants a shoot, except that whatever is eaten or stolen from it, or anyone obtains the least
thing from it, is considered [like paying] almsgiving on his behalf until the Day of Judgement."
(Muslim)
Conclusion
-Environmental awareness and protection of natural resource is an integral part of Islamic

beliefs. As viceroys of Allah on this earth, we have to utilize natural resources in a sustainable
manner in order to ensure that Allah’s Bounties to continue.
-The principle of conservation is beautifully illustrated by the rule which says that while making
ablutions (wudu) we should be abstemious in the use of water even if we have a river at our
disposal.
-As humans, we are keepers of all creation, including soil, air, water, animals and trees.

FRS Notes 4047
-A major objective of Islamic teachings and Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) traditions is to build
and maintain a healthy and clean environment which is devoid of any source of pollution and
misuse.
PRINCIPLES OF GOOD GOVERNANCE IN ISLAM
-The word Islam is derived from Arabic word S L M and its mean surrender, obedient and as
well as peace and this mean that a person can have a physical and mental peace only when he
fully surrenders to all mighty GOD
-This religious system is been start by Muhammad SWT Peace be up him at seventh century and
Islam is one of the fastest growing religions in the world and in each five person one is a Muslim
in all around the world there is 3 million of the Muslims (Malik, 2003)
-The Holy Quran describes good governance as the law of justice, a just and principled order and
compliance of rights and responsibilities in a society.
-The Qur’an declares: “Those when given authority in land, establish (system of) salah, give
zakah and enjoin what is good (mauruf) and forbid what is wrong (munkar) (Quran, al-Hajj,
22:41)
-It further says: “O you who believe stand up as a witness for Allah in all fairness, and do not let
the hatred of people deviate you from justice (‘adl). Be just, this is closest to piety (Quran, Al-
Maidah, 5:8)
-Islamic view of good governance is qualitative and not mechanical. Major features of good
governance can be précised under seven fundamentals
1. Rules of Law (As-Shura)
2. Khilafah
3. Accountability
4. Transparency
5. Justice

FRS Notes 4047
6. Equity
7. Al-amr bil maruf wa nahi an al-munkar
1. Rules of Law ( As-Shura)
-As-shura is one of the most important constitutional principles in the Islamic Law. As it’s very
important that’s why it’s been mentioned in Quran Moreover, a sura (chapter) in the holy Qur’an
was named after that principle. It is called “Shura”. This show the importance of this principle in
all the affairs of Muslims.
-The whole system of the Islamic state from its beginning to the selection of the Khalifa of the
state and all those in key positions as well as its communications must be led by Shura, so it
should be carried out directly or indirectly over selected or nominated councils
-There is mention in Quran: O you, who believe, be custodians of justice (and) witness for Allah,
even though against yourselves or your parents or your relatives. Whether a man is rich or poor,
Allah is the greatest well-wisher than you. So follow nor the behests of lust, lest you swerve
from justice (Quran, An-Nisa, 4:135)
-Even the Prophet, although he was the receiver of direct guidance from the Almighty Allah, was
command-ed. Allah says:
-Consult them in affairs (of moment). Then, when you have to take a decision put the trust in
Allah. For Allah loves those who put their trust (in Him). (Quran, Al-Imran, 3:159)
-Following this advice and lead, Khalifa Umar admonished that:
-There is no khilafah without consultation.
-Thus, The same mechanism was followed by the follower of Muhammad SWT for the selection
of Khalifa and It was the first Muslim elected four khulafah guidance, although the selection and
approval process varies. The important principle is the truth and accountability and public
confidence in those elected by the community.
The importance of Shura
-The basic fundamentals of Islamic political system is called Shura.its is responsible for all the
affairs of Muslims .Thus, the Islamic state might have preceded the modern democratic systems
FRS Notes 4047
with regard to the necessity of agreement over choosing the one who runs its affairs and cares for
its interests, something which stresses the value and effectiveness of unanimity among Muslims
(Al-Nuzum, p24, 25) .
2. Khilafah
-Khalifa is an Arabic word means successor. The word caliph is simply an Anglicized version of
khalifa. The terms khilafat and caliphate, though derived from khalifa and caliph individually,
have different meanings.
-Khilafat refers to the Islamic institution of spiritual successor ship, whereas caliphate indicates a
politico-religious Muslim state governed by a caliph
-When the Prophet Muhammed SAW past a way in (632 C.E.), Hazrat Abu Bakr succeeded to
his spiritual, administrative purposes as successor of the messenger of God (khalifa rasul Allah).
Bernard Lewis, the preeminent historian of Islam, observes:
“Abu Bakr was given the title of Khalifa or ‘Deputy’ (of the prophet) … and his election marks
the appointment of the great historic institution of the Caliphate.
-His voters can have no idea of later purposes and growth of the office. At the time, they made
no effort to define his duties or powers.
-The only state of his selection was the maintenance of the inheritance of the Prophet.” (Lewis,
1993)
-Allah has promised to those among you who believe and act rightly, that He will surely make
them Successors (khalifas) in the earth, as He made Successors from among those who were
before them; and that He will surely establish for them their religion, which He has chosen for
them; and that He will surely grant them security and peace in place of their fear (Quran, Alnoor,
24:54)
-In this verse, the Holy Quran presents the institution of khilafat as a reward for collective virtue.
It is often understood to provide a basis for an Islamic organization founded upon the democratic
lines headed by a khalifa whose office is, in principle, elective and bound by the Quran and the
sunnah.

FRS Notes 4047
-In a well-known hadith, the Prophet Muhammad SWT is reported to have observed:
-Prophet Hood shall remain among you as long as God wills.
-Then khilafat on the pattern of prophet hood will commence and remain as long as He wills. A
corrupt monarchy shall then follow and it shall remain as long as God wills.
-There shall then be a oppressive despotism which shall remain as long as God wills. Then once
again khilafat will arise on the principle of prophet hood (Masnad-Ahmad)
-This hadith not only reassures us about the repetition of well guided khilafat but it also permits a
historical judgment on what was to follow the early Khilafat.
-The famous historian of Islam, Muhammad SWT ibn Jarir Al Tabari, narrates the following
incident
-Umar said to Salman: ‘Am I a king or a khalifa?’ and Salman answered: ‘If you have levied
from the lands of the Muslims one dirham, or more, or less, and applied it unlawfully, you are a
king not a khalifa’. And Umar wept
-Here Hazrat Umar, the second Khalifa, whose goodness, sense of justice, and puritanical
strictness were well-known, came to tears by the mere mention of the possibility of misusing a
single coin from the public exchequer.
-This incidence underscores the characteristic of the rightly-guided khilafat. (Al Tabari, Tarikh
al-Rusul Wal Muluk)
-As God’s sovereignty extends over the universe, the final ideal of a public in Islam is a
universal federation or association of independent states, related together for maintenance
freedom of integrity, for the maintenance of peace, and for cooperation in promoting human
welfare throughout the world (Khan, Feb 1993)
-A khalifa has the promise of divine support so long as it remains firmly based on the precept of
prophet hood – that is, the principles and prototypes demonstrated by prophets.
-He is bound by the rules of great law. He decides questions of rule after discussion with the
chosen representatives of the people.

FRS Notes 4047
-In governing the corporation, man is seen as the essential element for the system to be
effectively working in the right way. As man is the shareholder, creditor, examiner, regulator,
manager as well as the director thus, its manifest that man plays the principal roles in managing
and led to the accomplishment of company’s vision and mission.
-The issues of man in term of values, ethics and moral conduct therefore need to be well detained
in the first place to ensure the concern of the society could be taken care.
-The concern among other things are maintenance trust, maintaining honesty, exercising
transparency and accountability, traditional in managing resources, caring and concern of the
environment.
-The failure to impress these values may pose serious problem to the public at large.
3. Accountability
-In the Holy Qur'an, the word hesab is repeated more than eight times in different verses (F,
1997) Hesab or 'account' is the root of accounting, and the references in the Holy Qur'an are to
'account' in its generic sense, relating to one's responsibility to 'account' to God on all matters
relating to human effort for which every Muslim is 'accountable'.
-The Muslims believe in the terms of accountability that they will be judged for whatever they do
in this world in the hereafter (life after death).
- In Islam, It’s the duty of each Muslim to fulfill the wills of Allah in order to seek his pleasure
and the promised prizes in the life after death.
-Thus, it requires every action and word in this world must be in line with the Islamic teachings.
It does not matter what action the Muslims do either ibadah (solah) or purchasing shares in the
stock market, eating , sleeping like daily jobs they must follow the Islamic teaching framework
carefully.
- The importance of accountability to the man’s life also has been mentioned by Holy Quran: “…
Lo the hearing and the sight and the heart – of each of these will be asked” (Quran, Bani Israill,
17:36)

FRS Notes 4047
-Abdullah reported that Allah’s Messenger Muhammad SWT said: Every one of you is a
guardian and accountable (mas’ul) for his charge.
-Thus the Khalifa is a custodian of the people and He is responsible for them.
- And a man is a guardian of his household and he is accountable for them; and a woman is in
charge of the household and her children and she is accountable for them; and a servant is
guardian of his master’s property, every one of you is accountable for his subjects (Bukhari)
-In the view of corporate governance practices, as far as Islam is concerned, the country
directors, management as well as the auditor should perform their professional duties with the
objective of satisfying the needs of the Public and to Allah as well.
- Supposing, there should be no such disease (i.e. fraud; material misstatement) exist in the
country if this concept could be affected and could be reflected in their conducts. Unfortunately,
most of them have been followed by the physical experienced life which has led to the bad
behaviors that cause the owners (community) of the country suffer the penalties.
4. Transparency
-The concept of transparency has been divulged by Allah in the following Ayat: “O you who
believe! When you deal with each other, in transactions involving future obligations in a fixed
period of time, reduce them to writing. Let a scribe write-down faithfully as between the
parties…” (Quran, Al-Baqarah, Beginning of the Ayat, 2:282). This verse states that every
transaction must be written to avoid justice.
-Applying the concept of transparency, corporation should also disclose information regarding its
strategy, actions, contribution to the community and the use of resources and protection of
environment (Haniffa, 2002)
-Transparency is the necessity for openness in all public affairs.
-Transparency allows Committee to gather information that may be unsafe to exposure misuses
and defending their benefits.

