Republic of Zambia

JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL RELIGIOUS EDUCATION (8-9 NOTES)

NORTHERN PROVINCE

SUPERVISED BY:
Mr Chiinda .L (SESO) Social Sciences- Northern Province.
PREPARED BY:
Mr. Mulenga .M (H.O.D) Social Sciences- Kasama Boys Sec. School.
Mr. Mubita. S. (Chifwani Mission School).

©2016 Northern Province

All rights reserved. No PREFACE

This pamphlet contains a number of topics that are useful to both teachers and pupils. Additionally,
the booklet has covered various types of sample questions that are taught in Grade eight and nine
at junior level. Further, sample questions on Bible passages have equally been highlighted.

The authors of this material have explained topics in such a way that pupils can understand them
with less difficulty. In other ways, pupils can go through this study material on their own or with
less guidance from the teacher.

It is a prayer of the province that this booklet will help to improve academic results of Grade nine
(9) pupils in the province. It should be well noted that for over five years or so, Northern
Provinchas been performing poorly in National Examinations at grade nine level. This may be as
a result of inadequate teaching and learning material of such nature as this one. Hence, the initiative
of the province to come up with this booklet.
TABLE OF CONTENTS

GRADE 8 UNITS

UNIT 1 MOLARITY AND VALUES ……… 4 - 10

UNIT 2 GROWING UP ……… 11 – 18

UNIT 3 LEARNING ABOUT RELIGION ……… 19 - 25

UNIT 4 THE BIBLE ………. 26 - 32

UNIT 5 CHOICES AND TALENTS ………. 33 - 38

UNIT 6 COMPETITION, CO-OPERATION AND TRUST …….. 39 - 42

UNIT 7 DIVISION, SIN AND FORGIVENESS ………. 43- 50

UNIT 8 LEARNING AND TRUTH ………. 51 - 59

 UNIT 1

MOLARITY AND VALUES

Morality

Is a set of rules and beliefs that distinguish good and bad behaviour.

 It deals with the way people should behave towards each other, animals and the
environment.
 A system of morality guides acceptable behaviour, e.g. in marriage, while rising and
disciplining children and in business transactions.

A moral, an immoral and amoral person

A moral person has a sense of what is right and wrong.

An immoral person is one who behaves in a way that is not morally acceptable.

An amoral person is unconcerned with behaving in a morally acceptable way.

The best known example of a moral principle is a “golden rule” or ethic of reciprocity.

 Its negative form is “do not do to others as you would not have them do unto you”.
 Its positive form is “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
 The golden rule can be found in Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism and Confucianism
texts.

The purpose of spiritual and moral education

 Being aware of moral choices

 Give them skills to make better choices.
 It encourages respect for other people’s faiths
 It helps to nature tolerance.

Moral Code

A moral code is dependent upon situation and context in which it is upheld. Many morals originate
from:
Sources of moral codes

 religious source
 Secular (non-religious) sources.

Example of Sources of Religious and Non- Religious codes

 families
 friends
 school
 community,
 constitution
 religion

Laws are rules of conduct that guide behaviour in society.

 The constitution of Zambia is the supreme law of the country of Zambia.

 The code of Hammurabi is one of the oldest legal codes. It was written about 2250 BC by
Hammurabi who was the king of Babylon. It consists of 282 sections that give rules
regarding business, family, society and politics.

RELIGIOUS SOURCES OF MORAL CODES

The Bible

 Christians believe that morals come from God or Jesus his messenger on earth. The Ten
Commandments are a moral code found in the Old Testament according to Exodus 20:2-
16.
 These were revealed to Moses by God, while the New Testament contains moral teachings
given by Jesus and his followers to the early Christians.

The Hindu religious text

 The Bhagavad Gita

 The Vedas an
 The Upanishads.
Each of these contributes to the Hindu understanding of morality.

 The Bhagavad Gita (the song of the Bhagavan) often commonly called the Gita is a seven
hundred verse poem that is part of an epic known as the Mahabharata. It was written
between 400BC and 400EC.
 The poem tells the story of the Pandava prince, Arguna, who is in a battle against his father.
He turns to his Lord Krishna, who drives his chariot for help and wisdom.
 This is a very important poem in Hindu moral life. It shows how our choices have
consequences for ourselves and others.
 The Bhagavad Gita influenced the thinking of many visionaries in the 20th century
including Dr Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi called the Gita his “his
spiritual dictionary”.
 The Veda (meaning knowledge) is a collection of many texts which come from ancient
India. They are thought to be created by the Hindu God who created the world Brahma.
 Upanishads are a collection of writings that teach people how to live a moral life.
 Hindu morality focuses on the concept of Dharma and Karma. Dharma can mean
religion, law, duty, order, proper conduct morality, righteousness or justice.
 A Caste is a social group that you are born into and it determines your position in life.
 Karma on the other hand has to with cause and effect. Positive actions cause positive effects
while negative action produce negative effects.
 Hinduism believes in reincarnation so Karma teaches that you act in a way that is as
positive as possible.

The Quran and the Hadith

Quran

 The Quran is a sacred text of Islam which Muslims believe to be a revelation from God.
 It was written by Prophet Muhammad God’s messenger on earth who said, “I have been
sent to perfect the morals”.
 The Quran guides Muslims in all issues of morality.

Hadith

 The Hadith is the record of deeds and sayings of Muhammad.

  They were collected, evaluated and written down during the 8th and 9th centuries.
 They are given in the famous Hadith of Gabriel.

The five pillars

Guide Muslim’sbehaviour. These are:

 Creed -Declare there is no god except God and Muhammad.

 Pray five times a day.
 Fasting- during the month of Ramadan.
 Alms giving- Give money to the poor (charity)
 Pilgrimage --Travel to Mecca at least once in a lifetime.

Moral dilemmas

 A moral dilemma is a situation that requires a choice between two equal alternatives.
 It is a situation where you have to choose between two conflicting morals of behaviour.
 The universal moral code is the set of moral principles that was developed to be applicable
throughout the world.
 It was developed by Dr Kent M. Keith in 2003 and four of the Ten Commandments are
included in this code. These are:
 You shall not murder
 You shall not commit adultery
 You shall not steal
 You shall not give false testimony against your neighbour.
 The universal moral code also includes the golden rule.

Values

Values are ideasthat people believe are important.

 They are guiding principles, standards or behaviour that are regarded as desirable or held
in high esteem in our society. Examples of values include: justice, hospitality, compassion
and sharing.

How values help us

  Values help people to make decisions and take responsibility for their actions.
 They also help to define who we are by influencing our behaviour and choices.

Importance of maintaining positive personal values.

 Maintaining positive values is important because your values determine your priorities.
 Positive values include cheerfulness, self-discipline, gratitude, freedom, honesty and
creativity. Much unhappiness is caused by behaving in a way that does not match your
values.
 It is therefore, important to identify your values so that you can find out what is really
important to you.

Personal values in relation to sexuality

 Virginity:Refers to the state of never having sexual intercourse. Most cultures around the
world and throughout history place a high value on virginity.
 Keeping virginity until marriage is a value taught by both Christianity and Islam.
 “Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he
who sins sexually sins against his body.” (1Cor.6: 18).
 “And come not near to unlawful sexual intercourse. Verily, it is a faahishah” (great sin)
and an evil way (Surah Al-Israa Q17:32).

Benefits to keeping your virginity until marriage

 You do not have to worry about pregnancy outside marriage.

 You do not have to worry about contracting sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV.
 Because sex involves intense emotions, you will avoid emotional pain when a relationship
ends.
 If your parents, culture and religion disapprove of sex before marriage, you will not have
to lie about what you are doing.
 You will not form habits that could make your future marriage partner think you are
capable of being unfaithful.

