Tao Bible - Genesis 2:16-17

And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
~ King James version ~

If you wish to embody Tao, you must be impartial.
~ possible Taoist alternative ~

In the Judeo-Christian worldview, there is absolute right and wrong. Much of it is codified in the bible itself. Believers are urged to follow external rules and rituals laid down by God himself and by religious authorities (who are imbued with the holy spirit).

Taoists view the world far differently. Right and wrong are value judgments made by societies and individuals. They are based on mores, tradition, and feelings. What may be considered wrong as wrong can be for one society may not be considered wrong by another society or even the next generation of the same society.

Beyond that, right and wrong often are conditional based on circumstances. For example, in our society, incest is a big taboo. Get caught engaging in sexual activity with your own children or a close relative who is a minor and not only will you most likely wind up in jail but most people will look down on you.

However, if our society went through some type of cataclysmic event (nuclear war, global warming on a massive scale, etc.) and only a few families remained scattered about, having sexual intercourse with one's own children or close relatives who are minors might be the only way to keep the species going. If such a scenario came to pass, would this constitute sin?

If you're interesting reading more from this experimental series, go to the Tao Bible Index page.