LESSON ONE. THE IMPORTANCE  OF LEARNING CRE 

Definition of Christian Religious Education (CRE) 

Christian Religious Education is the study of God’s revelation to human beings through scriptures, the 

persons of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. 

Why do schools study CRE? 

There are many reasons why schools study CRE. Some of the reasons are to: 

a) Enable you to develop a personal relationship with God. 

a) Help you to acquire basic principles of Christian living. 

b) Help you to develop a sense of self-respect and respect for others. 

c) Help you to develop positive attitudes and values, which help you to cope with challenges of life. 

d) Contribute to the moral and spiritual development of students. 

e) Help you to contribute positively to the transformation of an individual and the society as whole. 

f) Help you to identify answers to situations of life, including death and Eternal life. 

g) Help learners to identify answers to life’s questions. 

h) Promotes international consciousness. 

i) Help you to understand yourself. 

j) Promote cultural integration. 

k) Enable you to acquire a better  understanding of God. 

l) Unite people. 

m) Guide you in choosing a career 

n) Help you to appreciate African religious heritage and other religions. 

o) Promote living values such as honesty concern for others, kindness, love and unity. 

THE BIBLE. 

The Bible is the sacred book containing God’s revelation to people. It is the inspired word of God. It is 

the book through which God communicates with His people. 

The Bible as the word of God. 

The Bible is the word of God because 

a) The written scripture contain God’s word. 

b) Through the Bible God communicates his will to humans. 

c) It contains word written by inspired authors such as the prophets who were sent by God. 

d) God himself took part in the writing of the Bible. e.g. God is believed to have written the ten 

commandments 

e) It contains the history of salvation realized through Jesus Christ. 

f) The Word gives revelation to mysteries. 

g) The Bible contains a message of hope and reconciliation. 

h) It reveals that God controlled what was being written and what He intended the writers to pass to the 

people. 

The Bible as a library 

The Bible is referred to as a library since it is a collection of inspired scriptures or books. The Bible 

contains 66 books. The Bible is divided into the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old 

Testament contains 39 books while the New Testament contains 27 books. However, the Roman 

Catholic Church accepts 7 additional books referred to as Apocrypha or Deutero or canonical books. The 

word Apocrypha means hidden or secret. They are Esdras (1,2), Tobit, Judith, Ecclesiaticus, Baarch and 

Maccabees. 

Why the Bible is a library. 

Several studies show that: 

a) The Bible contains (66) book just like a library has many books. The Bible is a collection of books 

arranged in series. 

b) The Bible is a reference book for Christians. The authors of the Bible had a special spiritual guidance; 

hence each book was written for a purpose. 

c) The books were written at different times in history. 

d) The Bible has literary works. 

e) The Books written contain different topics. 

f) The Bible has different books written by different authors. 

g) The books of the Bible were written under different situations and circumstances. 

LESSON TWO.  THE BIBLE: MAJOR DIVISIONS AND ITS BOOKS 

Learning outcomes. By the end of the lesson you should be able to describe the major divisions of the 

bible 

Major divisions of the Bible 

The bible is divided into two major divisions. These are the Old Testament with (39 Books) and the New 

Testament with (27 Books). The word Testament means covenant or agreement  with God. 

The Old Testament books are divided into: 

a. Books of the law or the Pentateuch or Torah. 

b. Historical books. 

c. Poetic Books 

d. Prophetic books. 

Law books or the Pentateuch or Torah. The books of law are (i) Genesis (ii) Exodus (iii) Leviticus (iv) 

Numbers (v) Deuteronomy. Moses wrote these books. They contain the law of God as it was given to the 

people of Israel through Moses. They also contain the history of the Israelites from creation to the time 

they entered  the Promised Land. The author Moses is regarded as a lawgiver, teacher and prophet. 

Historical books 

There are the 12 consecutive books from (i) Joshua (ii) Judges (iii) Ruth (iv) 1, 2 Samuel (v) 1, 2 Kings (vi) 

1, 2 Chronicles (vii) Ezra (viii) Nehemiah (ix) Esther. These 12 books record the history of the Israelites. 