Decide on your personal sexual values and stick to them. It you stick to your values, you will
gain respect for yourself.
 SAMPLE QUESTIONS

1. Define the following terms;

a. Immoral person…..
b. Amoral person……
c. Moral dilemma…..
2. Identify the four of the Ten Commandments that were included by Dr Kent in the Universal
moral Code.
3. Mention two benefits of keeping your virginity until marriage.
4. Compare the teachings of of Christians and Muslims on sexual immorality.
5. What is morality?
6. Outline two ways on how values help us.
7. On what two concepts does Hindu morality focus on?
8. List two Purposes of spiritual and moral education in schools.
9. Explain the main teaching of the ‘’golden rule’’ to religions.
10. According to Mahatma Gandhi, which book did he refer to as ‘’his spiritual dictionary?’’

BIBLE PASSEGES

1. ‘’Be under obligation to no one…….’’ Romans 13: 8-10

a. Who said these words?
b. What obligation did he give?
c. Which four commands were mentioned?
d. Which command were the four summed in?
2. ‘’ Worship no god but Me. ‘’Do not make for yourselves images of anything …’’
Exodus 20: 3-17.
a. Who said these words?
b. To who were these words spoken?
c. To whom were these words directed to?
d. Mention any four morals stated in the above passage.
 UNIT 2

GROWING UP

Growing up looks at how a person passes through different stages to develop from an infant into
an adult.

 Everything that God created has the potential to grow. Growth involves a number of
developmental stages that happen before an organism reaches full maturity. E.g., for a seed
to germinate, it needs to grow into a small plant and then matures into a big tree.
 Just like a baby undergoes stages of development to become an adult and gets to be a
responsible member of society.
 Growing up is not just about physical changes where the body gets bigger, but for a person
to develop fully, he/she must undergo different types of growth as shown below:

1. BODYMIND

2. SPIRITHEART

Types of growth

These are:

1. Physical growth – the body increases in size and height and various physical changes take place
that will lead to reproductive maturity.

2. Spiritual growth – this involves a person getting to know and love God. As a person grows up,
they are able to develop a spiritual relationship with God that becomes stronger and deeper as they
experience more in life.

3. Intellectual growth – the mind gets to keep information and gather knowledge and develop the
ability to understand and reason.

4. Emotional growth - a person learns to control his/her feeling such as anger, sadness and joy
and to think about the feelings of other people. Emotions are strong feeling that people show.

Ways in which people develop

  Developing may be described as moving from one level to another in a positive way. We
develop by being with people and this happens through interaction with people, the
environment and God.

Being with other people

When children are young, they believe that their needs and wants are the most important in the
world.

 As they develop and mature, they start to understand that other people’s needs and wants
are important too.
 Children need to interact with other people and the world around them in order to learn
these things.
 Babies and young children are used to receiving foods from others.
 Babies also give joy and happiness to their mothers.
 They are provided with food, shelter, clothing, discipline and knowledge by their parents,
relatives and teachers.
 As children mature into adults they begin to give back to their caregivers and they change
into someone who contributes as well as receives.
 We learn to share things such as ideas, love, food and knowledge as we interact.

Developing with the environment

 The earth or the world consists of a variety of life. God created all sorts of things and finally
made man the head of these things.
 Human beings do interact with plants, animals, stones and one has to note what a plant
shares with animal and shares with a human being as they grow.
 Human being is superior to the other three things because a human being can think, is able
to choose, know and love God.
 In psalm 8, God places human above all other creatures and appointed the rulers of these
other things for the benefit of mankind.
 Therefore, to misuse them is wrong for nature always keeps a balance e.g. over-grazing
and over-cultivating the field makes the soil poor and less fertile.
 Water, trees, minerals and soil are the most familiar resources for the majority of people.
  Using resources for our benefits but at the same time not using them in such a way those
future generations find nothing for them to use.

Developing with God

 Our relationship with God is a relationship that is simple when we are young, but like all
relationships, it deepens as we mature.
 Being with God is a choice that we make along with other choices that are available to us
as we get older.
 Religions look at the attribute of God e.g. God is present everywhere, he is all powerful,
also all-knowing and he has many more qualities in addition to the above that make people
depend on him.
 A Muslim would answer questions concerning God by using the Quran; A Hindu would
also answer questions about God by explaining the Bhagavad Gita and Upanishads.
 A Christian looks up to God as his father. He looks up to him for help in his needs for
production, for love, for forgiveness and for deliverance from evil.
 Augustine of Hippo, an African Christian gave a prayer “you have made us for yourself,
O God and our hearts are restless until they find rest in you!”
 “I am the path, the comforter, the creator, the witness, the resting place, the hiding place,
the friend of all” (the Bhagavad Gita).
 “Praise be to God the Lord of the worlds, the one who has mercy, the one who has pity, the
ruler of the day of judgment” (Quran).

Different kinds of life

God is the creator of both living and non-living things.

 Non-living things include mountains, rivers and deserts.

 While living things include plants, animals and human beings.
 Human beings undergo stages of growth that plants and animals do not.
The differences among plants, animals and human beings are shown below.

Names, proverbs and prayers that describe God

Ideas about God and his relationship with people are expressed through the names that people use
for God. They are also expressed through the proverbs, stories and prayers.

Names of God and their meanings in the languages spoken in Zambia

Language Name Meaning

Tumbuka Ciuta The great rainbow
Mathaski Protector
MweneVyonse The owner of everything
Mphokosi Saviour
Bemba Kabumba Creator
Kapekape Giver
Mulenga
Kikaonde KalabaWethu Protector
Mbuumbi Creator
Shakapanga
Silozi Nyambe He who does not speak
Nyanja Mulengi
Chitonga Leza

Proverbs about God

 Bemba: Lesa talombwa nama alombwa mweo (From God you do not ask for meat, but
life, one should approach God for every important thing).
  Silozi: Nyambe mung’a bupilo. (God is the master of life)
 Lunda: Nzambi chinyawezi (God the only one)
 Chinyanja: ndife anainu Cauta mutipatse nyama (We are your children, O God give us
meat).
 Kikaonde: Shakapanga (maker of all things)
 Chitonga: Leza ngu tateesu, takwe umwiinda Leza pe. (God is our Father; there is no one
else to compare with him).
 Chitonga: Haabusiwa ngu pa mvula (God is the one who gives rain).

Growing up in the four major religions in Zambia

 Growing up in a religion means that you are taught the lessons and beliefs of that religion
from when you are a young child.

Growing up in the Christian faith

Proverbs 22:6

“Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it.”

Christian parents have various responsibilities towards their children. Below are some of them.

 Showing by the way they live and how they value God’s teachings.
 Teaching their children to put God first.
 Teaching their children that once they give their lives to Jesus, they will have a place in
Heaven.

Growing up in the Hindu faith

The following are some of the responsibilities Hindu parents have toward their children.

 They should teach their children to believe in God as creator of the world and protector of
the family.
 They should teach their children that they have a soul to link them to God.
 They should teach the children to do well, whatever good they do in life will return to them
in what is called Karma.

Growing up in the Muslim faith

In the Quran, Muslim parents are told that they are accountable for the way their children grow up
in Islam.

 Their children should be given a good name that reflects Islamic traditions.
 Children in the family should be treated fairly.
 Children should be taught to recite the Quran and understand how its teachings can help
them solve everyday problems.

Growing up in Zambian traditional religion

 In Zambian traditional religion, people look at God as the Supreme Being. They do not
interact with God directly but use ancestors to speak for them.
 Young people are taught using songs, stories, proverbs and traditions and other ways.
Proverbs are teachings that help young people to grow up into respectful individuals of
community.
 Growing up in Zambian traditional society means having ideas about God and respecting
everything that has to do with God.
 Followers of the Zambian tradition will try to keep ancestors happy by making sacrifices.

Self-concept

Self- concept is the person’s view of self as it relates to his or her appearance, intelligence, moral
qualities, personality, possessions etc.

Self –esteem

Self -esteem is the way of appreciating ourselves; the way we recognize our strengths, qualities
and attributes.

Importance of Self-concept and self –esteem

 As we mature, the way we see ourselves and value ourselves should also develop.

