M53 Facts, Stats, and Syntax
Polls and Statistics
Major Religions of the World Ranked
by Number of Adherents
1. Christianity:
2.1 billion
2.
Islam: 1.3 billion
3.
Secular/Nonreligious/Agnostic/Atheist: 1.1
billion
4.
Hinduism: 900 million
5.
Chinese traditional religion: 394 million
6.
Buddhism: 376 million
7.
primal-indigenous: 300 million
8.
African Traditional & Diasporic:
100 million
9.
Sikhism: 23 million
10.
Juche: 19 million
(Sizes shown are approximate
estimates)
Taken from http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html
Word Study
Tanakh (תנ״ך),
the word that denotes the Hebrew Bible, is actually an acronym composed by the
initial letters of its parts: the Torah ( תורה),
the Nevi'im ( נביאים),
and the Ketuvim (כתובים).
The Torah includes the Pentateuch, the Nevi'im
includes the eight prophetic books, and the Ketuvim
includes the rest of the eleven books. Even though the context of the Tanakh is mainly the same as the Old Testament, the Tanakh has 24 books instead of 39 and the books are
arranged in a different order.
Did you know…
The shortest chapter in the Bible
is Psalm 117.
The middle chapter of the Bible is
Psalm 117.
The central chapter of the Bible
is also the shortest chapter!
Literary Ministry News
The English Writers Retreat was held
this year at GiffordPark church in Edinburgh,
UK. Sixteen
participants came from around the world: Canada,
the US, Singapore, and the UK. (As in recent years, the
sisters far outnumbered the brothers.) Thank God for His guidance, the retreat
was edifying and fruitful. Through the Bible studies, prayer sessions, and work
sessions, we drew closer to God and learned from one another. May God remember
the effort of the participants and the local church members.