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Yes

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The question of whether sacred texts need to be written is a question that addresses the subject of the development of religion. It is well known that the sacred texts of many religions originated from the oral tradition; words handed down from generation to generation and there is little doubt that early religion emerged before it was possible to commit anything to writing. This would on the surface of things present a strong case for an argument against the proposal that sacred texts should be written.

Such an argument however, does not take into consideration changes that have taken place in our global society. An oral tradition of religious thought is all well and good within a society that is based upon small tribal groups, and certainly the image of the elders gathered around the campfire telling their tales to the younger generation is an appealing, if not romantic one.

Society now, as always relies upon communication and has become increasingly complex and increasingly dependant upon the accurate transmission of information. In the context of the communication of religious thought, for this transmission of information to be effective it has to be (a) communicated reliably and (b) accessible to those who wish to explore its themes.

Most, if not all of the major world religions have at their core, a set of sacred texts. These texts ensure that all of the adherents of a particular belief system or religion are 'singing from the same hymn sheet'. There is a greater degree of uniformity amongst a particular faith group if all of those who profess that particular faith use the same yardstick for their common belief, ie their scriptures.

In addition, many of our sacred texts are said to have been either received by revelation or at the very least to have been inspired by a 'higher authority' or to use another word, God. This means that in these cases the received written words could be said to carry more weight or authority than words which are simply passed down orally and subject to the memory or imagination of the person endeavouring to propagate religious thought.

The written word, accurately copied, transcribed and translated is far less susceptible to the propagation of error. This is perfectly illustrated by the example of Hebrew scriptures found amongst the 'Dead Sea Scrolls' discovered in 1947 in caves around the Wadi Qumran near the Dead Sea. A copy of the scroll of the book of the prophet Isaiah which has been carbon dated to well before the time of Christ, is faithful to the documents still used by the Jewish, Islamic and Christian community today.

It is at the very least questionable whether such accuracy would be possible if matters of faith were simply passed down by unwritten tradition.

In the context of Christianity, the Bible holds a preeminent position and to use Thomas Cranmer's words from the Articles of Religion in the Book of Common Prayer. 'Holy Scripture (the bible) containeth all things necessary to salvation' (Article 6, BCP). If this is true, and I certainly believe it to be from my own experience, then the anwer to the question 'Do sacred texts have to be written?' is a resounding YES!

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