Sometimes I think some readers misunderstand my intention re the Tao Bible series. I don't pretend to offer anything definitive. I'm merely working my way through the Christian Bible book by book and verse by verse. When something strikes me, I stop and write a post.
There are times I emphasize the congruency between Christian and Taoist thought. More often, I try to show the differences in perspective and approach. One method for doing this is to juxtapose a few biblical verses against a few lines from a verse of the Tao Te Ching. At other times, I offer a P-O-S-S-I-B-L-E Taoist alternative.
I highlight the word possible because I grant there are a multitude of other ways to emphasize the differences and similarities. Naturally, there will be places in which I see ideas that are incongruent, but others won't see it that way. Conversely, there will be times I will see corresponding ideas in places that some folks won't agree.
I don't want any of you to think that I think I am writing the definitive Tao Bible. This series is nothing more than a thought experiment. It is nothing more than a vehicle to compare and contrast two belief system from one person's perspective -- mine.
There are times I emphasize the congruency between Christian and Taoist thought. More often, I try to show the differences in perspective and approach. One method for doing this is to juxtapose a few biblical verses against a few lines from a verse of the Tao Te Ching. At other times, I offer a P-O-S-S-I-B-L-E Taoist alternative.
I highlight the word possible because I grant there are a multitude of other ways to emphasize the differences and similarities. Naturally, there will be places in which I see ideas that are incongruent, but others won't see it that way. Conversely, there will be times I will see corresponding ideas in places that some folks won't agree.
I don't want any of you to think that I think I am writing the definitive Tao Bible. This series is nothing more than a thought experiment. It is nothing more than a vehicle to compare and contrast two belief system from one person's perspective -- mine.
I guess I get a little frustrated or annoyed by your reference to "the Christian Bible", since so far you have been doing the OT. Indeed the OT is incorporated into the Christian tradition as "The Bible" but most intelligent Christians (but perhaps not fundamentalists) read the OT as the stories of the Jewish people establishing or elucidating their understanding and practice of a covenant with God. The "Christian" part of the Bible comes in the NT.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who is deeply influenced and intrigued by both traditions (East and West), I am more interested in the congruencies than the differences.
As my blogging compatriot Bruce at Fallen From Grace would answer, the Old Testament is the foundation of the New Testament. Christians need to claim it all, the good AND the bad parts. Liberal Christians squirm a lot when it comes to the OT because the stories told in it depict a petty and vengeful deity. Because it makes them uncomfortable, they just wave their hands at it and act like it isn't part of the overall doctrine -- which it is!
ReplyDeleteClaim it all as doctrine? Jesus established a "new covenant." The OT is "this is where we've been"...the NT is "where we're going."
ReplyDeleteLiberal Christians don't "squirm"; but I will admit I come from a liberal and academic background that is able to look at the faith through somewhat objective lenses with the support of Biblical and archeological scholarship.
The entire Bible is a bunch of very interesting stories about people trying to figure out their place and role in the cosmos.
Jesus himself is purported to have said something to the effect that, he you believe in him, you have to believe in the OT as well. He certainly believed in the OT!
ReplyDeleteReference please? What is it to "believe in" the old testament (or the new) anyway?
ReplyDelete"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished."
ReplyDeleteMatthew 5:17-18
We should revisit this when you get to Acts and the Pauline letters where Christianity becomes defined. (Bear in mind that I am indeed coming at this from a liberal tradition, though essentially Catholic, which I would have thought you would have thought was a good thing.)
ReplyDeleteThank you for clarifiying your position: "a vehicle to compare and contrast two belief system[s] from one person's perspective -- mine."
ReplyDeleteI have been thinking about this for some hours. My understanding of Isaiah is rooted in Biblical history (when Judah was a tributary state to Assyria); and Jesus's subsequent statement in Matthew made to reassure Jews of the time about what he was up to.
I have to remind myself that you are comparing/contrasting what you call"philosophical Taoism" with a particularly literal and fundamentalist form of Christianity. How curious that my approach to the Judeo-Christian heritage is somewhat acamdemic and philosophical and my approach to the Tao tends to the mystical and spiritual.