FRS Notes 4047
-According to Ayee transparency entails that: citizens have a right to available information
pertaining to, for example, award of contracts, privatization of state enterprises, rules against
corruption or the funding of political parties (Ayee, 2000).
-A transparent government is that which offers chance to citizens to find out the true proofs at
first hand, without the material being changed or presented through a misrepresenting mirror.
-In core, transparency is basically concerned with open and established system of government,
the extermination of corruption and the institutionalization of a system that is fair, just and based
on the rule of law.
-Transparency or openness in governance is important in the process of growth.
- It is serious in the elimination of corruption and the promotion of responsibility in the conduct
of government business.
-Today, the quest for transparent performance has become a world-wide phenomenon with the
Transparency International.
5. Justice
-In the Islamic worldview, justice means placing things in their rightful place. It also means
giving others equal treatment.
-In Islam, justice is also an honest quality and a feature of human personality, as it is in the
Western tradition. Justice is close to equality in the wisdom that it creates a state of equilibrium
in the distribution of rights and duties, but they are not equal.
-Sometimes, justice is accomplished through inequality, like in unequal distribution of wealth.

(Muslims)
-Justice in the Islamic governmental system, including social justice, which means that the
government should arrange to meet and please the needs and needs of all the people as they have
a valid part of the country and citizens of the country.
-This contains the facility of job, means of existence and financial justice.
-This in turn suggests that it is the duty of the government to provide food, housing and clothing
for all the people in the country.
FRS Notes 4047
-Economic justice aimed at equitable supply of lifestyle and checks the awareness of wealth in a
few hands.
The Importance of Justice
-The Quran, the holy scripture of Islam, considers justice to be a highest virtue. It is a basic
objective of Islam to the degree that it stands next in order of importance to belief in God’s
exclusive right to worship (Tawheed) and the truth of Muhammad SWT prophet hood. God
declares in the Quran: God commands justice and fair dealing... (Quran, Al-Nahal, 16:90).
And in another passage:
“you who believe, be upright for God, and (be) bearers of witness with justice!.. (Quran, Al-
Mayeeda, 5:8).
-Therefore, one may achieve that justice is an responsibility of Islam and unfairness is forbidden.
The importance of justice to the Quranic value system is showed by the following verse:
-We sent Our Messengers with clear signs and sent down with them the Book and the Measure in
order to establish justice among the people… (Quran, Al-Hadeed, 57:25).
-The phrase ‘Our Messengers’ shows that justice has been the goal of all admission and
scriptures sent to humanity.
-The verse also shows that justice must be measured and applied by the values and rules set by
admission. Islam’s approach to justice is complete and complete.
-Any path that leads to justice is believed to be in accord with Islamic Law.
-God has required justice and, although He has not prescribed a definite path, has provided
general rules, on how to achieve it.
-He has neither given a fixed means by which it can be found, nor has He stated unacceptable
any specific means or methods that can lead to justice.
-Therefore, all means, processes, and methods that enable, improve, and advance the cause of
justice, and do not interrupt the Islamic Law are valid (Qarzawi)
6. Equity

FRS Notes 4047
-The principle of equality is one of the most important constitutional principles upon which the
contemporary system rests.
-This means that the principle of equality contained in the individual communities are equal in
rights, responsibilities and public duties that will be enjoyed by all without discrimination of
race, origin, lan-measure or belief.
-The principle of equality has been initiated by the Qur'an and Sunnah and the expansion of
Islam during some as a precedent in Islamic law and its own time and place
-This value of equality is not to be incorrect for or confused with similarity or stereotype. Islam
teaches that in the view of Allah Almighty, all people are equal, but they are not necessarily
indistinguishable.
-There are variances of capabilities, abilities, determinations, wealth and so on.
-Yet, none of these differences can by themselves found the status of lead of one man or race
over another.
-The standard of man, his skin color, the amount of capital he has and the degree of respect he
enjoys has no attitude on the personality of the individual as far as Allah is concerned.
-The only difference, which Allah identifies, is the difference in religiousness the only standard
which Allah applies, is the standard of goodness and spiritual excellence.
- In the Quran, Allah Almighty Says (what means): O mankind, indeed we have created you from
male and female, and have made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another.
Indeed the most honored of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous. Indeed, Allah is
Knowing and Acquainted (Quran, Al-Hujrat, 49:13) .
-This is to declare that in Islam, no nation is made to be above other nations or to rise above
them.
-Man's value in the eyes of men and in the eyes of Allah is determined by the good he does, and
by his respect to Allah.
-The differences of race, color or social status are only supplementary.
-They do not affect the true standing of man in the vision of Allah.
FRS Notes 4047
-Again, the value of equality is not simply a substance of constitutional rights or the agreement
of nobles or condescending charity.
-It is an article of trust, which the Muslim takes seriously and to which the must follow honestly.
-The fundamentals of this Islamic value of equality are extremely deep-rooted in the arrangement
of Islam. It stems from basic ideologies such as the following:
-All men are created by One and the Same Eternal God, the Supreme Lord of all.
-All mankind belong to the human race and share equally in the common parentage of Aadam
(Adam) and Eve (Hawa).
-Allah is Just and Kind to all His creatures. He is not partial to any race, age or religion. The
whole Universe is His Dominion and all people are His creatures.
-All people are born equal, in the sense that no one brings any possession with him; and they die
equal in the sense that they take back nothing of their worldly belongings.
-Allah judges every person on the basis of his own merits and according to his own deeds.
-Allah has discussed on man, a title of honor and dignity.
-Those were some of the principles behind the value of equality in Islam. When this concept is
fully utilized, it will leave no place for prejudgment or harassments.
- And when this Great rule is fully applied, there will be no room for domination or conquest.
-Concepts of chosen and gentile peoples, words such as ‘privileged’ and ‘condemned’ races,
words such as “social classes” and “citizens” will all become worthless and outdated.
-Prophet Muhammad SWT said: O mankind, your Lord is one and your father is one. You all
descended from Aadam, and Aadam was created from earth.
-He is most honored among you in the sight of God who is most upright.
-No Arab is superior to a non-Arab, no colored person to a white person, or a white person to a
colored person except by Taqwa (piety) (At-Tirmithi).

FRS Notes 4047
-Therefore, it would be improbable to declare the complete equality of human beings, although
humans are essentially equal in rights, duties and accountability, and there is some degree of
similarity in physical and mental behaviors, which enables them to understand and apply rules
and laws.
-At the same time, it is understandable that there is a natural range among human beings in terms
of qualities and abilities; therefore there will be limits in natural, common and political positions.
Some of the limits are temporary, some permanent; some are rare, some regular.
- However, a control is specific to a particular situation. It may not be generalized to inequality

in other rights.
-A person who is morally upright is not equal to a staff in terms of morality, but they may be
equal otherwise.
-Nor is an intelligent person equal to a dull one, but they are equal in other spheres. In the same
way, a woman is not indistinguishable to man in her characters, gifts and skills.
7.Al-amr bil maruf wa nahi an al-munkar
-Amongst the greatest responsibilities are amr-bil-Ma’roof (ordering for acknowledged virtues)
and nahi anil munkar (forbidding from sin). Allah says: “And there should be a group amongst
you who invite towards good, order for acknowledged virtues, forbid from sin and these it is that
are the successful ones” (Quran, Al-Imran, 3:104).
-The Holy Prophet said: “How will it be for you when your women will commit sins and your
youth will transgress and you will not order for acknowledged virtues nor forbid from sin? It was
said to him: “Will that happen O messenger of Allah?” Then he said: Yes. Then he said: “How
will it be for you when you order for sins and forbid from acknowledged virtues?” Then it was
said to him: “O messenger of Allah! Will that happen?” Then he said: “Yes and worse than that
how will it be for you when you perceive acknowledged virtue as sin and perceive sin as
acknowledged virtue?”
-Imam Sadiq said: Woe to the people who do not support the religion of Allah by enjoining good
and forbidding evil (Sadiq)
-The expression 'amr bi al-ma'ruf wa-nahy an al-munkar' is a very important one.

