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.