Development of self-concept
  As you mature, you begin to understand that you can make a difference in the lives of other
people. You start to see yourself not as a child who can only receive from others but rather
as a young adult who can give and share as well as receive.
 Your self-concept will change as you see yourself playing different roles in life.

Development of self-esteem

 Self-esteem grows when others treat you with respect: When you are given attention and
affection and when both your success and your failures are recognized and accepted.
 When this is part of your upbringing, you become more confident about who you are and
what your values are. As a result your relationship with other people should deepen.
 You should see the value in yourself and develop a positive self image. Low self-esteem
can leave you feeling inadequate and unhappy.
 Your relationship with God will help you to discover who you are and how you can feel
good about yourself.
 At school you can build on your interests and strengths by joining a club e.g. debate, drama
or chess. Every time you learn new skills, you develop a little more.
 Each development helps you in your interactions with others and in this way you develop
a positive self-concept and high self-esteem.

SAMPLE QUESTIONS

1. What are the three ways by which people develop?

2. The type of growth where the mind gets to learn more is known as…..
3. At what stage in a person’s life does a person mostly give?
4. Mention two natural resources.
5. In Psalms 8, why did God put man to be in charge of all creations?
6. Identify the ways by which trees are misused? Mention three ways.
7. What do Christians look to God as being to them?
8. Explain why human life is more important than animal and plant life?
9. Define self-esteem?10. State one way how self-concept can be developed
UNIT 3

LEARNING ABOUT RELIGION

Major religions in Zambia

A Religion

A Religion is what people believe about God and the purpose of their lives, how they behave and
decide what to do.

Learning about religion

a. They see and imitate

b. They hear and repeat
c. They read and are taught

Major religions

 Christianity
 Hinduism
 Islam
 Zambian tradition

Christianity

Christianity is the religion of the followers of Jesus Christ, the son of God.

 Christians believe in the trinity of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
 They believe that God is the creator of all things in the universe and that He is all- powerful
and all-forging.
 Christians believe that God created man as good, but man later was filled with sin.
 Being loving and forgiving, God sent Jesus Christ to earth to save mankind.
 Jesus Christ died on the cross so that man could have new life after death and be joined
with God in heaven.
  All Christians accept the Bible as God’s word and message. “All scripture is inspired by
God and is useful for encouraging and strengthening our faith”.

Hinduism

Hinduism is a collection of many different beliefs and ideas, built over thousands of years.
Hinduism is the oldest religion in the world. The main beliefs are:

 There is one absolute God, Brahman, who takes many forms.

 The soul of a person is reincarnated in many forms until the soul is pure enough to be united
with Brahman.
 The soul lives and dies and is reborn over and over.
 What happens to a person is a direct result of the way that person has lived and behaved
towards others.
 Hindu values include truth, honesty and non-violence.

Islam

 Muslims believe that Allah is the one and only God. Allah has 99 names that are a
reflection of him as the creator, provider and Lord of the whole universe.
 Muslims believe that Allah revealed all holy books such as the Torah and Quran as the
word of God (Allah).
 Allah revealed the Quran to the prophet Muhammad over a period of 23 years.
 The Quran cannot be criticized or questioned; it must only be believed and obeyed.
Muslims are expected to teach the whole Quran by heart, in its original language Arabic.
 They mush wash before taking this book into their hands.
 No other book may be placed on top of it.
 While being read, everyone must listen in silence.
 No eating, drink or smoke during that time.

Zambian Traditional Religion

 In Zambian Traditional Religion, people look at God as creator, a provider, a protector and
a father. God is the owner of the whole world.
  Ideas about God and his relationship with people can be expressed through the names that
people use for God, through proverbs, stories and prayers.
 Stories and proverbs teach people how to live a moral life and how society should be
organized.
 Death is not the end of life, but a time when people will join their ancestors and be rewarded
for the way they lived on earth. All forms of nature are valued and many animals are
believed to have special powers.

Followers of Zambian Tradition Religion must:

 Respect their elders and people in authority.

 Honour their ancestors
 Look after the well-being of the community.
 Provide for their families

Time Chart showing events in the history of the three religions in Zambia

Year Events
1500 First Vedas are written
1300 Bantu begin to move southward from Cameroon into new areas escaping from
BC
hostile tribes and searching for land
1000 First Old Testaments books are written
6 Birth of Jesus Christ
30 Death of Jesus Christ
50 First New Testament books are written
200- Bantu people arrive in Zambia
400
379 List of New Testament books is decided
AD
570 Birth of the prophet Muhammad
610 First entries of the Quran are written
641 Muslim conquest of North Africa
 1054 Christian church split to form the Eastern (Greek) Orthodox church and Roman
Catholic church
517 Protestant revolution creates the protestant church which separates the Roman
Catholic church
1873 David Livingstone dies in Zambia
1883 London Missionary Society (LMS) enters Zambia
1895 “White Fathers” (WF) missionary society enters Zambia
1964 Zambia becomes independent
1966 Christianity is declared the national religion of Zambia

Learning about religion

 From a young age, children learn about the world by seeing and imitating the behaviour
of adults. When a child sees another person behaving in a certain way, that person’s
behaviour become real to the child.
 The most effective way that parents and other adults can teach a child about their religion
is by practicing what they preach and by being good role models.
 Children learn about their religion when their parents read to them or tell them religious
stories.

Religious scriptures

 The Holy scriptures of a religion are a guide to followers. They contain the history and
traditions of the religion as well as moral rules for how to live a good life and achieve
purpose in life.

The Bible

 The Bible is the Christian scripture. Within the bible the books are grouped into two
sections, namely the Old and the New Testaments.
 The Old Testament is about life on earth before Jesus Christ. It starts with a story of creation
and ends in the time of Maccabees. The New Testament covers the life of Jesus Christ and
 the letters that the Apostles wrote to the early churches to guide them on how to live a
Christian life.
 The purpose of the Bible is to show Christians how they can come to know God through
Jesus Christ.
 “Thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105). Luke 1:1-4.

The Quran and the Hadith

 God chose Muhammad to bring his massage to his fellow tribes men that they were to
reject all idols and worship the only true God (Allah). Muslims believe that Muhammad
received revelation from God through Angel Gabriel.
 These revelations were later written in the book called the Quran. Muslims are taught about
what is permissible (Halaal) and not permissible (Haram), how they should live as good
Muslims, and the rewards and punishment that await them in heaven.
 The Hadith is a record of the sayings of Muhammad. It is the second most important book
in Islam. It gives people guidance in moral issues.

Hindu Scriptures

 The Hindu scripture is grouped into “Shruti” and “Smriti” scriptures. The shruti scripture
is made up of sacred writings called the Vedas (which means Knowledge) and the
Upanishads.
 Hindus believe that the four Vedas are the truths of the universe as they were understood
by Hindu saints.
 The smriti scriptures are made up of stories and epic poems. They consist of the Bhagavad
Gita (The song of the Lord), the Mahabharata and the Ramayana.
 The Bhagavad Gita is the best known Hindu scripture and was written around 200 BC. It
is about the nature of God and life.