FRS Notes 4047
-It is associated to Jihad, that is, doing one's highest to understand a aim.
-Jihad is not essentially war fought on the battlefield for which the specific Arabic and Quranic
term is 'qital.' Jihad has a very wide meaning and states to striving for the cause of Allah
Almighty to promote goodness and eliminate evil. A mujahid is a person who carries out Jihad or
works hard for the cause of endorsing the values of the Glorious Quran.
-Thus, Amr bil ma‘ruf wa nahy an al-munkar which means ordering good and forbidding evil, is
a Jihad related principle.
-It seeks to intelligently carry the benefits of Islam to the people and to inform them of the
meaning of what devil do.
-The Quran calls Muslims the model community which requires to convey the Prophet message
to entire humanity and to live the Quran, just as the Prophet did.
"Amr bil Ma'ruf wa Nahy an al Munkar" is an important Islamic duty, together believed by all
Muslims. The difference is in the understanding of it.
-Some consider that it is enough to accomplish the duty by the "heart and tongue," which means
one should support al-ma'ruf and oppose al-munkar in his heart and use his tongue to speak out
for al-ma'ruf and against al-munkar.
-But there are some who justify taking up arms (if necessary) for the sake of fulfilling this duty.
MARRIAGE IN ISLAM.
-Islam, unlike other religions is a strong advocate of marriage. There is no place for celibacy
like, for example the Roman Catholic priests and nuns.
-The prophet has said "there is no celibacy in Islam”.
-Marriage is a religious duty and is consequently a moral safeguard as well as a social necessity.
Islam does not equal celibacy with high "taqwa" / "Iman".
The prophet has also said, "Marriage is my tradition who so ever keeps away there from is not
from amongst me".

FRS Notes 4047
-Marriage acts as an outlet for sexual needs and regulate it so one does not become a slave to his/
her desires.
-It is a social necessity because through marriage, families are established and the family is the
fundamental unit of our society. Furthermore, marriage is the only legitimate or halal way to
indulge in intimacy between a man and a woman.
-Islam takes a middle of the road position to sexual relations , it neither condemns it like certain
religions, nor does it allow it freely.
- Islam urges us to control and regulate our desires, whatever they may be so that we remain
dignified and not become like animals.
The purpose of Marriage.
-The word "zawj" is used in the Qur'an to mean a pair or a mate. In general it usage refers to
marriage.
-The general purpose of marriage is that the sexes can provide company to one another, love to
one another, procreate children and live in peace and tranquility to the commandments of Allah.
- Marriage serves as a means to emotional and sexual gratification and as a means of tension
reduction.
- It is also a form of Ibadah because it is obeying Allah and his messenger - i.e. Marriage is seen
as the only possible way for the sexes to unite.
-One could choose to live in sin, however by choosing marriage one is displaying obedience to
Allah.
-Marriage is "mithaq" - a solemn covenant (agreement). It is not a matter which can be taken
lightly. It should be entered into with total commitment and full knowledge of what it involves. It
is not like buying a new dress where you can exchange it if you don't like it.
-Your partner should be your choice for life.
-One should be mature enough to understand the demands of marriage so that the union can be a
lasting one.

FRS Notes 4047
Divorce in Isam
Causes of Divorce in Islam religion
-Islam tolerates divorce and separation of a husband and wife under specific conditions;
however, Islam regards divorce as abhorrent and reprehensible.
-Islam holds divorce as an extremely ugly and vile act, which must be avoided within the bounds
of possibility as it even rocks the very Throne of God.
-Even though it has not been forbidden, for various reasons, it is severely condemned. In order to
prevent divorce, Islam campaigns against its causes, some of which are enumerated below:
-One influential factor for divorce is the disheartenment of a husband for his legitimate wife and
his fondness and affection towards non-mahram women.
1.The chief instrument for this is lack of adequate Hijab among women and leering in men.
When a man looks upon a woman who is more beautiful and attractive than his own wife he may
become infatuated with her and become disheartened with his wife. Little by little he makes
familial life bitter by finding faults, seeking excuses, and picking quarrels, which might
ultimately lead to divorce.
-In order to keep this from happening, on the one hand, Islam enjoins women to observe Hijab,
cover their attractions from men, and refrain from being alluring for anyone but their own
husbands. On the other hand, Islam directs men to abstain from looking at, and joking and
bantering with non-mahram women. If their eyes happen upon a non-mahram woman, they must
not linger and immediately look away.
2. Another agent for divorce is indifference of spouses towards one other and apathy and lack of
passion in fulfillment of the sexual needs of one another. Many divorces and deviations occur
when a husband or wife is not sufficiently sexually gratified.
-To prevent this, Islam instructs women to wear their best clothes when at home, make
themselves up according to their husbands’ wishes, and display themselves with ardent fervor.
-Moreover, Islam charges men to observe cleanliness and personal hygiene, style themselves,
and show a handsome and warm demeanor for their wives.

FRS Notes 4047
-Furthermore, Islam advises both women and men that when making love and performing sexual
acts, they must not only think of their own pleasure and release but seek to give pleasure and
gratification to their partner also.
3. A third catalyst for divorce is misconduct, discourteousness, carping, picking quarrels, and
stubbornness in a husband, wife, or both. Statistics show that the prime reason for most divorces
is behavior incompatibility of spouses.
-Islam strives to pre-empt these factors and strengthen the cornerstones of the holy institution of
family by prescribing various rights and responsibilities for men and women.
- In addition, it advises against selfishness, egocentricity, autocracy, and recalcitrance, and

advocates tolerance, forgiveness, and resolving differences with reason, fairness and affection.
-The moral obligations of both women and men have been explicated in detail in various books
on ethics, but some of these have been indicated in chapter five.
-Islam has also anticipated the need for a team of arbitrators to resolve the disputes of spouses
and preclude divorce.
-This team consists of two mediators; one chosen by the wife’s family, and one by the husband’s.
-They may be of the couple’s family or unrelated.
NB:There are many other causes of divorce, such as lack of harmony between the spouses, such
that one of them does not love the other, or neither of them loves the other; or a bad attitude on
the wife’s part, or her failure to listen to and obey her husband with regard to things that are good
and proper; or a bad attitude on the part of the husband and his mistreating her and being unfair
to her; or inability on the part of either spouse to fulfill the rights of the other; or sin on the part
of one or both of them, which may generate a bad atmosphere between them and eventually lead
to divorce, such as use of intoxicants and tobacco on the part of either spouse; or a bad
atmosphere between the wife and one or both parents of the husband; or a lack of wisdom in
dealing with one another; or the wife’s failure to keep herself clean and make herself attractive to
her husband by wearing nice clothes, smelling good, speaking nice words and greeting him with
a smiling face when they meet.

FRS Notes 4047
Islam and NGOs
-While the definition of a non-governmental organization (NGO) is commonly agreed in the

West
- the notion of Islamic NGOs is more controversial and surely wider in its scope. Some scholars
refer to them as Muslim NGOs or associations, others as Islamic Social Institutions; their
common denominator however is their faith-based character and the fact that they do not openly
belong to the governmental apparatus.
-For this reason, for the purpose of this work, we will use the term Islamic NGOs and refer to the
formal and informal organizations that carry out aid work on the basis of their Islamic faith,
while using Islamic charitable funds.
-The phenomenon of Islamic NGOs began to emerge in Africa in the middle of the 1970s and
went through a phase of exponential growth between 1980 and 2000 [Salih 2004].
1.The major factor in this growth was the economic crisis that affected African societies in the
post-independence era, creating situations of humanitarian emergency.
-The crisis was caused by the oil embargoes of 1973 and 1979, imposed by Saudi Arabia and the
Arab oil-producing nations in support of the war effort of Egypt, Jordan and Syria against Israel
and her allies.
-In 1973 Saudi Arabia suspended the supply of oil as a retaliatory measure, causing a dramatic
price rise.
-This led on one hand to severe economic crises in Africa and in the West, and on the other to an
influx of enormous sums of money to the Arab oil-producing countries, part of which went to
finance the Islamic humanitarian sector and its organizations.
-Thus the oil embargoes can be said to have produced the phenomenon of “Islamic
humanitarianism”, mobilising religious associations to supply humanitarian aid and provide
social services for the benefit of populations affected by the economic crisis.

FRS Notes 4047
-Economic crises, natural catastrophes and the numerous civil wars which plagued the African
continent from the late eighties gave rise to a significant increase in the need for humanitarian
aid among African populations.
-This increasing need coincided with a general withdrawal on the part of African countries from
providing social welfare, due to the economic reforms imposed by the World Bank and
International Monetary Fund.
-During the 1980s the African countries proved incapable of intervening in support of the victims
of political and natural emergencies, and this left scope and opportunities for the Islamic NGOs
to play a part in the provision of social services and humanitarian aid, above all in predominantly
Muslim African nations.
2. A second factor that favoured the emergence of Islamic NGOs was the development of the
Islamist movements from 1979 onwards, following the creation in Iran of an overtly theocratic
Islamic state under the Ayatollah Khomeini.
-The foundation of this Islamic state had important repercussions in the Arab world and
triggered off the rise of Islamist movements in Africa too, with the aim of reforming the secular
state and promoting a political vision of religion.
-This process has been described as the Islamic Resurgence by John Esposito, and subsequently
by other authoritative scholars of Islam such as Jilles Kepel and Oliver Roy.
-The Islamic aid organizations developed in parallel with the Islamist movements, either as direct
offshoots or as affiliated or supportive organizations, often to create sympathisers or to mobilise
human and financial resources.
-The Islamic NGOs created in the Arab countries and in the Middle East took root in Africa
thanks to the African diasporas.
-The process of migration towards the main countries that were fostering Islamist movements
brought young Muslims from the African nations affected by the emergencies into contact with
the nascent reforming ideals.
-When they returned to their countries these young Muslims formed associations to promote the
new ideals, together with Islamic NGOs to provide humanitarian aid and basic social services.

