Section A

Communities of Faith

Founding of Religion stories

1. The Story of Buddha

Siddhartha Gotama, who became the Buddha, was the son of King Sudhodana, the
ruler of a small kingdom in northeast India near present day Nepal. It is an area
where the foothills of the Himalayas meet the wide and fertile plains of the
Ganges valley. At that time Indian society was based on a tradition of rigid and
hierarchical class divisions known as the caste system. Everyone's status in society
and the work they did was determined by their birth. Although there was the
deepest respect for spiritual values, only those born into the priest caste had the
freedom to fully observe a religious life.

The Early Life of the Buddha

Prince Siddhartha was born into the warrior caste. It is said that at the time of
his birth wise men prophesied that he destined to become a great man, either a
powerful emperor or a revered holy teacher. King Sudhodana wished for his son to
succeed him as king and so did everything to ensure that this would happen.
Siddhartha grew up in the lap of luxury, surrounded by beauty, wealth and
pleasure, protected by his father from ever seeing suffering. When, as a young
man, he saw for the first time sickness,
old age and death, he was devastated. At the age of twenty-nine, he gave up his
wealth and kingdom forever and went in search of the truth. He wanted to find a
way to put an end to all suffering and to help others find this peace and happiness
too.

The Awakened One

After six years of struggle and searching with the religious teachers of the time
he abandoned their methods because they did not have the answers he was
seeking. Meditating alone, seated beneath a tree, he determined not to get up
again until he found the truth of why people suffer. All that night he sat, going
deeper and deeper into meditation, examining the nature of life and death. In the
morning, as the sun rose, with his mind serene and clear, he finally awoke to the
whole truth of existence. Thus he became the Buddha, which means the Awakened
or Enlightened One. Simply he realised that it is the selfishness in our minds, which
cause us to suffer. If instead we fill our minds and hearts with love and compassion
for all living things, we discover a natural deep peace and true happiness unlike any
we have felt before.

Buddha spent the rest of his life teaching and attracting a large community of
followers. He died at the age of eighty, about 483 BCE.

2. The Story of Jesus

According to Christian tradition Jesus was born in Bethlehem just over 2000 years
ago. He grew up in the town of Nazareth in Galilee. We know very little about the
early years of his life but around the age of thirty Jesus recognised that God was
calling him.

He left his home and went to meet his cousin John the Baptist, at the river
Jordan. John had been spending his life helping people turn back to God and
preparing them for the coming of the Messiah. Jesus asked John to baptise him
but John didn't want to because he realised that Jesus was the Messiah or the
Promised One. He thought Jesus should baptise him instead, but he agreed when
Jesus asked him again. When Jesus was baptised the Holy Spirit overshadowed him
taking the form of a dove. A voice spoke to Jesus from heaven saying 'you are my
Son, the Beloved'. Jesus understood at that moment, that he was being called by
God to undertake a special mission.
After his baptism, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days and
forty nights. There he fasted and prayed to prepare for his mission. Satan tried to
tempt Jesus away from his mission. Satan failed.

Jesus' Public Ministry

People stopped to listen when he spoke. Crowds came to listen to him teach. He
taught the Jewish scriptures in a new and exciting way. The people realised that
Jesus was a teacher of the wisdom of God. He said that people should love God
with all their heart and should love their neighbour as much as they loved
themselves. He spoke about a loving God and rejected the idea that people should
fear God. People had never thought about God in this way before. Those who
followed Jesus understood him to be a prophet in a long line of prophets.

Some religious leaders were angry and shocked by this revolutionary teacher. They
thought they were the only true teachers of God's law. Not only did Jesus teach
about a loving God he was also "a doer of wonderful deeds". Jesus worked many
miracles during the three years of his public ministry. Many of these miracles
showed God's loving presence through acts of healing.

For the most part Jesus worked miracles as signs of God's love or as signs of
God's power or to strengthen the faith people already had in God. Jesus never
performed a miracle as a stunt. Many people followed Jesus, and they became
known as his disciples. From among the disciples, Jesus chose twelve as his
constant companions as he travelled throughout Palestine teaching and healing.
These apostles had a special task. They too were to teach, heal and baptise new
disciples.

Jesus Suffers and Dies

To continue his Fathers' work Jesus decided that it was time to go to Jerusalem,
the centre of political and religious power in Palestine. Jesus was a Jew and he
wanted to teach and heal in Judaism's most holy place. Jesus and his followers
arrived in Jerusalem in the midst of the Passover preparations. Throughout
Passover Jewish people join together, thank God and celebrate their freedom from
slavery in Egypt. Great crowds travelled to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. The
Jewish people had been waiting for a Messiah for hundreds of years and many
Jewish people believed that this powerful Messiah would first be seen at Passover
time.
Despite his lack of political ambition Jesus was welcomed into the city and hailed
"King of Israel". However, the kingdom Jesus taught about was very different
from the one desired by anti-Roman citizens longing for the promised Messiah.
Over the next few days Jesus taught, healed and grew in popularity. His opponents
were increasingly worried and wanted to arrest him but Jesus had not broken any
laws. Although it was now clear that he was in grave danger Jesus continued to
teach and heal. He also began to shock his apostles by predicting his death.