Zambian Traditional Religion

 Zambian traditional religion does not have a founder or any sacred literature. It has always
been passed on orally from the older to the younger generation.
 The elders are in absolute authority and their words are believed. Traditions are also upheld
by religious functions and rituals and shrines.
 SAMPLE QUESTIONS

1. What are the three ways by which people learn about a religion?
2. Mention the four world religions.
3. Show how God is commonly known according to;
a. Hinduism.
b. Islam.
c. Zambia tradition.
d. Christianity.
4. Give three ways by which people learn about a religion.
5. In Hinduism, which group of people sung sacred songs?
6. Bhagavad Gita means…..
7. State the sacred books for the following religions;
a. Christianity
b. Islam
c. Hinduism
8. To whom was the angel Gabriel believed to have appeared?
9. The bible is a collection of ……..and ……. Books.
10. State two other words that mean the same as covenant.
BIBLE PASSEGES
1. ‘’ Your name will no longer be Jacob……….’’ Genesis 32:28
a. What did Jacobs name change to?
b. What group of people did he become the ancestor of?
c. Which king united the different tribes of Palestine?
d. Where did he fix his capital city?
2. ‘’ I will send only one more punishment on the king of Egypt and his people’’
Exodus 11
a. Who said these words?
b. To whom was he speaking?
c. What is the punishment that he was to send?
d. Why was he to send that punishment?
e. What do the Israelites call that night when the punishment was sent?
 f. Why is it called so?
g. What do the Israelites and their descendants remember when they celebrate this
event each year?
3. ‘’ I am the Lord: I will rescue you and set you free from slavery to the Egyptians’’
Exodus 6:6.
a. Who were to be set free?
b. What did the Lord say he would do to the Egyptians?
c. Mention two things that the Lord promised these people.
d. What does God’s spirits set people free from?

UNIT 4: THE BIBLE

Composition of the Bible

Collection of books

 The bible contains two collections of books, the Old Testament and the New Testament.
 The word Testament means “agreement”.
 These books were written by different people over a period of 1400 years.
 The books are named for their theme or topic, or they are named after their author. Each
book is divided into chapters and verses.
 Although 40 different authors wrote the books of the Bible, it is still viewed as one book.
The Bible records hasalmost 4000 years of human history and it is about God’s relationship
with man.
Books chapters and verses

 When the Bible was first written, it was not divided into chapters and verses. This made it
difficult to refer to specific parts of each book.
 Bishop Steven Langton divided the Bible into chapter. Latter, a printer in France divided
the chapters into verses.

Parts of the Bible

 The Old Testament contains 39 books and the New Testament contains 27 books.
 The word “Testament” refers to the covenant, agreement or pact between God and his
people.
 A covenant is similar to a contract. It also binds God’s people to do what they have agreed
with God.

Hebrews, Israelites and Jews

 The Old Testament books tell how different groups of people or families were called by
God or were unfaithful to God. God called Abraham.
 In the Old Testament, Abraham is the ancestor of the people called Hebrews. Abraham had
two sons Ishmael and Isaac. Isaac was chosen by God.
 Isaac had two sons–Esau and Jacob. The name of Jacob was changed to Israel and Israel is
the ancestor of the people called Israelites.
 The Israelites were a group of different tribes who lived in Palestine. The king who united
these tribes in one nation was called David who ruled over the Israelites.
 David belonged to the Israelite tribe called Judah. He chose Jerusalem as the capital city.
After the rule of David’s son, Solomon, most of the Israelites refused to be rules by David’s
descendants.
 Only a small group, including the tribe of Judah continued under the rules of David’s family
in Jerusalem.
 The people, who lived in this area called Judah or Judea in the southern Palestine, are called
Jews.

The Old Testament

  The books of the Old Testament were written down about 1000BC. Many parts of the Old
Testament begun as oral traditions passed on by the word of mouth.
 These oral traditions were gradually written and arranged into books; the books of the Bible
are not arranged in the order in which they were written, but they are grouped according to
their topic e.g. Books that deal with history, poetry, wisdom or prophecy are grouped
together.
 A decision about which books should be included in the Jewish scriptures was made at a
meeting of Jewish leaders in 90 AD called the council of Jamnia.
 However, another group of Jewish religious leaders wished to include more books in the
Jewish scripture, that is why some Bibles have 39 books in the Old Testament and others
have 45 books.
 The Old Testament is about the agreement between God and the Israelites. The main theme
of the Old Testament is that God would look after the Israelites if they obey God’s laws.
This agreement, which is also called a “covenant”, it is stated in Deuteronomy 7:11-13.
 In the Good news Bible, you find a group of books called “Deutercanonical/Apocrypha”
between the Old and New Testament. These were not included in the Jewish scriptures by
the Jews who met at Jamnia.
 ‘Deuterocanonical’ means those books of the Bible which were later added to the canon.
‘Apocrypha’ (hidden) are books of the Old Testament which are not written in Hebrew.
 The ‘canon’ is the list of the Bible books accepted by the church.

The Old Testament books:

 Bible Law: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy

 Bible History: Joshua, Samuel, etc.
 Bible Poetry: Job/Psalms
 Bible wisdom: Proverbs/ Ecclesiastes
 Bible Prophecy: Isaiah/ Jeremiah/ Ezekiel

The Passover

 The Israelites were living in Egypt and working as slaves of the king of Egypt.
  God sent many disasters to the Egyptians so that they would give the Israelites freedom,
but the Egyptian king refused until one night, all the first born children in Egypt died except
the children of the Israelites.
 That night was called the Passover, because God passed over the Israelites home without
killing the children there. The following day, the king of Egypt allowed the Israelites to
go free and to leave Egypt.
 Ever since that time the Israelites and their descendants, the Jews have cerebrated the
Passover each year to remember how God gave them freedom from slavery in Egypt.
 Read about the Passover in the book of Exodus: 11 and 12.

Origin of the Jewish scripture

 The books of the Old Testament form the “written Torah” which is part of the Jewish Holy
Scripture. Jews do not call these books the Old Testament.
 The written Torah is also known as Tanakh. The other Jewish scripture is the “oral Torah”
and it explains the meaning of the scriptures of the written Torah and how they should be
followed.
 Both the Oral Torah and the written Torah have been around for 3,300 years. The Oral
Torah was written down about 1,500 years ago and is called the Talmud.

The new Testament Books

The New Testament is about the agreement between God and people. The agreement is based on
love between God and the people. This agreement is described in John 3:16 and John 14:23.

 The books of the New Testament tell how this agreement was made and what it means to
people to love God.
 The books in the New Testament are the earliest writings by Christians. There is a gap of
400year between the end of the Old Testament and the start of the New Testament.
 The books of the New Testament were written between 50AD and 150AD.
 There are two kinds of books in the New Testament:
a. Books of stories about Jesus and the beginning of the Christian church (the first five
books).
b. Letters of advice, teaching and encouragement written to Christian churches. (The other
22 books).

In the New Testament there are:

 Gospels: Mathew, Mark, Like and John

 Church History: Acts of the Apostles
 Letters: from Paul, John, Peter, Jude and James
 Prophecy: Revelation

The Gospels

 The first four books in the New Testament are called the “Gospels” which means books
of good news.
 They were written to tell people good news about Jesus Christ who had lives and died and
rose to bring a new agreement or covenant between God and his people.
 The gospels were written to show what the Christians believed about Jesus and to tell how
Jesus had brought God’s kingdom.
 The stories and teachings of Jesus were first passed on as oral traditions, and then some of
them were written down to be read in church services with the Jewish scriptures.
 The gospels were written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John who were all disciples of
Jesus.
 Each gospel tells the story of the life of Jesus Christ, but each one is written for a different
audience. E.g.
- Matthew wrote for his fellow Jews concentrating on the long awaited Messiah. He showed
Jesus as the new Moses repeating the law giver of the New Testament.
-Mark shows Jesus in action proving the truth of his teaching by what he did.
-Luke gives an “orderly account” based on eye witness accounts. He shows Jesus with a
warm concern for the people.
-John shows that simple things have a deep meaning.

Read Mark 1:1, Luke 1:1-4, John 20:30-31

Choosing Christian Scriptures

  It took the Christians Church more than 300years to decide exactly which books to be
included in the New Testament.
 The list of 27 books was finally decided at the meeting of church leaders called Council
of Carthagein North Africa in 397 AD.

Bible Translations

 The Old Testament books were originally written in Hebrew and Aramaic.
 The New Testament books were originally written in Greek, which was the common
language around the Mediterranean Sea at the time of Jesus.
 Today, the Bible has been translated into over 2000 different languages, so that most of the
people could read it.

The use of the Bible

Many of the Bible passages are plain and obvious. However, we should not approach the Bible as
if it were an ordinary book.

