by CR (028)
Sacred or Holy books are sets of texts that are considered of divine inspiration or received directly from God. They are also often referred to as sacred scriptures.
These Holy books are considered sacred by the major religions, whose authors would have received a possible Divine revelation. In the opinion of the followers of their respective religions, these authors were enlightened people who could communicate with the inspiring deities. They are often considered prophets.
On the other hand while some religions freely spread their scriptures, others consider them a secret that can only be revealed to the faithful and initiates.
Some religions assume that their "Holy Books" are "the word of God" and, as such, are infallible and unalterable, seeking to prevent any alteration and establishing a canon of texts that are considered sacred.
So we come to the conclusion that as a rule these religious books are believed to be "sacred" by their followers and leaders. For them "sacred" means pure, immaculate, perfect, untouchable. Such books may, however, contain great absurdities, offences to decency and common sense; logic may suffer all kinds of assaults, but no criticism is admitted.
Implausibility in these "sacred" writings may bewilder the readers, but will give them no right to speak out and much less to analyse them. It is well known that various original texts of these so called "Holy Books" were altered in order to favour the selfish interests of their religious leaders, but all criticisms are dismissed and often decried.
Through the centuries, many religions have stood up for ignorance. Ignorance favoured the interests of religious leaders, often supported by wealthy people. No wonder the following versicle, was introduced in one of these "Sacred Books": "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven"
References
[1] Christian Rationalism, 1st Edition, Rio de Janeiro 1984
[2] https://pt.wikipedia.org/
[3] Compilation, paraphrasing, translation from original texts in Portuguese
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