FRS Notes 4047
-Thus the migratory processes and the African diasporas were fundamental factors in the spread
of Islamic NGOs in Africa
ISLAM AND CONFLICT TRANSFORMATION.
-According to the Qur'an, Islam is what all prophets and messengers of God, from Adam to
Muhammad and others in between (peace and God's Blessings on them all), preached and
practiced. And that is what they asked from their people:
-That is to submit to one God and to work for peace.
-This was the message of Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Ishmael, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad (Peace
and God's Blessings on them all).
-Therefore, Islam advocates living in peace with God - the Creator and Lord of all that exists.
-As well as, seeking peace within our own selves, and living in peace with other human beings,
and in peace with our surroundings and environment in its entirety.
-All conflicts - whether they are interpersonal, or within the family and community, or national
and international disturb this relationship of peace.
-The Islamic principles of peace-building enunciated in the Qur'an also affirm that all of human
beings have a common origin .
-In fact, this basic concept is enshrined in the very first words that a Muslim says when he/she is
born or on accepting Islam, commonly known as Shahada.
-Along with this commonality, Islam confers 'dignity' and respect on a human simply by virtue
of being a human.
-This, as the Qur'an says "We have conferred dignity on the progeny of Adam" (Al Isra 17:70).
-This dignity is bestowed by God on all humans regardless of their ethnicity, religion, tribe, or
nationality.
-Peace in Islam is not a passive concept but requires individuals and communities to take action.
"Ihsan" describes peace as a collective responsibility that requires concrete involvement .

FRS Notes 4047
-The "Hadith" encourages people to actively change the evil that they see and change their own
conditions by doing good.
-These are all tenets that can be drawn from to teach on the co-creation by disputants of peace
agreements that promote social responsibility towards one another as parties seek to move
forward.
CHRISTIANITY
Authority of the Bible
-For the record, we believe that all of the main denominations of Christianity are accepted and
honored by God the Father.
-As we all know, the Christian faith has been divided up into many different denominations such
as the Baptists, Catholics, Presbyterians, Methodists, Pentecostals, Charismatics, Episcopalians,
Lutherans, etc.
- denominationalism is actually an offense against God, as He obviously would like to have all of
His Body to be unified as one with Him, not being divided up into all of these different
denominations.
-We only have one God and one Bible, but yet we have all of these different denominations. As a
result of this big divide in the Body of Christ, we do not present to the rest of the world a
perfectly unified Body.
-The Bible tells us that we will only know in part while we are all down here, so it should come
as no surprise that there are going to be some major differences between some of us on
interpreting different parts of the Bible.
-As a result of many of these different interpretations of the Bible over the years, the Body of
Christ has now been split up into all of these different denominations.
-But though the Body of Christ has now been split up into all of these different denominations,
this should still not prevent us in making sure that all of these different denominations stay true
and loyal to the basic tenets of the Christian faith.

FRS Notes 4047
-We believe that as long as all of these different denominations stay true and loyal to the basic
tenets of the Christian faith, that God will still continue to work with all of them.
-But if any one of them ever start to get off into any serious error on any one of these basic
tenets, they could then get themselves into serious trouble with the Lord, as I do not believe there
is any slack with the Lord on any of these basic fundamental tenets.
Relationship between old and new testament
-The relationship between the Old Testament and the New Testament reflects both the continuity
and discontinuity between the Christian and Israelite faiths.
-Christians believe God had one plan for salvation that was revealed first to the Israelites and
then to all peoples through Jesus Christ.
-The New Testament and Old Testament, then, tell one ongoing story of salvation. At the same
time, the authors of the New Testament were proposing something radically new: Jesus’
fulfillment of the Israelites’ hope in God’s promises.
-For the New Testament writers, the Old Testament was holy scripture.
-To tell the story of Jesus, those authors relied largely on the vocabulary and methods of reading
scripture that already existed in the Jewish world.
-According to one scholarly estimate, the New Testament has more than 4,000 references to the
Old Testament; thus the books of the Old Testament have been important for Christians and
remain, in the words of the Second Vatican Council’s Dei Verbum (Dogmatic Constitution on
Divine Revelation), “permanently valuable” because they were “written under divine
inspiration.”
-The Old Testament can be viewed more easily through historical and prophetic eyes, and is a
necessary preface to the content of the New Testament that follows.
-The Old Testament begins with Creation and follows with a covenant relationship theme
between God and humans, albeit a select and pioneering group, beginning with Abraham and on
through to the ancient Israelites.

FRS Notes 4047
-Woven throughout the Old Testament narrative of people, places and historical events is the
divine and sovereign first cause of “ONE GOD” and His direct influence on the lives of his
people in this world.
-This gives rise to those men of God, such as David, Isaiah and Ezekiel, having experienced a
level of prophetic utterance that spoke not only to the ancient Israelites immediate life situation,
but also of realities, events and things far into the future.
-Examples of this are the messianic prophecies beginning in the Garden of Eden account, in
Moses’ writings and on through the prophets, such as Isaiah, predicting the Messiah.
Concept of sin
What Is Sin - A Biblical Perspective
-Sin is mentioned hundreds of times in the Bible, starting with the "original" sin when Adam and
Eve ate of the tree of knowledge.
-Often it seems as if sin is simply the violation of any of God's laws, including the Ten
Commandments.
-Paul, however, puts this in perspective in Romans 3:20,when he says, "Therefore no one will be
declared righteous in His sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become
conscious of sin."
-God wanted us to recognize our sins.
-Even those who have not murdered or committed adultery will find themselves convicted of
lying, or of worshipping false idols like wealth or power ahead of God.
-Tragically, sin in any amount will distance us from God.
"Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear," saysIsaiah
59:1-2. "But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face

FRS Notes 4047
from you, so that He will not hear."
-We must resist the temptation to act as if we are righteous, especially by leaning on our good
works.
"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our
sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If
we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our
lives"(1 John 1:8-10).
Sin As A Call to Repentance
-The good news in all of this is that, once we recognize ourselves as sinners, we need only to
repent and embrace Jesus to be forgiven.
-Jesus can forgive us because he died and rose again three days later in victory over sin and
death.
-The Apostle Paul refers to this process of recognizing sin and being responsible for it as "godly
sorrow."
"Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly
sorrow brings death," Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 7:10-11. "See what this godly sorrow has
produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what
alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have
proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter."
SALVATION IN CHRISTIANITY
Christian Beliefs about Salvation
Need for Salvation: Sin and Death

FRS Notes 4047
-In Christianity, salvation is made possible by the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ by crucifixion
2,000 years ago.
-The word atonement, one of the few theological words of English origin, is used to describe this
concept.
-The verb "atone" derives from the adverb "at one," and therefore means "to reconcile."
-According to many Christian teachings, ascent into heaven is only possible through salvation.
-Salvation is not just an important concept in Christianity.
-To the devout Christian, it is actually the desired outcome to be gained from living a pious
Christian life. In Christianity, salvation means eternal life after death, and freedom from sin and
the consequences of sin.
-The salvation of a soul spares that soul the wrath of God’s judgment and an afterlife of eternal
damnation.
-Many Christian denominations teach that the reward for salvation is eternal life after death and a
reprieve from the harsh judgment of God for earthly sins.
-This is where the concept of heaven comes in.
-Heaven is understood by most mainstream Christians to be the holy place where the souls of
saved Christians go after death. In heaven, Christians believe there is no sin, illness, or suffering.
-Those souls that are admitted to Heaven are in the constant presence of God and Jesus Christ,
which inspires many Christians to strive for salvation and a life of piety.
-“salvation” concerns an eternal, spiritual deliverance.
-When Paul told the Philippian jailer what he must do to be saved, he was referring to the jailer’s
eternal destiny (Acts 16:30-31).
-Jesus equated being saved with entering the kingdom of God (Matthew 19:24-25
CONCEPT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

FRS Notes 4047
Eschatology Definition
Eschatology is the branch of Christian theology dealing with the biblical study of end times
prophecies and the events of the last days.
Some of these events include the Rapture, the Second Coming of Christ, the Tribulation, the
Millennial Kingdom and the Future Judgments. The primary books of the Bible pertaining to end
times prophecy are the book of Daniel, the book of Ezekiel and the book of Revelation.
Though a challenging area of study, Eschatology helps believers understand the prophetic
passages of Scripture and how to live the Christian life in preparation for the end times.
Importance of Eschatology
1.First, prophecy makes up a great amount of the biblical text.
-Studies have shown that 27 percent of the Bible is prophetic in nature.
2. Second, Eschatology proves the divine power of God.
-For example, when the Bible speaks of one who would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14) named
Emmanuel (meaning "God with us") and the prophecy is specifically fulfilled more than six
hundred years later in Jesus, it affirms the ability of God to reveal the supernatural.
3. Third, prophecy motivates Christians to live holy lives, knowing that many of the Bible's as-
yet unfulfilled prophecies speak of the believer's future home with the Lord.
BIRTH NARRATIVES OF JESUS
BIRTH NARRATIVES ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

- Matthew traces the genealogy of Jesus to Abraham”son of David,son of Abraham” which
implies that Jesus emerged from Israel and fulfill the OT of the Messianic King.
The Virgin Conception
- For some, the miraculous claim of the virgin conception of Jesus disqualifies the Gospel
accounts as a reliable history
- Christopher Hitchens regularly referred to the virgin conception as a clear example of the
unreasonable nature of the gospel.