On the evening before he died, Jesus called his friends together for a meal. This
meal is now known as The Last Supper. During the meal, Jesus blessed and broke
some bread and divided it between his friends. He said:
"This is my body given for you: Do this in remembrance of me".
(Lk 22:19)
After they finished eating the bread Jesus took a cup of wine, blessed it and gave
it to them and said:
"Drink from it all of you. This is my blood, the blood of the new covenant which is
poured out for many, for the forgiveness of sins"
(Matt. 26:28).

Jesus' friends found this very strange but they continued to trust in him. Later
that evening, Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, turned Jesus over to the Roman
soldiers. The disciples ran away and deserted Jesus in fear. Jesus was arrested
and charged with proclaiming to be the Messiah, with disturbing the peace and
inciting a revolt against the emperor. The Roman governor concluded that Jesus
was innocent but eventually passed the death sentence, as he was under great
pressure to do so. Jesus' opponents wanted him dead. Jesus was crucified the
following day. Any common criminal who was condemned to death died in this way.
It was a slow, painful death. The day of Jesus’ death is known as Good Friday .
Jesus' family and friends were devastated by his death and couldn't understand
why it had happened. They buried him in a tomb before nightfall. A large stone
sealed the entrance to the tomb.

Meeting the Risen Lord

On the Sunday after Jesus' death a group of Jesus' women friends went to the
tomb. They wanted to embalm Jesus' body. When they reached the place where he
was buried they stood in amazement. The tomb was open and empty. The women ran
immediately to tell the other apostles. The apostles could not believe what the
women had to tell them. They thought that: "Their words seemed like nonsense"
(Lk 24:11). Together they went to investigate and discovered that the corpse was
gone. Jesus had risen from the dead. Everyone was very confused.

In the following days numbers of people met Jesus, talked with him, touched him,
walked with him. People were very shocked at first but were slowly filled with
great calm and hope when they realised that Jesus was risen and truly was the Son
of God. Jesus stayed with them for 40 days, before ascending into heaven.

3. The Story of Muhammad

Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, was born in the city of Mecca in the year 570CE.
His childhood was filled with tragedy. His father died before he was born and his
mother, when he was just six years of age. Muhammad's grandfather cared for him
when he was orphaned but died two years later, leaving him in the care of his uncle
Abu Talib. Abu Talib was a kind man who ran a successful caravan trade. From the
age of twelve, Muhammad took an active role in Abu's business and accompanied
him on caravan journeys to Syria. Muhammad earned himself the reputation of
being an honest and trustworthy man. This good reputation attracted Khadija to
him. She was a wealthy and respected widow in the caravanning business. She
employed Muhammad as the overseer of her business. They married when he was
twenty-five and she was forty, and they had six children together. It was a long
and happy marriage until Khadija died in 619CE.

During his marriage to Khadija, Muhammad became very aware of the problems
faced by the Arab people. He saw how badly the sick and poor were treated and
how women and girls were thought of as second-class citizens. Money had become
the most important thing in people's lives and the only religion that existed was
the worship of different idols.

Muhammad became very reflective and often went to a cave in the hills to
contemplate and think about life. This cave was on Mount Hira, a huge barren rock
a few kilometres outside Mecca. He would frequently stay there all night
meditating and reflecting.

Finally, in the year 610CE, when aged forty, Muhammad had the first of a series of
extraordinary experiences, which continued throughout his life. While reflecting in
the cave, Muhammad became aware of a powerful spiritual presence in the cave
with him.
This spiritual being was later identified as the angel Gabriel. The angel announced
to Muhammad that he was to be the messenger of God and commanded him to
"Recite!" Muhammad protested that he could not read, but the angel repeated
"Recite!" for the second time. On the third time, Muhammad recited what are
generally regarded as the first words of the Qur'an to be revealed. Muhammad,
who was terrified, ran back to his wife and told her the story. She took him to her
cousin, who knew a lot about Judaism and Christianity and he told him that it was
the angel Gabriel who appeared to him.

Muhammad began to reveal his mission, first to his family and then to the people of
Mecca. He said that God had commanded him to preach his words to all of
humanity. He respected the teachings of Moses and Jesus, but explained that
Allah had now chosen him to give Allah's final revelation.

At first Muhammad had a small band of followers. But after three years, Allah
instructed him to speak out publicly about Islam and challenge people about their
beliefs and behaviour. As a result he gathered a bigger following but also received
resistance from many wealthy people. Eventually the authorities considered
Muhammad a political threat and he and his followers were hunted and persecuted.

