2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25
The term "spiritual literature" has several interpretations. Firstly, it can be a whole series of books designed to encourage a person to think about the meaning of life. And in a narrower sense, these are the works of holy ascetics, in which they describe their life path. Let's see what books can be considered spiritual.
Spiritual and moral literature: definition and its objectives
The main criterion of spiritual literature can be considered its compliance with the gospel spirit. This means that all books on this subject must first of all reflect the essence of biblical principles. Spiritual literature raises the eternal problem of being, gives answers to many philosophical and religious questions, and also develops moral qualities in the character of its reader. Among other things, such reading very often describes the life of holy people, prophets, and always preaches the foundations of a particular religion. In simple terms, spiritual books are food for our souls.
The main task of spiritual books is to awaken all spiritual qualities in a person, develop moral values and, finally, encourage a person to fulfill religious laws. Indeed, in almost everyreligion, there is a set of precepts that a believer must follow.
Features of moral literature
Perhaps the distinguishing feature of spiritual literature is the religious inclination of its books, which raise philosophical questions. Spiritual literature, as a rule, appears more in the epic genre, that is, the lyrics are practically absent. This genre includes parables, various historical chronicles, descriptions of the life of the holy prophets, sermons and works dedicated to the structure of the afterlife and what fate awaits each person after death.
Books of spiritual literature can be conditionally divided into several groups:
- canonical literature (holy books, Bible, Koran, etc.);
- liturgical (Ps alter, Word, etc.);
- theological literature (theological treatises);
- educational religious (Orthodox explanatory prayer book);
- religious and journalistic (sermons of the holy fathers, teachings of the elders, etc.);
- religious-popular (stories, novels and even fairy tales with instructive meaning).
Recently, there is an increasing number of books devoted to the education of children. Such literature gives advice and guidance to parents on how to properly raise children, in what environment to raise them, so that they grow up to be good people.
Most Popular Spiritual Books
Besides religious spiritual books, spiritualliterature is presented in other genre compositions. These books not only change the outlook on many things, but also introduce the reader to such virtues as love, kindness, honor and dignity.
Spiritual literature - this is how you can define those works of great Russian writers in which the author conveys unshakable Christian values through the main characters and their life path. There are a number of works of Russian classics that every person should read, regardless of their religious beliefs. Here are the most famous: "War and Peace" by L. N. Tolstoy, many stories by A. P. Chekhov, "Master and Margarita" by M. A. Bulgakov, from foreign literature - novels by Ernest Hemingway ("For Whom the Bell Tolls", " The Old Man and the Sea"), as well as Dante ("The Divine Comedy"), Erich Maria Remarque and others.
Despite the fact that these works do not have a religious context, they still touch upon the most important questions of life: what is the meaning of life and what happens to the human soul after death?
The role of spiritual literature in the life of modern man
It's no secret that in our time it is more difficult than ever before for people to find free time for anything, and especially for reading books. Perhaps it is precisely because a modern person reads little or does not open books of spiritual literature at all that people in the world are becoming more selfish - everyone is trying to get their own benefit, while forgetting about others.
However, you canboldly assert that spiritual literature plays a huge role in the life of any person. Thanks to reading spiritual books, inner spiritual qualities are developed, the best features of a person are awakened, such as, for example, kindness, mercy and love. After all, spiritual books preach the gospel covenants, and the covenant of love for one's neighbor is considered the basic law of the Bible. "Love your neighbor as yourself" - this is the main commandment on which all the law and the prophets are established.
So, it turns out that just such literature is capable of inducing reflection on the meaning of life. Spiritual and moral education, as well as in the education of moral values and the formation of the correct worldview, spiritual books perform the most important functions.
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