FRS Notes 4047
- The virgin conception according to Hitchens is obviously irrational and it disqualifies the story
of Jesus before it even begins.
- The virgin birth of Jesus is the belief that Jesus was conceived in the womb of his mother Mary
by the Holy Spirit and born while Mary was yet a virgin 1:18-25.
- The virgin birth was universally accepted by Christian tradition in the 2nd Century.
- The virgin conception is a controversial subject among modern scholars.
- It is clear in the account of Matthew that Joseph was not the biological father of Jesus.
- The tradition preserved in Matt 1:22-23 connects Jesus’s virgin birth with Isaiah 7:14.
- The passages in both Matthew and Luke are believed to be authentic, with no evidence at all that
they were later additions to the text.
- Today some scholars regard the doctrine of Jesus’ virgin birth as simply a legendary
development of the early church. The story is said to be a myth and not history.
- Such Scholars really believe that miracles are impossible, but no amount of evidence can
convince them that it actually happened.
VIEWING BY THE MAGI
-Matthew was the only one of the four canonical gospels to mention the magi
-Magi are said to be the first religious figures to worship Jesus.
-They came from the East to worship the Christ “born the king of the Jews”
-The account does not mention the number of people “they” or “the magi” but the three gifts led
to the assumption that there were three men.
-The Magi acknowledged Jesus as the promised king.
- The narrative then underscores the truth that Jesus is the Promised King.
-The fact that the Magi worshipped him shows that the child was more than just somebody hence
Jesus was far more than a future king.
- The gifts that were presented were symbolic ege Gold was a gift for the King and in the OT
gold was a proper setting for the sanctuary were God dwelt among his people, Myrrh
symbolizing the preparation for his suffering.

FRS Notes 4047
The Herodian Genocide
a. The Massacre of the children of Bethlehem.

- Herod ordered the execution of all young male children in the vicinity of Bethlehem, so as to
avoid the loss of his throne to a newborn King of the Jews whose birth had been announced to
him by the Magi.
- In typical Matthean style, it is understood as a fulfillment of the OT prophecy which was spoken
through the prophet Jeremiah saying “A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping,
Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted because her children are more “
Jer 2:16-18
- The account of the Massacre is only found in the gospel of Matthew.
- According to Michael Grant, Matthew’s story of the Massacre of the innocence by Herod the
Great was a myth allegedly fulfilling a prophecy by Jeremiah.
- When the life of Herod is examined, the massacre event is very consistent with his behaviour,
character and actions so this is pointing to the fact that it did happen.
b. The Flight to Egypt
- According to Jimmy Dunn, The Holy Family’s Flight to Egypt was really mentioned briefly in
the second chapter of the Gospel of Matthew.
- The family was able to avoid the massacre by fleeing to Egypt, where they remained until an
angel told Joseph that Herod died.
- Matthew tells the event as the fulfillment of the words spoken by God to the prophet Hosea “Out
of Egypt have l called my son” Hosea 11:1’
- Matthew understood these words as foretelling the coming of the Messiah.
c. The return of the holy family to Nazareth
- After Herod died, an Angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and instructed
him to take the child and his mother to the land of Israel.
- He took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel but when he heard that Archelaus
was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there.
- He withdrew to the district of galilee and he went and settled in a town called Nazareth.
- This was said to be a fulfillment of what was said through prophets, that he would be called a
Nazarene.

FRS Notes 4047
Birth Narratives according to Luke.
- All narratives are unique except the genealogy.

1. Promise to Zechariah
- Unique to Luke.
- Has theological interest in outcasts and also interest in women.
- Depicts interest in prayer, joy and Holy Spirit.
2. Announcement to Mary 1:26-38.
- Jesus is divine as he is a product of the Holy Spirit.
- Jewishness ie Jesus descendent of David.
- Interest in women ie mentioning of Mary.
- Interest in the Holy Spirit.
3. Mary’s Visit to Elizabeth. ( 1:39-45)
- Interest in women.
- Interest in the Holy Spirit.
4. Magnificat ( a Song of Praise by Mary (1:46-56)
- Interest in women, joy and outcasts
- Song derived from the Song of Hannah.
- Theme of Universalism.
5. The Birth of John the Baptist 1:57-66.
- Interest in joy.
- Jewishness is shown by circumcision of John the Baptist on the 8th day.
6. Benedictus 1:67-79( Zachariah’s song of praise)
-Interest in the Holy Spirit cause he spoke while under the Holy spirit.
- Peculiar to Luke.
- Interest in Joy
7. The birth of Jesus Christ (2:1-7)
- Unique to Luke.
- Interest in women for Mary continues to be the main character.

FRS Notes 4047
-Interest in the poor/outcasts coz Jesus was laid in a manger which was a feeding through feeding
trough for domesticated animals.
8. Announcement of Jesus’s birth to the shepherds 2:8-14.
- Interest in the outcasts coz of the shepherds and also interest in joy to the shepherds.
- Interest in universalism.
- ‘’A savior who is Christ” shows the divinity and Christology of Jesus.
- “Praising God” shows the interest in joy.
9. Visit by shepherds to Mary and Joseph (2:15-20).
- Interest in joy for the shepherds returned glorifying and praising God.
- Interest in the poor for Jesus was laid in a manger and outcasts.
10. Presentation of Jesus in the Temple 2:22-40.
- Mary and Joseph as Jewish parents prepared for Jewish customs for Luke had interest in Jews
eg circumcision.
- For every male who opens a womb was called Holy and stayed in the Temple but Mary and
Joseph had to bring him back home so they had to buy him and take him home.
- A pair of turtle doves was to be offered as an offering of a power person ie those who couldn’t
afford the lamb would offer turtle doves.
-This shows interest in the poor.
-This shows that Luke was sharing the humble beginning of Jesus.
- Simeon was filled with the Holy Spirit which shows interest in the Holy Spirit.
- This is unique to Luke and following Jewish customs
- Interest in Universalism.
11. Song of Simeon 2:32-40.
- Simeon was filled with the Holy Spirit ie interest in the Holy Spirit.

FRS Notes 4047
- Unique to Luke.
-Interest in Universalism, 4:2-32.
-Shows gentiles in mind and its Simeon’s song of praise “ A light to the Gentiles”
- Luke 2:36- the prophetess Anna which shows interest in women and was a widow till she was
84yrs which shows interest in the poor and prayer too
-Shows interest in Joy and outcasts.
The virgin birth of Jesus
-Jesus was born of a virgin.
-This is a unique glory.
-Of the billions of humans who have lived throughout history, only one person entered the world
in this way.
- There is only one mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5), and there is only one
human who was virgin born.
-Jesus’ distinctive birth isn’t a myth nor merely a random fact from the Gospels. It is a special
honor conferred only on the Son of God.
-And it is full of significance for knowing the person of Jesus and the God who has revealed
himself in him.
Supernatural, Not Mythical
-Matthew and Luke wrote the authoritative accounts.
-Neither was likely to be gullible in the least. Matthew was a former tax-collector.
-Luke was a doctor.
-True—medicine has come a long way in twenty centuries, but it isn’t a recent discovery that
virgins don’t have babies.

FRS Notes 4047
-From the very beginning of Jesus’ human life, his eternal Father set him apart as exceptional.
-The Gospel writers didn’t concoct a myth.
-Luke even consulted with Jesus’ mother who confirmed that Jesus’ birth was supernatural.
Why the Virgin Birth?
What is the significance of the virgin birth?
- To begin with, it highlights the supernatural. On one end of Jesus’ life lies his supernatural
conception and birth; on the other, his supernatural resurrection and his ascension to God’s right
hand. Jesus’ authenticity was attested to by the supernatural working of his Father.
-Secondly, the virgin birth shows that humanity needs redeeming that it can’t bring about for
itself. The fact that the human race couldn’t produce its own redeemer implies that its sin and
guilt are profound and that its savior must come from outside.
-Thirdly, in the virgin birth, God’s initiative is on display. The angel didn’t ask Mary about her
willingness. He announced, “Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you
shall call his name Jesus” (Luke 1:31). God didn’t ask Mary for permission. He acted—gently
but decisively—to save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:21).
-Finally, this virgin birth hints at the fully human and fully divine natures united in Jesus’ one
person. The entry of the eternal Word into the world didn’t have to happen this way. But it did.
Wayne Grudem writes,
-God, in his wisdom, ordained a combination of human and divine influence in the birth of
Christ, so that his full humanity would be evident to us from the fact of his ordinary human birth
from a human mother, and his full deity would be evident from the fact of his conception in
Mary’s womb by the powerful work of the Holy Spirit.
BAPTISM OF JESUS
-The baptism of Jesus is described in thegospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke.John's gospel does
not directly describeJesus' baptism.
-Most modern theologians view thebaptism of Jesus by John the Baptist as a historical event to
which a high degree of certainty can be assigned.
FRS Notes 4047
-Along with the crucifixion of Jesus, most biblical scholars view it as one of the two historically
certain facts about him, and often use it as the starting point for the study of the historical Jesus.
-The baptism is one of the five major milestones in the gospel narrative of the life of Jesus, the
others being the Transfiguration, Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Ascension.
- Most Christian denominations view the baptism of Jesus as an important event and a basis for
the Christian rite of baptism.
Why was Jesus Baptized
- The baptism therefore marked the point at which Jesus publicly commits himself to the role for
which he had been destined at birth.
- The reason why John had people baptized was to show that they had changed their minds
(repented)
-Jesus’ baptism is said to be a mark to the beginning of his ministry and by baptizing JESUS,
John was declaring to all that Jesus was the one they had been waiting for, the son of God, the
one he had predicted would baptize with holy spirit and fire.
JESUS’ PARABLES
-A parable is a story about a familiar subject to teach an important moral lesson.
- A parable can also be defined as a short and simple story that illustrates a deep and important
message.
-The root meaning of the word parable means a placing side by side for the sake of comparison.
-The Gospel writer generally identifies a narrative with a spiritual meaning by specifically
calling the lesson parable.
- Parables were Jesus’ favorite way of teaching

