Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.The author states that those who follow God will reap joys and pleasures.
~ King James version ~
To walk the path of Tao is a journey beyond gladness and sorrow.
~ possible Taoist alternative ~
The sage who follows the path of Tao is one who leads a simple and humble life. This does not mean that such a path will be free from potholes and thorns, but the sage will take things as they come and move with the flow of life to do what needs to be done.
If you're interested in reading more from this experimental series, go to the Tao Bible Index page.
Not that I am a defender of the canon but it is very clear that you have an extreme bias against the bible. You are taking one scripture out from many and concluding this represents the whole message of the bible. Are you trying to say that the bible teaches that there is no suffering and pain following God? Have you ever read the book of Job before or for that matter all the books of Psalms that you are taking this verse from? It would be very easy to take a couple of sentences out of the Tao Te Ching or the writings of Chuang Tzu and subjectively find fault without reading and understanding its entire content. Following the teachings of Lao or Chuang should led oneself to rid oneself of bias. I think it is a great idea of yours to compare the bible teachings to that of the sage who follows the path of Tao but it should be objective in thinking and not influenced by an uninformed slanted attitude.
ReplyDeleteAnyone who reads this blog is well aware that I have a bias against the bible. That's no secret. While there are some positive aspects to it, the vast majority of the text is rife with inconsistencies and contradictions.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I would quibble with you is the comment that I am uninformed. I've studied the bible. After earning my first college degree, I applied to and was accepted into seminary, but decided not to go. I was active in my church for a good 15 years. I taught Sunday School. I've preached from the pulpit before.
So, while you may not agree with my analysis and commentary, I'm not some yahoo who knows nothing about Christian history, doctrine or beliefs. I'm not suggesting I am the most informed person on this topic, but I am better informed than a lot of people who consider themselves Christian.
All I could suggest to you is that if you are going to compare the bible to the teaching of the way is that you be fair in your analysis. It is a great topic that you are bringing up but it needs to be anchored in fact accompanied with your thoughts, not just your thoughts. I too am an ex-preacher/believer of Christianity. I would also suggest that instead of approaching the bible with a negative attitude you try and find metaphors of parallels that correspond with the Tao. This approach is more transforming and productive. You will be pleasantly surprised if you choose this method over the negative approach.
ReplyDeleteFor starters, not every post in this series to date has been negative. You should note that I'm presently in the Old Testament which represents the semi-historical (mythological?) account of a nomadic tribe.
ReplyDeleteOnce I work my way into the new testament, I would guess that we will more often find some passages that are more congruent with Taoist philosophy.
That said, the purpose of this series is to highlight the differences between fundamentalist Christianity and philosophical Taoism. Fundies read the bible literally and so that is the way I'm approaching it.
In a previous comment in this Tao Bible series --Psalm 9:9 ( about the "essence of Tao" where I mentioned "qi"), I was going to say something about bias in comparative commentary, and then thought better of it, knowing where you are coming from.
ReplyDeleteAnd you just clarified the focus again by specifying "fundamentalist Christianity" and "philosophical Taoism" , both of which concepts limit the dialogue...as a high church Episcopalian who has studied internal alchemy (in China), I find myself often biting my tongue before I comment here. The limits you set leave out spiritual, mystical and metaphysical discussion (although sometimes Scott's posts appear to venture into that territory). Literal interpretations of the Bible or the TTC or any of the other Taoist canonical works make for entertaining and glib comparison, but leave much out of discussion which could lead to deeper understanding and possible "ecumenism" between Eastern and Western thought.
"Mark and Susan" perhaps have not yet perceived the particular perspective that is the Rambling Taoist's.
Now that I know that this is just a dig on fundamental Christianity and is seemingly limited to that, I yield to the Rambling Taoist will.
ReplyDelete