 2 Timothy 3:16 says that, “for Christian the scriptures are to be used to for teaching the
truth about God, for correcting wrong ideas about God and for showing people how God
wants them live”.

Steps in understanding the Bible

There are three steps:

a. Understand

What the passage actually says.

 When and where were the book or passage written and the setting.
 Why was it written? The purpose.
 What kind of writing is in this passage: Psalm, letter, proverb or Parable? The form.
 What is the whole book about? The context.
 What is the meaning of the individual words? Words.
b. Explain – what does the passage mean?
 What did the passage mean to the original hearers?
  What is the main point or teaching of the passage?
 How does it compare with other perhaps clearer bible passages?
 If it was written to meet particular needs at that time, is there a general principle which
applies.
c. Apply – What does the passage mean today?
 What is a similar situation today to that of the original readers?
 Does the passage have some teaching about God, man, the world and the church?
 Is there an example to follow in the light of the passage?
 Does it lead to prayer of praise?
 Can we make our own the writer’s words or expression of feeling?

SAMPLE QUESTIONS

1. What is the Bible?

2. Who divided the Bible into chapters?
3. A canon is…..
4. List the books of the gospels.
5. The following agreements were made between which group of people;
a. New Testament-
b. Old Testament-
6. Identify the first five books of the Old Testament.
7. Give two kinds of the books that are found in the New Testament.
8. According to Christians the word gospel means?
9. Which meeting was the decision about which books to include in the New Testament
made?

10. How many books were decided at the meeting and where was it held?

11. Why was the Bible translated into many languages?

12. What three steps do we need to take into consideration in order to understand the Bible
well?

13. Mention the groups of books in the New Testament.

UNIT 5: CHOICES AND TALENTS

How people make choices

A choice, being able to choose one thing to the level best of your mind.

Making choices

 There are circumstances or conditions in our lives that we have no control over like
choosing parents, gender, race etc. We have to deal with such circumstances because we
are not able to deal with them.
 On the other hand success depends on how skilful we are at making good choices. There
are many things we can choose in life, e.g., our friends, type of clothes and activities we
do in our spare time.
 When we are older we can chose a husband or a wife and a career.

Steps in making choices

Three important steps:

 See: we need to use our five senses to identify our options.

 Judge: we need to evaluate the options.
 Act: we need to take action.

Different levels of choices

Personal level- An individual making personal choice.

Family Level-parents giving advice to their children on which talent to develop.

Community Level-society has to make choices about things that affect many people and advice
young children what to pursue.

Each one will have their own point of view. Many factors can affect the choices that a group of
people make.
  These include age, gender, culture and position of power.

Religious teachings on making choices

 The teachings of a religion guide religious followers in their daily choices.

 These teachings are important because they inspire people to look at their current life and
the future with hope.

Central teaching when making choices

Zambian Traditional Religion

 Is to show respect to fellow human being and to be at peace with the spirits of the dead.

Christianity

 Is to love God and your neighbour“fellow man”.

 Loving God means, putting him first in your life. This means that a Christian must use his
or her time, money and resources to please God.

Islam

 Is to show obedience to Allah and to live at peace with every Muslim in the world.
 Muslims show complete obedience to Allah by following the five pillars of Islam.

Hinduism

 Is to be free from all selfishness and all desires.

 Hindus believe that sin and suffering come about from peoples evil desires.
 The Bhagavad Gita says: “The person who gives up all desires without thinking ‘mine’ or
‘I’ is the one who gains peace.”

Choices show ones aim in life

 Your choices show your aim in life. E.g. If you choose to work hard at school, you show
that you aim to get a good education.
 The choices that Jesus made show us that he valued what kind of life he aimed to live.
Jesus in the temple
  Every year, all adult Jews had to visit the city of Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover
festival. Because Jerusalem was the capital city for the Jews, Jews could only offers
sacrifices to God in Jerusalem.
 A Jewish boy becomes an adult at the age of twelve, so when Jesus was twelve years old,
he went to Jerusalem with his parents (Luke 2:41-49, Matthew 13: 45-46, Matthew 19:16-
22)

The Baptism of Jesus (Lk 3:21-22)

 When Jesus made up his mind about what he wanted to do, he came to John the Baptist to
be baptized.
 By doing this, he showed everybody that he had decided to teach people about God’s word.
He also wanted his life to be an example for people to follow.
 It was important because God confirmed to the whole world that Jesus was the son of God.
 While being baptised, heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit came down upon him in
bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “you are my own dear son, I am
pleased with you.” Luke 3:21-22.

The Temptation of Jesus

The Spirit led Jesus into the desert to be tempted by the devil.He was there for forty days and
nightswithout food.

 The devil tempted Jesus to act in a selfish way and produce food for Him to eat.
 Secondly, he tempted Jesus to give honour to the devil so that he could own the whole
world.
 In the last temptation Jesus was told to jump from the top of the temple.
 On every occasion that the devil tempted Jesus, he rebuked him. This shows that Jesus was
able to make right decisions even in difficult circumstances (Matthew 4: 1-11, Mark 1, 12-
13 and Luke4: 1-13)
 Talents

A talent is a natural ability to do something well.

The parable of Talents (Mt 25:14-30)

 The parable of the talents Jesus told the parable of the talents as a lesson about how people
can develop or lose their talents.
 The story is about a rich man who had to leave his estate when he travelled to another
country. He entrusted his property to his three servants. The talent in this parable is a sum
of money.
 Five talents were given to the first servant, two talents were given to the second servant
and one talent was given to the third servant. When he returned he asked how each of the
servants had used their talents he had given the.
Discovering talents
 Through practicing
 Through friends
Losing talents
 By not practicing
 Losing interest
 Being discouraged

Which talent to develop?

Although people may have many talents, they should choose those which are helpful to them and
in the society that they live in. You must:

 Know yourself. Know what talents you have, known what you do well and what you do
badly.
 Know what people need. Know what jobs need to be done, know what things people
would like to have which are not available , know what further talent you can develop by
further training after you have left school.
 Match your talents with the things that people need.

SAMPLE QUESTIONS
 1. Define the word talent.
2. Show one way how you can develop a talent.
3. What happens to someone who does not use his talent?
4. Identify two things one has to consider when developing a talent.
5. Differentiate between a choice and a talent.
6. Compare the central teaching of African religion and Islam about choices.
7. Explain why choices are important in life.
8. Give the three steps one has to consider when making choices.
9. Name the place in Jerusalem where Jews met for prayers.
10. State the age at which a Jewish boy became an adult.

BIBLE PASSEGES

1. ‘’Why did you have to look for me? Didn’t you know that I had to be in my father’s house’’?
a. With whom was he?
b. What was he doing?
c. What was Jesus’ aim in life?
2. ‘’ But Jesus answered, the scripture say: Do not take the Lord your God to the test’’
a. On what occasion were these words said?
b. Who was Jesus talking to on this occasion?
c. What happened to Jesus before this occasion?
d. In all the temptations, Jesus showed his main aim in life. What was it?
3. ‘’After a long time the Lord of those servants settled accounts with them’’ Matthew 25:19
a. What did the second servant do with his talents?
b. What did the master say to the second servant?
c. Why was the third servant thrown out into the darkness?
d. What did the master do with the talent of the third servant?
e. From this story, what do Christians learn about what they should do with their talents’’
4. ‘’ You are my own dear son, I am pleased with you’’
a. Who said these words?
b. To whom were these words said?
c. What had just happened?
 d. What two other things happened on this occasion?

UNIT 6

COMPETITION, CO-OPERATION AND TRUST.

Competition

 Competition is striving or trying hard to be better than others.

 Competition can make you work harder because you are trying to be better than someone
else.
 Healthy competition is good because it is through hard work that a society or a nation will
develop.
 Competition can either be formal or informal. You can compete as an individual or as part
of a group.
 Competition has many rewards. E.g. prizes, money and becoming popular.
 Competition becomes bad when you do it in order to look down upon others.
 Competition must always go hand in hand with responsibility.