- Jesus’s parables had double meaning, first being the literal meaning which is apparent to anyone
who has experience with the subject matter and beyond the literal meaning lies a deeper meaning

FRS Notes 4047
which is the surface lesson about God’s truth and his Kingdom eg the parable of the leaven
Matthew 13:33.
- Jesus’ parables often involve an element of surprise or an unexpected twist.
-At times the Gospel writer begins the story with the word like, as "The Kingdom of Heaven is
like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard" (Matthew 20:1). Or
Jesus may give an example from everyday life to convey a spiritual truth, such as the Parable of
the Good Samaritan to teach love and mercy, or the Parable of the Friend at Midnight to teach
persistence in prayer.
-A parable envisions the whole narrative to generate the spiritual message, whereas a proverb,
metaphor, simile, or figure of speech focuses generally on a word, phrase or sentence.
-The Parables of Jesus are recorded in the Synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke.
-
Why did Jesus teach in Parables?
1. Jesus spoke in parables so that ordinary people would not understand, because by understanding,
their sins would have been forgiven.
2. To separate truth seekers from curiosity seekers.
3. To appeal to the hearers’ sense of justice before they realized the parable applied to them eg
Matthew 21:33-44 the Parable of the wicked vinedressers.
4. To illustrate the spiritual principles in much the same way parables and analogies are used.
5. To reveal the heavenly truths to just a selected group of people whose hearts were open and
receptive to those truth.
-Some parables are common to all three Synoptic Gospels, such as the Parable of the Sower
(Matthew 13:3-23, Mark 4:2-20, and Luke 8:4-15).
-Matthew relates ten Parables on the Kingdom of Heaven, seven of which occur in Chapter 13
and are central to his Gospel. -Examples of parables unique to Matthew are the Weeds Among
the Wheat (Matthew 13:24-30), the Unforgiving Servant (18:23-35), the Laborers in the

FRS Notes 4047
Vineyard (20:1-16), the Two Sons (21:28-32), and the Ten Virgins (25:1-13). Mark has only one
unique Parable, the Growing Seed (Mark 4:26-29).
- Several Parables are unique toLuke, such as the Parables of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-
37), the Friend at Midnight (11:5-13), the Rich Fool (12:13-21), the Barren Fig Tree (13:6-9), the
Invited Guests (14:7-14), the Lost Coin (15:8-10), the Prodigal Son (15:11-32), Lazarus and the
Rich Man (16:19-31), the Persistent Widow (18:1-8), and the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
(18:9-14).
MIRACLES OF JESUS
-Jesus of Nazareth performed many miracles, demonstrating his power over nature and spirits,
and thus confirming that the Kingdom of God is at hand (Mark 1:15). “Come, follow me, and I
will make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19).
-Through the above miracle, Jesus recruited his first four Apostles - Peter, his brother Andrew,
and JamesandJohn.
-In a physical miracle, such as making the blind see, or walking on water, or calming a storm, the
laws of the universe are suspended through divine intervention.
-In a moral miracle, such as forgiveness of sins or driving out demons, the blessing of Jesus
purifies the soul.
-In Mark 2:1-12, Jesus performed a physical miracle, healing the paralytic, to demonstrate a
moral miracle, the forgiveness of sins.
-Only three miracles appear in all four Gospels - his own Resurrection (Matthew 28, Mark 16,
Luke 24, and John 20), the greatest miracle of them all; the feeding of the 5000 through the
multiplication of the loaves and fish, found in Matthew 14:13-21, Mark 6:30-44, Luke 9:10-17,
and John 6:1-14; and, while different individuals are involved (see chart), Jesus heals the blind
(Matthew 9:27-31, Mark 8:22-26, Luke 18:35-43, and John 9).

FRS Notes 4047
-The miracle stories are an integral part of the Gospel narrative, as in the Gospel ofMark, where
nearly half of Mark's account of the public ministry of Jesus (Chapters 1-10) describes miracles.
-The ministry of Jesus is centered on the establishment of God's imminent Kingdom, which
ended the dominion of the evil one over the world, present ever since sin and death entered
mankind.
-The miracles were Jesus' chief weapon in the struggle with evil (Mark 3:22-27), the most direct
being the exorcism of demons, which defeated the power of evil and liberated humanity.
-That is why a miracle is an act of power in the Synoptic Gospels.
-The Gospels record twelve miracles in Capernaum, more than anywhere else in the Holy Land.
-What is striking is that Jesus performs those miracles that, referring to Isaiah 29:18-19 and 35:3-
6, were signs of the Messiah.
-John the Baptist sent his disciples to ask Jesus or Yeshua - "Are you the one who is to come, or
should we expect another?"
-Jesus reassures John and his disciples by naming the miracles of the Messiah: "the blind receive
their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the
poor have good news preached to them" (Matthew11:3-5).
-Jesus not only heals the leper but also instructs the leper to show himself to the priest in
observance of Leviticus 13-14 (Matthew 8:1-4).
-Jesus Christ raised three from the dead: the daughter of Jairus the synagogue official (Mark
5:22-24, 35-43), the son of the widow of Nain (Luke 7:11-17), and Lazarus on the fourth day
(John 11).
-The symbolic element of the miracle becomes primary in the Gospel of John.
-For example, in John 9, the interest in giving sight to the man born blind is not just the gift of
sight, but in his coming to the spiritual insight of faith, an insight made possible by Jesus, the
Light of the world.

FRS Notes 4047
-The Gospel of John enumerates seven signs of Jesus: he turns water into wine at the wedding
feast of Cana (2:1-12); the healing of an official's son in Capernaum (4:43-54); the healing of a
paralytic on the sabbath by the pool at Bethesda in Jerusalem (5:1-47); the feeding of the five
thousand (6:1-14) before the Bread of Life discourse; walking on water (6:16-21); the healing of
a man born blind (9:1-41); and the raising of Lazarus (11:1-57).
-John also records three appearances of Christ to his disciples following his Resurrection.
-The miracles of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish and the Wedding Feast of Cana serve
as a prelude to the miracle of the Institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper of our
Lord,and the giving of Communion in our Churches throughout the world!
-The third millennium is more receptive to miracles as compared to the skepticism of the post-
Enlightenment.
-Case records of inexplicable cures from cancer, the healings of Guadalupe, Mexico, Lourdes,
France, and Fatima, Portugal, and reports of near-death experiences have produced an openness
to the miraculous.
-While Christ Jesus performed innumerable healings and exorcisms (Matthew 8:16-17, Mark
1:32-34, Luke 6:17-19), the following chart lists specific miracles of Jesus Christ during his
public ministry, before his Resurrection:
Importance of Jesus’ miracles
- To show the divine nature of Jesus.

- To show Jesus’ power over nature.
- To Show Jesus’s power over death
- To Show Jesus’s power to forgive sins.
- To Show Jesus’ power over demons.
- To show the universalism of Jesus.
KINGDOM OF GOD.

FRS Notes 4047
- This is not a dominant theme in Mark’s gospel as compared to Matt and Luke.
- In 1:14, the Kingdom is mentioned as a present reality {realized eschatology} which has already
come.
- The ministry of Jesus is the inauguration of the kingdom through exorcism eg Demoniac at
Capernaum, healing of the paralysed, fellowship with sinners, feeding of the hungry, calling of
the disciples etc
The kingdom as a future reality
- Mark also portrays the kingdom as a future reality ie it was something still to come 10:23-25.
- The kingdom is also mentioned at the last supper {14:25}.
- 15:43, Joseph of Arimathea is described as a man awaiting the kingdom.
- 13:26-32 the kingdom is associated with judgment.
- As the kingdom is a future reality, there is a call for watchfulness 13:33.
- The kingdom is portrayed as a mystery 4:11.
- The kingdom is portrayed as starting small but grows into a huge harvest 4:3-9.
- Parable of the mastered seed shows the kingdom as a present a future reality.
RESURRECTION OF JESUS
Resurrection of Jesus: Why It’s Important!
- Crucifixion was important as it earmarked the salvation of the saints.

- If Jesus was not crucified there was not going to be peace prevailing after the account of the
arrest and trial.
- The crucifixion was a confirmation that Jesus was indeed a Messiah who had died for the sins of
the people.
- The death and Resurrection account was so central in the revival of the faith within the early
church.
- The resurrection of Jesus is the foundation of the Christian faith.
- To prove that Jesus’ death was a ransom for sinners otherwise Jesus was sinless.
- The resurrection account was so central in the revival of the faith within the early church.