They also contain information about the life and achievements of some prophets for example the life 

history of Elisha and Elijah. 

Exercise 1 – Go through the 12 books and check page by page the names of other prophets. 

Poetic Books 

The books are poetic in nature. The poetic books contain wise sayings, songs, and prayers. The poetic 

books are (1) Psalms which was written by David (ii) Proverbs (iii) Ecclesiastes (iv) Song of Solomon 

written by Solomon and (v) Job. 

i. Prophetic books 

These are divided into major and minor prophets. A prophet is a messenger of God, or God’s 

spokesperson. A prophet is a mouthpiece of God. Prophets pass information and messages from God to 

the people. They are messengers from God. Their messages from God concern the future. 

i. Five Major Prophetic Books. The major prophetic books are by (i) Isaiah (ii) Jeremiah (iii) Lamentations 

(iv) Ezekiel and (v) Daniel. The books are named after the prophets who prophesied and probably wrote 

them. Jeremiah wrote lamentations. These prophets are called Major Prophets because they cover a 

longer period of time. Their prophecies are long, and they prophesied over a long period of time. 

ii. Minor Prophets. There are 12 books of (1) Hosea (2 Joel (3) Amos (4) Obadiah (5) Jonah (6) Micah (7) 

Nahum (8) Habakkuk (9) Zephaniah (10) Haggai (11) Zechariah and (12) Malachi. These books are by 

Minor Prophets who are said to have prophesied over a shorter period of time if you compare them 

with the Major Prophets. 

New Testament books are: 

a. Biographical book or Gospels. 

b. Historical book (Acts of the apostles). 

c. The Epistles. 

d. Apocalyptic or Prophetic book 

a) Biographical book or Gospels. 

Gospel means Good News. The disciples of Jesus wrote the biographical books. They contain 

information about the birth, life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The biographical 

books are four. (i) Mathew – Written by Mathew (ii) Mark – Written by Mark (iii) Luke – Written by Luke, 

the doctor and (iv) John – written by John (the beloved disciple of Jesus Christ) 

b) Historical books 

There is one historical book, which is the Acts of the Apostles. Luke, the writer of the St. Luke’s Gospel, 

wrote it. The book of Acts tells us the history of the early church. 

c) The Epistles 

There are two Epistles. Pauline Epistles and General Epistles 

Pauline Epistles. These are letters written by Paul. They are 13 letters, that Paul wrote to (1) Romans 

(2,3) 1, 2 Corinthians (4) Galatians (5) Ephesians (6) Philippines (7) Colossians (8, 9) 1, 2 Thessalonians 

(10, 11) 1, 2 Timothy (12) Titus and (13) Philemon. 

General Epistles are letters written to the church by other people. The letters are 8 in number. They (1) 

Hebrews (2) James (3,4) 1, 2 Peter (5,6,7) 1, 2, 3, John and (8) Jude 

d) Apocalyptic or Prophetic book. This is the book of Revelation. It is the last book in the New 

Testament. It is different from other books. This is because it is prophetic of things to come. It is about 

the future. It was written by John the beloved disciple of Jesus Christ. 

LESSON THREE. MAJOR  BIBLE TRANSLATIONS  FROM  THE ORIGINAL LANGUAGES  TO LOCAL LANGUAGES 

Learning outcomes. By the end of this lesson, you should be able to: - 

1. Describe the major translations of the bible 

2. List the bible versions used in Kenya 

3. Describe the effects of translating the bible into African languages 

These books of the Bible are accepted as the Canon of the Bible. The term Canon means Standard or 

guidance or rule. Translation means expression of books by words and pictures, poems and songs from 

one language to another. The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew, the language of the 

Israelites. Then between 250 – 100 BC, it was translated to the Greek language. The Greek translation of 

the Bible was known as Septuagint. This term refers to 70 translators. The Jews in dispersion or Diaspora 

used this translation. These were the Jews living outside Palestine. 