Co-operation and trust

 Co-operation means working together towards a common good.

 When you co-operate with others, you may have to put your own feelings, ideas or goals
to one side because they may not be the best way to achieving your common goal.

Levels of co-operation

People co-operate on many different levels for the common good of their group. They co-operate:

 Economically- by the use of co-operatives and credit unions e.g., farmer’s cooperatives.
  Nationally- By working together for a common good which could be the aim of the
government, e.g., ensuring that there are medicines in the Hospitals and infrastructure in
schools.
 Ecumenically- By working together with other churches e.g., interdenominational
gatherings.
 Internationally- By working with other nations worldwide, through such organizations as
the United Nations (UN), African Union (AU) etc.

Benefits of co-operation

 Co-operation results in both good and bad things. E.g. if people work together with good
motives, it results in good things. But if they work together with bad motives it results in
bad things.

Co-operation in Islam

 The Quran and the Shariah Law encourages the believers to live a life based on positive
values that express the need and importance of deep concern for others in order to create
a better society.
 This is based on the first duty entrusted to Muslim, namely to submit to God’s will at all
times.

The Quran says:

‘’show kindness to the orphans and to the needy to your need and distant neighbours and to
travellers. God does not love proud and boastful people who are selfish who teach others to be
selfish who hide riches which God has given them and who spend their wealth for the sake of
showing off’’.

 One of the main duties of Muslims is almsgiving, which is, giving away money and
property to the poor and needy.

Co-operation in Hinduism

 Hinduism believe that each person has a duty or way of that they are supposed to follow.
E.g. a teacher, a nurse, a priest or a parent each has to follow his own Dharma.
  Further the other duties of a person would vary according to his occupation, class one’s
position, moral and spiritual development and material status.
 Dharma includes all external deeds, as well as thoughts and other perfection and glory.

The Bhagavad- Gita says:

 ‘’There is more joy in doing one’s duty, but doing another person’s duty brings fear’’. It is
therefore important to develop the talents which you have in order to serve God and other
people.
 Whatever the duties, they are to be performed with Excellency and moral and spiritual
purity.
 The Bhagavad - Gita says,’’ Let the scriptures be the authority in determining what ought
to be done and what ought not to be done’’.

Trust

Trusting people means believing that they are honest and will do what they have promised to do.

 When you trust a person it means you believe that person is willing to and able to do what
you expect.
 Trust is needed for both co-operation and competition. There cannot be co-operation
without trust.

Trusting is so important that it is used in many languages:

For example;
 Kusepaa (lozi).
 Kushoma (Tonga).
 Kukhulupilila (Chewa).
 Ukucetekela (Bemba).
 Kuketekela (Kaonde).

Creating trust

 Creating trust can be fruitful when a promise has been fulfilled e.g.
  When you lendyour friend a pencil, and your friend returns it to you after using it, you will
trust your friend more in the future.
 If someone tells you a secret and you do not reveal that secret, you shall be trusted more
by that person.

SAMPLE QUESTIONS

1. Define the word competition.

2. What does co-operation mean?
3. Identify two bad things that competition brings about?
4. Explain why competition was discouraged in Zambian tradition.
5. Give two reasons why trust is needed.
6. Write three proverbs that talk about co-operation.
7. Outline two ways on how trust can be created among the people.
8. State what Isha Upanishad says about co-operation.
9. Compare the teachings of Zambian tradition and Islam on competition and co-operation.
10. Describe one situation where trust is needed.
BIBLE PASSEGES

‘’Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother to James’’? Mark 6:3

a. To whom were the people referring when they said these words?
b. In which town was this?
c. Why did people not trust the person being referred to?
d. What did the person referred to in the quotation say to the people at the end?

UNIT 7
 DIVISION, SIN AND FORGIVENESS

Division and Hatred

There are many forms and causes of division in society e.g.

 Theft
 Corruption
 War
 Murder
 Tribe
 Quarrels
 Jealousy
 Selfishness
 Discrimination

There is evil in the world and there is hatred, all these things cause divisions in Zambia and the
world at large.

Religious divisions

1. Division in Christianity
 Christianity teaches people to love one another however it may cause divisions among
people. Even among Christians we may see that there are divisions, sometimes, among
different denominations. E.g. Luke12:51-53, the bible says, ‘’ Do you suppose that I came
to bring peace to the world? No, not peace but division. From now on a family of five will
be divided, three against two and two against three.
 Fathers will be against their mothers, mother-in- law be against their daughters-in-law, and
daughters-in-law against their mothers-in-law’’.
 From James 4:1-2 ‘’where do all the fights and quarrels among you come from? They come
from your desires for pleasure, which are constantly fighting within you.
 You want things but you cannot have them, so you are ready to kill. You strongly desire
things but you cannot get them, so you quarrel and fight’’.
The letters to the churches in the New Testament tell a lot about divisions and separation between
Christians due to the following reasons.

 Because others do not believe in God and in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 6:14-17).
 Because some people do not behave as Christians should behave (1 Corinthians 5:1-2 and
9-11).
 Because different Christians follow different leaders (1 Corinthians 1:11-13).
 Because there are different teachings about God and Jesus (2 John 7-11).

2. Division in Hinduism
 The Bhagavad Gita says, ‘’if a person thinks about material things, he will become
attached to them; he will begin to desire them, and from desire comes anger’’.
 A wise man is a perfect social being, which makes society happy by his presence, for he
regards the pain and pleasure of others as his own.
 ‘’He who looks upon every human being as himself with regard to pleasure and pain, he is
considered as a saint of the highest order’’. (Bhagavad-Gita).
3. Division in Islam
 Islam teaches that in the sight of God, all men are equal but they are not necessarily
identical or the same. There are differences in abilities, potentials, ambitions, wealth and
beliefs.
 The Quran says, ’’Unbelievers, I do not serve what you worship, nor do you serve what I
worship, nor will you ever serve what I worship. You have your own religion and I have
mine’’.

Jesus and divisions

Among the Jews at the time of Jesus there were many causes of division and hatred between
people.

At the time of Jesus Christ various groups of people were divided in Palestine, these were;

a. Jews
b. Romans
 c. Samaritans
Why Tax-Collectors hated by fellow Jews
 Because they helped the foreign rulers.
 Made themselves rich overcharging the people they taxed.

Why Samaritans were hated by the Jews

 Because Samaritans did not worship at the temple in Jerusalem.

 Samaritans did not accept the Jewish scriptures.

Why the Romans were hated by the Jews

 Romans soldiers in Palestine forced the Jews to obey them and pay taxes to the Romans.
 Many Jews hated the Romans and wanted to be free from colonial rule.
So Jesus as a holy Jewish man was expected to keep himself away.

Jesus overcomes division

Jesus overcomes divisions in society because;

 He was open to any person.

 He was brave.

Note: read the following Bible passages about Jesus overcoming divisions.

 Luke 5:27-30- Jesus calls the tax collector;

 Matthew 8:5-13 Jesus cures the Romans’ servant;
 John 4:6-9 the Samaritan woman;
 Luke 5:12-13 Jesus cures a leper.

Religious Teaching about Overcoming Hatred

 In Christianity, overcoming division and hatred Jesus taught in the Bible, Matthew 5:37-
47 ‘’ love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you’’.
 Muslimthe Quran says, ‘’ Repay evil deeds with good deeds and the person who is your
enemy will become your dearest friend’’.
  Hinduism the Vedassays, ‘’Do not repay a blow or an insult; do not cheat a person who
has cheated you; give blessings in return for blows and insults’’ Mahatma Gandhi said,
‘’A religion can be defended only by the holiness and good deeds of its followers, never
by quarrels’’.