FRS Notes 4047
- The faith and belief was mainly foundationed on the hope that often the resurrection account
Jesus was going come back for the second time and take those who would have repented into the
Kingdom of Heaven.
-In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, he declares:
“And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we
are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ:
whom He raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.” (1 Corinthians 15:14-15).
“And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.” (1 Corinthians 15:17).
As it turns out, no legitimate scholar or religion today denies that Jesus was a historical figure
who walked the earth approximately 2,000 years ago, was a great teacher and miracle worker,
and who died on a cross for the crime of blasphemy. Therefore, the only legitimate dispute is
whether Jesus was the Son of God who was resurrected from the dead after His crucifixion.
Resurrection of Jesus: Eyewitness Testimonies
-The resurrection of Jesus is challenged today on evidentiary grounds.
-Therefore, to be fair, the evidence should be judged like any other historical event.
-Based on standard rules of evidence, consistent eye-witness testimony from multiple credible
witnesses would be considered the strongest form of evidence available to a litigant.
-Therefore, if we find such testimony present in credible accounts of the historical record of
Christ’s resurrection, we have satisfied a major evidentiary challenge under traditional rules.
- In fact, they are multiple eye-witness testimonies regarding the resurrection of Jesus. In 1
Corinthians 15:3-6, Paul established the following:
“For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins
according to the scriptures; And that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day
according to the scriptures: And that He was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, He

FRS Notes 4047
was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this
present, but some are fallen asleep.”
Resurrection of Jesus: More Eye-witness Accounts.
-The resurrection of Jesus was also declared in numerous other accounts, including the
appearance of Jesus to Mary Magdalene (John 20:10-18), to other women (Matthew 28:8-10), to
Cleopas and his companion (Luke 24:13-32), to eleven disciples and others (Luke 24:33-49), to
ten apostles and others (excluding Thomas) (John 20:19-23), to the apostles (including Thomas)
(John 20:26-30), to seven apostles (John 21:1-14), to the disciples (Matthew 28:16-20), and to
the apostles on the Mount of Olives (Luke 24:50-52 and Acts 1:4-9).
-The ultimate test of credibility for these eye-witnesses was that many of them
facedmartyrdom for their eye-witness testimony. This is dramatic! These witnesses knew the
truth.
-What could they possibly gain by dying for a known lie?
-The evidence speaks for itself, these weren’t just religious faithful dying for a religious belief,
these were followers of Jesus Christ dying for a historical event
– His resurrection that established Him as the Son of God.
Who was responsible for Jesus’ death?
- The question on who was responsible for Jesus’s death has remained a subject of debate if not
controversy as a lot ink has been spilled on the scholarly desk by the New Testament cairn from
both angles of analysis.
- Through internal biblical exegesis that is internally there are two groups of people believed to be
responsible for Jesus’ death that are the Romans and Jews.
- Internationally, Jews and Romans are inevitably revealed to have been responsible for Jesus’
death.
- Conventional wisdom has led some modern scholars to believe and assume that the Jews were
responsible for the death since there were always in conflict with him.

FRS Notes 4047
- The Jews coheres and made the Romans believe that Jesus was a threat and hence deserved
death.
- Pilate found Jesus innocent and wanted to free him but the Jews insisted and advocated for his
death.
- With failure of the internal exegesis to indicate the exact people responsible for Jesus’ death.
Ancient and modern scholars had set the ball rolling.
- According to Babylonian Talmund Jesus was hanged because he practiced sorcery and was
leading the people astray so the Jews gave them 40 days to come and plead with them for that
accusation but he failed to report and in reciprocation he was hanged on the cross.
- In 1940, there had been a shift of the responsibility from the Jew to the Romans.
- Jesus’ death was a result of Roman method of eliminating people hence one may not deny the
idea of the Romans being given responsibility of Jesus’ death.
- Brandon believes that the Romans killed Jesus because of his association with the zealot
movement which was a threat to the Roman Gvt because they were regarded as terrorists hence
the Romans might be responsible for Jesus’s death.
- Romans felt some dangers that Jesus would do an uprising against them.
- The character of the Apostle Peter who cut off the ear of the high priest slave at gethsemane
posed a threat to Jesus’s life.
- The sons of Zebedia, James and John were given the name Boarnage which means (sons of
thunder) made the Romans to feel threatened.
- According to Brendon, the message of Jesus on the eschatological discourse emphasized on
another Kingdom to come which was in turn a threat to the existing Kingdom hence the Romans
had a reason to kill Jesus.
- The forerunner and pre-cussor of Jesus, John the Baptist was known as a radical revolutionist
who was killed on political grounds posed a threat to Jesus’s life.
- Actions of Jesus eg on Luke 22:35 were here told his disciples to have swords made the Romans
unhappy with the movement.
- Besides the Jews and Romans, Jesus himself triggered for his own death.
CHRISTIANITY ON HEALTH AND ILLNESS

FRS Notes 4047
-The history of Christianity has witnessed an active debate about proper attitudes towards
suffering, pain, and death, and how best to confront human illness and frailty.
-The theological notion of Jesus' suffering and death on the cross is viewed by some as a
redemptive valuation of suffering. In this view, some Christians argue that pain and hardship has
a broader value and can have a potentially transformative affect on the religious adherent.
-Others emphasize Jesus’ healing ministry and his compassion for the blind, the sick, and the
lame. In a much-cited panorama of the Last Judgment, Jesus called on his followers to show the
same empathy to others (Matthew 25:31-46).
- Efforts to link these two strands in Christian reflection and experience—Jesus’ willingness to
suffer and die and his compassion and healing—have traditionally been acknowledged as the
inevitability of suffering combined with a determination to alleviate it, whenever possible,
through the medical arts.
-The experience of suffering can have a redemptive dimension; it can bring individuals closer to
a God who suffered with and for them on the cross.
-At the same time, Christians are called to embrace science and its biomedical applications in
order to prevent and alleviate unnecessary suffering, whenever possible, while also respecting
the sanctity of human life.
CHRISTIANITY AND POLITICS
-The relationship between Christianity and politics is a historically complex subject and a
frequent source of disagreement throughout the history of Christianity, as well as in modern
politics between the Christian right andChristian left.
-There have been a wide variety of ways in which thinkers have conceived of the relationship
betweenChristianity and politics, with many arguing that Christianity directly supports a
particular political ideology or philosophy.
- Along these lines, various thinkers have argued for Christian communism, Christian
socialism,Christian anarchism, Christian libertarianism, or Christian democracy.

FRS Notes 4047
-Others believe that Christians should have little interest or participation in politics or
government’
-The Hebrew Bible contains a complexchronicle of the Kings of Israel andJudah, written over
the course of many generations by authors whose relationships and intimacy with the rulers of
the several kingdoms fluctuated widely in both intimacy and respect.
-Some historical passages of the Hebrew Bible contain intimate portrayals of the inner workings
of the royal households of Saul, David andSolomon.
-The accounts of subsequent monarchs are frequently more distanced and less detailed and
frequently begin with the judgment that the monarch "did evil in the sight of the Lord".
-The Christian New Testament instead begins with the story of Jesus, crucifiedas a criminal who
had offended both theJewish priesthood and the Roman imperial authorities.
-At least to outward appearances, Jesus was at the periphery of political life and power in
the Roman province of Judea.
-Nevertheless, a number of political currents appear in New Testament writings.
-Early Christians were described by Celsus as those who refused military service and would not
accept public office, nor assume any responsibility for the governing of cities.
-Origen confirms this description and adds that Christians do more for the good of the empire by
forming an "army of piety" that prays for the well-being of the emperor and the safety of the
empire.
-It has been argued that Christianity made a significant positive contribution to the development
of modern democracy
-For Christians above all men are not permitted forcibly to correct the failings of those who sin.
-Secular judges indeed, when they have captured malefactors under the law, show their authority
to be great, and prevent them even against their will from following their own devices: but in our
case the wrong-doer must be made better, not by force, but by persuasion.

FRS Notes 4047
- For neither has authority of this kind for the restraint of sinners been given us by law, nor, if it
had been given, should we have any field for the exercise of our power, inasmuch as God
rewards those who abstain from evil by their own choice, not of necessity.
-Consequently much skill is required that our patients may be induced to submit willingly to the
treatment prescribed by the physicians, and not only this, but that they may be grateful also for
the cure.
- For if any one when he is bound becomes restive (which it is in his power to be), he makes the
mischief worse; and if he should pay no heed to the words which cut like steel, he inflicts
another wound by means of this contempt, and the intention to heal only becomes the occasion
of a worse disorder.
-For it is not possible for any one to cure a man by compulsion against his will.
ROLE OF WOMEN IN CHRISTIANITY.
-Although women have traditionally fulfilled supportive roles in serving the church and gained
their greatest joy and sense of accomplishment from being wives and mothers, the feminist
movement has successfully influenced many women to abandon these divinely ordained roles.
-Unfortunately, this movement has made headway even in the church, creating chaos and
confusion regarding the role of women both in ministry and in the home.
-Only in Scripture can God’s intended design for women be found.
The Old Testament and Women
-In the creation account of Genesis 1, God’s first word on the subject of men and women is that
they were equally created in the image of God (v. 27).
-Neither received more of the image of God than the other. So the Bible begins with the equality
of the sexes.
-As persons, as spiritual beings standing before God, men and women are absolutely equal.
-Despite this equality, there is in Genesis 2 a more detailed account of the creation of the two
human beings that reveals differences in their God-given functions and responsibilities.