Between 386 – 420 A.D. Jerome, a great Christian Scholar, translated the entire bible from Greek into 

Latin, the language of the Romans. This translation was called Vulgate. Christians used the Latin 

translation of the Bible up to the 16th century. During the reformation in the 16th Century, Christians 

were encouraged to use their own native languages in worship. From that time, the Bible was translated 

into English and German. As Christianity spread to different parts of the world, there was the need for 

translations of the Holy Bible into various languages. In 1804, the British formed the Foreign Bible 

Society, which translated  the Bible into many languages. 

Johann Ludwig Krapf translated the New Testament into Kiswahili. This was the first Bible translation in 

East Africa. Since that time, the Bible Society of Kenya has translated the Bible into other languages such 

as Kikuyu in 1951, Kikamba in 1956, Kimeru in 1964, Kalenjin in 1968, and Luhya in 1974. By 1980 the 

Bible had been translated into 29 Kenyan languages. To date (2010) the Bible has been translated into 

42 languages of Kenya. 

Translation and versions used in Kenya today 

Besides bible translation into several languages, there are many English translation versions, which are 

commonly used in Kenya. These are (i) King James Version (ii) Jerusalem Bible (iii) New International 

version (iv) English Bible (v) The Authorized Version (vi) Good News (vii) Revised Standard Version (viii) 

New King James Version (ix) Amplified Bible (x) The living Bible (xi) The African Bible (xii) Common Bible 

(xiii) Today’s English Bible (xiv) American version among others. 

Writing of the Bible 

By 2010, the Bible Society of Kenya had translated the Bible into 42 Kenyan languages. The need to read 

the Bible led to writing of Bible reading materials to teach literacy in local languages. Those who wrote 

the Bible used different styles, and figures of speech to make their message vivid and clear. Several 

literary forms were used in the writing of the Bible. 

These are: 

a. Poetry in Psalms. 

Activity 

a) Read Psalms and notice the poetry used by David when he wrote psalms 

b) Read Job. Notice the rhythm of the words 

c) Turn to your English textbook – the Integrated English. Read topic 4 on sound and pattern in poetry. 

d) Read any Psalm and any verse from Job. What do you notice? 

Other literary forms that are used in the Bible are: 

i) Prose in Leviticus, which is a Legislative text 

ii) Wise sayings in Proverbs 

iii) Prophetic speeches by Jeremiah 

iv) Prayers by Nehemiah 

v) Love Songs for example the Songs of Solomon 

vi) Letters. Here see Pauline Epistles (Romans) 

vii) Gospels for example. Mark’s Gospel 

viii) Religious events for example Exodus 

ix) Narratives for example. Genesis 

x) Philosophical  essays for example the book of Job. Here please notice the use of metaphors  and similes 

in philosophical essays. 

The effects of Bible translations on African languages 

Bible translations: 

i) Increased and deepened African faith in God. 

ii) Led to increased literacy. After Africans acquired literacy skills, they read the Bible and improved their 

literacy skills. Christian missionaries established schools in order to teach literacy that helped African to 

read the Bible. 

ii) Made it easy for missionaries to spread the gospel to the African communities. 

iii) Increased the demand for the Bible. This led to writing of Books and setting up of printing presses in 

African countries. 

iv) Made it easy for the expansion of the church i.e. more people became Christians. 

v) Led to the emergence of independent churches and schools. 

vi) The missionaries and colonialists learnt the African languages. 

vii) The African converts realized that the missionaries were unfair to them. There was for example a 

different treatment of African by White missionaries. This was inequality of races, which was and is even 

now against Christian teachings. 

viii) Helped Africans to re-discover their cultural identity. For example the use of African instruments, 

dressings, and practice of polygamy, which David and other kings in the Old Testament did. 

ix) Led to the writings and spread of African languages. The missionaries learnt local languages. 

x) Improved communications between missionaries and the local people because they could understand 

each other. 

xi) Increased printing of reading materials 

The effects of Bible translations on Africans communities 

After the first Bible translations, there were immediate effects or influences on some communities. For 

example, some community leaders did not agree with the Christian teachings. Some wanted to retain 

aspects of their African religion. As a result, some communities who disagreed with Bible translations 

established their own Christian denominations in order to preach the Bible, as they understood  it. This 

was the emergence of independent churches. Some African communities built independent schools 

where their children could learn how to read and write without being forced to practice all the Christian 

teachings.