Sin and forgiveness

 Sin is the wrong people do and the failure by people to show love to God and each other.
 Sin is also the selfishness or caring about things and other people so much that they become
more important to you than God is.
In Zambian Traditional Religion, there are three kinds of sin and these are;
-Neglecting the spirits: - the punishment for this is sickness in the family.
-Offending the spirits: - punishment is dealt with by a family group. This is to say that
the whole family mighty suffers.
-Hatred and Witchcraft: - this is where someone (known as a witch) looks for medicine
to harm people.

Sin in Islam

 Sin means disobeying God and Gods word in the Quran.

 The worst sin is to stop believing in God and the Quran (to stop being a Muslim).

Sin and forgiveness in Hinduism

 Sin is selfishness or caring about things and other people so much that they become more
important to you than God.
 The Vedas say, ‘’When a sin is confessed it becomes less, it becomes the truth’’.

Evil is always found where there is no knowledge of God.

Sin in Christianity

 Sin is the natural selfishness that each person is born with.

 We all care most about ourselves of this we often harm our neighbour. God gave us the
Ten Commandments as guidelines in our lives.
How to be forgiven

If a person who has sinned wants to be friends again with God or with the one who has been
offended, four things are needed:

1. Repentance: - changing your mind, being sorry of the wrong thing you did.
2. Confession: - sayingsorry, admitting that what you did was wrong.
3. Penance: - doing something to show you are really sorry, accepting a punishment,
paying back what you took or spoiled.
4. Forgiveness: - forgiving the one you want to forgive you, showing that there is no
bitterness in your heart about the quarrel or fight between you. One outstanding
example is the parable of the ‘Lost Son and the Forgiving Father’. Luke 15:11-32

Teaching about forgiveness

In Christianity- the story of the forgiving father teaches Christians that God is always willing to
forgive sinners who come back to Him.

ReadMatthew 18:21-35 about the parable of the unforgiving servant and Matthew 6:12-15 Jesus
giving Christians a model prayer in which they are encouraged to forgive other people in order
for them to be forgiven too.

 Luke 17:3-4 ‘’If your brother sins, rebuke him, and repents, forgive him. If he sins against
you seven times in one day, and each time he comes to you saying I repent, you must
forgive him’’.
 In Hinduism- the Vedas say, ‘’when a sin is confessed, it becomes less, because it becomes
the truth’’.According to Mahatma Ghandi, he says, ‘’Confession of sins is like a broom
that sweeps away the dirt and leaves the surface cleaner than before….. A clean confession,
combined with a promise never to sin again, is true repentance’’.
 In Muslim- the Quran says, ‘’One who is forgiven by the person he has offended must still
be prosecuted according to custom and must pay the offended person’’.‘’People who
control their anger and who forgive others are rewarded with forgiveness from God’’.
 ‘’A kind word with forgiveness is better than kindness followed by insult. God is
forgiving’’.
Asking God for forgiveness

 Christians pray to God as from Matthew 6:12-15, ‘’Forgive us our sins as we forgive the
people who sin against us’’. It is through prayer Christians ask God for forgiveness.
 Muslims prayer from the Quran says, ‘’Lord do not be angry with us and if we forget
and commit sins. Lord does not charge us with more than we can bear. Pardon us, forgive
us our sins and have mercy upon us. You alone are our protector’’.
 Hinduism prayer from the Vedas: ‘’If we have sinned against a person who loves us, we
have wronged a brother, a dear friend or a comrade, if we have sinned against a
neighbour or a stranger, removed this stain from us, O God.

Forgiveness in Action

 Involves making an apology to someone you offended.

 Paying back to someone what you collected in bad faith.
 It will also involve shaking hands, hugging each other; continue talking to each other even
after a difference etc.

SAMPLE QUESTIONS

1. According to the letters to the church in the New Testament, why was there division and
separation between Christians?
2. Mention two groups of people that were divided at the time of Jesus in Palestine?
3. Give two reasons why Tax-collectors were hated by fellow Jews?
4. Identify the two ways on how Jesus overcame division in society.
5. What are the four things that are needed for reconciliation to take place?
6. Why does the Vedas say, ‘’ when a sin is confessed, it becomes less’’?
7. Explain what the story of the prodigal son/lost son teaches Christians.
8. Describe the reasons why the letters to churches in the New Testament tell a lot about divisions
and separation between Christians.
9. Name the three kinds of sin in Zambian traditional life.
10. How did the Jews treat those who suffered from skin disease like leprosy?

BIBLE PASSEGES
 1. ‘’ After a few days the younger son sold his part of property and left home with the money’’
Luke 15:13.
a. How did the younger son spend his money?
b. When the money finished, what kind of work did he get?
c. What did the younger son say to his father on his return?
d. How does the father show that he has forgiven the younger son?
e. What lesson does Christian learn from this story?
2. Jesus sat down by the well. It was about noon. A Samaritan woman came to draw some
water. John 4: 4-7
a. What did Jesus first say to the Samaritan woman?
b. What did the woman repay to Jesus?
c. Mention two things which caused division between the Jews and the Samaritan.
d. What happened when Jesus wanted to stay in a village in Samaria?
e. What did Jesus’ disciples, James and John, went to do to that Samaritan village?
3. Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him. ‘’I do want to’’ he answered ‘’Be clean’’
a. Who was Jesus talking to?
b. What had the person said to Jesus?
c. Mention two groups of people that were divided in Palestine at the time of Jesus.
4. ‘’Oh no Sir.’’ Answered the officer. ‘’I do not deserve you to come into my house just give
the order….’’ Matthew 8: 8
a. Who said these words to Jesus?
b. What did the man want Jesus to do for him?
c. What was Jesus reaction when he heard this?
d. What did Jesus say to the man?
 UNIT 8

LEARNING AND TRUTH

Ways of Learning

There are two types of learning namely:

 Guided learning and

 Unguided learning

Guided learning

 This is the type of learning where someone deliberately teaches another person.

Unguided learning

 Is the kind of learning where we sometimes do not realize that we are learning e.g. the way
we talk, the way we walk, dress, laugh, dance etc.?

Choosing what we learn

We often do not choose what we learn by guided learning; however what we learn by unguided
learning we can often choose. When choosing we make three steps namely:

 See- the things from which we can choose.

 Judge- which is best according to our standards and
 Act- by doing what we have judged best.

Learning in different Religions

 1. Christianity

How did Jesus teach his disciples?

 Together with the crowds by preaching and telling stories (Luke 6:20-26, 8:4-8, 14:25-33).
 By giving them special teachings not given to the crowds (15, 9:8-21).Luke 8: 9-
 By living and travelling with them (Luke 8:1, 9; 10, 18:31).
 By ending them out to experience the work of preaching and healing (Luke 9:1-6, 10:1).
 By giving them an example to follow (John 13:12-15, 15:12).

Today churches give guided learning to their members through Bible classes, sermons, catechism
lessons and Christian books.

Every person who is a Christian gives unguided learning by everything they do and say, by how
they look and how they treat other people.

2. Zambian Traditional life

 There was guided learning, especially for the youth before initiation ceremonies or marriage.
3. Islam
 Islam favours guided learning through listening to the Imam as he explains the teachings of
the Quran.
 A Muslim is expected to learn the Quran by heart as much as possible, so that they will obey
God at all times and in all things. Learning from people is not necessary because God has given
in the Quran a direct guided learning experience for each person.
4. Hinduism
 In Hinduism, unguided learning is emphasized as the path to true knowledge. One who
wants to learn the right path will go and stay with a guru, a holy man.
 A guru teaches by what he is and how he lives more than by what he says. A disciple is
expected to watch and imitate a guru. His sayings are often riddles or hints or problems which
the disciple must work out for him.

Contradictions in learning

Sometimes different learning experiences contradict each other. For example,

 The guided learning you have in church or Mosque about God creating the world in six days
may contradict the guided learning you have in school about the world developing over six
millions of years.
 The unguided learning you have by seeing that one of your teachers enjoys smoking cigarettes
may contradict the unguided learning you have by seeing that another of your teachers hates
even the smell of tobacco.
 The guided learning you receive from someone (what they say) may contradict the unguided
learning you receive from the same person (their actions).