So, in the darkness of night, in 622CE, Muhammad left the dangerous environment
of Mecca, in the company of his friend Abu Bakr. He travelled to Medina and was
warmly welcomed by the people there. This event, known as the Hijra or
'emigration', is regarded by Muslims as the turning point in the foundation of
Islam and is a good example of how Muhammad obeyed the command of Allah.
Muhammad lived for some time in Medina, as a religious leader, before returning to
Mecca and gaining control over the wayward life-styles of the Arabs there. Since
then Islam has grown rapidly and Mecca is now the spiritual centre of Islam.

In 632CE, Muhammad fell ill after a trip to Mecca and died in Medina three days
later. He was sixty-two years old. Muhammad had been guided by the angel Gabriel
for the last twenty-three years of his life. Each time the angel appeared to him, he
remembered exactly what the angel revealed. It was all in very rhythmic language.
These verses were memorised by his followers and written down during his
lifetime. After Muhammad's death, they were collected by the first Muslim Caliph,
to make up the Qur'anic records, and formed the sacred scripture of Islam - the
Qur'an.

4. The Story of Abraham

Abraham is regarded as the Father in Faith by Judaism, Islam and Christianity.

The story in the book of Genesis tells us that God commanded Abram:
"Go from your country and your kinsfolk and your father's house to the land that I
will show you. I will make of you a great nation and will bless you, and make your
name great, so that you will be a blessing." (Genesis 12:1-2)

Abram did as God commanded and set out taking his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, his
flocks and his servants. They journeyed until they reached the land of Canaan,
where they became known as the Hebrews. There God appeared again to Abram
and told him: "I give this land to you and to your descendents forever." God also
promised: "Look toward the heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count
them…..so shall your descendents be."

Abram and Sarai had no children so as time passed Abram began to doubt how
God's promises could be fulfilled. By the law at the time a wife could give one of
her servants to her husband in order that a child could be born. Sarai gave her
servant Hagar to Abram and Hagar became pregnant. Hagar gave birth to a son -
Ishmael. God promised that Ishmael would be the father of twelve princes and
become a great nation. Tradition considers Ishmael to be the father of the Arab
peoples, and an ancestor of Muhammad.
When Abram was an old man God appeared to him and said: "I am God Almighty,
walk before me, and be blameless. And I will make my covenant between me and
you, and will make exceedingly numerous. This shall be my covenant with you: You
shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be
Abram, but your name shall be Abraham. I will establish my covenant between me
and you, to be God to you, and to your offspring after you."

God also promised that Sarai, now to be known as Sarah, would bear a son who
would be named Isaac. The name Isaac means "he laughs". Abraham was delighted
that God had fulfilled his promise, and rewarded Abraham's faith. However, God
called Abraham and said to him: " Take your son Isaac, whom you love and offer him
up as a sacrifice to me". Abraham obeyed and set off to a lonely place on the
mountain where he built an altar, tied Isaac down and got ready to sacrifice his
son. An angel stopped him saying: "Do not lay your hand on the boy…I know that you
are devoted to God, since you did not withhold your own beloved son."

Once again, God renewed the covenant: "I swear by myself…that because you acted
as you did in not withholding from me your descendents as countless as the stars
of the sky and the sands of the seashore." When Abraham died, Isaac became the
leader of the Hebrew people.

5. The Story of Moses

Jews, Muslims and Christians tell stories about Moses. This is the most important
one.

God's chosen people, the Hebrews, were forced into slavery by the Egyptians. As a
baby Moses, the son of a Hebrew slave, was rescued from drowning by the
Pharaoh's daughter and raised as an Egyptian prince. While defending another
Hebrew, Moses killed an Egyptian and had to flee for his life.

In the Wilderness, God spoke to Moses from out of a burning bush and called him
to lead the Hebrews, God's Chosen People, out of Egypt. Moses was stirred into
action and went to Pharaoh to demand that the Hebrews be set free. Pharaoh
would not listen. 10 plagues came upon the Egyptians. After the worst of these, the
death of Egyptian first born, Pharaoh allowed the Hebrews to leave his land. This
is called the Exodus.
On the night before they left Egypt, the Hebrews celebrated a Passover Meal in
their homes. They shared a lamb, ate unleavened bread and drank wine. However,
Pharaoh soon changed his mind and sent an army to recapture them. God
miraculously parted the waters of the Red Sea so that Moses and the Hebrews
could safely cross. Then the waters flowed back and the Egyptian army was
drowned.

The Hebrews encountered many hardships in the desert on their way to the
Promised Land. The Hebrews entered into a deeper covenant with God at Mount
Sinai and it was there that God gave the Law or 10 commandments to Moses. The
Ten Commandments, part of the God's Law given to the Hebrews, are the rules for
human life - they are part of both the Jewish and Christian moral code.

After many years travelling, and following the death of Moses, the Hebrews finally
entered the Promised Land. God's promise to Moses had been fulfilled.