FRS Notes 4047
-God did not create the man and the woman at the same time, but rather He created Adam first
and Eve later for the specific purpose of being Adam’s helper.
-Eve was equal to Adam, but she was given the role and duty of submitting to him. Although the
word “helper” carries very positive connotations—even being used of God Himself as the helper
of Israel (Deut. 33:7; Ps. 33:20)—it still describes someone in a relationship of service to
another.
-The responsibility of wives to submit to their husbands, then, was part of the plan from creation,
even before the curse.
-The first books of the Bible establish both the equality of men and women and also the support
role of the wife (see Exod. 21:15, 17, 28–31; Num. 5:19–20, 29; 6:2; 30:1–16).
-Adam and Eve’s disobedience to God’s command resulted in certain consequences (Gen. 3:16–
19).
-For the woman, God pronounced a curse that included multiplied pain in childbirth and tension
in the authority-submission relationship of husband and wife.
-Genesis 3:16 says the woman’s “desire” will be for her husband but he shall “rule” over her.
-In Genesis 4:7 the author uses the same word “desire” to mean “excessive control over.”
-Thus, the curse in Genesis 3:16 refers to a new desire on the part of the woman to exercise
control over her husband—but he will in fact oppressively rule and exert authority over her.
-The result of the Fall on marriage through history has been an ongoing struggle between the
sexes, with women seeking control and men seeking dominance.
-Throughout the Old Testament, women were active in the religious life of Israel, but generally
they were not leaders.
-Women like Deborah (Judges 4) were clearly the exception and not the rule. There was no
woman with an ongoing prophetic ministry.
-No woman was a priest.
-No queen ever ruled Israel.

FRS Notes 4047
-No woman wrote an Old Testament (or New Testament) book.
- Isaiah 3:12 indicates that God allowed women to rule as part of His judgment on the sinning
nation.
Jesus and Women
-In the midst of the Greek, Roman, and Jewish cultures, which viewed women almost on the
level of possessions, Jesus showed love and respect for women.
-Though Jewish rabbis did not teach women and the Jewish Talmud said it was better to burn the
Torah than to teach it to a woman, Jesus never took the position that women, by their very
nature, could not understand spiritual or theological truth.
-He not only included them in His audiences but also used illustrations and images that would be
familiar to them (Matt. 13:33; 22:1–2; 24:41; Luke 15:8–10) and specifically applied His
teaching to them (Matt. 10:34ff.).
-To the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4), He revealed that He was the Messiah and
discussed with her topics such as eternal life and the nature of true worship.
-He also taught Mary and, when admonished by Martha, pointed out the priority of learning
spiritual truth even over “womanly” responsibilities like serving guests in one’s home (Luke
10:38).
-Although men in Jesus’ day normally would not allow women to count change into their hands
for fear of physical contact, Jesus touched women to heal them and allowed women to touch
Him (Luke 13:10ff.; Mark 5:25ff.).
-Jesus even allowed a small group of women to travel with Him and His disciples (Luke 8:1–3),
an unprecedented happening at that time.
-After His resurrection, Jesus appeared first to Mary Magdalene and sent her to announce His
resurrection to the disciples (John 20:1–18), despite the fact that women were not allowed to be
witnesses in Jewish courts because they were considered liars.
The Church and women

FRS Notes 4047
-From the very beginning, women fulfilled a vital role in the Christian church (Acts 1:12–14;
9:36–42; 16:13–15; 17:1–4, 10–12; 18:1–2, 18, 24–28; Rom. 16; 1 Cor. 16:19; 2 Tim. 1:5; 4:19),
but not one of leadership.
-The apostles were all men; the chief missionary activity was done by men; the writing of the
New Testament was the work of men; and leadership in the churches was entrusted to men.
-Although the Apostle Paul respected women and worked side by side with them for the
furtherance of the gospel (Rom. 16; Phil. 4:3), he appointed no female elders or pastors.
-In his letters, he urged that men were to be the leaders in the church and that women were not to
teach or exercise authority over men (1 Tim. 2:12).
-Therefore, although women are spiritual equals with men and the ministry of women is essential
to the body of Christ, women are excluded from leadership over men in the church.
-Men and women stand as equals before God, both bearing the image of God Himself.
-However, without making one inferior to the other, God calls upon both men and women to
fulfill the roles and responsibilities specifically designed for them, a pattern that can be seen even
in the Godhead (1 Cor. 11:3).
-In fulfilling the divinely given roles taught in the New Testament, women are able to realize
their full potential because they are following the plan of their own Creator and Designer.
-Only in obedience to Him and His design will women truly be able, in the fullest sense, to give
glory to God.
CHRISTIANITY AND ENVIRONMENT CONSERVATION
-The Bible calls Christians to be the stewards of the earth. We are called to maintain and protect
the earth.
-God loved His creation.
- He protected and maintained His creation.
-We are created in the image of God and as Christians we should love the earth. Genesis
1:26(NIV) says "Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them

FRS Notes 4047
rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over
all the creatures that move along the ground’.
- God did not give us earth to man so man could consume all the resources over all the earth. We
have to make a suitable environment for all of God's creatures.
-Christians are called and can change the earth through awareness, conservation, pollution
control and environmental restoration.
-Christians have to take the lead in creating awareness of the earth's environmental problems.
Rev. Tom Wenig, pastor of Lutheran Church of Our Redeemer, says that "[environmental
awareness] is really trying to develop a mind-set. ... It isn't trying to take on a big political
agenda."
-First, the church has to realize that they are called by God to sustain and protect their
environment called earth. For decades, Christians have ignored this issue.
-The church should freely share the importance of conserving resources, recycling, donating, and
other ideas to preserve our environment.
-The church should also reach out to non-Christians and make them aware of the importance of
taking care of our earth.
-Christians and churches are just beginning to work together to help make positive and
meaningful changes to our world.
-The hope is that this trend continues and a national and global support continues to grow toward
the awareness.
-Christians can have a positive impact on plants and animals through conservation. Psalm 145:9-
10 says "The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.
-All you have made will praise you, o Lord; your saints will extol you." We can conserve energy
by turning things off and not using them and turning down the thermostat at home.
-Controlling pollution as individuals and Christians will benefit and preserve the environment.

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FRS Notes 4047

God’s Intrinsic Attributes

FAMILY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES NOTES ORDINARY LEVEL: Page 1

FAMILY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES NOTES ORDINARY LEVEL: Page 2

Categories of non-ancestral spirits and their characteristics.

FAMILY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES NOTES ORDINARY LEVEL: Page 3

FAMILY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES NOTES ORDINARY LEVEL: Page 4

FAMILY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES NOTES ORDINARY LEVEL: Page 5

- In most African cultures, the ancestors are of central importance

The Role/ Functions of the Ancestors

FAMILY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES NOTES ORDINARY LEVEL: Page 6

2. Ancestral Spirits (Vadzimu).

3. The Alien Spirit.

FAMILY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES NOTES ORDINARY LEVEL: Page 7

Role of Mediums in the Liberation Struggle.

 Preparing and mobilizing people for war

TOTEMS AND INDIGENOUS IDENTITIES.

FAMILY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES NOTES ORDINARY LEVEL: Page 8

- In traditional African culture, kinship is two-prolonged and can be established either by

- Totems are a source of family pride and are about identity.

- Totems identifies the different clans.

BELIEFS IN LIFE AFTER DEATH.

-There are several myths/stories about the origin of death .

FAMILY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES NOTES ORDINARY LEVEL: Page 9

{SETTLING THE DECEASED'S SPIRIT}

FAMILY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES NOTES ORDINARY LEVEL: Page 10

- It takes place a year after burial

-Musha mutema- there is a dark cloud that wonders in the family.

3. The person might have died in a distant place

6. In modern days the impact of western religious (Christianity)

FAMILY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES NOTES ORDINARY LEVEL: Page 11

It was seen after harvest that food will therefore be plentiful.

-The spirit should be there to bless their marriages

PROCEDURES TO BE TAKEN IN THE KUROVA GUVA CEREMONY

-The rituals differ from place to place and region to region.

-the ritual should have the approval of the family spirits.

-if one wants to marry there should be consultation.

FAMILY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES NOTES ORDINARY LEVEL: Page 12

-This rite varies from area to area

-after this the entourage return home to dance and feast

-sometimes the spirit is symbolizing brought home.

-The spirit is cooled by pouring beer into a branch.

FAMILY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES NOTES ORDINARY LEVEL: Page 13

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE CEREMONY

CHANGE- the ceremony has been replaced by memorial service-Christianity.

The Inheritance Ceremony.

FAMILY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES NOTES ORDINARY LEVEL: Page 14

FAMILY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES NOTES ORDINARY LEVEL: Page 15

4. Kugeza mufi/washing ritual.

FAMILY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES NOTES ORDINARY LEVEL: Page 16

-Families contribute to the economic empowerment of their members by playing a “role of

- Only child families

1. Only child families

FAMILY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES NOTES ORDINARY LEVEL: Page 17

3. Single parent families

FAMILY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES NOTES ORDINARY LEVEL: Page 18

Single divorced parent families