Matthew 23:1-3. What the teachers of the law and the Pharisees taught contradicted what they
taught.

Three ways in which a statement can be true

 Historically true e.g. there was never a real person who was a good Samaritan in Jesus
parables
 Emotionally true e.g. describing people’s feelings.
 Not factuallytrue e.g. stories and parables are true but they are fictions.
 Mathematically true e.g. when you add one plus two is equal to three.

Statements of facts, opinion and beliefs

When we are trying to find out the truth of a statement, we must know whether it is a matter of
fact or opinion or of belief.

Statements of facts include;

 Zambia is a country in Africa

 The bible is a collection of books

Statements of opinion include;

 John is more handsome than peter.

 The bible contains interesting stories.

Statements of belief include;

  Zambia is a Christian country
 The bible is the word of God

Standards of truth

People have different standards of truth.

 This include personal experiences with their one of the five senses are true; they think that
only what they have seen or smelt or heard or touched or tasted is true.
 Some think that everything they read in a newspaper, a magazine or a book is true, others
trust that anything seen in a film or on television is true.
 While others believe that everything written in the Bible is true.
Traditionally in Zambia truth was only known by the elders. It was believed that they
had proved by experiences what was true and learned from the experience of the elders
before them.

Some Zambian proverbs talking about truth;

 Akanwa ka mwefu takabepa (Bemba) - The bearded mouth does not lie.
 Mau a akulu akoma akagonera (Chewa) – The words of the elders become sweet the day
after.
 Mupati usiigwa kuluno ku maano tomusiyi (Tonga) - The elder is overtaken in running but
not in wisdom.
 As to the above African Traditional religion proverbs, the wiser and more experienced the
person was only elderly people can be said to have wisdom because they have experienced
many things in life.
 Truth is known by experience. A rain-maker speaks the truth if rain comes when he has
promised it.
 A doctor speaks the truth if his/her medicine cures the sickness.
 A diviner speaks the truth if his/her solution for the problem removes the problem.
 In African Traditional religion taboos were there; things that are said to help people avoid
doing wrong things. Taboos are true because troubles come to people who disobey them.
If not these taboos are forgotten. Truth is proved by experienced; the elders have more
experience and so they know more of the truth.
Truth in Hinduism

 Hinduism teaches that Brahman is the Only Reality and the Only Truth. All the things we
see and touch are not truly real; they are always changing and they will pass away.
 Only the Soul is real, because it is part of Brahman; the Great Soul. The most important
truth and the real truth is that each person’s Soul (Atman) is part of the Great Soul
(Brahman).
 Brahman is greater than anyone can understand or know; the truth of Brahman cannot be
fully understood or known by anyone.
 Each person may find out only part of the truth, but only part. That part will be wrong
because it is not the whole truth.
 This is illustrated in the story of the six blind men and the elephant.
 This traditional Hindu story teaches that each person can know only part of the truth.
 Each blind man was partly right but each man was wrong about what an elephant was.
 In the same way, each religious tradition knows only part of the truth but none knows the
whole truth.

Truth in Islam

 For the Muslim, the standard of truth is God’s word in the Quran. Anyone that contradicts
the Quran cannot be true.
 No human being can know more or better than God. In dealing with matters not found in
the Quran, Islam encourages scientific research to find out the truth about God’s word.
 Traditionally, Muslims have been pioneers in Mathematics, Science and Technology.

Truth in Christianity

 Christians believe that God shows people the truth through the things that he created-
vegetation, animals, the earth, the sky, moon, people all these tell the truth about God,and
through the events which happen in God’s world e.g. the beautiful weather and seasons.
 God also shows people the truth about himself through two most important ways which are
through the Holy Spirit and through Jesus Christ.
 John 14:6 Jesus said, ” I am the truth’’
 John 14:1 ‘’he is the Spirit who reveals the truth about God’’
  John 16:13 when the Spirit comes, who reveals the truth about God, he will lead you into
all truth’’.
 People can know the truth about God by knowing Jesus Christ his son and by obeying
God’s Holy Spirit.

Living truthfully

 Christians believes that God is true because they have experienced that God is faithful and
keeps His promises and does not change His loving attitudes towards people.
 The Old Testament tells that God was faithful to the people he had chosen, even when they
were unfaithful to him.Hosea 1:3 and 3:1 the prophet Hosea was faithful to his wife
although she was unfaithful to him. Hosea said that God was the same; God still loved the
Israelites, although they worshipped other gods and disobeyed God’s commandments.
 Romans 8:38-39 Paul writes that nothing at all can separate Christians from Gods love for
them. God remains faithful and true in spite of all disasters and discouragements.
 God is the truth because God is faithful and Gods love does not change. Jesus lived
truthfully because he remained faithful to God, even though that led to his death. Jesus
remained true to his baptism, his work and his teachings through all difficulties and
dangers.
 For the Christians today, living truthfully means being faithful to Gods commandments
and always behaving in the loving way that Jesus showed.
 Living truthfully means not changing ones behaviour or standards when temptations and
difficulties come.

Finding out the truth

 Modern scientific education teaches us to find out the truth by observation and experiment.
 Scientific method has shown how nature works and has made a lot of developments
possible.
 We use scientific methods to find out the truth of ‘’factual’’ statements, but scientific
methods cannot help us find out the truth of statements like ‘’ I love you’’, ‘’ God creates
everything’’ or ‘’Communism is wrong’’.

Five important Questions to ask when finding out about the truth
To find out about the truth of what we read or hear, we need to ask these five questions about it:

1. Who said it?

2. What did he say?
3. What did he mean?
4. How does he know it?
5. What value does it have for my life?

To answer these questions correctly, it is important for us to listen or read carefully. If we do not
pay attention, we shall not find out the truth of what is being said.

Prejudice

 ‘’Prejudice’’ means ‘’judging in advance’’, deciding before you know the truth, or
making up your mind before listening to or looking at the facts.

Examples of some prejudices

 Men are selfish.

 Communists are liars.
 Bembas talk too much.
 Politicians are corrupt.
 Women are foolish etc.

SAMPLE QUESTIONS

1. Mention the two types of learning.

2. Which type of learning involves someone deliberately teaching someone?
3. State the five types of questions one has to ask in finding out the truth of what we read or
hear.
4. Give examples where Jesus gave his disciples unguided learning experience.
5. Compare the kind of learning that Hinduism teaches to learning in Islam.
6. Identify the three steps we need to take into consideration before making a choice.
7. How does a Guru teach?
8. Explain how Christians gave guided learning to their members.
 9. What is the name of the traditional Hindu story that teaches that each person can only know
part of the truth?
10. Define the word prejudice.

BIBLE PASSEGES

1. Jesus said,’’ I have set an example for you, so that you will do just what I have done for
you’’. John 13: 15
a. On what occasion did Jesus say these words?
b. To whom did Jesus say these words?
c. What had Jesus done for them?
d. This was one way Jesus taught his disciples. What why is this?
2. ‘’ Go and get married; your wife will be unfaithful, and your children will be just like
her’’ Hosea 1: 2
a. Who said these words?
b. To whom were these words said?
c. What was the name of the unfaithful wife?
d. To who was the unfaithful wife compared?
e. What is the main lesson in the book from which these words were taken?
3. ‘’ Take nothing with you for your journey…….’’ Luke 9: 3
a. How many disciples did Jesus send out?
b. What did he send them out to do?
c. Mention two things which they were not to carry?
d. Mention two tasks they were to carry out.
4. ‘’Once there was a man who went out to sow grain…… As he scattered the seed in the
field, some of it fell along the path……’’ Luke 8: 5
a. What happened to the seed that fell along the path?
b. What happened to the seed that fell on rocky ground?
c. What happened to the seed that fell among thorny bushes?
d. What happened to the seed that fell in good soil?
e. What is the name of this parable?
f. Was this parable guided or unguided learning?
END OF GRADE EIGHT